Atheist asked: ”Rick, why do you believe in a God or a Creator? Isn’t your belief simply a manifestation of parental training, conditioning and Church attendance as a youth?”

Response,

Not at all; actually, my faith in Jesus Christ is founded in scientific methodology. I see, observe daily, what is before me in nature, the World around me…I have tested it via thorough daily interaction and years of interactive experience and the results of those experiences are repeatable, verifiable, tangible to the senses, logic, reason; therefore, I conclude that someone with supernatural abilities has designed the World around me and the incredibly complex genome within me and therefore I must conclude that there is an omnipotent Designer (Romans 1:20).

My pursuit of knowledge as a young man continued and ultimately included a graduate degree (later in life) but questions remained; therefore, following scientific methodology I was led to Darwin who provided a theory concerning life and the origin of the species but I found that theory lacking as it simply did not actually explain origin; Darwin proceeded to confuse the Biblical KIND (Genesis 1) with species which was very troubling to me while the evolutionary concept of “speciation” created a stumbling block between changes within a KIND of animal (visible in nature) v. changes from one-KIND to another KIND (not visible in nature) while mandating unfathomable periods of Time for these unexplained genomic evolutionary changes to manifest; most disturbing, I found Darwin’s theory to be completely irrelevant and inadequate concerning “origin” as Darwin begins with life having previously experienced its genesis. Enter, abiogenesis and descent with modification; both warring against logic and reason and commonsense while failing to actually address “origin.”

I pursued other “scientific” explanations concerning our genesis (the “Big Bang”) but they too were lacking. At age 35, I visited a bookstore in Elgin, Illinois while vacationing there. I picked up a paraphrased version of the Bible called “The Living Bible” and returned to the apartment and sat on a couch and began to read. Approximately half-way through the Living Bible I looked up and asked “Where has this been all my life?” I’m now 65-years of age, 30-years have passed since that first thorough read of the Scriptures, and that initial read of a paraphrased Bible led to an incredibly in-depth study of the Scriptures, including targeted study in the Hebrew and Greek; ultimately, I discovered the who, what, where, when, why, how, concerning origin of matter, Time, the human genome, purpose of life and my eschatological purpose in this World.

Finally, my questions about origin were answered by the Holy Spirit who faithfully came along side me and tutored me through every word, every precept, every line of Scripture (1 John 2:27). I now understand causation for our Creation and why Elohim has done what He has done and His eschatological purposes going forward.

In conclusion,

I can now testify that no greater life, no greater peace, no greater assurance, no greater relevant knowledge exists than knowing one is in covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father by faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, while walking daily in the love and peace and intimacy of the indwelling Holy Spirit. There is no greater life available to human kind. I know that I know; this, with confidence and assurance.