I.
Recognize God existence
In
Isaiah 45:18 we read "For thus saith the LORD that
created the heavens, He is God; that formed the earth
and made it, He established it, He created it not a
waste, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD,
and there is none else". This verse tells that
there are specific designs built into the earth that
help support life. Apologists point to these designs
as a proof of God's existence.
William
Paley in the late 18th century, asks you to imagine
a man was walking on the beach and discovering a pocket
watch lying in the sand. By studying it you notice how
it moves and winds. Then you remove the cover and notice
the delicate balance of the spring and how the gears
are fashioned in just the right ratio to give perfect
movement.
After
seeing all these things, you would come to the conclusion
that this item you found had a designer; someone had
crafted all those pieces to give a specific function.
You wouldn't believe that the forces of nature carved
the sand into glass, eroded metals into cogs and assembled
the entire thing by a strong wind.
After
establishing this, Paley states that the human eye is
much more complex and sophisticated than any pocket
watch. It is therefore reasonable to believe that the
human eye is made by a designer.
Each
cell in the human body contains more information than
in all thirty volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
It's certainly reasonable to make the inference that
this isn't the random product of unguided nature, but
it's the unmistakable sign of an Intelligent maker.
" . Do you still ask. Does God exist?
Looking
at Mount Rushmore, in which the likenesses of Washington,
Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are carved.
Would you ever believe that it came about by unguided
nature? Given infinite time, wind, and rain, it is still
hard to believe something like that, tied to history,
was randomly formed in the side of a mountain. Common
sense tells us that people planned and skillfully carved
those figures, and everything needs someone behind it.
Anthropological
research has indicated that among the farthest and most
remote primitive people today, there is a universal
belief in God. "Lift up your eyes to the stars
and see Who has created them." (Isaiah 40:26).
Belief
in God is our most precious possession and must be guarded
accordingly. The Bible recognizes the atheist and calls
him a fool, as it is written, "The fool says in
his heart, there is no God" (Psalms 14:1).
The
atheist simply wants no restriction, hence doesn't like
anyone with greater power, thusly he would just deny
any divine purpose and power. So the nonbeliever would
declare that I'm here by accident (meaning to say I'm
not much different than a ill fly).
Have
you ever seen a building under construction? The builders
use cranes to pick up an entire truckload of bricks,
and then one or two men put their hands under the derrick
and push the truckload into the right place.
An idiot sees two guys pushing a truckload of bricks
and he thinks they're as strong as Hercules. A wise
person understands it's the crane that's moving.
A minor modest explanation of what God is
-
God is the Creator of everything
God is Holy and Perfect. Everything in the universe
was created by God, and only by God. Judaism completely
rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by
Satan or some other deity. All comes from God. As Isaiah
said, "I am the LORD, and there is none else. I
form the light and create darkness, I make peace and
create evil. I am the LORD, that does all these things"
(Isaiah 45,6-7).
- God is Incorporeal
Although
many places in scripture and Talmud speak of various
parts of God's body (the Hand of God, God's wings, etc.)
or speak of God in anthropomorphic terms (God walking
in the garden of Eden, God laying phylactery, etc.),
Judaism firmly maintains that God has no body. Any reference
to God's body is simply a figure of speech, a means
of making God's actions more comprehensible to beings
living in a material world. Much of Maimonides Guide
for the Perplexed is devoted to explaining each of these
anthropomorphic references and proving that they should
be understood figuratively.
In
Judaism it's forbidden to represent to God in a physical
form. That is considered idolatry. The sin of the Golden
Calf incident was not that the people chose another
deity, but that they tried to represent God in a physical
form.
- God is Neither Male nor Female
This
followed directly from the idea that God has no physical
form. God has, of course, no body; therefore, the very
idea that God is male or female is patently absurd.
We refer to God using masculine terms simply for convenience's
sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; God is no
more male than a table is.
Although we usually speak of God in masculine terms,
there are times when we refer to God using feminine
terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of God's presence
that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine
terms, and the word Shechinah is a feminine word.
- God is Omnipresent
God
is in all places at all times. He fills the universe
and exceeds its scope. He is always near for us to call
upon in need, and He sees all that we do. Closely tied
in with this idea is the idea that God is universal.
He is not just the God of the Jews; He is the God of
all nations.
God
can do anything. It is said that the only thing that
is beyond His power is the fear of Him; that is, we
have free will, and He cannot compel us to do His will.
God
knows all things, past, present, and future. He knows
our thoughts as well.
- God is Eternal
God
transcends time. He has no beginning and no end. He
will always be there to fulfill his promises. When Moses
asked for God's name, He replied, "Ehyeh asher
ehyeh". That phrase is generally translated as,
"I am that I am", but the word "ehyeh"
can be present or future tense, meaning "I am what
I will be" or "I will be what I will be".
The ambiguity of the phrase is often interpreted as
a reference to God's eternal nature.
Time
is in this universe - whatever created this universe
has to exist outside of time (Einstein).
- God's Involvement
God
is aware of everything that takes place, including every
thought that is entertained by every human being. Nothing
can exist without God bringing it continually into existence.
The fact that anything exists, whether it's a rock in
the street or ant #8162 in this particular ant hill,
is a revelation of God's constant will and awareness.
Nothing happens without God's will.
- God is Both Just and Merciful
We
have often heard Christians speak of Judaism as the
religion of the strict Law, which no human being is
good enough to fulfill (hence the need for the so-called
sacrifice of Jesus). This is a wrong mischaracterization
of Jewish belief. Judaism has always maintained that
God's justice is clearly tempered by mercy, the two
qualities perfectly balanced. Of the two Names of God
most commonly used in scripture, one refers to his quality
of justice and the other to his quality of mercy. The
two names were used together in the story of Creation,
showing that the world was created with both justice
and mercy.
II.
Relationship with God
The
first of the Ten Commandments declares: "I am the
Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt" (Exodus
20:2). This is the good-deed to "Know there is
a God."
"Know
that God is the Lord, He made us and we are His"
(Psalms 100:3).
as
the prophet taught, "Do you not know? Have you
not heard? Was it not told to you from the beginning?
Do you not understand how the earth was founded? (Isaiah
40:21). Similarly, we are taught, "Know the God
of your father" (I Chronicles 29:9).
The
circus performer is willing to walk the tightrope because
he is confident there's a net below to catch him. Similarly,
a child will jump down off a ledge into his father's
arms, completely confident that his father will catch
him. The whole point of life is to strengthen your awareness
of God
This
good-deed of awareness of God has Six Constant.
1.
To know there is a God Ex. 20:2
2. Not to entertain thoughts of other gods besides Him
Ex. 20:3
3. To know that He is one Deut. 6:4
4. To love Him Deut. 6:5
5. To fear Him Deut. 10:20
6. To sanctify His Name Lev. 22:32
Every
moment of awareness is another occasion to actualize
these goals. None of the other good-deed has that same
constant opportunity, and that's why the Six Constant
good-deed are our priority. All the other good-deed
only build and bolster these goals.
III.
Steps to trust in God
Rabbi
Bechaya, in his 12th century book of self-improvement,
"Duties of the Heart", describes key to build
trust in God:
First
thing is to realize that the Almighty loves you with
unbounded love. The closest thing we can compare this
to is the love a parent has for a child. The Almighty
is our Father in Heaven. His love for us exceeds all
of the love in this world. Awareness of God is to live
with this realization.
Deep down we know that God loves us. Anyone in trouble
prays to God. This is true even of people who have ignored
Him all their lives. As the saying goes, "there's
no atheist in a foxhole." Even if you've done everything
wrong, when you need your Father, He's there.
The
U.S. Defense Department spends millions of dollars each
year to send broadcast signals to distant stars, on
the chance there's life out there. It may take 2,000
years for the signals to get there, but they're still
listening 'round the clock.
If they ever get an answer -- even just a "hello"
-- the whole world would be flabbergasted.
Have you ever had a prayer answered? Four out of five
people will say "yes." The Creator of this
universe has privately communicated with you. It's mind-boggling.
Most people whose prayer was answered didn't even know
in which direction to send the signal! They simply said,
"God, please help..." Five billion human beings,
a whole galaxy of planets and stars -- and God answered
this individual!
The mitzvah of belief in God means living with the reality
that you're NOT ALONE. God's awareness and attention
to every detail is constant. He picks up signals when
you ask.
God
doesn't need anything from you. He doesn't need you
to eat kosher food, or to observe the sabbath.
God only wants to give. Everything in the world is for
our benefit.
So if God doesn't grant your desire, you have to ask
yourself why. Why hasn't God given you 100 million dollars?
Maybe it's not good for you. Maybe you'd become arrogant,
greedy, excessive. Maybe you'd hire others to accomplish
your goals, and you'd miss out on making the effort
to try.
God knows what's good for us, simply because God made
us. Trust in God means understanding that when He doesn't
give you something, it's a message. He's trying to wake
you up, to get you to reevaluate your goals.
Good
parents do this with their children, too. A child wants
five cookies; you give him one. Or you take him to the
doctor to get a shot: The child is crying, "Why
are you doing this to me?" But you know it's for
his own good.
Anytime something bad happens, you have to ask yourself,
"Why?" Understand that God knows what He's
doing. He's trying to raise us up. He knows what's good
for us and He wants us to have the best of everything.
It's
all for the good
If you really understand that the Almighty loves you
and has all the power, then when something doesn't go
your way, you'll want to know why. Because everything
that God does is for our good. He never gets angry.
He never punishes you. He never takes revenge. Everything
is for our benefit. Sometimes we don't find out until
a little later...
The
Talmud tells the story of Rabbi Akiva, who was a student
of Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu -- whose very name means "also
this is for the good." Rabbi Akiva was once travelling
to a distant town. He had a rooster to wake him up,
a donkey to ride on, and some candles for light. As
night began to fall, he arrived at a village and all
the hotels were full for the night. He had no place
to sleep. So he went to the forest to camp out. As he
was studying Torah, a wind blew out his candle, leaving
him in the dark. Shortly after that, a lion came and
devoured his donkey. And then a cat came and ate his
rooster.
There
was Rabbi Akiva, alone in the forest and he'd just lost
everything! But he said, "Also this must be for
the good."
Rabbi
Akiva got up in the morning and continued his journey
on foot. He passed through the village and learned,
to his horror, that a band of marauders had come in
the night, burned down the village, murdered the people
and took all their possessions.
"I
now see how God protected me. Had I gotten a hotel room,
they would have taken me too. Or my horse would have
neighed, or my rooster would have crowed, or the bandits
would have found me by my candlelight. Everything God
does is for the good."
God created this world and gave us a Torah. Why did
He do it? It's all a beautiful gift. Be grateful. And
if you make the effort to attempt even the impossible,
God will surely help.
