Proof vs. Evidence
I started my "Intro to Christian Theology" class this week. One of the first things we talked about was "proofs for the existence of God". We discussed the idea that evidence does not equal absolute proof.
For example: I want to prove to my friend that the professor of the class is a real person who actually exists. I can bring my friend up to the professor's office and show them the books, the computer, the handwritten post-it notes, etc. All of those things are evidence that point to my professor's existance. They do not equate to proof however. The only thing that could 100% prove the professor's existence would be seeing her in the flesh and being able to touch her skin. That's it. There can be lots and lots and lots of evidence, so much in fact that it would be nearly dumb to believe she doesn't exist. But again, no amount of evidence could prove the tangible existence of someone/something without physically seeing it with our own eyes.
Did you follow that? Because I almost didn't.
I think it says something awesome about our God. I believe that idea is absolutely right. There is a lot of evidence in this world that God is at least out there somewhere. You cannot prove His existence to somebody though. If we could "prove" God, wouldn't that put us above Him in some sense? In most academic fields, humans are higher up on the food chain than their subject of study. Because of that, they can know just about everything there is to know about that subject. Biologist, archaelogists, meteoroligists, doctors, etc. all fit into this category. In the case of theology however, the object of our study is higher up on the food chain than we are. Because of that, we can only know as much as God choose to reveals to us.
I believe He's chosen to give us evidence so that we can find our way to Him. I believe He hasn't given us absolute proof because believing in Him has to be a choice. I also belive that at some point in the future, God will show Himself to the world and prove His existence. Just not yet.
What do you think?
Can we "prove" God?
