Some people believe that truth is relative and that everyone can have their own “truth,” even if it contradicts a fact of life. However, the truth is not true if it isn’t consistent and grounded, so it can’t be true. What happens when two truths contradict each other? How can computer technology even work if true and false are relative and interchangeable? Computers work with circuits built on logic gates that use binary switches; something must be true or false for a program to determine which method to use under certain conditions. Where does truth come from? One answer would be God, but how do we define God?
Some people have their own definition of “god”. So then we should ask, “How do you know there is a god?” What is the source of your information about such a being? People have different views on which holy book or tradition defines the true God. However, if the definition of their god doesn’t come from a source outside of themselves, then that god isn’t real. Everything in existence has its own unique attributes that are independent of our own thoughts and opinions; therefore, if God exists, then God is already defined by His unique attributes, so we can make up attributes and assign them to God. Instead, we must accept God as God is, because God defines Himself, not us.
A real God would have predated our existence and will succeed us in death, just like anything else that has been around a long time and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon (mountains, stars, the sky, etc). People can want the midday sky to appear as any color other than blue, but that won’t change the fact that it always appears blue at midday. Similarly, a red apple is not a green apple, no matter how hard one may want it to be. Even if we paint it green, the genes for the red pigment (anthocyanin) are always there. We measure truth based on the consistency of a mechanism of reality. This is why we can use the scientific method.
The universe is not random because there are consistent laws of physics and chemistry that would be disrupted if things were random. Our feelings don’t define reality, since reality was predefined before we arrived and will persist after we are gone. That means that whatever attributes or characteristics God possesses are not defined by an individual, but rather God defines Himself and is independent of our opinions. So whatever the real God says is also independent of our feelings; His words are true whether or not we agree with them.
People can’t redefine a real God based on their feelings, since knowledge of His existence comes from a source outside of their own head. Anything He says would be the standard of truth since, as God, he made all things. Therefore, if God, the creator of everything, wants to speak with us, He can and will, and when He does so, He will ensure that everyone knows His truth and is accountable for it. Anyone following a god they have created in their mind is only deceiving themselves.
Christians get their definition of God from the Bible. We are not supposed to have blind faith (belief for no reason); our faith is supposed to be based on something substantial, like a word from God written for us (i.e., the Bible). Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen.” Substance and evidence are words used for tangible things. Even if God is intangible, His existence can only be considered true if there is a tangible representation of Him, such as a book with His words or eyewitnesses of His glory.
In other words, God must reveal Himself to us in some way for us to know Him for sure, and Christians believe that God has revealed Himself to us through the prophets who wrote Scripture and through Jesus, the unique Son of God and Savior. Any definition of God that contradicts how God defines himself is false. Any definition of God that contradicts the Bible is not the God of the Bible. If God is who the Bible says He is, then it would make sense that He would give us a written record of who He is, so that we can always distinguish His character from that of false gods and man-made idols. If Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, like the New Testament says, then His God, the God of Israel, is the true God, and everything else is false. If he wasn’t resurrected, then there is no reason to believe His God was the true God specifically. Judaism may still be authentic or not; either way, Christianity is about having faith in who the New Testament says Jesus is, because he defines and reveals God to us better than any other Jewish prophet.
In John 3:3-8, Jesus used the example of wind when referring to being born again in the Spirit.
John 3:3 (NLT) Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
The Hebrew word ruach (רוּחַ) is translated as both “spirit” (Gen 1:2, Judg 6:34, 1 Sam 16:14) and “wind/breath” (Num 11:31, Ex 10:13, Job 12:10). Jesus illustrates this by comparing spiritual things and beings, such as God, to the wind. The wind is not seen since it doesn’t interact with light, but there is evidence of the wind blowing that can be seen in the movement of objects blown by the wind, and felt through temperature changes caused by shifts in heat from the earth’s pressure gradient which cause the wind to blow in specific directions. The Bible, which is God’s word, and miracles (displays of God’s power) are the momentum that pushes things, and the invisible breath/wind/spirit of God generates it.
A god that someone makes up in their head has no power because a person created it, it is just an idol.
I leave you with Isaiah’s words on why idols are foolish:
Isaiah 45:9 How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. 10 Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit? 11 All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint. 13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. 15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! 16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” 17 Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!” 18 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. 19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” 20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”