Does God Exist?
The Attack Was Unwarranted. It Made Three Assertions:
“Genesis how an ignorant people explained their observations
of their small part of the Earth.”
“Just because we can't do it doesn't mean a god did! Evidence
for a god doesn't exist, historical belief, yes.”
“No, never let facts get in the way of your favourite fairy
tale.”[1]
What is Reasonable Evidence of Existence?
We know the reality of persons that we meet. We commonly accept this as adequate evidence
of their existence.
Written historical records concerning Henry VIII are
sufficient to establish his existence, if not his credibility. Do you question the existence of Henry VIII? If you question the morality of Henry’s
lifestyle, we will think your reasoning quite normal. However, if you extract Henry’s behavior from
its historic setting, and begin to make unwarranted assumptions and judgments
about him as a person, we will judge your assertions to be ill informed. We owe Henry the simple honesty of treating
him as a man of his times, and we must refuse the temptation of importing our
ideas into the data while we study him.
Granted, this isolating of the data correctly is one of the
more difficult pursuits in history.
Still, it must be attempted. We
must be honest enough in our pursuit of historical understanding to accept peer
review, for we may have committed a blunder, or missed something
significant. Still, we have no use for
rewriting history for the grinding of some ideological axe. The only axe we must seek to grind and
sharpen is the axe of truth.
We must also acknowledge that history is often written and distorted
by the victor. We must be equally
careful to ensure that the voice of the vanquished is heard. Thus, we do not doubt the stories of William
Wallace, anymore than we doubt the existence of Edward I Longshanks. However, in dealing with such evidence we
shall expect to need to deal with a certain amount of embellishment. This does not mean that the basic evidence
has been falsified. The nature of any
embellishments will be found by comparing and carefully weighing the witness of
contemporary Scots and English witnesses.
What is the Necessary Application?
What we owe to Henry VIII, we also owe to Moses, to God, and
to any other historic personage. Egypt
is one of three major ancient empires: namely, the Early Babylonians (or
Sumerians), the Egyptians, and the Hittites.
At least two of these empires developed the first writing: cuneiform and
hieroglyphics. Ancient peoples developed
alphabetic writing (1800 BC).[2] Ample evidence suggests that man was capable
of navigating the globe and spreading civilization everywhere.[3] It is the height of modern arrogance to think
of these people as “ignorant.” Their
command of architecture, astronomy, embalming, and mathematics still stumps the
best of us. Only a stupid bigoted remark
would style these people as “ignorant.”
They have a right to be examined with the same respect that we give to
eminent scholars of our own era. We have
every right to debate with them, but we have no right to an ad hominem attack
classifying them as “ignorant.”
Moreover, the assertion that “their observations of [are
limited to] their small part of the Earth” flies in the face of the facts. The evidence shows that their observations
are broad in global scope. Many ancient
civilizations have both creation and flood epics. There is a philosophical necessity for a
creation story, but no such necessity applies to a flood. The geological evidence for a universal flood
is extensive, and it is hard to explain the massive movements of tectonic
plates without it. To dismiss this
evidence out of hand as “limited” and “ignorant” is foolish logic. Reasonable scholars attempt to examine the
facts as they present themselves, without prejudice or pejorative remarks.
The conclusion stands: specifically, there is no rational
evidence or reason to believe that the ancients were either “limited” or “ignorant.” What we owe to Henry VIII, we also owe to
Moses, to God, and to any other historic personage: to wit, we must do our
level best to examine all the evidence without partiality. The statement, “Genesis how an ignorant
people explained their observations of their small part of the Earth,” simply
does not meet this standard of impartiality.
Does an Historic Person Called Moses Exist?
The evidence is overwhelming, not only that Moses existed,
but also that he was a highly educated man, trained in the best schools of
Egypt. He also evidently wrote five
books of such size and complexity that they would be a prodigious effort for
modern man armed with a computer and powerful research tools. Of course, modern man in his overweening
pride is compelled to contest the literary and historic evidence and invent
numerous false documentary and other hypotheses in a vain attempt to disprove
Mosaic authorship. Such theorems have
more to say about the hubris of modern investigations in failing to examine the
evidence, than they have to say about the reality of the evidence.
Granted that the evidence from Egyptology is difficult to
correlate with the evidence of the five books of Moses. Then again, the evidence from Egyptology is
difficult to correlate with anything else in the ancient world. Egyptology is not a simple subject. Nevertheless, the reign of Hatshepsut (lived:
1508–1458 BC, coregent: 1479–1458)[4]
fits well with the birth of Moses (1526), his flight to Arabia (1486), his
return to Egypt (1446), and death (1406).
Her successor, Thutmosis III (1479–1425) was predeceased by a son,
Amenemhat. Moses is an Egyptian, not a
Hebrew name.[5]
Since we know little of Hebrew editorial rules and
standards, there is no point in quibbling that the five books of Moses contain
editorial comments and, what today would be called foot or endnotes. Such notes are certainly present in the five
books. There is no good reason to doubt
that Moses is that historic person whom the Hebrew people claim him to be, and
that he wrote the five books that the Hebrew people claim he wrote. That Moses wrote them between 1446 and 1406
accords well with the rest of the data.
Does an Historic Document Called Torah Exist?
Obviously it does, because we possess it, but our copies are
not very old.
The original was destroyed around 586 BC when the
Babylonians razed Solomon’s Temple, demolished its furniture, and burned the
record master originals of Scripture. Of
course, the Mosaic original could have perished at an earlier date. However, there is no problem believing that
the original survived either: for the Israelites certainly had the technology
to oil parchment and preserve it in sealed jars for much greater time spans
that the necessary 820 years.[6] Nor is it absolutely certain that the Babylonians
got their hands on the record masters.
There is a slim chance that sly priests got these documents safely
hidden in caves.
More likely, after the Babylonian captivity, returning
Jewish priests were able, from secondary, non-authoritative copies, and from
memory, to piece together a highly reliable reconstruction of the
original. There is very little doubt
that in 516 BC they had and treasured a very accurate copy of what Moses wrote. This is not a claim that the Masoretic Text
embodies this reconstruction.
Add to this the fact that large portions of this Scripture
were also engraved into stone at various locations in Israel and Judah, and
there remains no reason whatsoever to doubt the historicity of the five books
of Moses as they were written prior to 1406 BC.
There is no evidence whatsoever to warrant calling this date, this
author, and these books into question. Contrary
evidence from Judges and Kingdoms literature is simply not forthcoming. Opinions of German critics notwithstanding,
there is no substantial evidence to support claims for late dates and other
redactors.[7] The existing evidence supports the thesis
that the data trail remained intact from the death of Moses (1406 BC) until the
Babylonian Captivity (586 BC).
Does an Historic Person Called God Exist?
Does an historic person or persons that we could, should, or
would call God, Jehovah, or a Supreme Being exist? The evidence for the existence of such a
person or persons is even more overwhelming than the evidence for the existence
of Moses. Nowhere is that evidence more
apparent that in the presence of the Shekinah Glory. If we accept the existence of any historic person,
we must also accept the existence of the Shekinah Glory.
The Shekinah
Glory
Shekinah, Ark, Urim, and Thummim
The mode of
appearance of God’s presence [8] is not always clear in
Scripture, but on at least one occasion in the life of Abraham (around 2000 BC)
it is a “smoking furnace, and a burning lamp.”[9] We then see God speak to Moses at the Burning
Bush (around 1446 BC).[10] Next, the Lord led Israel by a pillar of
cloud and fire, as the Israelites cross the Red Sea and enter the deserts of
the Sinai Peninsula.[11]
Eventually, this
pillar settled on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, took up residence in
the Tabernacle, and more specifically was associated with the Ark of the
Covenant. At Sinai the Shekinah is
perceived to be a terrifying apparition;[12] whereas, at the burning
bush it was relatively innocuous. In
spite of this spectacular display, Moses himself is not afraid to approach
God. In this context, the Shekinah gives
the Decalogue to Moses directly and personally.[13]
The presence of God
at the Ark is dramatically, powerfully, and tragically revealed when Aaron’s
sons, Nadab and Abihu are killed for offering profane fire, for God appeared
“in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”[14] The Shekinah and the Ark appear to be doing
the same thing: namely, leading the people of God.[15] [16] When Jericho is defeated, the ark is again in
a place of prominent leadership.[17] Even in defeat, Joshua approaches the Ark,
for it was here that he met the appearance of God.[18]
The story of the
selection of Achan follows,[19] but many details are left
out. The Scripture does not say, but we
expect that, God “took” Achan[20] using the instruments of
the ephod, the breastplate, the holy stones, with the Urim and Thummim.[21] Many authorities see this as a casting of
lots, like holy dice. We think it more
likely that the Shekinah, through the operation of the Urim and Thummim made
the holy stones light up to reveal His will.[22]
When the story
continues the Ark is again among the Israelites.[23] However, they are quickly deceived and act
without prayer.[24] The Ark is referenced when Benjamin commits a
lewd act.[25] The Ark is consulted again in the days of
Samuel when it is brought out to the battle camp during one of Israel’s many
wars with the Philistines, and is captured by them.[26] If we are not yet convinced that the Shekinah
and the Ark are closely associated, we should be now, for Eli’s daughter
immediately cries out, “The Glory is departed from Israel: for the Ark of God
is taken.” Then she dies.[27]
It indeed appears
that the Ark is the sedan chair[28] of God, and its purpose
is pageant like, intended to communicate to all observers that the King of the
Universe is a flaming fire.
Nevertheless, the
Jews are using it in a very superstitious way; they see it as a talisman that
they control, rather than the Living God Who rules them.[29] The Philistines evidently see the Ark in the
same way, as a talisman; but are in for a great surprise when God acts from his
throne to ridicule Dagon, and persecute the Philistines. The Ark is shuttled from one Philistine city
to another, and finally returned to Israel.[30] At last, David brings the Ark to Jerusalem by
a circuitous route, and there it dwells in a temporary tent.[31] Finally, Solomon builds a temple for it.[32] As soon as the Ark is set in the Most Holy
Place, “the Glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.”[33] The Ark remains in the temple[34] until the time of the
Babylonian Captivity (around 586 BC). At
this time, both the Ark and the Shekinah appear to be gone from Israel forever.[35]
The Necessity of Personality in
the Shekinah
We embrace the idea
that these revelations were relational.
“And the Lord spoke to
Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks to his friend. And [Moses]
returned to the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not
departed from the tabernacle.”[36]
We recall that Abraham was called the friend of God as well.[37] Moreover, we believe that these warm, loving,
personal relationships continued between the Shekinah and man down through the
centuries. Out of these friendships an
eternal conversation developed.
Sometimes there were dreams or visions.
At times, there were spectacular events to report.[38] Once in awhile, there was dictation. Rarely, God did His Own writing.[39] However, most of the time, the friends simply
enjoyed the conversation, and the human partners to this great conversation
kept diary or logbook records of it.
What the friends wrote, the Shekinah validated, the human partners
witnessed, and priests laid up the record master in the Holy Place. Out of the complexity of friendship, others
would eventually be drawn into the circle: the circle of God’s warmth, love,
and friendship.[40]
We Should be Terrified
We should be horror stricken that the Shekinah Glory departs from the
earth in 586 BC. Having demonstrated
that such an historic person unquestionably exists; we should have realized
that we cannot live without Him. We have
by our sin frittered away all friendship with God, His love and leadership
among us, His instruments of worship, and His Holy Scripture. Everything is lost. The Witness and Presence of God on earth are
gone. We should be terrified. Why aren’t we? Why aren’t we reeling with shock as Ezekiel
and Daniel were?[41]
The Return of the Shekinah
The Shekinah Glory reappeared around 4 BC in the Bethlehem
Star,[42]
and later at the Mount of Transfiguration.[43] Then, in Acts, this same Shekinah is seen on
the head of every Christian present,[44]
and afterward at the opening of new Churches everywhere.[45] It is abundantly clear that Jesus is the
Shekinah.[46] It is equally clear that He delegated this
Shekinah to the whole Church, as He prayed that the Father would send the Holy
Spirit. The Father did send the Holy
Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the Shekinah was publically visible to all
of the many witnesses present in the Temple on Pentecost 33 AD. There can be no question from this that the
Church of Jesus Christ is the rightful Temple of the Shekinah.
Today the Shekinah is not visible among us. We should once again be terrified. Have we so offended the Holy Spirit that He
refuses to be publically present among us?
There are only a few claimants to the presence of the Shekinah on earth
today. That any of these is perfectly
credible remains to be seen. Forgive us
and correct us if we misstate any of these.
·
The Roman Catholic Church has a claim to the
presence of the Shekinah in the office of the Papacy and in the
Magisterium. However, to the best of our
knowledge, the Shekinah is not seen, nor even claimed (outside of the
Eucharist) so we are at a loss to know how to support the claim.
·
The Orthodox Church has a claim to the presence of
the Shekinah in the Paschal Vigil in Jerusalem.
However, the miraculous lighting of the candles does not extend very
far, and we don’t know how to substantiate the claim. Orthodox Churches around the world make no
claim concerning their receipt of this miracle at other locations.
·
Pentecostal Churches claim that they possess the
gift of tongues. However, we have no
verification that such claims are endorsed by the presence of the Shekinah in
flames.
·
There are other theories, but none, of which we are
aware, claim the visible presence of the Shekinah.
We fear that the Great Schism of 1054 has done great damage to the
witness of the Holy Spirit among us. At
best, contemporary experiences seem to be merely Bath Kol.[47]
The Second Return of the Shekinah
“For as the lightning comes forth from the
east, and blazes openly as far as the west; so also will be the coming of the
Son of Man.”[48]
If the Lord comes again today, no one will miss it for
He will blaze blindingly across the sky.
The Shekinah is not invisible.
Conclusion
Now apart from faith [it is] impossible to well-please
[Him]: for it is necessary for the
one approaching God to believe that He exists, and he becomes a rewarder[51] to those who seek him out.”[52]
We
have sufficiently demonstrated that God revealed Himself as a person in many
prominent locations, over long time periods, in the presence of millions of
witnesses. We have shown beyond
reasonable doubt that God presented Himself as an historic presence with
sufficient credentials and credibility to be an unquestionable authority on all
matters of creation and revelation. We
showed that Moses got his information from conversations with his Friend. We established that the pertinent information
was recorded in a credible historic document and protected from harm. QED
[1]
These assertions were all published in the Twitter format, which explains the
limited and stylized grammar.
[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_writing
[3]
Heyerdahl, Thor, Kon-Tiki,
(Rand McNally, Chicago, 1950). While Kon-Tiki
is a bit of a stunt, it adequately demonstrates the possibility of primitive
ancient global circumnavigation. The
presence of numerous artifacts around the planet demonstrates the near
certainty of such travel. The
civilizations discovered with their attendant artifacts show remarkable
tangencies with the civilizations of Babylonia, Egypt, and Asia Minor.
[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut;
Thutmose III; http://en.wiki-pedia.org/wiki/Amenemhat_(son_of_Thutmose_III)
[5]
The difference between Mosis and Moses presents little difficulty since as late
as 586 BC Hebrew had only four vowel letters and no vowels. Vowels are a relatively late development in
alphabetic writing. Since alphabetic
writing developed from speech, we are unsure of the correct vocalization of any
ancient language. Most modern
vocalizations are contrived instruments to aid in spelling and understanding
distinctions. Even though tools like
scansion have been devised, the exact vocalization of the ancients is
unknown. There is almost no vocalic
difference between the sounds Mosis and Moses.
[6]
The Dead Sea Scrolls attest to this.
[7]
The traditional books, date, and authorship must stand, and we will limit our
debate to such trivia as, was it 1406, 1405, or 1440?
[8]
We are not experts on the Shekinah Glory and
undertake this brief overview only to establish the existence of God, as a
well-known historic person or persons.
We now know Him as Trinity, Who is present completely everywhere in the
universe. However, it is not His ubiquity,
which is in view here, but rather the fact that He revealed Himself as a person
in many prominent locations, over long time periods, in the presence of
millions of witnesses. Our immediate
purpose is to review this extensive Presence and bring it to the front of our
contemporary attention and awareness.
By this excursus, we intend
to demonstrate that there can be no doubt that God presented Himself as an
historic presence with sufficient credentials and credibility to be an
unquestionable authority on all matters of creation and revelation. Moreover, we plan to establish that Moses did
not write on his own authority, but as the secretary of God Himself. Therefore, what Moses wrote about creation
and revelation is not dependent on his necessarily limited human perspective,
as well educated as he was, but depends on his direct access to the infallible
mind of God.
Discussions of the Shekinah are easily located by those
who wish to follow the subject farther: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Shekhinah;
http://www.gotquestions.org/
shekinah-glory.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_
(religion) ; http://www.biblehistory.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Shekinah_Glory.htm;
http://www.hope-of-israel.org/
glory.htm; http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah;
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.
php?t=693976; http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01721a.htm
[9]
Genesis 15:17
[10] Exodus 3:2ff
[11]
Exodus 13:21-22: The Shekinah is the Angel of God (Exodus 14:19).
[12]
We are not free to dismiss this apparition as normal volcanic action. It existed before Sinai. It appeared in both large and small
forms. It moved over vast
distances. It spoke and its speech was
heard at the very least by Moses and Joshua.
It occupied Mountain, Tabernacle, Temple, and Ark of the Covenant. It sits on the Mercy Seat.
[13]
Exodus 19:9, 16, 18, 20; 20:18; 24:10-11, 15-18; 33:9-11, 14; 34:29-35;
40:34-38; Numbers 9:15-23; 10:11, 33-36; 12:4-10
[14]
Leviticus 10:1-2; 16:1-2
[15]
Numbers 10:33-36; Joshua 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 13-15, 17; 4:5, 7, 9-11, 16-18
[16]
Joshua also meet with the captain of the Lord’s host, who says things
reminiscent of the burning bush (1 Samuel 4:19-22).
[17]
Joshua 6:4, 6-9, 11-13
[18]
Joshua 7:6, 10 (Though not specifically stated, this verse implies that God
speaks from the Ark.), 12 (Scripture does not record that the Ark went into
battle that day, as at Jericho, and here states that God will not be with them,
because of sin.)
[19]
Joshua 7:14-26
[20]
The record repeats the verb, take, many times, all of them anticipating, if not
specifically stating, that the Lord is the sentence subject, “the Lord takes.”
[21]
Exodus 25:7; 28:4, 6-28, 30 (When the Urim and Thummim are mentioned, the
breastplate is specifically called the breastplate of judgement). We cannot now speak of the Urim and Thummim
with certainty. A reasonable model of
the ephod and breastplate might be reconstructed from the detailed
description. But we possess no such
detailed description of the Urim and Thummim construction. So all pictorial and modeled representations
are without authenticity and fraudulent.
Nor do we know exactly how they are used, only a few obscure references
allow us to even guess at their operation.
What is clear is that God used them to show His will to His people, and
to direct them in the correct decision path.
In much the same way that the Shekinah and Ark directed their movement,
so also the Urim and Thummim directed their judgement. So we conclude that Shekinah, Ark, Urim, and
Thummim must be interactive and interconnected, but we cannot know exactly how.
[22]
Deuteronomy 33:2: Urim means lights.
Thummim means completion, perfection.
The connection to “it is finished” is unmistakable.
[23]
Joshua 8:33
[24]
Joshua 9:14
[25]
Judges 2:27
[26]
1 Samuel 3:3; 4:3-6, 11, 13, 17-19
[27]
1 Samuel 4: 19-22: She is in the pangs of childbirth, in travail, she screams,
she gasps out the words with her dying breaths.
Ichabod is Hebrew and translates, “The glory is departed.”
[28]
Its shape and construction closely resembles an Egyptian regal sedan
chair. Its clear intent is to proclaim
God with a visible symbol. Within the
Greek notion of symbol the thing symbolized is actually present. This is early iconography; it is sacramental.
[29]
Joshua 1:7; 22:5; 23:6 (Note that the Pentateuch or Torah is already Canonical
by 1406 BC, at the time of Moses’ mysterious death and disappearance.)
[30]
1 Samuel 5:1-4, 7-8, 10-11; 6:1-3, 8, 11
[31]
1 Samuel 6:13, 15, 18-19, 20 (The men of Beth-shemesh understood that looking
into the Ark was equivalent to looking at God), 21; 7:1-2; 14:18; 2 Samuel
6:2-4, 6-7, 9-13, 15-17; 7:2; 11:11; 15:24-25 (Here we see that the Ark and
therefore the Shekinah are closely associated with the King. But David is aware that he has become
unworthy because of his sin and sends the Ark back to Jerusalem until he is
certain of his forgiveness.), 29
[32]
1 Kings 2:26; 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 3-7, 9, 21
[33]
1 Kings 8:10-11
[34]
Although it evidently made excursions (2 Chronicles 35:3)
[35]
Jeremiah 3:16 (It appears that the Ark is gone, never to return); Ezekiel 10:1
through 11:25 (These verses detail the horrifying even of the departure of
God’s presence from Israel forever: especially 10:4, 18; 11:22-23.): According to 1 Ezra 1:51 the Ark was carried
to Babylon. The departure of the
Shekinah from the Ark makes the destruction of the Ark possible. This seems to be supported by Jeremiah 3:16,
and by Daniel, for Daniel agrees that the golden Temple goblets are in
Babylon. All mention of the return of
the Ark is conspicuously absent until John makes a point of it in Revelation
11:19. Not only is are the Ark, Urim and
Thummim absent; but there is no mention of fire or smoke or any other evidence
of the return of the Shekinah. See Ezra
6:15. Do not despair, Christ is our
Shekinah,
[36]
Exodus 33:11 our translation
[37]
Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23
[38]
Exodus 8:1 through 11:10; 12:29-33; 14:21-28 for a few examples
[39]
Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 32:15-16; 34:1, 4, 28-29; Deuteronomy 4:13; 5:22;9:9-11,
15, 17; 10:1-5; Daniel 5:5, 22-28, 30-31; John 8:6
[40]
For 860 years an entire nation clung to the fact that God is a Person or
Persons and whose Presence was actually dwelling in their midst (Jeremiah
14:9).
[41]
Ezekiel 3:15; 26:16; 27:35; 28:19; Daniel 4:19; 8:17-18, 27; 9:3, 7-8; 10:2;
10: 9, 15; 12:8
[42]
Matthew 2:2, 7-10; Luke 2:14 — We note that this is not a limited local event,
but one that extended as far as Persia.
We should not miss the point of comparison between the Fire that led a
nation, and the Star that led Persian astronomers.
[43]
Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28; 2 Peter 1:17-19
[44]
Acts 2
[45]
Acts 10:46; 19:6
[46]
What else could an expression like, “He is the effulgence of the [Father's] Glory (Hebrews 1:3),” possibly
mean. See John 1:4-5, 9, 14; 1 John 1:5,
7; 2:8-11
[47]
“Bath Kol (literally, ‘daughter of a voice)” is an unauthenticated revelation,
a secondary revelation, a commentary or interpretation of revelation, or even
hearsay. We define it as a revelation
that is possibly legitimate, impossible to substantiate, and only having
limited relevance for the specific individuals witnessing it. See Beckwith, Roger T., The Old Testament Canon of the
New Testament Church (SPCK, London, 1985) pages 370f, 375f, 422
[48]
Matthew 24:27 our translation
[49]
Mark 13:26 our translation
[50]
Luke 21:27 our translation
[51]
A wage-give-away-er, a person that bestows gifts of wages where none are earned
[52]
Hebrews 11:6 our translation
[53]
Hebrews 12:29 our translation
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