I had the joy of attending Dr. Rice Broocks and Dr. Eric Hedin’s presentation on “God’s Not Dead,” a movement started by Dr. Rice Broocks in response to the hit novel that has also inspired the movie series. Broocks, a Bible Belt pastor from good ol’ Rocky Top, Tennessee, came to Dr. Eric Hedin, a physics professor from the University of Washington, to gather the facts on whether or not there is a divine creator. 

Broocks and Hedin began their discussion at the Kent State University KIVA by gifting everyone in the audience their own copy of the novel. After the crowd erupted into an Evangelical-adjacent cheer, they moved on to their possible evidence — already established YouTube videos and simplifications of extremely complicated processes. 

They will utilize physics, mathematics and philosophy. Metaphysics. 

When we are looking for evidence for God, we are looking for evidence of an intelligent mind behind the universe. The claim goes as follows: Everything is too purposeful, too divinely created, to have been an accident. Many physicists either believe in the Big Bang theory or the assumption that the universe has always existed.

Our speakers challenge us on the how: If the Big Bang theory is correct, what was happening before? Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, right? They rely on Gödel’s incompleteness theorems. “In any consistent formal system powerful enough to describe arithmetic, there will be true statements that cannot be proven within that system, and such a system cannot prove its own consistency.”

So, there is no proof that God exists in physics; there is only sufficient evidence to keep our minds open to the possibility. As Hedin and Broocks said, there is no such thing as absolute proof.

But we, as intelligent individuals, have to accept certain truths without sufficient evidence or explanation to go further within a field, at least that’s what Hedin believes. He used the example of the existence of numbers: we do not question whether six is six or whether seven is seven. We simply accept this as an absolute truth. So, the same goes for believing in creation.

While the lane of science and technology cannot offer a full explanation or proof that a god may or may not be real, as it deals with supernatural beliefs, we can only turn to one thing: philosophy. 

The title of the novel, movie series, and lecture series “God’s Not Dead” comes from Frederich Nietzsche’s “The Gay Science.” “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Isn’t the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”

While this quote seems as if he is pushing and promoting atheism, it is more of an acknowledgement of the lack of belief in the turn of the century, caused by the beginning of secular and scientific thought. So, it is immensely fitting to have an intense quote like this to hone in on the central idea of belief.

Hedin and Broocks also utilize the idea of good and evil. They mention a quote by philosopher and author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” Hedin and Broocks believe that a God is behind the natural ideas of both good and evil.

So now, the proofs.

1. There was a creation.
2. Good and Evil are no illusions.
3. Life is no accident
4. Jesus and The Resurrection

Jesus and the Resurrection is the final point. There was proof that Jesus existed. There is reason to believe that Jesus’ followers saw him. The tomb was empty when his female followers checked. The most significant amount of evidence we have is that everyone who had seen Jesus post-mortem concluded that he came from the dead. If it were not so, then the prophecy would have been false, and there would have been no Christianity. The prophecy from the same bible that was purposely taught in languages the vast population and majority did not understand.

As they both wrapped up their points, they left us in prayer.

In the end, I left understanding the intersectional reasons people believe so fiercely in a God, but I was dissatisfied with the lack of actual scientific evidence behind it. I wanted percentages, not stolen YouTube videos. I was also dissatisfied with the way they produced this material. As a philosophy student, I enjoyed the lecture, which deepened my understanding of this group’s framework.

Is God Dead?

If God exists, it takes people to actualize the sentiment. It takes perception, the ability to read the sermon, and the ability to hear the sermon—at that, this is from the points presented. Belief begins with the ability and community agreement that there is a God. Christianity would only exist with the people’s agreement on the supernatural body, so we can only go forward as a community that, as long as there is a communal agreement on God, must exist. 

Karmyn Allen is a columnist. Contact her at [email protected]