In the small town where I grew up most everyone believed in God; everyone I knew except one man. He was a decent man as far as I know. He treated his wife and children well, and ran a successful and respected business. But he didn't believe in God, not that he was an active atheist. He didn't campaign to take prayer out of school or 'In God We Trust' off the money. He was an agnostic. He wasn't sure God didn't exist. He just wasn't sure that He did. I recall him saying, "God is for people who need something to believe in." These thoughts are for those who are not sure they can believe in God.
Do you have to turn off your brain and just accept God on 'blind faith'? Faith that refuses to look at the facts ... that closes it's mind and blindly denies all the 'evidence' of science? Faith yes, blind faith no. Jesus required that people, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good". 1 Thessalonians 5:21. In fact, if you will open your mind for a few moments, I want to consider with you some scientific facts which will reassure you that you can be intellectual and honest and still believe in God. Not obscure, debated, or uncommon facts, but facts that in a world where almost everything is debated, are nearly universally accepted as true, even by atheists, agnostics, scientists and skeptics.
Fact 1: The Universe Exists
No one but a fool would deny that the universe exists. I have never known or known of a scientist that does not believe the universe exists. In fact, the job of a scientist is to study the universe, and how can you study what does not exist? Now, think about this for a moment. Why is there a universe instead of nothing? It is well known to be impossible that the universe has always existed. So where did it come from? What caused it? There are two possible answers to this question. 1) It just happened by accident, or 2) It was created. Let's consider these options.
Is it more reasonable to believe this all just happened by accident or it was planned, designed and created? Suppose you asked me where I got the shirt I am wearing today, and I told you that I was driving through Western Oklahoma on a clear day, and I passed a freshly planted cotton field. Suddenly there was a flash of lightening which struck the field. As I watched, this shirt just came flying out of the resulting explosion. If I truly believed this, and tried to convince you of it, you would call me insane. You would not believe me even if I insulted you by saying, "You are just close minded. You are just too ignorant to realize that my story is true."
How then can we be swayed by those who would tell us the universe "just happened"? We are asked to believe there "just happened to be a 'primordial soup' that just happened to be hit by lightning which just happened to create amino acids which just happened ... ad infinitum." Where did the primordial soup come from? Where did the lightning come from? I believe that an intelligent personal creator is the only reasonable way to explain the existence of the universe.
Fact 2: The Universe Has Order
This is also a universally accepted truth. The 'Laws of Nature' are really just explanations of the order that exists in nature. Every time you drop something here on earth it falls down. It never falls up. The earth is just close enough to the sun to keep us from freezing, yet far enough away to keep us from burning up. Gravity is just strong enough to keep us from being flung into outer space, yet not too strong. The atmosphere has just the right amount of oxygen, just enough moisture, etc. It is obvious there is design and order in our universe.
So, why is there order in our universe? If it's existence is an accident why is it not just random? Either, 1) This 'cosmic accident' just happened to make everything perfect or 2) The intelligent being who created this universe designed it just right to sustain life. Remember the shirt from the cotton field? Suppose I was to tell you that, not only did I see the shirt come flying out, there also was a flawless suit with matching tie, kerchief, belt, shoes and socks which fit me perfectly. Would you be any more inclined to believe me now? Of course not. If I were to disassemble your watch, and put all the pieces (including the battery and band) in a small box, how long do you think you would have to shake that box until the watch was assembled, correctly set and keeping perfect time? Why that would never happen. Is it reasonable then to believe that the universe which runs so perfectly and delicately balanced "just happened"?
Fact 3: Man Is Unique In The Universe
Who would dare to deny that people are different from other creatures? This is why it is not morally wrong to exterminate the neighborhood for mosquitoes. Yet you would be decried a criminal and punished severely if you tried to exterminate all the neighborhood children. Everyone knows humans are different, and the difference is something beyond just being more highly evolved. In fact, scientists don't agree about just who is more highly evolved. 1) Did that difference just happen, or 2) Did the being who created and designed the universe to sustain life also create us in His own image, making humans different from all of his other creations? A creator is obviously the more rational answer.
So the universe exists, has order, and mankind is different from other things. This cannot be denied. The most rational response is to believe that there is a God. We understand why King David wrote in Psalms 53:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God'" Don't let someone tell you that you can't be honest and rational and still believe in God. The truth is that no one can prove that God does not exist. To prove there is no God, you would have to be everywhere in the universe all at the same time for He might be somewhere that you weren't at that particular moment. In short, you would have to be God to prove He doesn't exist.
You, my friend can open your eyes, not be afraid and not doubt. You can believe in God. Have confidence and believe for: "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6.