Recently, I was speaking with someone who said that he didn’t believe in God because there was not enough evidence. For me, believing in God makes more sense than not doing so. The belief that there is no God, atheism, has, for me, three serious flaws.

Firstly, atheism doesn’t adequately explain where the universe came from. In the 1940s the scientific paradigm of the day was that the universe had always existed.

In a famous debate between the renowned atheist, Bertrand Russell and a Christian, Frederick Copleston this issue arose. Copleston said that God created the universe out of nothing. Russell argued that this was against the scientific understanding of the day.

However, as we now know, by the 1960s science made a breakthrough in understanding, ‘big bang’. In many senses ‘big bang’ was more in accordance with the Biblical view than Bertrand Russell’s view. As a result, many atheists at the time declared that science must have got it wrong!

Secondly, there is the ‘Design argument’. Within the universe, there is clear evidence of pattern and order. The notion, put forward by atheists, that this is purely random falls short on two counts. Firstly, the probability that this planet could sustain the vast array of life forms based on the precise combination of water, oxygen, temperature and pressure is so finely tuned as to be statistically remote. Next, atheism cannot adequately explain why humans appreciate the beauty of creation when there is no evolutionary advantage.

Finally, atheism, for me, cannot account for the need for absolute rules. In a world of relativism where each society decides what it feels is right, huge problems occur. The Bible establishes absolute rules which have served for centuries. For example, rape is always wrong. For a society to embark on its own rules outside of this could lead to tragic outcomes, like ethnic cleansing.

So, those are some of the reasons I believe in the Christian God of the Bible. I have not mentioned the historical evidence for Jesus and for the resurrection which, given the time in history, is overwhelming. Nor have I mentioned the experience of the church throughout time and the experience of many people today with miraculous healings and answers to prayer which often defy logic. That is a topic for another day.