“I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of” [Clarence Darrow, American Lawyer]
One approach is to look at the existence of God from an “objective reality” point of view. There are numerous examples in the Bible where people experience the intervention of a supernatural objective reality in their lives. They experience different forms of a normally invisible Being. When taken collectively these interventions point to a single and formless (invisible to humankind) “objective reality” which can be called “God”. To reiterate, the significant point is that this formless reality only takes on form (becomes apparent to the human mind) through some supernatural intervention. Only then does its formless self-existence become apparent to humankind.
A Little Background
Reality can be defined as “the state of things as they actually are, rather than as they are imagined to be”. The classical understanding is that there is both “objective reality” and “subjective reality”.
Subjective Reality
This describes something that exists in the mind of a person. Everyone’s experience of an event is subjective, because each person’s circumstances and background are unique, leading to different interpretations. It is the world of emotions and feelings and personal opinions. The scent of a flower is subjective reality since it depends upon the observer. All art and music are examples of subjective reality.
Objective Reality
This is not influenced by an individual’s personal viewpoint or feelings. It is unbiased and deals with the known facts. An objective fact is a statement that can be verified as true independently of personal opinions or beliefs. An awareness of an objective reality (as in “God”) comes through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.
Some reason that there is almost certainly an objective reality, existing independently of any observer. They argue that physics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology all converge on a picture where such a reality is there, yet no human perceives it as it actually is. Objective reality exists – you just don’t have direct access to it, and you weren’t designed to Objective Reality Exists. On the other hand, some in the quantum world argue that objective reality doesn’t really exist, Does Objective Reality Exist?.
Here, objective reality (rather than subjective reality) is of primary interest since we look for reality and truth – what is actually there.
Even assuming objective reality exists, it is hard to give an example of it since it must be described in concepts that are interpreted by the mind. Anything related to experience, like form, weight, heat, colour, beauty, etc, is dependent on the mind. So a common assumption is that objective reality is formless and only when observed by the mind is there form.
The good news is that the Bible repeatedly points to the existence of a particular objective reality through various supernatural interventions. Taken collectively they lead to the conclusion that God is that objective reality!
Objective Reality in the Bible
When Moses was asked to go and rescue the Israelites he asked the name of the “entity” he was talking to. He got the reply:
“I AM WHO I AM” . . . tell the children of Israel “I AM” has sent me to you (Exodus 3:14)
What does “I AM” mean? Here’s a little grammar. Consider the statement “I am an engineer”. Here the verb “am” links the subject “I” to the predicate “an engineer” (a predicate tells what the subject “is”). So here “am” is called a linking verb. But in the phrase “I AM” the verb “AM” is the present tense of the verb “to be”, and indicates the subject’s self-existence. In other words, Moses was told “I AM” is a declaration that “I exist”. Other texts confirm this concept:
- In the beginning God . . . (Genesis 1:1)
- The Lord Himself is God . . . (Deuteronomy 4:35)
- Before me there was no God formed . . . (Isaiah 43:10)
- God is Spirit (John 4:24)
These clear statements assume an objective fact, namely, there definitely is a God. God “IS”, period, irrespective of man’s scientific reasoning or philosophical thought. The statements assume, without justification, that there is a formless (unseen) objective reality, which they call “God”. Note that YAHWEH (or YHWH, the covenant name of God) has commonly been interpreted as a statement of God’s self-existence. “God is independent, all sufficient in Himself, the only source of all existence and life”, [Hermon Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, John Bolt, 2008].
Verification
Can this assumed objective reality be verified? Can humankind be increasingly certain there really is such an objective reality, which we label as “God”? Yes – via brief supernatural interventions in the lives of biblical characters. Different interventions are human experiences of different aspects of the same objective reality, called God. Collectively they build a more complete picture of an unseen reality – one that is formless to humankind until revealed in some form through human experience and to the human mind. Consider a few supernatural interventions of this objective reality:
The God of Israel:
Exodus 24 defines the God under discussion. Whilst on Mount Sinai, Moses and 70 elders of Israel collectively saw a vision of “the God of Israel“. They saw “God standing on a paved work of sapphire stone”, “with a glory like a consuming fire”.
Christ – the Ultimate Verification:
According to Colossians 1:15, “Christ is the image of the invisible God”. So Christ is surely the ultimate verification, totally reflecting the fullness of the formless objective reality – God. Note, in this context, “God” is seen as “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory” (Ephesians 1:17). In the same context, Christ is seen as “sitting at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). So Christian theology sometimes assumes Christ Himself is the objective reality – normally invisible (formless) and self-existent.
Moses saw God:
God spoke plainly to Moses regarding the planned Exodus. Naturally, Moses wanted to see the person he was talking to, and so he said “Please, show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). It turned out that Moses saw an objective reality – a limited form of God (Exodus 33:23, Numbers 12:8).
Ezekiel’s Vision of God:
According to Ezekiel chapter 1, the prophet saw what appeared to be a man colored in amber with fire and brightness all around Him. All this reflected the glory of the Lord. It seems Ezekiel saw the objective reality as Christ.
Paul’s Damascus Road Experience:
As Paul travelled to Damascus, Jesus came to him through a blinding light and a voice from heaven (Acts 9:1-9). Yet another visible form of God.
Jesus Suddenly Appeared:
Other visions of the same objective reality: Jesus appeared in supernatural radiance to John when he was exiled on Patmos (Revelation 1:9-17), and Jesus suddenly appeared in recognizable physical (but immortal) form as the disciples were gathered behind closed doors (John 20:24-29).
A Personal God:
Note that these supernatural interventions infer an objective reality desperately wanting to communicate to and identify with creation. Often there is a very “personal” relationship on a first-name basis. This is seen of course in Genesis 1 and in Revelation 21, when God dwells with humankind.
Conclusion
On the basis of these (and many more brief supernatural interventions) they all appear to point to the same objective reality, albeit usually in different ways. Taken collectively, they give a limited appreciation of a normally formless (invisible to humankind), self-existent, objective reality wanting to identify (often on a personal basis) with creation. We call this reality, God – the God of Israel.In each case, it seems God chose the actual visible/audible form depending upon the situation. Nevertheless, taken collectively, these interventions validate the assertion “In truth, in reality, there really is a God”. Scripture adds that this God is omnipresent and “fills heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 23:24).
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