How do you explain to someone that God exists? (If you don't believe He exists, I'd be honored if you'd follow along and let me know what you think.) This explanation is part of your testimony of what you believe and why you believe it. As Peter described, this is your answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).
The answer is meant to be personal. It's more than just quoting the Bible, which for non-believers might as well be a comic book. We're all different. We have different backgrounds, histories, cultures, and widely different life experiences. So your answer---what you say and how you say it---will be different from that of anyone else. With that in mind, I'll share part of my answer.
I practiced law for more than 30 years, so I understand testimony and proof. I use the Bible, but in a way that's personal to me, while also presenting proof for others. For me, two passages stand out. The first is Romans 1:20: ...since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities---His eternal power and divine nature---have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made...
...since the creation... Mankind is never satisfied with, "That's the way it is." Experience indicates that if something exists, something else caused it. So we explore the possibilities, searching for that very first cause when it all began. Likewise, the existence of the world is evidence that something ultimately caused it. Integrity requires consideration not only of the creation of the world, but also a creator.
...of the world...World here is the Greek kosmos which refers to the universe as an orderly, harmonious system. Scientists now believe there was a "big bang" when the universe exploded into existence. Chaos was the expected result---planets, stars, and galaxies moving from order to disorder. But the evidence indicates an orderly, harmonious system, as if the explosion were controlled.
...God's invisible qualities...have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made... We understand what we cannot see from evidence which we can. For example, the Mayan pyramid El Castillo, which we can see, is evidence of the existence, creative ability, and intelligent design of people we have never seen. Simply put, creation points back to that which created it.
This leads to the second passage of my answer, Genesis 1:27: God created mankind in His own image... Image refers to an expression that resembles the original. This passage means that men and women resemble God. But where's that connection? Then one day my son described a piece of music as having "a spark of the divine." My eyes suddenly opened.
God created...Music is amazing. It can calm with soft serenity. It can excite with great anticipation. Music can stir the emotions, one moment projecting hopeless chaos and the next, infinite beauty. Music knows no boundaries, honors no language. And though it has many expressions, music is evidence of the existence, creative ability, and intelligent design of a creator...its composer.
...in His own image...Genesis and Romans speak of a special invisible quality-the desire to create for the joy of the creator and the sake of the creation. Humans have this---quality. We compose, write, paint, and carve. We design, invent, and produce. We imagine, dream, and plan. We create. No other form of life has such desire, yet it is imbedded in our nature. What caused it? Or who?
There is a possibility---Someone created the first human with qualities which resembled his own.
We are the evidence of the existence, creative ability, and intelligent design of a Creator. My goal is no longer to determine the Creator's existence, but to continually discover who this Creator is.
