Why believe in God?

"There is a hole in the ground, a dark cavernous recess with gaping aperture. There is a group of people that all wish to get to a point on the other side of the hole. Amongst these people is one who refuses to believe that the hole exists, he looks in the direction of the hole and says that the darkness is just shadows, that it’s all an optical illusion, a trick. Whilst everyone else is making their way carefully around the edge of the gaping abyss, this person strides out – unaware of the dangers, in the most direct route to the place he wants to be.

He falls, screaming, in to that dark maw. Realising, only too late, that the people around him weren’t deluded in their belief that the hole existed. There was a good reason why they didn’t just stride out as he had."


What meaning do you find in this parable? The main point that I’d like to highlight is that the man’s belief – or lack thereof – in the existence of the hole did not effect whether the hole actually existed. What peril did the man put himself in by believing wrong!

When someone asks; why believe in God? It is worth highlighting that whether you believe in him or not doesn’t effect his existence. If your belief is wrong, it is wrong and if it is right, it is right. To refuse to see any evidence that is presented is simply gambling – striding out like the man in our story.

But if you had to gamble? If you were blind and alone and couldn’t see the hole? What would be the best choice to make; believing that the hole existed or that it didn’t? This is known as Pascal’s wager. It precedes something like:

If you believe in God – and are correct, then you have gained everything promised (you get to the other side of the hole).
If you believe in God – and are wrong, then you neither lose nor gain anything (you still get to the other side of the supposed hole).
If you don’t believe in God – and are correct, then you neither lose nor gain anything (you get to the other side if the supposed hole).
If you don’t believe in God – and are wrong, then you lose everything (you fall into the hole).

The only way to lose out is to gamble that God doesn’t exist. Gambling that God does exist means you can’t lose. I hope this is an encouragement to investigate the existence of God further and not just consign it to the rubbish bin of ideas without a second thought.