Many atheists demand to be given hard proof of the existence of God. They usually want God to appear before them in a way that would make His existence undeniable. So why doesn’t He do this? It’s a fair question.
The answer has to do with the purpose for our being born into this world. We are here to grow and evolve. Jesus in the Gospels urges us to pursue the path of unconditional love. If we do this, we can eventually raise our level of consciousness and attain this advanced spiritual state.
But if God were to appear before us in a way that was undeniable (such as how God appeared before Job), it would be counter-productive to this purpose. Imagine God materializing in front of us and demanding that we follow his rules or else we will go to hell. It would be like putting a gun to someone’s head. Yes, the person will follow the rules out of fear, but they are not going to grow or evolve or become a better person. Coercion may make people behave, but it will never change their hearts.
The greatest gift that God has given us is agency, the freedom to choose. Without it, our lives would be meaningless. But this freedom would mean little if God were to hold a gun to our heads. It makes more sense to allow us to discover the truth for ourselves, regardless of how many lifetimes it takes. For whether it takes a single lifetime or a thousand, in the end it is all the same.
The answer has to do with the purpose for our being born into this world. We are here to grow and evolve. Jesus in the Gospels urges us to pursue the path of unconditional love. If we do this, we can eventually raise our level of consciousness and attain this advanced spiritual state.
But if God were to appear before us in a way that was undeniable (such as how God appeared before Job), it would be counter-productive to this purpose. Imagine God materializing in front of us and demanding that we follow his rules or else we will go to hell. It would be like putting a gun to someone’s head. Yes, the person will follow the rules out of fear, but they are not going to grow or evolve or become a better person. Coercion may make people behave, but it will never change their hearts.
The greatest gift that God has given us is agency, the freedom to choose. Without it, our lives would be meaningless. But this freedom would mean little if God were to hold a gun to our heads. It makes more sense to allow us to discover the truth for ourselves, regardless of how many lifetimes it takes. For whether it takes a single lifetime or a thousand, in the end it is all the same.