Looking for God

You could be forgiven for missing it, but the race is on to find the so-called ‘God particle’, the Higgs boson. And with CERN’s Large Hadron Collider out of action, the Americans believe they will beat the Europeans. (See the BBC article for more details.) Missing the recent celebration of Darwin would have been harder.

Any attempt to discover the wonders of the universe is welcome. Christians need not fear scientific investigation or discovery. We live in a glorious world which induces a sense of wonder.

But while so much scientific research in previous generations was undertaken in a sense of humility before an awe-inspiring creation and a great creator, much today seems to be undertaken in a spirit of human independence or even arrogance. We can find the answers. We will solve the ultimate questions.

God is, in the words of one of the new breed of atheists, Richard Dawkins, a delusion.

There are others who cannot believe in God but seem to wish they could. Check out the Daily Mail interview with David Attenborough or the Times article by Matthew Parris.

John’s Gospel is structured round a series of signs. For those who will come, either to the created world or to the Gospel records, with open minds and humility there is much to be discovered of the ways of God. Let’s cultivate such an attitude for ourselves and encourage it in others.

John Grayston