Believe God

In the modern world in which we live, the usual starting point in the conversation(s) of theology begins with the question of God's existence.  For this, the discussion launches with the question whether to believe in God or not.  However, the presuppositions of this question betray the question and biblical perspective, for Scripture's starting point is somewhere else altogether.

Scripture begins, not with a proposition for man to believe in God, but in the assertion that God is and the man is asked to believe what He says and commands.  God never explains or gives proof of His existence to Adam.  In fact, to do so would seem ludicrous and redundant considering the nearness and intimacy of God's relationship with Adam.

Moreover, God's negative command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not based on God needed to assert His existence.  Rather, the essence of Scripture is not and is never whether mankind can/should believe in God, but is concerned with whether mankind will believe God.

The prevailing presupposition of Scripture is that God exists, and His very existence places humanity in a dilemma of sorts.  The question is not whether we will believe in God, as in some philosophical quandary but whether we will believe what He has commanded us.  This needs to be the entry point in the conversation and it should be where we start when we discuss the basic matters of God.  In the end, though, we must point to the Gospel.  This is the heart of the dialogue and it is our obligation to bring any inquirers and sophists to it.