Do You Ever Wonder?

Hi All!

My friend Coffeebean at The Righteous Buzz posted a question about if you ever wonder about God and His existence. Well, I have been thinking a lot about that in the past couple of days.

I have always wondered. I was raised in the Methodist church and did Sunday school as a child. Eventually I became more involved in church matters - singing in the choir, being on different committees, etc. I have always believed in God. However, I have always wondered also if religion was really something that God wanted us to follow of if it was a man-made creation designed to control people.

After all, look at world history. There are many examples of the church being used to control people - true they are generally illiterate and uneducated populations but still . . . The inquisition was basically a religious reason to conquer people. The Salem Witch trials - a religious reason to follow the societal norms. Communism dismantled (or tried to) a vast religious tradition as a way to control the peasants (religious control in reverse). Were these just human manipulation of a God created mechanism or were they examples of religion being created by man for ulterior purposes?

I see evil in the world: war, murder, prejudice, hatred, violence. That makes me wonder if God would have created such blights on his creation. Then, there is cancer and other incurable diseases and disorders (including SD). Why do good people get such things if there is a God?

However, recently I have sort of come to a conclusion for the time being. I think that the mere fact that we, as humans, can even wonder is evidence of God's existence. Evolution just doesn't strike me as capable of resulting in such higher level thinking skills. I mean, if evolution could result in such thinking in humans, don't you think other species would also evolve in similar ways? Where are the philosophising frogs and chickens? The pontificating pigs? The conversational cows?

I think the fact that we can question God's existence proves that there is a God. Also, just take a minute to look at all the wonders in this world. Yesterday Hubby and I saw a duck with her brood of about 7 little fluff balls. We also watched birds swoop and glide as they caught bugs. Plants burst forth in flower (granted, they were white ones which interfere with finding white golf balls but they were there and were pretty!). Such wonders, while possibly enhanced by evolution because what creator would allow his creations to remain static and unchanging? Such wonders had to have been set into motion by something more powerful and knowing that us. Think about it - if humans had designed the world we would be in a big, big mess!

So - rambling aside - I do believe. I have some problems with organized churches because of some past experiences but, the reason for church - I believe. That doesn't mean that I won't continue to doubt but isn't that the whole "name of the game?"

Trisha