“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 e.g. 2+2 = 4. An objective fact is a statement that can be verified as true independently of personal opinions or beliefs.
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?.
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.
Objective Reality in the Bible
The good news is that the Bible repeatedly points to the existence of a particular objective reality through various supernatural interventions – through various subjective realities or experiences. Taken collectively they lead to the conclusion that God is that objective reality!
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” and always have existed (Psalm 90:2). 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 certain there really is such an objective reality called “God”? Yes – via brief supernatural interventions or special experiences in the lives of biblical characters. Different interventions are human experiences (subjective realities) of different aspects of the same objective reality, called God. Collectively they build a more complete picture of this unseen reality – one that is formless to humankind until revealed in some form through human experience and to the human mind.
Understanding Objective Reality through Subjective Reality
This is a complex question – but important. Human awareness of an objective reality comes through the subjective senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Subjective reality is the filter through which we process the objective world, link. Neuroscience research shows that the brain constantly combines signals from these senses into unified experiences that are richer and more accurate than any one sense could produce alone. In other words, this suggests that a normally invisible and formless objective reality can at least be partly understood using subjective reality. Sometimes different observers will see different subjective realities.
Consider a few supernatural interventions of the same 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“. It seems that, collectively, they saw “God standing on a paved work of sapphire stone”, “with a glory like a consuming fire”. In this example, multiple subjective realities appear to be in complete agreement.
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 seems that Moses saw a limited form of this objective reality i.e. “God’s back” (Exodus 33:23, Numbers 12:8).
God answers by Fire:
Elijah challenged the prophets of the false god Baal. He asked them to call upon Baal to send fire on their altar. But there was no response. Then Elijah prayed to God to send fire on his altar, and “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice” (1 Kings 18). This was a dramatic subjective reality that proved to all the people that there really was a living God – an objective reality.
Ezekiel’s Vision of God:
According to Ezekiel 1:26-28, 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.
Different Subjective Experiences:
In John 12:29 there is an example of the vulnerability of subjective reality, since it depends upon the mind. When Jesus was praying, some in the crowd heard a voice whilst others said “it had thundered”. Paul’s Damascus Road experience is another example. As he travelled to Damascus, Jesus came to him with a blinding light and a voice from heaven (Acts 9). Yet it appears the men with him only heard the voice.
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 loving “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), self-existent, objective reality wanting to identify (often on a personal basis) with creation.. Summary of God as gained from some subjective realities:- There is just one objective reality – the God of Israel
- Christ is the perfect image of this objective reality (although many didn’t see Him as God)
- This objective reality is self-existent, with no beginning and no end (Psalm 90:2)
- Moses was allowed to see a very limited form of God – God’s back
- Sometimes God’s intervention in the world can be dramatic, as in sending fire
- Sometimes God’s glory shines like a consuming fire surrounded by brightness
- God, in the form of Christ can simultaneously be in the flesh and in the Spirit (John 20:24-29)
In each subjective reality, it seems God chose the actual visible or 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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