The Sun as Metaphor

Even if you allow that the secular view of the world is possible, it doesn’t make sense of all the facts as the view that God exists. Belief in God provides a better empirical fit, explaining and accounting for what we see and experience better than any alternative account of things.  No view of God can be proven, but if we accept that our brains really do work we can – we must - sift and weigh the justifications for various religious beliefs and find the most reasonable.

C.S. Lewis gives us an insightful metaphor: “as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”  Imagine trying to look directly at the sun in order to learn about it. You can’t do it. A far better way to learn about the existence, power, and quality of the sun is to look at the world it shows you, to recognize that it sustains everything you see and even enables you to see. Here, then, we have a rational way forward. We do not try to “look into the sun,” as it were, demanding irrefutable proofs from God. Instead we “look at what the sun shows us.”

Given that God has left us clues pointing to his existence, as Christians we believe he gave us much more than just these clues. He gave us his Son as the main character in history. In our next Session we will continue our detective work and examine the clues for Christ.

In Christ...