‘I looked and looked, but I didn’t see God’, Yuri Gagarin is reported to have said after his epic voyage as the first man in space. To which some one replied, ‘If you didn’t see him on earth, what makes you think you’ll see him in space?’

This kind of sums up the problem with those who reject God because they can’t see Him, especially where they are looking, with their natural means of observation.
The Bible says, (John 4:24) ‘God is Spirit and those that seek (worship) Him must do so in spirit and truth’. Science must confine itself to the ‘natural’ and has no means of measuring or observing the ‘Supernatural’ Those who have hitched their wagon to the ‘natural’ Sciences donkey, just get frustrated and annoyed at its limitations. Especially when they see the horseless carriage with no apparent means of propulsion whizzing past them.

The Bible also gives us another clue when it says ‘The Natural mind seeks to serve itself with its natural desires, but those who live by the spirit have their minds set on what the (Holy) Spirit desires’ Rom.8:6 (paraphrased) This is the key; it’s the difference between the ‘natural and the ‘spiritual’ mind. A quantum leap for those whose mind is fixed in the natural, no wonder they cannot see, their mind won’t let them! The word “Natural’ in the Greek is the word ‘Phusikos’ where we get our word ‘Physical’ from. It means ‘natural’ or ‘animal’, instincts. This is one of the reasons the evolutionary view of ‘Natural Selection’ is so appealing, it caters so easily to our ‘natural’ mind. It is also why the very concept of God cannot be countenanced, because it won’t fit into our ‘natural’ mindset. In other words you cannot see God, even if you look and look, in space or on earth.

God knows this, that’s one of the reasons we have the Bible; to somehow, explain it and point us in the right direction (Him).

In John’s Gospel (chapter 3) we read of a very intelligent teacher of the Law, who came to Jesus because he was intrigued with many of the things He said. What he got from Jesus blew him away. He was a very religious (and no doubt piously sincere individual) and Jesus said to him ‘No one can see God unless he is born again’ (vs.3)(Paraphrase) This stumped him so he asked Jesus for an explanation as to what He meant. ‘He that is born of the natural (phusikos) will only ever be natural, with all that, that entails, but he that is born of the Spirit will enter into the realm (Kingdom) of the Spirit and all that, that entails’ (paraphrased) was Jesus’ reply. Let me, before we go any further, clarify my understanding of the ‘natural’ mind. I believe it is capable of so much more than we have yet achieved, in science, the arts, commerce etc.. I am given to understand that the Bible teaches the ‘natural’ mind never ceases to exist. I also believe, that the ‘natural’ mind has been corrupted by selfish and self centred desires and needs to be set free by the mind (life) of the Spirit.

My heart may beat and blood may course through my arteries; my lungs and liver may function perfectly, and it may be accurately diagnosed that I am alive, but am I living? It has been said some people die long before they expire. To ‘have a life’ must mean a lot more than a healthy body, or even a healthy mind! As I write this countless thousands will be ‘living’ on artificial stimulants; alcohol or opiates that will be wrecking their body, taking them to enhance their ‘life’
Still others, with perfectly healthy bodies, can’t see a purpose to live and it was a struggle for them to get through another day. They couldn’t care less about their ‘natural’ bodies, because they are not ‘living’
Jesus said, ‘I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full’ John 10:10 Once more I need to go into the Greek and examine that word “life’
There are 3 words in the Greek for ‘Life’
The first is the word ‘Bios’, where we get our word biology from. It denotes our physical being, everything from our DNA to every strand of our hair. Anyone who has studied biology to a higher level knows how wonderful our bodies really are, the eye alone is a marvel to behold. No wonder the Psalmist was moved to pen the words; ‘Behold I am fearfully and wonderfully made’ Ps. 139:14 The latest discoveries since mapping the human genome, means we are unravelling yet more wonders of our ‘Bios’.
I have just witnessed the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt become the fastest man alive and blow away the rule book in the process in the 2008 Olympic 100 mtrs final. This and other feats of physical achievement as athletes extend physically their bodies abilities. A remarkable celebration of our ‘Bios’. However, I do not believe this would have been possible without the next form of ‘life’
Our second Greek word is Psuche, where we get the word Psyche from. In the Bible it means soul, or ‘perception of self’; Our soul contains three interwoven elements that go to make up the seat of our personality; Our mind, our emotions and our will. The ‘Psuche’ is so much stronger than our bios, and is only now being understood as such. Those athletes who ran, swan, jumped and performed ‘beyond themselves’ because they were ‘psyched up’. In every form of physical effort or endurance the psuche plays more and more an important role. It’s not just sport, but in every day living the way we feel is playing an increasingly vital function of our lives.
However our ‘Psuche’ centres on the seat of our personality, and this makes us vulnerable. The lack of security, or identity, is becoming a bigger and bigger problem for so many. Low self esteem and lack of aspiration cannot be overcome by achievement of the ‘Bios’ alone. The ‘Psuche’ is a conduit of fulfilment, another ‘Life’ must flow through it.

Zoe’ is our third and last Greek word. This is the one that Jesus used in John 10:10 It means life in the absolute sense, life as God has it. This is a dimension of life on which the other two depend for our true identity and the power of control for our lives. This life is only achieved by being ‘born again’, as Jesus said, a life led by the Spirit. This ‘Zoe’ life gives us a spiritual mindset that does not come via the ‘Bios’ (Natural) or the Psuche (mind/emotional).
Another important aspect of the ‘Zoe’ life is its God consciousness, without it we could have no understanding of God, who or what He is. Without this ‘life’ even our understanding of the Bible as God’s Word is impossible.
Even Christians struggle to get their head around God. Jesus, God incarnate, is still a subject of much misunderstanding. More books have been written about Jesus Christ than any individual who ever lived, yet it still takes a revelation from the Holy Spirit, for us to begin to understand Him.
The ‘natural’ mind lived through a ‘bios’ life can never hope to understand the slightest thing about God. Even for the Christian we are encouraged to explore the ‘deep things’ of God, and know we will barely scratch the surface.
I am a Christian, I also study natural sciences and whilst I may be able to see the same things the natural mind can, I will not view them from that perspective. I could never expect a ‘natural’ mind to automatically see either the natural world, let alone the spiritual one from a Zoe’ perspective. That’s why the argument about (natural) science vs (Spiritual) Religion is futile.
That doesn’t stop me commenting on or challenging some of the stuff brought up by the ‘naturalists’, if only to stimulate and broaden their thinking, and mine.

I recently found this;
“Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. “You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So you believe in God?”

“Absolutely.”

“Is God good?”

“Sure! God’s good.”

“Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Are you good or evil?”

“The Bible says I’m evil.”

The professor grins knowingly. “Ahh! THE BIBLE!” He considers for a moment. “Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?”

“Yes sir, I would.”

“So you’re good…!”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could… in fact most of us would if we could… God doesn’t.

[No answer.]

“He doesn’t, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?”

[No answer]

The elderly man is sympathetic. “No, you can’t, can you?” He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. “Let’s start again, young fella.”

“Is God good?”

“Er… Yes.”

“Is Satan good?”

“No.”

“Where does Satan come from?” The student falters.

“From… God…”

“That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he?” The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience.”I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen.” He turns back to the Christian.

“Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? Did God make everything?”

“Yes.”

“Who created evil?

[No answer]

“Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness. All the terrible things - do they exist in this world? ”

The student squirms on his feet. “Yes.”

“Who created them? ”

[No answer] The professor suddenly shouts at his student. “WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!” The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian’s face. In a still small voice: “God created all evil, didn’t He, son?”

[No answer]

The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails.

Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized. “Tell me,” he continues, “How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?” The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. “All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn’t it, young man?”

[No answer]

“Don’t you see it all over the place? Huh?”

Pause.

“Don’t you?” The professor leans into the student’s face again and whispers, “Is God good?”

[No answer]

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”

The student’s voice betrays him and cracks. “Yes, professor. I do.”

The old man shakes his head sadly. “Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen him? ”

“No, sir. I’ve never seen Him.”

“Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?”

“No, sir. I have not.”

“Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus…in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?”

[No answer]

“Answer me, please.”

“No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.”

“You’re AFRAID… you haven’t?”

“No, sir.”

“Yet you still believe in him?”

“…yes…”

“That takes FAITH!” The professor smiles sagely at the underling.”According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?”

[The student doesn’t answer]

“Sit down, please.”

The Christian sits…Defeated.

Another Christian raises his hand. “Professor, may I address the class?”

The professor turns and smiles. “Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering.”

The Christian looks around the room. “Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I’ve got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?”

“Yes,” the professor replies. “There’s heat.”

“Is there such a thing as cold?”

“Yes, son, there’s cold too.”

“No, sir, there isn’t.”

The professor’s grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold.

The second Christian continues. “You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super- heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don’t have anything called ‘cold’. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than 458 -

You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. “Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.”

Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.

“Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?”

“That’s a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn’t darkness? What are you getting at…?”

“So you say there is such a thing as darkness?”

“Yes…”

“You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you…give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?”

Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him. This will indeed be a good semester. “Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?”

“Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error….”

The professor goes toxic. “Flawed…? How dare you…!”"

“Sir, may I explain what I mean?”

The class is all ears.

“Explain… oh, explain…” The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.

“You are working on the premise of duality,” the Christian explains. “That for example there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it.”

The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. “Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?”

“Of course there is, now look…”

“Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality.

Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?” The Christian pauses. “Isn’t evil the absence of good?”

The professor’s face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless.

The Christian continues. “If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil.”

The professor bridles. “As a philosophical scientist, I don’t view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable.”

“I would have thought that the absence of God’s moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going,” the Christian replies.

“Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?”

“If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.”

“Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?”

The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare.

“Professor. Since no-one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?”

“I’ll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?” the professor hisses.

“So you don’t accept God’s moral code to do what is righteous?”

“I believe in what is - that’s science!”

“Ahh! SCIENCE!” the student’s face splits into a grin. “Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed…”

“SCIENCE IS FLAWED?” the professor splutters.

The class is in uproar.

The Christian remains standing until the commotion has subsided. “To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?” The professor wisely keeps silent.

The Christian looks around the room. “Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain?” The class breaks out in laughter.

The Christian points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor. “Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain… felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelt the professor’s brain?” No one appears to have done so.

The Christian shakes his head sadly. “It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor’s brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain.”

The class is in chaos.

The Christian sits down.

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