Someone, or many, have suggested that Christianity  and other religions have created much of our present day conflict and confusion. Some have gone so far as to say that we could solve the issues of life if we could “just leave God out of it.”

If God is not, and if he has not made himself known: through creation, law and prophets and divine revelation, through incarnation, then we human beings are the superior ones. We can just leave God out of it and ignore our country’s origin and heritage and give our own definitions of life, liberty and happiness.

We could dismiss our past and all ancient sources of authority. We could start over with every new generation of evolved progressives if we could “just leave God out of it.”

We can redefine right and wrong, good and evil, hate and love. We can adjust our moral climate to accommodate what is really happening or what we call our rights if we can “just leave God out of it.” We can throw away the old book of Jewish fairy tales as the comedian, Bill Maher, calls it.

But if we dare to believe that creation has a creator, and that the creator can communicate with his own creation, then the whole scene changes.

If we dare believe the law of God was given through Moses and that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, then we can begin to understand Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Life becomes sacredly rooted in faith, hope and love. We learn where we came from, whose we are and why we are here and how to use freedom.

Scientific study of the material universe reveals the wonders of an amazing creation that transcends all human limitations. Dr. Paul Brand quoting the Psalmist, said “we are fearfully and wonderfully made,” having 12 different systems in our body operating in perfect harmony to give us life and death. Each of these systems — nervous, visual, digestive, muscular, etc. — defies definition and is superior to any technology known to mankind. The scholars of medical research are still at work and will never complete their tasks.

The sun and moon are precisely and strategically located to nurture and make possible our life on earth. Someone has written “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows us His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night declares knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1,2)

One of the selected scientists employed by the National Science Foundation and assigned to study the origins of life said, “We are all the products of millions of years of lucky accidents.” Dr. Antony Flew wrote many volumes on atheism in the 20th century. His last book was entitled “There Is A God.” He suggests that proof itself is more theoretical than absolute, that conclusions are drawn from evidence, and that all real evidence points to an infinite God fully capable of revealing Himself to those created to know Him.

It is impossible to leave God out of a creation which He designs, owns, provides for, and seeks to redeem at great cost to Himself. Therefore, reasonable persons must begin with reference to an authority of a might God whose wisdom transcends all human scholarship, and whose very historical actions and interactions with His creation are recorded by those who knew Him best.

Divine revelation gives us a place of beginning without which we create our own theories. Holy scriptures are saturated with human/divine encounters, when men and women were called of God to very specific participation in the divine plan. Countless members of eyewitness believers, including 11 of the original disciples of Jesus, were tortured and killed rather than deny the Son of God and His resurrection.

Belief in God the Father and Jesus the Son changes everything about life including our priorities, our values, our mission, our morals. Life for the believer is a gift, a privilege, an honor, a joy. We become servants instead of arrogant, honest instead of deceptive, generous instead of greedy.

We have a master model who came by way of a Bethlehem stable and a Roman cross. He didn’t demand any rights. He faced a mob with torches and condemnation, and a sacrificial death while praying  “… not my will but thine be done.”

Jesus gave a new definition to life, liberty and happiness. Life is a gift to be given back. Liberty is the privilege to worship and serve God. Happiness is the reward for giving and serving.

The unbeliever cannot understand these words. In fact he has nowhere to stand. He can only live by theories, call life “lucky accidents” and worship the creation rather than the creator — if he can “just leave God out of it.” That will be very difficult when you face death.

I believe in a very personal God who has made Himself known through creation, revelation incarnation, and the generous offer of salvation to all.

This belief gives me my identify, my values, my relationships, my assurance of life’s purpose, my love for life and people and the blessed hope of life in all of God’s future.

This belief defines the meaning of life, liberty and happiness. I would like to believe that my beliefs are constitutional, at least in the minds of those who wrote and approved the constitution of these United States of America.

We can begin to recover and reproduce the virtues of truth, honesty, integrity, faith, hope and love. We can model the same for the broken world all around us. But only as we give priority to the God who made us and His son who showed us the Father. Otherwise, we will continue the sad and historic consequences of “leaving God out of it.”

Glenn Martin is a Brookhaven resident and retired Methodist minister.