March 28, 2009 2:00 am

Proof of God?

At the risk of sounding like all that I do is watch television, I will confess that this blog has been prompted by watching “The Story of God”, a 3 part series presented by Lord Robert Winston. Those who have seen the well known documentary series, The Human Body, will recognise Winston who this time explores the relationship between science and religion. Winston, who is both a professor of science and practicing Jew concludes that certainty should not be a part of either science or religion.

For my own part, I have ceased to be interested in the subject of apologetics - I do not believe that I can prove through logic, science or scripture that God exists. I have played on both sides of this game before (trying to prove that God does or does not exist) and both are ultimately fruitless. The best alternative that I can offer is what religious people simply call testimony. I can talk about how I have experienced what I understand as a God presence in the world. For instance, I attended a funeral in Zambia earlier this year where several hundred people gathered on top of a large hill to celebrate the life and mourn the death of a man whose life was ended too early. I count this as one of the moments where I felt a tangible God presence in the world, yet I know that this is an act of interpretation and faith more than empirical evidence - and I’m happy for it to be so.

The significant questions for me then are not about whether God exists (for this is beyond my capacity to prove in either direction) but if, based on my experience, God does exist - then what is God like and how should we respond to God’s presence in the world? This is where I believe theology and the quest for justice meet.