Reasonable does not mean expecting everyone to believe — but rather given the “reasonable” (rather than “absolute”) amount of evidence for Christianity, it is logical to believe.
A non-believer might pose the question: if God were reasonable and all-loving, and He was a God that had a genuine sense of attachment to his creations, would he not make it so that every “reasonable” person believed in him? Such an immense crowd of followers would surely enlighten every one of the realness of God’s existence – and atheism or secularism would be a thing of the past. Though I will attempt to briefly answer the question (which I might add is a legitimate question to pose), it is important to note that just like my previous posts, this is meant to serve as a very brief introduction to one of many arguments concerning the validity of God’s existence. People interested in apologetics, arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as other questions of philosophy of religion may conduct their own research and discover the truth – though this may help serve as a basic block to start. This is in no way comprehensive.
Surely enough, if everyone or most people we considered being reasonable believed in God, we would be more enticed to believe in a deity. Simply put, we tend to value intelligent individuals and see them in a respectable light. Today there are particularly strong secular movements, such as “Freethought” which see religion as a chain on intellectual and societal progress. Supposedly, once one breaks free of religion, they are freed from a false objective worldview and can consequently discover the beauty science and empiricism offers.
The conclusion that the “argument from divine hiddenness” results in is that since we can see a tremendous amount of “reasonable” people refusing to believe in God based on the “evidence” disproving his existence, it is highly unlikely that God exists. But can we trust this argument? Should “reasonable” people serve as a basis for faith?
According to the Washington Times, statistics show that more than 8 out of every 10 people in the world identify with a religious group. Also, 1 out of every 3 people in the world are Christian. Yes, one might follow the Eastern Orthodox Church or a brand of Protestantism, but the point is that one is a follower of Christ. If you ask me, roughly a third of the world being Christian is a pretty high number suggesting that there might be something behind the Christian religion and its appeal to people’s hearts (and brains). Maybe, just maybe?
Also, it seems irrational to place such monumental demands on the creator of the heavens and the earth (and your delicious food – or at least the building blocks of it). For a small being to place a command on an infinitely greater being is essentially unreal. Matter of fact, the argument is not that true in the modern world as one might think. There are plenty of scientists, such as physicists, or other highly educated and reasonable people that hold a belief in the Christian God.
Would faith retain its same value if God made his existence absolutely clear to everyone reasonable? No. Faith is deemed “faith” for a reason.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And indeed it is quite the fight in an age oozing of materialistic glory.
References
Harper, Jennifer. “84 Percent of the World Population Has Faith; a Third Are Christian.” The WashingtonTimes. Washington Times, 23 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.