12 God has a claim on our lives

Here is a summary of these articles so far.

There is overwhelming evidence that our universe and everything in it were created by God. It is not just a random accident as many would claim. The evidence clearly shows that the universe had a definite beginning, so needed a cause beyond itself. The conditions required for life are so fine tuned as to require an intelligent designer outside of space and time. I am convinced that that designer is the God of the Bible.

Science can explain how many things work, but it cannot explain why we are here and what we ought to do (our moral choices). Without God, attempts to decide morality just become personal preferences of the strongest and the loudest voices, and can be very dangerous. This is happening right now in our country.

Historians now agree that Jesus really did live as a human on earth and the Gospels, which tell us about his life, are valid history.

Humans have a deep seated belief in life after death. Jesus rose from the dead and spent time with his followers afterwards. This is the clearest evidence we have of life after death, so we should listen to what Jesus tells us about life and death and what happens afterwards.

What are Hay people saying about these articles?  Most agree that there is a God. This is good but the really important question is whether this belief affects our lives. Is belief in God something that guides your everyday decisions, the way you see things and the way you act?

Each of us has developed our own built-in guidance system, or set of glasses through which we see the world. Many Australians believe in horoscopes and fortune telling, Christians believe God hears our prayers, atheists say it is all nonsense because the only reality is what we can see, feel, taste, smell and hear, physical realities. These are examples to show some of the very different frameworks, or worldviews, through which people see reality.

But it is more complex than that. Most Australians do not have one consistent worldview, they see life as a smorgasbord of ideas, and they pick and choose at random. So most people may say they believe in God but don’t acknowledge God’s claim on our lives.  They base many life decisions on what suits them best at the time or some competing value.

In the next few articles, I want to explain the basic ideas of the Christian worldview, the way I see it. Now you can see what I had in mind when I chose the title for these articles.