Hi, Percy.
I missed this thread because I haven't been around. I took a quick glance at the last few posts, and I don't think there's anything substantial to throw off by jumping in unless I missed something.
We've discussed some "proof of God" issues before. I want to throw in this, though:
For myself, I would approach this question by asking what differences might exist between a world created by God and another world that came about in the absence of a God.
If I had to reason, as I've seen Rrhain reason on this board, about the kind of world a good God would create, I'd probably come to the same conclusion you suggest: "We seem to have enough of [wars, prejudice, disease, and disasters] to suspect the possibility of an absence of God in this world."
So if that sort of reasoning is ALL we have, then I'd lean toward no God.
I don't think it's all I have. You probably hate my stories. I have a new one today. Last night our prayer team prayed for the couple that lives behind the two houses we own in Memphis. The couple has been remarkably rude to the folks we have living there. Someone who's been in that neighborhood for decades told me they've always been like that.
One lady on the prayer team prayed, "God, if you can't get through to him, at least get through to her."
She came over today and apologized for being so rude.
These are people who went out of their way to express their disdain for our friends there. There was nothing to indicate anything had changed, other than the prayer last night.
I don't feel like I went looking for God. I was an atheist once, at age 21, and I came to that slowly, over 7 or 8 years. At that point, however, I feel that God came looking for me. I was only an atheist for a couple months. The things that happened to turn me around probably would not have turned someone else around, but they were perfectly designed to convince me to follow Christ.
I know you don't consider these things proof of anything. I tell you that only to answer your question. So, having said all the above, my answer to your question is:
1.) I don't really think this world looks like it was created by a good God.
2.) I think that nature, in a spiritual manner, really does testify to our spirits, not to our brain, that there is a Creator.
3.) I believe the Creator calls people to himself, and he reveals himself in ways that allow their spirit to believe, even if their minds can't.
That's my answer. A spiritual belief is quite enough, because that deep-rooted belief is sufficient to change behavior--where mental belief isn't always sufficient--and the results of a spiritual belief are
often astounding enough to help take care of the mental belief, too.
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