The Comfort of a Creator
In conversations with nonbelievers, I often find that if they are not actively antagonistic to Christianity, their reaction to learning about my faith is confusion. One of the points of contention that friends and acquaintances consistently bring up is the concept of structuring one’s life around belief in a Creator. Some have argued that it is irrational because it is opposed to science. Others have argued that there is insufficient evidence and that it requires too much faith. Some have expressed their fear of a system that promises eternal consequences following the end of life on earth. I noticed that a unifying factor in each of these objections is the underlying assumption that belief in a creator would introduce some measure of affliction into their lives.
Having been raised with a Christian worldview, I always found myself struggling to understand this perspective. While I have certainly struggled with my faith at various points in my spiritual journey, I have never felt that not believing in a creator was a satisfactory alternative worldview. In fact, I have found a large measure of comfort that can come from believing in a Creator, and I believe that elements of human nature point to the necessity of this belief for mankind.
The aforementioned concept of divine punishment is often one of the most intimidating aspects of belief in a creator for nonbelievers and new believers, and it is no surprise that this should be the case. People prefer to believe that the things they are most ashamed of are known only by themselves or perhaps a close confidant, not by the architect of their life. To an individual who lacks a personal relationship with this Creator, nothing could seem more terrifying and vulnerable. However, a system in which these common, individual sins can remain unknown, necessarily would be a system in which there is no divine knowledge of or action against the most terrible atrocities that mankind can commit. If a political leader causes the genocide of thousands of innocent civilians and dies before facing punishment, a secular worldview suggests that he will never face any consequences for his actions. A Christian operates with the knowledge that God is just and will both punish and love in measure. Additionally, Christians know believers are not judged eternally by good works but by God’s mercy. This provides reassurance that there is order to the world. At some level, mankind fundamentally desires this natural order. This is evidenced by the way that many individuals who are not at all religiously affiliated casually adopt the Hindu and Buddhist concept of Karma, seeming to need the assurance that there must be some consequences for human actions without the implication that these consequences should come from a Divine Creator.
Beyond the consequences of good and evil, even the concept of “right” and “wrong” point to the need for belief in a creator. C.S. Lewis articulates this in Mere Christianity, where he discusses the moral argument for God. The argument is that the existence of a moral standard (similar precepts of morality that individuals can appeal to regardless of age, culture, and experience) points to an author for this standard; in other words, a Creator, who must be outside of humanity. If there is no author behind this standard of morality, then there is no true weight to it and no true point in abstaining from violating this standard, even though the resulting behavior would be abhorrent to any decent individual. However, the existence of a moral standard across various nations, cultures, and backgrounds points to humanity being intentionally designed.
When I consider the evidence that I see for a creator in both human behavior and in the natural world, I can see no coherent conclusion besides belief in a creator. This belief is not always easy, and new doubts crop up frequently. However, I find that it provides a comfort born of deep, spiritual satisfaction that is far preferable to the pressing uncertainty of ignorance. The same human nature that prompts us to seek meaning ultimately cannot be satisfied until this meaning is found in God; it longs to be made whole in union with the Creator.