As far as The Bible is concerned, it never seeks to prove God's existence but merely gives a record of His dealings with mankind and especially with His chosen people the Jews. Romans 1:20 also testifies that God can be clearly seen in the creation, and so, to use the Bible's words, 'they are without excuse.' Thus the Book of God, the Bible, points to another book of witness, the Book of Creation as a witness. : In relation to Christianity The Bible actually contains a number of accounts which demonstrate the real existence of God in space and time. These were so understood by those who witnessed and participated.
1 Kings 18:21-39 (King James Version) 21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people ed him not a word.
22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that eth by fire, let him be God. And all the people ed and said, It is well spoken.
25And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that ed. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to , nor any that regarded.
30And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. Comment: The specific context relates to the Northern Kingdom of Israel following the false god Baal, who is demonstrated here to either be powerless or uninterested in the affairs of his followers or non-existent.
By contrast, the empirical test which Elijah proposed and which was accepted by the people, demonstrated that the Lord God of Israel was the true God.
This test was specifically designed by Elijah to demonstrate to the Israelites who they should be serving. Bible Prophecy Another vast area in the Bible is that of prophecy. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (King James Version) 21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
This 'empirical test' relates to who is a true and who is a false prophet. It provides direct empirical proof of God, since men cannot know the future by themselves, especially hundreds of years in advance. God, who is all-knowing, does know what the future holds. The true prophet of God is given specific insight by God into the future. The empirical test relates to whether or not the predicted event actually comes to pass. This fulfillment not only demonstrates that the prophet spoke in the name of God. It also demonstrates quite directly that God exists and that He knows the future. Obviously the person involved cannot know the future, nor, since they are long dead, have a personal hand in helping the prophecy come to pass.
Scripture holds numerous examples of prophecies fulfilled hundreds of years after they were uttered. The many prophecies relating to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, are the single biggest block of these. Others relate to historical events. On Historical Events and Empirical Data It is obvious that historical events cannot be repeated as can scientific experiments. This is so because they relate to a particular place and a particular time or moment in history. (nor would we wish very many horrible events to be repeated anyway) They thus are verified in a different manner empirically, by the normal rules of empirical evidence which apply to historical data.
Scientific experimentation is able to be repeated because the matter or phenomenon which is being tested still exists in space and time. Matter also contains molecules and atoms whereas God is a Spirit. And, furthermore, in relation to scientific experimentation, the matter to be tested can to a degree be controlled by the experimenter, or is altered in such a way as to be controlled so the experiment can take place - for example, drugging a dangerous animal to insert an electronic tracking device.
God Himself has stated in the Bible that He is able to be found by those who are willing to find Him. Since He is a sovereign being He has chosen to not make Himself available to be dissected by those who mock and ridicule His existence and devise criteria to reason Him out of existence. Those who follow the relevant criteria know empirically that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
So the real question is, how would one who is finite test a being who claims to be infinite. God has invited Himself to be put to the test empirically by those who have an open mind. The particular experience which God will grant often will be very particular to the individual concerned. One example is how Jesus dealt with the unbelief of Thomas, who refused the eyewitness testimony of the other disciples. John 20:24-28 (King James Version) 24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28And Thomas ed and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
Many religious texts offer arguments, experiences, and testimonies that believers interpret as evidence of God's existence. However, empirical proof, which relies on observable and measurable evidence, is not typically found in religious scriptures. Faith in the divine is often based on personal conviction, interpretation of sacred texts, and spiritual experiences rather than empirical verification.
There are tens of proofs for God's existence. These have been recorded for centuries and are easy to look up. However, this subject ultimately becomes one of personal belief, since our possession of free-will mandates that it be possible to put forth arguments (fallacious or not) against every one of the proofs.
Here are a few.
1) Teleological Argument: The universe has definite design, order, and arrangement which cannot be sufficiently explained outside a theistic worldview. (This is how Abraham, without benefit of teachers, came to reject the chaotic world-view of idolatry and the possibility of Atheism). For example, theoretical physicist and popular science writer Paul Davies (whose early writings were not especially sympathetic to theism) states concerning the fundamental structure of the universe, "the impression of design is overwhelming" (Davies, 1988, p. 203).From the complexities of the human eye to the order and arrangement of cosmology, the voice of God is heard. God's existence is the best explanation for such design. God is the designer.Is there evidence against Evolution
God's wisdom seen in His creations
2) Anthropic Principle: The laws of the universe seem to have been set in such a way that stars, planets and life can exist. Many constants of nature appear to be finely tuned for this, and the odds against this happening by chance are astronomical. Professor Russel Stannard (a particle physicist) states: "The universe has been bent over backwards in order that intelligent life should exist...must have known we were coming."
3) Sensus divinitatus: The innate sense of the divine exists within all people. People and cultures of all time have, by instinct, sensed a need to worship something greater than themselves. No ancient societyever existed that did not believe in a supernatural power.
4) Tradition: There are events in human history which cannot be explained without God. Many people have their subjective stories that bend them in the direction of theism, but there are also historical eventssuch as the Giving of the Torah to over two million people at Mount Sinai, which are underpinnings for the belief in God.
5) Pascal's Wager: Belief in God is the most rational choice due to the consequences of being wrong. If one were to believe in God and be wrong, there would be no consequences. However, if one were to deny God and be wrong, the consequences are eternally tragic. Therefore, the most rational choice is not agnosticism or atheism, but belief in God.
6) Logic. Why is there reality rather than nothing? Aside from God's creating it, there are only five options:
a) The universe is eternal and everything has always existed.
- Even atheists have abandoned this possibility, especially because it would violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
b) Nothing exists and all is an illusion. There is no reality; there is only nothing.
- This possibility, it should be obvious, is completely self-defeating. In order to even make such a proposition, the subject has to exist in some sense. If all is an illusion, where did the illusion come from? Even the solipsist, who does not believe in the existence of other minds, has to explain the genesis of his own mind.
c) The universe created itself. This is the idea that the universe and all that is in it did not have its origin in something outside itself, but from within.
- Like with the previous two, this makes a logical absurdity. It would be like creating a square triangle. It's impossible. A triangle by definition cannot be square. So creation cannot create itself as it would have to pre-date itself in order to create.
d) Chance created the universe. The odds of winning the lottery are not very good; but given eons of time, everyone will win. While the odds of the universe spontaneously appearing are not minuscule, could it happen, given enough time?
- This option is a dishonest sleight of hand that, like "survival of the fittest," amounts to nothing, because it implies that "chance" itself has quantitative causal power.
The word "chance" refers to possibilities. It does not have the power to cause those possibilities. It is nonsense to speak of chance being an agent of creation, since chance is not a force. "What are the real chances of the universe being created by chance? Impossible. Chance is incapable of creating a single molecule, let alone an entire universe. Why not? Chance is no thing. It is not an entity. It has no being, no power, no force. It can effect nothing because it has no causal power within it. It is a word which describes mathematical possibilities which, by the curious flip of the fallacy of ambiguity, slips into the discussion as if it were a real entity with real power, the power of creativity." (R.C. Sproul, Not a Chance. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999.)
e) The universe is created by nothing. Simply put, nothing created the universe.
- The problem here is that it is either a repetition of option "a" (the universe is eternal) or fails due to the irrationality of "d." In our current universe, the law of cause and effect cannot be denied by sane people. While we often don't know what the cause of some effect is, this does not mean that there was no cause. When we go to the doctor looking for an explanation for the cause of our neck pain, we don't accept the answer "There is no cause. It came from nothing."
As far as the Bible is concerned, it never seeks to prove God'sexistence but merely gives a record of His dealings with mankindand especially with His chosen people the Jews. Romans 1:20 alsotestifies that God can be clearly seen in the creation, and so, touse the Bible's words, 'they are without excuse.' Thus the Book ofGod, the Bible, points to another book of witness, the Book ofCreation as a witness. : In relation to Christianity The Bibleactually contains a number of accounts which demonstrate the realexistence of God in space and time. These were so understood bythose who witnessed and participated.1 Kings 18:21-39 (King James Version) 21And Elijah came unto allthe people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if theLORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And thepeople ed him not a word.22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain aprophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fiftymen.23Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose onebullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood,and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and layit on wood, and put no fire under:24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the nameof the LORD: and the God that eth by fire, let him be God. And allthe people ed and said, It is well spoken.25And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullockfor yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call onthe name of your gods, but put no fire under.26And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressedit, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon,saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that ed.And they leaped upon the altar which was made.27And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said,Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he ispursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, andmust be awaked.28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner withknives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.29And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesieduntil the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that therewas neither voice, nor any to , nor any that regarded.30And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And allthe people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of theLORD that was broken down.31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of thetribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came,saying, Israel shall be thy name:32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD:and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain twomeasures of seed.33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, andlaid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, andpour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.34And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the secondtime. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the thirdtime.35And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trenchalso with water.36And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the eveningsacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God ofAbraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thouart God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have doneall these things at thy word.37Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou artthe LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.38Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice,and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the waterthat was in the trench.39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: andthey said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.Comment: The specific context relates to the Northern Kingdom ofIsrael following the false god Baal, who is demonstrated here toeither be powerless or uninterested in the affairs of his followersor non-existent.By contrast, the empirical test which Elijah proposed and which wasaccepted by the people, demonstrated that the Lord God of Israelwas the true God.This test was specifically designed by Elijah to demonstrate to theIsraelites who they should be serving. Bible Prophecy Another vastarea in the Bible is that of prophecy. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (KingJames Version) 21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we knowthe word which the LORD hath not spoken?22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thingfollow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hathnot spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thoushalt not be afraid of him.This 'empirical test' relates to who is a true and who is a falseprophet. It provides direct empirical proof of God, since mencannot know the future by themselves, especially hundreds of yearsin advance. God, who is all-knowing, does know what the futureholds. The true prophet of God is given specific insight by Godinto the future. The empirical test relates to whether or not thepredicted event actually comes to pass. This fulfillment not onlydemonstrates that the prophet spoke in the name of God. It alsodemonstrates quite directly that God exists and that He knows thefuture. Obviously the person involved cannot know the future, nor,since they are long dead, have a personal hand in helping theprophecy come to pass.Scripture holds numerous examples of prophecies fulfilled hundredsof years after they were uttered. The many prophecies relating tothe Messiah, Jesus Christ, are the single biggest block of these.Others relate to historical events. On Historical Events andEmpirical Data It is obvious that historical events cannot berepeated as can scientific experiments. This is so because theyrelate to a particular place and a particular time or moment inhistory. (nor would we wish very many horrible events to berepeated anyway) They thus are verified in a different mannerempirically, by the normal rules of empirical evidence which applyto historical data.Scientific experimentation is able to be repeated because thematter or phenomenon which is being tested still exists in spaceand time. Matter also contains molecules and atoms whereas God is aSpirit. And, furthermore, in relation to scientificexperimentation, the matter to be tested can to a degree becontrolled by the experimenter, or is altered in such a way as tobe controlled so the experiment can take place - for example,drugging a dangerous animal to insert an electronic trackingdevice.God Himself has stated in the Bible that He is able to be found bythose who are willing to find Him. Since He is a sovereign being Hehas chosen to not make Himself available to be dissected by thosewho mock and ridicule His existence and devise criteria to reasonHim out of existence. Those who follow the relevant criteria knowempirically that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those whoseek Him.So the real question is, how would one who is finite test a beingwho claims to be infinite. God has invited Himself to be put to thetest empirically by those who have an open mind. The particularexperience which God will grant often will be very particular tothe individual concerned. One example is how Jesus dealt with theunbelief of Thomas, who refused the eyewitness testimony of theother disciples. John 20:24-28 (King James Version) 24But Thomas,one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesuscame.25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen theLORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands theprint of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails,and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomaswith them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in themidst, and said, Peace be unto you.27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold myhands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: andbe not faithless, but believing.28And Thomas ed and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
For the existence of God to be empirically proved, any evidence must be capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment.
While many religions report, in their scriptures, direct human contact with a God or gods in the distant past, such provable contact invariably ceases closer to the time of writing. No religious book, in any religion, provides empirical proof of the existence of any deity.
Religion
religion is not fiction science or man written the books are to teach you about your religion
when we read religious books we get to know more about the religion. By reading religious books we absorb all the good things and we become a very good person.
when we read religious books we get to know more about the religion. By reading religious books we absorb all the good things and we become a very good person.
The two main religious books are the Quran and the Bible. The Quran is the holy book of the Muslim religion and the Bible is the book read by Christians.
Because those books tell them what their religion believes and means.
Good question! He shouldn't have to if she's religious herself.
Religious iconography is always specific to one religion. The only thing that wouldn't be specific would be books which cover all religions rather than just one.
If you mean the Jews religious book it would be the Bible, Old Testament; for the most part they use the first five books which is called the Torah. These books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Rig,Yajur,Sama and Adharvana are the four Holy books of Hinduism.
Sikorsky was a deeply religious Russian Orthodox Christian and authored two religious and philosophical books (The Message of the Lord's Prayer and The Invisible Encounter).[8]
Show belief in GodTo me you should be a good person and that everything in life that you do should be carried out in a good and caring way