This article causes me to laugh as a child who learned their first joke. I do not wish to come across as sarcastic or dismissive. I hope to write with a mischievous glint as a magician who knows the secret to a trick. I mean no disrespect, but how a question is phrased is a sign as to a person’s ignorance or knowledge. There is one question that most people ask, but it shows their ignorance more so than their knowledge.
The question I want to answer is “what evidence is there that God exists?” It is an honest question in terms of scientific inquiry. However, the question posed as is is not fit for scientific inquiry. It is a hypothesis at least. The scientist has a hypothesis, “God exists” or “Does God exists?” Then the scientific inquiry can begin.
That is why I must laugh at being asked for proof of God’s existence in the name of science. The evidence valued by science demonstrates cause and effect. More importantly, it values the ability to repeat results. Something is not proven unless it is able to be empirically measured and experimented reliably and consistently. Peer review assures the world that a true pattern of nature has been discovered. A cause and effect must be established and the results of which must be able to be repeated.
Why would that scientific process apply to proving the existence of a being of any kind? There have been claims of monsters in the world: vampires, Loch Ness monster, big foot, and the list goes on. We ask for proof for the existence of these beings just as we ask for proof of God’s existence. There is simply only one way to prove that a certain being exists to the satisfaction of the skeptic; find the monster, put it in a cage, and show it to the world. The realm of naturalists and biologists, since the time of Darwin, relied upon exploration and detailed OBSERVATIONS in order to prove their claims of the discovery a new species.
We ask the question, “Does God exists?” Well, let’s go find Him and put Him in a cage! Now, I must laugh like the little school boy who pulled his prank. The demand to put God in a cage shows the ignorance of what the Catholic Church claims God to be. God is a being that exists in a triune unity. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, is often who people talk about when they say “God.” God the Father exists outside of time and space and cannot be put into a cage. Although He was able to dwell in the Tent of Meeting and the Temple of Solomon. (Exodus 33:7-11, 1 Kings 8:1-27) God the Holy Spirit is equally if not more elusive and is not restricted by time and matter. Therefore, two out of the three persons of the Trinity will never be OBSERVED in a manner fitting for a peer reviewed journal.
There is still the second person of the Trinity: Jesus of Nazareth. He more so than the other persons in the Trinity is meant to reveal God to us humans. However, He only existed in a state that can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, and smelt during the 1st century AD. We all have the desire of Saint Thomas to put our hands into the wounds of Christ. But we are not so fortunate. Even Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). However, even if we were to put Jesus in a cage and show Him off; is it not God the Father that people are asking for proof? You see why I must laugh at the question.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
John 14:6-10
Let us return to the original question “What is the evidence that God exists?” The question originally posed is better fit for a court room. We are proving that a person existed and acted at a certain place and time. We are not asking a scientific question nor a naturalist question, but a historical question. We are asking about the historicity of a being named God existing in the past, present, and future. There is a prosecuting lawyer, a devil’s advocate, and the jury awaiting for the evidence to be presented. If we are to enter the court room, then what evidence is accepted in a courtroom?
By definition, no moment of history is able to be repeated. Unless someone invents time travel (which I seriously doubt is possible), then we will never be able to repeat moments of history as we can repeat scientific experiments. Instead, court rooms must examine evidence that shows the EFFECTS of certain actions. Save video evidence, even video evidence is not immune to falsehood, we are not able to see events play out as it did in the exact place and time. We must use witness testimonies, evidence from the scene of the crime, documentation, and rational logic.
Are these not the same evidence that Atheist scoff at? The great risk that the atheistic skeptics poses is the entire destruction of the field of history. Archeologist and anthropologists are only able to find ruins, scraps of paper, and broken pottery in order to support their claims of lost societies and cultures. If the Atheist is so quick to dismiss the evidence presented by the Catholic Church, then how are other historical claims treated? The Gospels serve as biographies of Jesus of Nazareth. Why trust the biographies of emperors and not Jesus? The letters and witness of the apostles serves as an oral catalogue of Jesus’s actions and miracles. Why trust the accomplishments of Alexander the Great or Archimedes, but not Jesus walking on water or calming the seas? We must ask about the existence of God as we would about whether or not the Aztec empire existed.
What evidence does the Catholic Church posses? We have The Empty Tomb, Scripture, and the Tradition passed down through apostolic succession. The Bible and Tradition provides the bulk of evidence for God’s existence. The Bible serves as a collection testifying how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit has interacted with the World since BEFORE HISTORICAL RECORDS. Ironically, there is more evidence that Jesus existed than Roman emperors, but none of that matters to the skeptic. The skeptic is able to refute every evidence by the simple phrase “I don’t believe it to be true evidence.” Courtroom dramas would look much different if the defending attorney can just say, “I don’t believe that evidence to be true, your honor.” If Holy Scripture and Tradition cannot be trusted, then that leaves us the Empty Tomb.
I have to laugh. The most marvelous and miraculous event in history is the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth! The only evidence of it is an Empty tomb! Of course, no atheist would accept that as evidence. It’s only evidence because the followers of Jesus swear they didn’t take the body of Jesus of Nazareth out of the tomb. Of course, a skeptic would doubt such a claim. But it is true. The disciples of Jesus knew Jesus died, but they also knew that He rose from the Grave, and He rose up into Heaven. That is the witness and testimony presented here today, your honor!
How would I answer the question, “What evidence is there that God exists?” The three authorities of the Catholic Church: Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. If you do not trust those authorities, then I have no evidence. And I laugh with joy about it. We have a God that can only be known if He reveals Himself. And HE HAS. God has reveal Himself to us through scripture, the Tradition of the Apostles, and the magisterium. So, that we may come to know Him and live with him in eternity in Heaven. Why should you believe that God exists? He told us that He does!
The book “The Case for Jesus” by Brant Pietre does an excellent job going through the historical evidence of Jesus of Nazareth. Click on the image below to get it from Amazon.
The Average Catholic: More Articles Here! 
Leave a comment