I am at a technical conference in St. Louis. Last night as we gathered after the keynote address for a late snack and beverage, I found myself in three conversations that are not an unusual experience at these conferences.
The women beside me talked about the manufacturing software business and marketing in that arena. Across the table and to the right from me was a well-known MIT graduate and inventor who was talking particle physics, energy and combating cancer without chemotherapy. The man across the table and to my left was discussing how the failure of organized religion had destroyed his belief in God.
I never find it amazing that dinner conversations broach into spiritual discussions. Almost everyone I meet is seeking for spiritual nourishment–even those who think it will never happen.
Since almost all of us were scientifically trained, I approached him from the standpoint of science. Seems logical to me, even common sense, although some of you may be offended to a greater or lesser degree. That’s OK. I never said you had to agree with me. And I always welcome a reasoned and reasonable comment.
Back to the point. I told him I could prove God exists–actually, I went on, I won’t prove it, he will. But I won’t prove God’s existence with a rational, logical argument–the kind of reasoning you may have been taught in geometry class when you learned to . People much smarter than I have tried that–and failed.
The essence of science is that you observe something. You record the methods which led up to the observation. You write the entire process and publish so that others can do that. Other people follow the method and observe something (or not). Over time, a truth is established.
Over millennia, seekers have discovered ways to find God. By pursuing spiritual disciplines, you will become closer to God and discover Him. The basic disciplines (which really means a habit that you choose to do) include study (Bible and other spiritual writings), meditation, prayer, service, celebration and worship. There are others, but if you develop a daily habit of these things, you will feel closer to God.
So, yes, I can use science to prove God’s existence. But it’s just one human at a time. To those who would argue it’s just a hallucination, I’d answer “you don’t know, because you’ve not done it.”
A word of warning. It seems to be the human condition that you just cannot feel the warmth of God at all times. Sometimes God just doesn’t seem here. The Willow Creek Community Church foundation conducted a massive survey. One question was have you ever felt stuck in your spiritual life. Almost 2,000 answered yes. A follow up question was how did you get “unstuck.” The answer was (not necessarily in these exact words) to return to the disciplines–study, prayer, meditation and so on.
Faith Venture 
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