FAITH AND THE EXISTENCE OF GOD                               
 Father Jess Anthony Testa

A Roman Catholic Priest at the Sacred Heart Church in Lombard, Illinois, was born and raised in Chicago, attended
Northwestern University and later John  Marshall Law School. He entered the seminary for Late vocations in 1984 and received his M.Div.from Sacred Heart School ofTheology, in Hales Corners, Wisconsin  in 1988. Later that year he was ordained to the priesthood.  He is currently with the diocese of Illinois.
 

There are those who say there is no God, if there is prove it.  Math is a science and 2 + 2 = 4.  It always has and always will because math is an exact science.  As for the existence of God, there is NO proof there is a God.  That is why we speak of FAITH.

What is FAITH and why do I believe there is a God?  Webster’s Dictionary defines faith as an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence.

Unbelievers say that a belief in God is a blind faith.  That is not true.   It is NOT a blind faith but a faith with reason.  First comes the faith then comes the reason to support that faith.

For example, we all have faith.   You go into a store and pick out a can of tomato soup.  You can not see it, smell it, taste it, touch it or hear it (you can shake the can but other than a liquid you don’t what is in there).  Yet, you have faith that tomato soup is in that can- why?  It is faith with reason.  The maker of the soup has a label that says what it is.  You believe it is that thing and nothing else. You go to the counter and pay for it, all done in faith.  Your faith tells you that the maker of that soup would not lie to you when he labels it as such.  If the cans had no label and you just picked one and said this is tomato soup, that is blind faith because you have NO REASON to believe that.

I believe in the existence of God.  That is faith but it is a faith with reason and not blind faith.  What is the reasoning behind this?  The UNCAUSED CAUSE.  Everything that exists or has existed has been caused to exist by something else.  Who made you?  Your mother and father made you.  Who made them, etc.?  Go back to that thing which owes its existence to nothing else and GIVE IT A NAME.  I call it God.  Even the famed atheist Madeline Murray O’Hare said that something started everything.  She called that thing “IT”.  She refused to say God but she did admit that “IT” started everything

For those who promote the idea of the BIG BANG theory (an atom or molecule exploded in air and we had creation) this Big Bang theory is not in opposition to religious teaching as long as one acknowledges that God was responsible for the Big Bang.  We don’t know how creation came about.  Did God snap His Finger, clap His Hands, etc.?  Creation could have possibly come about as a result of the Big Bang CAUSED by God. For example, where did that atom or molecule come from? Who made it? The Big Bang took place in space. Fine, where did the SPACE come from? Who created space?

Everything that exists or has existed was CAUSED to exist by something else-what CAUSED that atom or that space?

Jesus said to Thomas (one of the original twelve) "You believe because you have seen. Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe."

To those who believe, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not believe, no explanation is sufficient.

Faith is a gift from God to ALL. It is a free gift and we either accept or reject that gift. That gift is even given to an atheist. For an atheist to say there is no God means-I have thought about this but cannot accept the idea of God. To think about whether or not God exists means that person has been touched with that grace but refuses to accept it.

Finally, the believer and unbeliever will both die some day. If the unbeliever is right neither one of them will know it. If the believer is right they will both have all eternity to know that the believer was right.

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