Why I believe in God.

` My belief in God has nothing to do with religion. Let me try to explain. We humans like to think of ourselves as intelligent beings capable of understanding all that surrounds us - capable of analyzing the all forces of nature - of defining everything. And I have to admit that science has analyzed and explained some amazing things. It's an intricate and wonderful world in which we live. Still, there are things we don't understand, things we can't quantify.
` I'm always amazed that science can't seem to get a handle on gravity. Gravity seems so basic. What goes up must come down. We stick to the ground because the earth and our bodies both have mass, and mass attracts mass, gravity attracts gravity. According to our scientists, gravity is mathematically intertwined with time and mass, but that's about all we know on the subject. It's fabric and substance escapes our understanding. And where would we be without gravity?
` It's the engine of our physical universe. It ignites suns and embraces solar systems and galaxies. The moon's gravity causes the earth's oceanic tides. Still, we can't quite grasp gravity. It simples exists and we don't know why. We can measure its effect, use it to slingshot satellites around planets, but we can't generate gravity, or repel gravity. It just is. And here of late, with the discovery that our universe is expanding at an accelerated rate instead of slowing down from our understanding of gravity's pull, scientists have a new theory called Dank Matter and Dark Energy to explain their lack of understanding of gravity. It goes to show how little we actually know.
` However, the most mysterious of unquantifiable forces, that science desperately wants to quantify, is our most precious commodity - Life.
` We cling to dearly to life. We fight to keep it at all costs. If someone's life is at risk, we throw all of our science and medical knowledge in full gear, and if we hurry, sometimes we can save that life. We can repair the various systems of the body - the structural bones, the electrical brain and nerves, the plumbing of the heart and veins, the gastric energy system and waste removal, the sensory inputs of smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing. We can, if we hurry, repair all those things. But once life has left the body, there's nothing we can do. We can't give life. We've no clue what the life force is or where it comes from. It's even more mysterious than gravity. It has no measurable fabric, no definable substance.
` I've heard scientists claim that they control the fabric of life because they understand and can manipulate DNA. But DNA is just the instruction manual for the biological form. It's the mechanics of growth. So intriguing and intricate that, to me, it seems a good argument for Intelligent Design. But DNA is not life.
` We can manipulate DNA strands, splice this with that, but it has to be living DNA. We can't create DNA. We can measure and define every element and atom of DNA, but we can't stir together those elements and atoms and create a human. We can't even create something simple as a seed. We can't press together the elemental componets of a seed and make anything that will grow. We can't make it be alive. Life is completely out of our hands.
` And the life force is strong. If you've ever tried to get rid of weeds in your yard, you know that those pesky little seeds seem to take hold everywhere. Every nook and cranny has something growing in it. Life is everywhere here on earth - an incredible diversity - even in places where we're stunned to find life.
` Up to now, it was believed that life could not exist without some relationship with the sun. But recently, a very diverse population was found living in complete darkness at the bottom of the ocean by thermal vents. Apparently these life forms get their energy from minerals that spew from those thermal vents. We surface dwellers get our biological energy from the sun. I suppose the only connections between the newly discovered sun-deprived ocean life and us are: the life force, DNA, and the fact that the thermal vents and the sun both owe their existence to the effect of gravity.
` Life is a very powerful force. Life comes from somewhere. That "somewhere" to me is God. I believe in God because defining the life force is so far beyond our abilities. This mysterious, wonderful force can be whisk away form us in an instant and there's nothing we can do about it. ` We have no power over life. We can't create life. We can't give life. It's true that our understanding of the biological vessels of life has grown, but we're no closer to understanding what "life" is than we are to understanding what "gravity" is.
` It all seems so infinite, so beyond my comprehension. All I can say is, "thank you, God," for life and for all the forces that control our physical universe.