The Ultimate Question

 I’m sitting in a lounge in the airport on my way to LA for business. I had about an hour and a half ride to get here and, as I have a tendency to do, was thinking about ways to get people to think about how their fundamental perspectives color the way they think about everything else.

One of the things that made me think of this particular topic was a couple of news articles that indicates a significant drop in the certainty of God’s existence among the general populace.

I believe that this is due in part to the vast amount of media available that presumes the universe is solely governed by natural law. The prevailing idea is that the universe and all the contents within it, including you and me, basically evolved from one state to another by a gradual process over vast amounts of time.

You may not even think about it anymore. In fact, you may even hold diametrically opposing positions, such as a general acceptance of this autonomous evolutionary viewpoint while holding to some idea that there is a personal divine being or force engaged in aspects of your life.

To really get to the heart of the matter, one has to consider what I believe is the ultimate question:

Is the universe purposeful or accidental?

I think it is safe to say the vast majority of humanity believes that we live in a purposeful universe. It’s very likely that you do, too. If you do, then there are implications you need to consider:

If it is purposeful, who or what gives it purpose?

Now, my answer to this question is the Christian Creator God. I have believed this since I was a little child, but as I got older, I was challenged to reconsider my belief. Before, I had a basic faith, but as I grew, I wanted more substantiation for what I believed. This became an exercise in deconstructing everything I thought was true and exploring what other options had to offer.

To make a long story a little less, I came to the following summary realizations:

1. Without a supernatural Creator God as the cause, there is no logical purpose for the universe and my existence.
2. Without a caring God, I have no hope.
3. Without a God that reached out to me, I would never be able to reach Him.
4. A supernatural Creator God is not bound by the natural laws He put in place.
5. Without an external authoritative source of truth, I cannot truly know Him.

These realizations are fundamental to why I identify as a Biblical Christian. With Scripture as my prime source material, I am able to evaluate and contextualize all truth claims. Having a reliable external source helps me avoid self-deception and selfish rationalization. It also makes me very skeptical of alternative truth claims.

Thus, my worldview is odd compared to the prevailing cultural, social and “scientific” framework. My ultimate trust is in the Biblically narrated character of Christ as the revealed nature of God. Jesus is the means by which this universe was created and it exists to glorify Him and bring us into communion with Him. Every other consideration is meaningless in comparison.

Therefore, I have no practical or compelling reason to believe that we live in a universe that’s vast millions of years old. Or that all the “evidence” points to it. Or that random processes over these millennia could lead to humanity. I view it all in the context of Christ. We are here for His purpose and all reality bends to His will as revealed in His Word.

My prayer is that you can answer the ultimate question through faith in Christ and come to trust in Him and His Word for your hope and framework for evaluating everything. Be a Biblical Christian skeptic.