Book022

The "God of the gaps"

Why we should believe in Jesus

The material of this document presupposes an earlier document about Christian faith. Please see it here.

God is not the "God of the gaps"

The "God of the gaps" is an expression that comes from the tendency of early times (and even now!), to explain as acts of God those phenomena that do not have a known explanation. We know now from the development of science, that many facts thought to be acts of God are just natural phenomena. But, does this mean that the idea of God was just an invention to explain the unknown? that God is no more than the "God of the gaps," and that there is no reason to believe in God?

Nothing is further from the truth. We must recognize that the existence of God is undemonstrable, and that there are no physical "proofs" of his existence; if we'd have a physical evidence of God, he wouldn't be the infinite, incorporeal Being we believe he is. If the human mind would be able to demonstrate the existence of God, then God wouldn't be God. But this doesn't mean that the belief in the existence of God is baseless.

It is reasonable to believe in God

It is a fact that human beings have always believed in God (or gods) just from looking at creation, as we see in the writings of ancient historians, philosophers and poets. Paul said that pagans of his time, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God (Romans 1:21).

The belief in God is also based on two human facts: first, personal experiences of this divine Being; and second, an innate knowledge that most humans have, that a Supreme Being must exist. Most human beings experience the need of this Supreme Being, so they can depend on him and have hope in him; otherwise they would feel that they are only things. So, belief in God is reasonable.