Question 1 – No one has ever seen God. How then, can He exist?

Right at the beginning of our search for answers we are focusing on an objection that is very often used. However, in reality, such a 'proof' of the non-existence of God cannot stand. No one has ever seen God? Tell me, how did anyone find this information out? Have those who take this position ever done research among at least a billion people in order to legitimately claim something like this? I think you know the answer. No, they have not. On the contrary, if such research were to be done, they would find millions of people who would reject this claim.

Now, do not be frightened! I do not want to give such a superficial answer. Take it as a little humour in the introduction, but at the same time, take it as a point to consider. And that's that. Let's try to consider carefully what the implications of thoughtless, rash and absolutist statements are. It's easy to follow the crowd and repeat, 'No one has ever seen God.' However this statement in and of itself is simply not true – and that is simply because we can not know. Unless we presuppose that this information comes from another source (for example God himself) than from our unverified and premature conclusion.

"No one has ever seen God" (John 1:18)

So, after all, yes. Those who contend that no one has seen God are, unwittingly right! Jesus Christ himself confirms this statement. The Bible stresses that no one has ever seen God in all of his glory, yet from the first to the last page it speaks about God and about how people met with Him in various ways. How, then, can we resolve this seeming contradiction?

When we understand that we perceive thousands of unseen realities around us daily and we consider them to be absolutely self-evident, then this objection (no one has ever seen God) evaporates like steam from a saucepan.

I will try to give several examples to better understand:

• Have you ever seen gravity?
• Have you ever seen love?
• What about a thought? What does it look like?
• Or something more practical – have you ever seen radio waves?
• Or, for instance, Napoleon or Cleopatra, yet no one has ever doubted their existence.

According to this objection, many things that are obvious but which no one has seen would, paradoxically, not exist. We can see their manifestations, follow their signs and in some cases, measure them, or in other instances collect evidence from historic records. We cannot see them, nevertheless it is impossible to say that they do not 'exist'.

Many could challenge me as follows:

Even though this is right, all these things can be verified by modern instruments. Nothing like this can be used to evidence God.

Such an objection is partially justified, however, it is not altogether exact. In the same way that it is not possible to find the watchmaker in a watch, Shakespeare in Hamlet, a mother in her son or the bygone slaves/builders in the pyramids, it is not possible to find God in a test tube. It's impossible to constrain God by time and space.

The reason is that He is the Creator and we are His creation. When you create a work (a song, a painting, a game or a machine), you leave a mark, an imprint, a part of yourself in that work. If someone, in the end, looks at that work, he finds its author/creator. He can see everything that the creator put into it. He can evaluate his wit, ingenuity, talent, intelligence, taste, flair, imperfections/perfections or what is being conveyed. It is the same way with God. We do not see Him but we can see His perfection everywhere around us. It is reflected in nature, the universe, in physical, chemical and other laws, in ecosystems and so on. All of this is confirmed in the Bible where it is written:

"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:19-20)

God Himself says that mankind does not need any special knowledge/education to realise that the earth has its own architect. It is enough to think about His work in nature, it's harmony, how everything works… It only requires an open heart without prejudice.

However, God has not finished there. He has left conclusive signs that stand up to the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ and the uniqueness of the Bible. Last but not least, we can experience Him personally in various ways. We can follow His dealings in our lives. He can speak to us in many ways, guide us, allow us to experience His love and power not only through miracles, but also through severe discipline if necessary.

The question therefore, should be a little different – Do you want God to exist at all? That is to say, that He has promised that if a person looks for Him with a sincere heart, He will be found by him. On the basis of personal experience I can confirm that this is true.

Every work of art has its creator. We see it today and daily and don't doubt it at all. The pyramids had their builders, computers their engineers, watches their watchmakers and houses their architects. It is a strange paradox that people insist that things that are a million more times intricate (for example the human cell, DNA, physical laws and other complex mechanisms) have no creator. Does that not seem comical to you?

I will finish this answer by quoting the well-known biologist Edwin Carlston:

"The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing shop."

Summation

This question is an often used as an objection to the existence of God, but as a serious argument however, it cannot stand. Although God does not exist in a physical form in the literal sense, it is impossible to infer that He does not exist.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8