Does God Exist?

Today Ahaz began the discussion by narrating his interesting encounter with some of his friends.  

Ahaz: Yesterday I had a hot argument with some young people who believe that there is no God. I tried my best to argue that God exists. They challenged me to point out at least one proof in support of my argument, but I couldn't. Could you help me, rabbi, by giving some proofs?

Rabbi: Before jumping into an argument in favor of or against the existence of God, there is something else we need to clarify. What do we mean by the word “God”? And what do we mean by the word “exist”?

Those young people who argued with you yesterday assumed that everybody means the same thing by the word “God”.  This assumption needs to be challenged first. No human being has ever seen God probably because God is more than what can be perceived with our sense of sight. Although nobody has ever seen God, we all use the word God. Do you think that we all have the same idea of God within our minds?

When I was a child, I had a certain idea of God. In my boyhood, my idea of God changed further. When I was a young man, my idea of God changed so much. As I grow older, my idea of God keeps on changing. The point I am trying to make is that the idea of God changes not only from person to person but also from time to time.

When those young people claim that God doesn’t exist, what exactly are they denying? Are they denying the existence of the real God or the existence of what they think God is?

Ahaz: I think they are denying the existence of what they think God is.  But now my question is – why do they do so?

Rabbi: Earlier I said that when I grew older, my understanding of God also changed. What did I do with my older understanding of God when I had a new understanding of God? I had to say “no” to the older understanding to accept the new one. I think this is what those young people were doing when they claimed that God doesn’t exist.

Next time when you meet them, instead of arguing in favor of God’s existence, ask them what they mean by the word “God”.  Also ask them to explain to you why they deny the existence of that God. Such a conversation will help them to evolve into a higher understanding of God.

Ahaz: I understand that our understanding of God keeps on changing, and it varies from person to person. But I think, regardless of all these differences, by the word “God” we mean the ultimate.

Rabbi: Thank you Ahaz, for that valuable insight. I fully agree with you. Wealth is the god for some people, comfort is the god for some others, and popularity is the god for some others. Whatever people see as ultimate is their god. All people see something as ultimate in their life. They live for it, and are willing to die for it. But the problem is, as we found earlier, what we see as ultimate is not what is really ultimate.

We all agree that the world exists, and we think of God in relation to the world. God is the name we give to what ultimately exists. We cannot deny the existence of God because if we do so, we will have to deny the existence of the world as well. That the world exists is enough proof for me for the existence of God.  

Let me explain what I do. I acknowledge the presence of the ultimate, but I admit with humility that my senses cannot perceive the ultimate, nor can my mind comprehend the ultimate. I know that my thoughts can never reach the true nature of the ultimate. Therefore, whenever I come to the presence of the ultimate, I keep my thoughts still. I keep my five senses quiet. I also keep my mouth shut. Then I listen to the voice inside my soul.

Ahaz was very happy.  

Ahaz: Thank you very much, rabbi.  You have given me the most satisfactory answer.     


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