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Atheists deny the existence of God, but none of them can prove that there is no God. If, for the time being, we were to admit that the atheists’ unsupported contention is true, it would only add further proof of their ignorance rather than of their wisdom and truth; because if, as they say, there is no God, then it is useless to waste time in attempting to prove the non-existence of that which does not really exist. Thus to waste time that might be more profitably spent at other things is nothing but foolishness. If God exists—as all spiritually enlightened men well know that He does—then it is still greater foolishness to try to prove concerning this Creator and Father of all that He does not exist. “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). By asserting this he does not prove the non-existence of God at all, but proves his own spiritual blindness, and his inability to know Him. As he puts forward his convincing reasons he will be like a feeble insect, trying by the force of its arguments to prove the non-existence of the sun—reasons which would be without force for all save one born blind.
But one may argue that, if in our belief in any personality or thing we spread harmful superstitions, then it is our duty to try to eliminate such beliefs. But has a belief in God ever been a cause of harm to any one? Never! On the other hand, unnumbered blessings flowing out of the fear and love of God have enriched believers. There can be no greater folly than to write or speak against the Spring of All Life, for, by doing so, not only do we dishonour Him, and sin against Him, but we deprive others of the knowledge of the true nature of God, and involve them as well as ourselves in destruction.
Agnostics neither believe in the existence of God, nor do they disbelieve. They say we neither know, nor can we know. But this is a mistake, for every desire that we have is given for a special purpose, and we should have had created in us no desire to believe in God, unless He truly exists Who can meet that desire.
Although born from a mother, a child has a distinct existence of his own. In his own little way he loves his mother dearly, but he does not know his mother as well as she knows and loves him. As he develops he gets to know her better, and is able to enter more fully into the enjoyment of her society. In the same way, our knowledge would have to be infinite for us to know the Infinite God as we should, but this does not mean that we can never know Him at all, for at all phases of our progress we can know Him, and can enjoy His life-giving presence. For the present what need is there to know more than this? While, in all the future, as we continue to grow in spiritual stature, so we shall continue to learn more and more of Him. There is no reason for us to be impatient, if, in our present state, we do not understand Him fully, because there is infinite time before us in which to know the Infinite God. If we walk according to the light that we have, it is enough for the present for us to know Him in relation to the needs of that phase of our progress to which we have now reached.
If it were necessary for us at our present stage to know God perfectly, then He would have provided to meet that need; for God always makes provision of that which is good and useful to meet His creatures’ actual need. He wants, too, that we may perseveringly try to know more of Him, because it is more profitable for us to try to learn by ourselves, through the urge of our own interest, than that we should have knowledge of Him given to us cut and dried. Marcel says: “What the learner discovers by mental exertion is better known than what is told to him.” We can reach only a partial knowledge of anything, and never know it as it really is until we have thought it through in our own consciousness. “He who would know before he believeth cometh never to the true knowledge. . . . I speak of a certain truth which it is possible to know by experience, but which ye must believe in before ye know it by experience else ye will never come to know it truly” (Theologia Germanica).
Some philosophers say that God is unknowable. This again is meaningless, because the very knowledge that He is unknowable is itself based on an inference from the limited knowledge of Him that they possess. Because if God is beyond our knowledge, then how has the knowledge that He is unknowable come to us? “The existence of knowledge is, in fact, affirmed in the very act of its denial.”
Apart altogether from our knowledge of the Being of God, what we know of the insignificant created things around us is very partial. We know, perhaps, a few of their outward characteristics, but nothing of their real inner lives, and, indeed, we know next to nothing of our own selves. If a man could obtain full knowledge of his own being, then there would be little difficulty in knowing God, in Whose likeness he has been created. The mutual relation between God and man is such, that, in order to know one it is necessary to know the other. “We can only know what is akin to ourselves”, and had man not been made like God he could never aspire to know Him. Some one has said: “It is proved that God can be known only by God.” And God became man that He might take away man’s fallen nature, and restore him to his real nature (Psalm 82:6). As Saint Athanase has said: “He became man that we might be made God.”
God lifted men out of their fallen state, and made them His messengers and flames of fire (Hebrews 1:7). God is Spirit and Fire (Matthew 3:11). To become like flames of fire means to become like God, because “the smallest flame has all the quality of fire.” But this does not mean that God and Man are one Spirit, as is held by those Pantheists and Philosophers who say “that the various souls or selves are mere fragmentary manifestations of the Absolute.” The commingling of God with His creation does not satisfy the craving of the soul, but we find real and eternal happiness in His communion and fellowship.
God never discourages any seeker after truth by saying that he or his beliefs are wrong, but He so orders it that by degrees the man himself learns to recognise his errors and distinguish the truth. The story is told of a poor grass-cutter who found a beautiful stone in the jungle. He had often heard about diamonds, and thought this was one. He took it to the jeweller’s shop and showed it with delight to the jeweller. Being a kind and sympathetic man, the jeweller saw that if he were to tell the grass-cutter that his stone was not a diamond, either he would not believe it, or it would be such a shock to him that his whole hope would be brought down to the dust. The jeweller, therefore, laid his plans so that the poor man might find out his mistake for himself. He gave him some work in his shop, and kept him there till he began to be able to distinguish the varieties of diamonds and their prices. Then the jeweller told him to bring along his stone. Up till this time the grass-cutter had kept it carefully hidden away in a box. He now opened it out, and saw with amazement that it was worthless. He turned pale, and came and fell at the feet of his kind master, and said, “I am very thankful for your goodness and sympathy. You did not destroy my hope, but made such a plan that I now know my mistake without any one’s help. Now I want to stay always with such a master, and spend the rest of my life in your service.” This is how God brings back to the way of truth those who have wandered away into error, so that when they learn the truth for themselves they will follow Him, and give Him the service of their whole lives.
People are often so foolish and ignorant that they imagine they are conferring a great favour on God, and on His ministers, when they attend the worship of His house. But those who go to worship with such an idea can have no appreciation of the real nature of God. They are like those foolish professional beggars who are ignorant of the motive of him who gives them bread to relieve their hunger. Instead of being thankful to him they think they have done him a great favour by giving him an opportunity to add to the merit of his good deeds by giving alms to the poor. They are such fools that they do not know that they have done themselves, and their appetites, a great favour, and from the bottom of their hearts should be thankful to him who has relieved their hunger.
The Creator has given to man intellect, feeling, and the will. To get strength to serve God a man needs to chew his spiritual food with the teeth of intellect, but instead of using his intellectual powers wisely he often wastes them on vain speculations. A dog that finds a dry bone often gnaws it till it lacerates his mouth. Then as he gets the taste of the blood for a time he keeps on gnawing with relish, without knowing that it is his own blood; so, too, man wastes his God-given intellectual gifts on useless speculations. Spiritual feelings have also been given that he may feel and enjoy God’s presence, but, through the deadening influence of disobedience and sin, he loses his perception of God and his capacity to enjoy Him. Such people do not see beyond their selfish selves, and have no feeling at all for the presence of God. Hence in the end they become confirmed in their disbelief in God. In the same way, if man’s will follows a course contrary to the will of God it becomes enslaved to sin, and, not being free, leads on to spiritual suicide.
The water of a river that rises in one land flows through many different territories before it returns to the sea from which it was originally drawn. It passes within the borders of many chiefs and rajahs and princes. Yet no one can stop it within his territories, for it is not his possession. It is the common property of all, and wherever it goes it quenches the thirst of all. So, too, the stream of the water of life comes forth from the infinite ocean of God, and, flowing through the divine channels of prophets and apostles irrigates the whole world, quenching the thirst of all and enriching and making fruitful the lives of all peoples and nations. “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).