Sitting alone in my quiet bedroom, a recurring question pops into my head. “Why do I exist?” “What is my purpose?” “Is there a God?” These questions matter because the existence or absence of God can change how I will live out my life and what will happen to me after death. The journey starts with science, moves through faith, and ends with Christianity. Through this search, I have affirmed my belief in God

The first roadblock to religion seems to be science. Science and religion are always butting heads, but do they need to be? Here is an excerpt from the textbook Conceptual Physical Science Explorations: “Science is mostly engaged with discovering and recording natural phenomena... And religion addresses the source, purpose, and meaning of it all.” Even my own school science textbook says that it doesn’t have to conflict with religion. So how do they effect each other?

In a way science creates the need for a God. As written by NASA, “[Edwin] Hubble noted that galaxies outside our own Milky Way were all moving away from us,... He quickly realized what this meant that there must have been an instance in time...when the entire Universe was contained in a single point in space. The Universe must have been born in this single violent explosion known as the ‘Big Bang’ ” The problem is what started the “Bang” ?

Can I touch, hear, or see God? No. For all of us this unknown is a little unnerving. It takes a leap of faith to believe. Knowing that we all die and then subsequently have to face God can start the leap and have science to help pull us across makes the leap of faith easier. The next roadblock to the sense of order is what religion to choose.

As posited by Live Science, an online world science website, these top five beliefs make up over 80% of the world population: Christianity, Islam, no religion, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It is already obvious that believing in nothing cannot be true. Out of the multitudes of different religions, one must hold the answers. By comparing the top four religious beliefs a clearer picture is revealed. A paraphrase from The Way of the Master New Testament is appropriate.

The world is compared to a crashing plane because we are all going to die. Hinduism believes in reincarnation, like being reborn in the first class section on the plane. Buddhism denies the existence of a god, like denying the plane is crashing or that gravity exists. Islam has a God and believes that the way to Heaven is through good works. Imagine jumping out of the plane, but trying to fly by flapping ones arms. Christianity has a God who sent his son Jesus to pave the way to Heaven. Now I have a parachute to escape the plane. Thanks to that paraphrase, Christianity is clearly the way to go.
By taking a closer look at science, using a bit of faith, and examining religions, I don’t have to question my existence. Now, instead, I can think of how to better live out my life as a Christian. No one is perfect, but I know that my life can reach its fullest under God’s guidelines.