God exists, is relevant in human affairs

In the Church calendar today is Palm Sunday, the first day of the Holy Week, a day on which Christians worldwide commemorate Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry to Jerusalem. The Holy Week culminates on Easter Sunday, a very important day on which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

It’s an appropriate time to reply to an opinion piece by columnist Musaazi Namiti published in Sunday Monitor of March 6 titled, “Wars illustrate how God is irrelevant in human affairs.” 

Much as Namiti includes a disclaimer that questions he raised in the opinion are not intended to offend people who believe in God, his remarks have, in fact, annoyed, offended and outraged many Christians, especially where he writes:

“But if you have lived on this planet for at least four decades (as I have done) and you think for yourself and independently (as I do), you know that neither can be done by God for the simple reason that we have zero evidence that He exists and cares about how we live, zero evidence where He lives, zero evidence of how He works and when He works.”

Attempts by atheists and assorted non-believers, including former Anglican Bishop Richard Holloway of Edinburgh, to question and deny the existence of God reminds me of similar incidents recorded in the Holy Bible which illustrate that doubters have been around since time immemorial.

Apostle Matthew writes: “The 11 disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted.” Matthew 28: 16-17 (GNB)

The 11 disciples were witnesses to the teachings of and numerous miracles Jesus performed during his ministry, but some were doubtful about him on the day Christ ascended to heaven. The story of the “doubting Thomas” is a classic example recorded in the Scriptures.

For me and believers, our faith and trust in God our Father in heaven enables and empowers us to believe unconditionally and wholeheartedly that God exists. 

We take it for granted and never doubt God’s existence, just like I have never doubted who my earthly father is. I don’t need a DNA test to provide evidence.

The psalmist laments about people who deny that God exists and cares about human beings whom He created in His own image. 

The psalmist writes: “Fools say to themselves, there is no God. They are all corrupt and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.” Psalm 14:1 (GNB)

On faith it’s written: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.” Hebrews 11: 1-3 (RSV)

I am a living witness of God’s abundant blessings, grace, mercy and love for His children. 

On August 10, 2001, I was involved in a near-fatal motor accident in Kampala and admitted to Mulago hospital for treatment for almost one month. 

In September 2001, I had a miraculous experience in the presence of medical practitioners and relatives who were attending to me. I wrote two opinion pieces on the matter which were published in Sunday Monitor and are available in the public domain.

As I was hovering precariously between life and death, I had a vision and a voice spoke to me clearly, loudly and gently like a father to a son. 

The voice, inter alia, assured me of full recovery from serious internal injuries I sustained. Make no mistake, God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. To God be the glory!

Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.                     

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