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Finally, the moment of irrefutable truth has arrived. The moment everyone has been waiting for. Well the wait is over. This is where I state my case for God's existence which I believe to be incontrovertible. So it begs the question, what evidence could I possibly produce that will placate the minds of unbelievers and cause them to abandon their skepticism once and for all. Well??? Can I get a drum roll please......?
EXHIBIT A
Before I answer that question allow me to prolong the suspense by discussing our friend in the picture whom we will refer to as exhibit A. You're probably wondering who the heck is that hooligan and what relevance does he have to this whole discussion? All the relevance in the world as we shall soon find out. So, who is this stranger? He could be the thug on the street that causes you to tense up as he approaches you from behind, one more of the nameless statistics that makes up the whole of our prison population, or just one more casualty of gang warfare on the streets of Los Angeles. The subject grew up in a crime-infested neighborhood racked by drugs and violence. At the age of twelve he witnessed his older brother gunned down in front of his apartment complex, the memory of which would haunt him for years to come, filling his life with anger and rage. He started gang banging at the age of fifteen and from that point on his life spun out of control as he became totally submerged in the gang lifestyle. He has been arrested twice for assault and battery on a police officer, once on a conspiracy to commit murder, and numerous counts of robbery. He even gained the infamy of making it on the local newspaper for his arrest in connection with a string of armed robberies around the South Bay. He has been shot twice, (once by a sheriff deputy), stabbed, and involved in countless brawls. He was addicted to crack cocaine and crystal meth which would often set him off on a crime spree in order to fuel his high. But one day in the midst of all that chaos he met a man who shared with him his own personal testimony of how God had touched his life and how that same God could change his life as well. For the first time in his existence he came to the realization that he didn't have to be just one more nameless statistic, his destiny could change, he could have a "future and a hope". And if you haven't figured it out by now the subject in the photo is yours truly; The Sandman.
I always find it amusing when I consider the type of people on the other side of my computer screen. I have probably debated Rhode scholars, and conversely, they have debated a fool and didn't even know it. But then again, who's the bigger fool, me, or the genius arguing with a fool such as myself? At any rate, it all makes for great comedy. C'mon, admitted! This was the last face you expected to see behind such literary masterpieces as the ones that I've previously posted on Newsvine. I know that I'm tooting my own horn here but the point still remains. My articles have been accused of being "erudite" and showing an "exemplary" display of the English language. Not bad for a guy who dropped out in the tenth grade and learned English as his second language. The fact that I can string a few sentences together let alone make a coherent argument on any given subject is quite remarkable when you consider that you're talking about a guy who fried his brain on PCP to the point that I would often get lost in the midst of a conversation. Now, what were we discussing again? Oh yeah, my irrefutable evidence for God's existence. This brings us to the relevance of our subject to the matter at hand. My criterion for irrefutable evidence is based on what I consider to be both objective and subjective truth. Objective because it must be evident to the unbiased observer. Subjective because it must be true to the subject individual of whom the observation has been made.
OBJECTIVE TRUTH
The objective truth is that to the outside observer it is clearly evident that something profoundly transformational has transpired in the life of our subject. Who he was, he no longer is. Lest it be assumed that this was merely some gradual change as someone who simply passed on from one phase to the next it must be noted that this transformation occurred rather abruptly and almost instantaneous. If we could view his life on a time line we would observe a consistent pattern of chaos and destruction through the first half of his life, then suddenly there is a paradigm shift that takes place in our chart. It's as sharp a contrast as there is between darkness and light, night and day. The difference is undeniable. There is no phasing out. In fact, gangsters are not allowed to phase out, not at the prime of their life when their gangsterism is at its peak performance. Now the question remains, what took place to bring about such a radical transformation. Let us go back to our time line and zoom in on that pivotal moment of transition. There in the midst of the chaos that was his life he is confronted with the reality of God's existence. He hears the message that there is a God in heaven who not only created the known universe but is actively involved in His creation. Still, the message alone does not account for his transformation, this not being the first time that he has heard such a message. It was not so much what the messenger said as it was what he himself said in response. It was his acknowledgement of his own complicity in sin and the confession of Christ as his own Lord and Savior that brought about this transformation; a transformation so powerful that Jesus Himself describes it as being "born again." (John 3:3) The truth being conveyed here is of such a magnitude that it is as if one were able to enter their mother's womb and then crawl back out as a completely new creation. This "new creation" is the evidence that demonstrates the reality of the Creator's presence in the life of the believer. (2Corinthians 5:17)
I know there is someone who is yelling at their computer screen at this very moment, demanding to be shown the "empirical" data to support the evidence. Perhaps with all of our advancement in Neuroimaging we can observe a transformation in brain function at the moment of conversion and gather the empirical evidence that demonstrates the spiritual metamorphosis that takes place when one becomes born again. I've read somewhere about the different areas of the brain accessed by liberals and conservatives. Speaking for myself, I know that my world view has become much more conservative since my conversion. Although I consider much of the inferences made from these observations to be a bunch of crack-pot science, still it makes for some interesting discussion. Or maybe one day we may just be able to find the God gene (not to be confused with the elusive gay gene). I read an article recently that speaks of how the impulsivity that makes one prone to addictive behavior is linked to a certain gene called NRXN3. If this is so, than that particular gene must have been severely incapacitated at the moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ seeing how I lost all desire to consume drugs soon there after. Yet regardless of how conclusive the empirical evidence may be, it will always be subject to interpretation which is influenced by the observer's personal bias. Say what you will but bias is almost impossible to get away from. That is why what some of us view as a design wrought by the hand of an all-powerful Designer, others view as the product of an all-powerful process known as natural selection. But what if the object of observation could speak for itself and tell us why it is what it is? What if the rocks could cry out? Well, in this case the object does have something pertinent to add to this whole conversation.
SUBJECTIVE TRUTH
At this point our angry reader has gone from screaming at his monitor to punching a hole right through it. While you regain your composure indulge me with your attention a bit longer and allow me to bring some perspicuity to our discussion. I realize that there will always be the naysayers who will put forth their own theories as to why the subject individual has undergone such a drastic change; however to the subject there is only one valid explanation, that is, "God has touched my life". This is his subjective truth. And since subjectivity is in the mind of the beholder, who better to reveal what that mind conceives than the one doing the beholding which in this case happens to be non other than myself. In that mind I behold certain truths about myself that are to me indubitable. I know that I am no longer the same corrupted individual I once was. I've changed, I mean really changed. It's not simply the relinquishing of the more unsavory aspects of my life but a complete transformation in my thinking process. I've come under new convictions that were once completely foreign to me. Suddenly things like honesty and integrity matter to me. Now remember, we're talking about someone who had absolutely no regard for other people's personal property. I took what I wanted; no questions asked. I also know just how corrupted I still can be and yet there is some thing (or better yet Someone), beyond myself that keeps me from naturally gravitating towards that corruption.
For me the reality of God's existence is not based on some primitive account of a bygone experience in the distant past but is a reality that is just as relevant in the present. Please understand that when we debate the subject of God's existence, you're not just challenging some intellectual argument, you're arguing against my very life experience. How does one counter all the manifestations of God's power that have embedded themselves into the depths of my memory? I've seen and have been the recipient of Divine intervention in my own life. I'm not talking about some ambiguous happenings that are open to interpretation. I am talking about specific and to the point answers to prayer. Oh... the things I've seen. I've seen cancer healed; men who were given a life expectancy outlive the date of their termination. I've seen the criminally insane clothed and in their right mind, prostitutes become advocates of virtue, and men in the pit of despair on the verge of suicide embrace hope again. I've seen a blind man impart vision, an illiterate dispense wisdom, and an invalid cause many to walk upright. I've seen the hardest of criminals break down and bow their knee in repentance. Oh... the things I've seen. This may all sound like a bunch of poetic gibberish to some but for me every one of these descriptions has a direct association to my life experience. Still, I know there will be those who will attempt to delegitimize these experiences and restrict them within the confines of subjectivity. It was C.S. Lewis who made the case for the legitimacy of Christ's divinity by stating that Jesus was either a lunatic, a lying devil, or who He said He was. That same line of reasoning could be applied to the believer who claims to have had a born again experience. He is either a lunatic who has imagined a fictitious transformation in his life, a liar who has feigned such an experience, or he really has had a personal encounter with the Living God. As it is logically impossible to will oneself into a place of insanity we can scratch that option. As for the accusation of pretense, one can only maintain a lie for so long (16 years in my case is a long time). That leaves us with the only viable option which is a genuine experience. The question is how this experience transcends beyond that which is merely subjective on to that which is concrete and irrefutable.
IRREFUTABLE TRUTH
The answer to the issue of a truth that transcends subjectivity, in my estimation, rests on the potentiality that the experience could be shared beyond the mind of the subject individual. This experience has to be embraced by the observer as his irrefutable truth. Like the apostle Peter, the observer himself must become an "eyewitness of His majesty" (2Peter 1:16) What I mean is that it can't be the subject's experience alone. If this is only an isolated incident then we can readily write the man off as delusional. The truth is that this experience is not confined to a single individual but is shared by a great number of people. Now lest it be assumed that this is a case of mass insanity let us keep in mind that most of those who have been committed to an insane asylum do not suffer the same exact delusion. In other words, there are not a thousand people running around claiming to be Napoleon Bonaparte. Each one is delusional in their own particular way. The experience of the believer on the other hand is shared by millions of people around the world. This is why I can relate to someone who is in a completely different continent, from a completely different culture. We may come from different walks of life and yet we both share one thing in common, that is, both have been touched by the same power of God. This born again experience is something that has been and continues to be a transforming force in the lives of those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord. Even to this very minute there is somebody somewhere in the world to whom this truth is becoming irrefutable. Further more, there are some reading this article at the present moment who have opposed my whole premise of God's existence up to this point who will one day themselves embrace this truth as irrefutable. Before you say never allow me to share a little story. I knew a man once who became so irate with us that he swore he would never step foot inside our church. A year later guess who not only came to church but was actively involved in the ministry as well? Yeah you guessed it. So what happened, did he lose his mind? On the contrary, he found it. And more than that, he found the irrefutable truth of God's existence. This is why some one like the apostle Paul could go from trying to eradicate the church to becoming one of its greatest proponents, writing two thirds of the New Testament and in the end paying the ultimate price to make that truth known to the entire world. When ever I share the message of God's love and redemption I am more than confident that the hearer too could have the same experience that I've had. My truth can become their truth because it is beyond subjective, it's irrefutable.
Hanging out with my son as he graduated to U.S. Airman at Lackland Airforce Base San Antonio, Texas
In conclusion I would like to challenge you, the observer, to look more closely into the truth claims of God's existence and see whether these things are so. There was a Samaritan woman, an outcast with a troubled past who one day had an encounter with Jesus Christ. She was so impacted by that encounter that she spread the news through out the city, telling everyone about the Man who had touched her life. Like many of our readers here on the Vine there were plenty of skeptics back then who questioned the veracity of her story. However, after meeting the Man for themselves they embraced the reality of God's existence as irrefutable. (John 4:42) Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” This story is a microcosm of a much bigger picture. That is that all who have ever come into contact with The Lord Jesus Christ have been fundamentally transformed. The consequence of this transformation is the bearing of fruit which is the stamp of authenticity in the life of the believer. In my own life this fruit has bore itself out in the lives of those who have been impacted through my testimony. As for the fruit of my own loins, I have two beautiful children, one of which is pursuing a career in law enforcement. How's that for ending the cycle of gang violence. It's the correlation of all these events in my life that have become the undisputed facts which have led me to the conclusion of God's existence as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the irrefutable truth.
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