Does God hide himself from us?
What then led to his invisibility?Â
Our personal freedom and way of life?
Our current and potential relationships with God?
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1.   INTRODUCTION
Why does God seem to choose to be invisible? Most of us do wonder about that at some time or other.
Belief in God would be so easy if he did choose to make his presence obvious, through making himself visible to us? After all, the fundamentalist atheists of the world would have no argument at all if God was clearly visible, eh?
To know why he is invisible though we need to consider a number of factors. For example, are we just missing something; not understanding why he has to be invisible? And, what would be the effect if God was actually visible to us?Â
We also need to think about how does he want us to ‘interact with him’? Could his presence, as a result, become clear to us in other ways?
But look, if you just want some advice on how to actually believe in God; come to know that he is real for yourself, then have a look at the article, ‘How to believe in God?‘ I will say a bit more about that later in this article anyway.
(For the âwhoâ, âhowâ and âwhyâ of this website please click here. That article explains, in particular, how the majority of this website is the result of a serious long-term audit of âpractical Christianityâ. Although I am retired from work now, professionally I had been a qualified, experienced, senior auditor. Yes, I definitely know how to investigate, analyse and evaluate. The websiteâs support team, who advise me, is on the other hand largely made up of qualified Christian clergy.)
2.  LOGICAL REASONS FOR BEING INVISIBLE?
No, it is unlikely that most of us really don’t know for sure why God is invisible. However, the Bible verses below are just a couple that might be relevant to the issue. These verses ‘came to pass’ at a time when ‘potential’ readers of the Bible were becoming a lot more sophisticated (i.e. at the time after Jesus’ death).
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
[Colossians 1:17]
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever.
Amen.
[Romans 11:36]
Now, some Bible scriptures give us the impression that God holds everything that does exist (including us) in place within himself. Indeed that is what the famous Christian theologian and philosopher, Paul Tillich explained in his 20th Century works. Tillich believed that God was the ‘Ground of Being’ in this regard … a powerful spiritual being who holds everything that does exist (including us AND our universe) within himself. As such he ‘makes them be’. And continues to maintains their ongoing existence (within his spiritual being).
And you know, I consider that he was correct! So theoretically, at least, God is a massively powerful spiritual ‘existence’ (the best word I can use here). No, as I wrote in another article (see the next link below), God is NOT some old man dressed in white robes sitting in a gold throne on top of the clouds.
We have to wonder then: how could we ever see the God in which we do exist? And clearly he’s simply just not physical like us!
This website does also offer an article, “So, what is God?” that discusses more about his âbeingâ, and his relationship to our universe and ourselves. As you will see in that article, my detailed evaluation of available cross-religious theories and religious-related experiences demonstrates that Tillich ‘got it right’.
But depite all that, there truly are other ways of knowing whether God is real or not, as explained under Heading 4 below. You know, I am totally confident that we really don’t have to see him to know that he does exist.
3.   WHAT IF HE WAS VISIBLE?
Firstly though, is it logically better for us that God is invisible? Maybe!
Think hard, it is not easy for us to imagine an Earth where God is visible; where everyone is totally aware of his presence on a daily basis. Such knowledge of Godâs being would, in fact, seriously affect both our personal freedom and way of life as we know them now. They would be transformed into an existence not unlike the one the Jews had within the Biblical Book of Exodus (as they fled from slavery in Egypt).
Like them, we could have a God with an OBVIOUS involvement within our lives. Most probably every action, every decision in life, would be over shadowed by that awesome presence. Life would be nothing like it is for us now.
4.   SO HOW CAN WE KNOW GOD EXISTS?
But, HOW do we go about that … knowing God does exist? How do Christians, for example, come to know that God is real? Well, from the results of ‘my long term analysis’, they simply make the choice to ‘engage with him’. And they do so by simply following the Bible’s guidance.
In effect, each of us must begin our own ‘journey of faith’. The very first section of this website (please see the Menu Bar above) offers a guide on how to do exactly that.
We engage with God within the Church, within our lives and even within the Bible. As suggested in the intro, you can start with the article, “How to believe in God?” to get an understanding.
By developing a ‘relationship with God‘, we can at times find that his presence is virtually as obvious as if he was physically visible. Look, millions of Christians have gone before us, and successfully followed that approach. Of course, some manage it better than others. But most Christians have a pretty good idea that their God is real.
As I said in the intro above, I personally come from a senior auditing background. And my own ‘evidence-based‘ evaluation of faith brought me to a position of rock-solid belief in God. I am confident, as a result, that anyone can do the same. The article, “Too good to be true?” explains my journey from atheist to believer.
Mind you, as that ‘one time’ atheist that I was, I do understand how hard those words above can be to accept! But when we do enter into that relationship with him, in the way he has chosen for us, then inevitably from our side it becomes based on trust, love and gladness. From the Lordâs side in that relationship we receive all that flows from his gift of âgraceâ, i.e. his unconditional love for us.
5.   GOD’S REVEALING NATURE
Although deviating a little, it is worth adding that Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the literal ‘personification’ of Godâs grace. That is Jesus was, during his time on Earth, Godâs grace (love and goodwill) made human. And in that context it was through Jesus that our God actually revealed himself most fully to us. If we want to know ‘WHO God is’, then we look to Jesus.
Godâs boundless love for us human beings is highlighted in his ‘revelation’ through Christ Jesus. The relationship of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit â three persons in one God â is explained in the article, âThe Holy Trinityâ.
Analysis of Biblical and ancient secular (non religious) writings do indicate that there is a very good chance that these revealing events did actually ‘occur in history‘. Yes, really!
Exposure to events still occurring in the modern day Church â through our individual personal experiences particularly within the so-called, “Pentecostal/ Charismatic movement” â even supports accounts of what is written there in the Bible. And in that ‘area’ of the Church, God in the person of the Holy Spirit, actually reveals his presence to those wanting to witness it, or even experience it.
When I first struck this stuff happening, it really ‘rocked my socks’. Remember yet again that this article has been written by a retired senior auditor! And yes, I admit that I seriously doubted this stuff was real at the beginning of my investigation into it. But, just have a look at the article, “Is this Holy Spirit stuff real?” to see how I came to be so convinced that it IS real!
So in summary we thereby see that belief, based on analysis of our own related events in life and the Church, is used to support Bible-based faith. Simply, if used effectively, the two (i.e. belief and faith) go round and round as life befalls us, building and supporting each other.
6.   CONCLUSION
Now an atheist will really struggle with all this, just as I did once myself. But, if you the reader wants belief in our invisible God, and faith in his promises, then you just HAVE to commit to trying it for yourself.
This website has been primarily developed to assist readers to build Christian faith and come to believe in God. As such, we can KNOW that he is real! And gain the ‘benefits of faith‘ in our lives.
The basics of Christianity are included in the final section of this website. Again, please see the Menu Bar above. You can simply begin by reading the article, âChristianity explainedâ.