on the existence of God

Earlier this month, the Swiss theologian Hans Küng died. He was a giant in the world of academic theology and the enormous size of the books he produced was matched only by his reputation, not just in his native Roman Catholic Church, with whom he had a sometimes difficult relationship, but across Christian traditions. 

Many years ago he came to have dinner one evening, at a Vicarage where I was lodging. He was charming and gracious, with a sharp mind and a warm sense of humour. As he was leaving my Vicar asked him to sign some books. Noticing that one, titled Does God Exist?, was about 800 pages long, the Vicar’s wife said, “Hans, I’m never going to read all that. So just tell me: does he or doesn’t he?” We all roared with laughter and with a twinkle in his eye and an enigmatic smile the great man responded, “I’m afraid you’ll have to read it to find out.”

The question of God’s existence can neither be proven nor disproven. This is what makes the arguments between people of faith and ‘New Atheists’ so futile. For Christians, however, our belief in God comes partly from a choice we’ve made as followers of Jesus, and partly from the tradition handed down to us. But the main evidence comes from the transformation of our inner life through spiritual practice. In discovering prayerful union with God, we encounter love, peace and fullness of life that nothing else in this world can touch.