Like many people, I have often considered learning a new language. It seems like it would be a fun endeavor, and one which would open a number of doors, maybe even enable me to befriend people I would otherwise be incapable of understanding. How fantastic that would be!
As it happens, in high school, it was mandatory for me to study both French, a language I had wanted to learn since I found out my mother spoke it, and German. But one problem with the British school system is it isn't as concerned with teaching the topics as it is teaching one to pass the exam. You could pick it up as an optional topic for your G.C.S.E.s, you still wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with a native speaker. Thus, what little I learned was useless to me.
On top of this, I later found out the hard way (which is apparently my favorite way to learn) that some of what I learned wasn't even accurate. This gets me thinking, how would I actually know? If I do not speak a language, how do I know the one teaching me is teaching me properly? This is where it gets deeper: At one point in my life, I didn't even speak my own language!
And neither did you. Whatever languages you speak, whether you be an English-only native speaker, or a multilingual expert, there was a time when the only thing you could say was "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA". And what did that even mean? Were you hungry? Were you tired? Were you hot or cold, or fed up with that slimy brown stuff slopping around in your nappy? You didn't know.
But as time went on, you learned to speak, and the chances are you would eventually learn to read. But just as it would be difficult to know if what you learn about another language is accurate, you must take for granted that you do, in fact, understand your own language.
Think of it this way: Thus far, I have been writing this article in English, taking for granted that I am communicating what I intend to communicate, and that you understand what I intend you to understand. To do this, I am drawing on my past education (and occasionally I'll look up a word to make sure I'm using it right). To do this, I must implicitly and unconditionally trust that those who taught me to read, write, and even speak, did so accurately. There must be a point when I stop asking "how do I know", and answer "I just do".
This is called an "axiom". A starting point. A self-evident truth from which I begin my reasoning, and, if necessary, an end towards which I will circle. Barring omniscience, which no honest person will ever claim to have, we all have our axioms, and not just when it comes to understanding our own language. It is as inescapable as the fact that we were once babes, fresh from the womb, forced to rely on our fellow descendants of the womb for our very survival.
This, in itself, shows that we are unconscious of at least some of them. No one had to teach you how to breathe, it is a thing you just knew how to do. Even before you knew what air was, you knew you needed it, and if you for some reason decided to reject it, you would soon see fit to seek it again.
But not every axiom is a good one. As a species, we have been designed for philosophy. But we don't all believe this. Some people do not believe we have been designed at all, with some even believing we are so unsuited to deep thought that the only thing we can know is that we know nothing. Yet, even these will look both ways before crossing a street, knowing full well that a bus is a bus.
The Lord God is the ultimate axiom, being so self-evident that even those who deny Him by word confess Him by deed. As the Bible tells us, "“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10; cf. Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7). This is so true that not only those who love Him, but even those who hate Him, will ultimately be forced to live as if He exists.
To begin with, this can be seen in nature. Some of the most powerful arguments for God's existence are those which recognise how intricately our creation has been designed. Ironically, even those who firmly reject God's hand in creation can often be caught unconsciously confessing it. I remember as a college student, I made a game out of counting these slip ups, which would happen frequently. "If you were designing a heart...", one of my biology professors began, trying to help us reason for ourselves how the heart might work, even before explaining it to us. "In my opinion, it's a very bad design", another of them stated, criticising the prostate.
And it's not just in my own life that such slip ups can be observed. Not even notorious atheist apologist Richard Dawkins can avoid admitting "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose" (1). But I would say not only biology, but the whole of creation, simply screams design.
I am not alone in this opinion, for Scripture itself tells us "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). We act like the world is designed because we know it is. That is why, while the less sophisticated atheists will use the very word "science" as if it's some kind of insult to Christians, more competent scholars will admit that science "began its discoveries and made use of its methods in the faith, not the knowledge, that it was dealing with a rational universe controlled by a creator who did not act upon whim nor interfere with the forces He had set in operation… It is surely one of the curious paradoxes of history that science, which professionally has little to do with faith, owes its origins to an act of faith that the universe can be rationally interpreted, and that science today is sustained by that assumption." (Emphasis added). (2).
This is why the overwhelming majority of early scientists, particularly the fathers of many fields, were Christians, be they orthodox or heretical. It is also why, whenever an unbeliever does science, they are forced to either borrow from the Christian worldview, or, ultimately, do it wrong. It is as if Christians discovered a gold mine, and now the world knows where to dig. You may well find gold, but the unbeliever has a high chance of selling pyrite.
But if God is so self-evident, why, then, do people still deny Him? According to the same Scripture, it is because unrighteous men suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Tragically, we are in a state of rebellion against our Creator, a lifelong struggle that began roughly 6,000 years ago. "You will not surely die", the devil said to Eve, a lie which she believed, and Adam foolishly followed, plunging the entire world into darkness.
Now, much like the devil, we seek to be like God. We don't want His "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not", keeping the forbidden fruit out of our mouths. It's our garden, we tell ourselves, as if we sprung from the dirt of our own free will and breathed life into our own nostrils. Ironically, this is the end result of atheism, as many genuinely fall for the lie of abiogenesis. Thus, in our depravity, we set up anti-God axioms, such as Naturalism, and commit to denying Him.
The result of this rejection, ultimately, is God's proportional response. If we reject Him, He rejects us, giving us over to strong delusions. But even then, while deluding ourselves into believing He does not exist, we will continue to act as if He does, not only in the natural world, but even in our moral core.
See, just as the Lord included, in our design, the instinct to breathe, He wrote His very law upon our hearts. We instinctively know that there is a moral standard to which we should conform, and even as we desperately seek to shape that standard to our own selves, we know that ultimately, we fall short of it. "Nobody's perfect", we admit, for while we fail to see the wrong in our favorite sins, we're all too happy to admit, yes, we have done wrong.
And so we live by His law, even without being told. "We don't need God to tell us what to do, we're good without God", the atheists claim, not realising that by claiming to be good, they are admitting a standard of good beyond themselves. After all, what is good? Can I claim to be a good fighter because I can punch a hanging bag? Can I claim to be a good footballer because I can kick a ball between two hoodies on the ground? Goodness requires a standard, and so to claim to be good without God is like claiming to have kept your New Year's Resolution, because you never made one in the first place.
Ultimately, we see that God is the ultimate axiom because whether you believe in Him or not, you will ultimately live like you do. Deny Him by word, you will confess Him by deed. To live by a lie, you will have to borrow from the truth - His truth. To escape Him is impossible, not only in the sense that He will catch you in His own time, but that even while you run from Him, you tread on His ground, breathing His air, even living by His laws. The final law you will obey: Death.
Just as God promised our ancestors, eating the fruit from the forbidden tree brought death, not only for themselves, but for us as their descendants. See, all of us sin in various ways, up to and including the denial of His existence. We all eat from our own "forbidden trees", the penalty for which is death, not only physical, but also spiritual.
But this tragic state of affairs is reversible, not with more rebellion, as if we were somehow capable of eventually defeating God, but by repentance. God never fully withdrew from man, even in the depths of our depravity, but beyond all imagination, took it upon Himself to become a man Himself. During His life, Jesus never once sinned, meaning He, and He alone, was perfect. Nevertheless, He received the full wrath of God for sin, culminating in His death on the cross.
But why was Jesus punished for sin, if He was the only human being who never deserved it? Simply because we do. Jesus received our punishment on our behalf, enabling us to receive His reward. But this gift is only available to those who receive it. Scripture tells us that "...without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6). Those who claim to be "good without God", therefore, are doing the exact opposite. They have made themselves the axiom, and are therefore doomed to sink with the flimsy foundation upon which they have built their lives.
The choice set before us is life or death. Not temporally, for we are destined to spend only a short time here before we pass on to the judgment seat of God. But how that judgment goes rests in our hands. To continue in our rebellion is futile, with only one possible end: An eternity paying for it in Hell. But God gives us another choice. We may place our faith in Him, being forgiven for our transgressions through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The result of this is an inheritance in His eternal Kingdom, never to die again, or even suffer. Make the wise choice: Build on God's foundation.
References
1. Dawkins, Richard - The Blind Watchmaker, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, USA, 1986
2. Eiseley, Loren. - Darwin’s Century: Evolution and the Men who Discovered It, Doubleday, Anchor, New York, 1961