Existence

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering or pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers do not exist because if they did there would not be people with long dirty hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers do exist! What happens is that people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too does exist! What happens is that people don't come to HIM and do not look for HIM. That is why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

I came across this story while surfing the net late last night after playing badminton. In a country that claims to be 'predominantly Christian', people tend to forget that a surprisingly large number of people actually try to refute the existence of God -- not to mention the equally large number of people who use science to marginalize the divinity of God. Of course, believing in the existence of a divine being is a lot different from actually obeying God -- but that is beside the point (I'll have another post on that subject, if i don't forget).

On the surface, many people claim to believe in God but deep inside they are also equally unsure about His deity or the inerrancy of the Bible. The Bible claims it is the word of truth, it says it is 'God-breathed', the Word of God -- but why should anyone believe it? The Bible doesn't try to convince a person to believe that, it only makes a simple statement,

"Jesus answered them, and said,
My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself..."

In other words, try it out. Find out for yourself. Then you will know if it really is the Word of God or just another book with divine pretensions.

Try it...