Yes, Virginia, There is a God
In 1897, Francis Pharcellus penned a famous response to eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon confirming the existence of Santa Claus.
In light of the many recent attacks by anti-Christian and atheist groups on God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit the piece and update it for our time. There's no telling how many children have driven by a billboard that denounces Christianity as a lie or have viewed a television ad poking fun at their faith. These children deserve the same affirmation that Pharcellus gave young Virginia so many years ago.
Dear Mr. O'Leary,
I am nine years old. Some of my friends in school say there is no God and that Jesus Christ is a myth. They get this information from TV and so do my two little brothers who are six and seven.
My brothers have been so upset seeing the billboards on TV. They don't like that their Christmas parades and parties have been changed to winter parades and winter parties. What is so wrong about Christ or Christmas?
My father has read your books and says if anyone can answer this for me it is you. So please tell me the truth. Is there a God?
VIRGINIA O'HANLON
VIRGINIA, your classmates and your brothers have been made afraid by people who are angry at children who believe and at parents who have tried to raise their children in the best of moral ways. They have been taken advantage of by a small group of people who are affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe what they can't see. They think that nothing exists that is not comprehensible by their minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant -- in his intellect, as compared to the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a God. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no God. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in God! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your dad to hire men to watch in the churches on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse, but even if they did not see God, what would that prove? Nobody sees God, but that is no sign that there is no God. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world, there is nothing else real and abiding.
No God! Be thankful! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, VIRGINIA, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood and guide us to salvation.
Brad O'Leary is the author of America's War on Christianity and God and America's Leaders.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/12/yes_virginia_there_is_a_god.html#ixzz52Fas26T7
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They get this information from TV
There was TV in 1897?
Didn't we all get enough of this article when it was posted by the same person here just a couple of months ago?
Great analogy SO. 'God' is indeed, a grown-up version of Santa Claus, a magical being that watches over us, punishing bad behavior and rewarding good.
Naw, you're close, but god is the ultimate father figure. Most Christian faiths have the lord's prayer which begins, "Our Father, who art in Heaven..." and if they don't use the Lord's prayer(gasp) they're always at least one prayer that refers to god as the father or god the father.
Same deal, except when you did something bad your parents warmed your fanny for you or what ever punishment they used to get your attention and straighten you out, but god doesn't say anything or warn anybody he just lets you have it, but if you make the cut he will give you anything and everything you want forever. After you're dead, of course.
People who grew up with one or both parents alcoholic probably understand it very well.
Well, if God does exist what has he been doing? Why haven't we heard from him?
"You might as well not believe in fairies!"
"Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there."
I'm more fascinated by the realities that do exist like the bees, insects and birds that actually pollinate the flowers than inventing a happy mystical explanation for their growth.
"There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight."
"Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond."
Considering the fact that it has only been humans who, with their senses, have poetically described the natural wonders, defined romance and expressed love, joy and fulfillment, I fail to see why that wouldn't exist without a supernatural explanation. In fact, how exactly would a supernatural being truly be able to describe the feelings and emotions of a human in any accurate way if they were not bound by the same physical universe we are?
Much like the desire to imagine a magical fat man in a red suit flying around the world delivering gifts in a single night, I find the love and compassion of parents working hard to provide gifts for their children far more loving and heartwarming. To me, the truth about the universe around us is far more magical than the one some wish to invent. By inventing flawed explanations of the universe we demean and displace the reality we do have, often to the detriment of the planet we live on. When you imagine a supernatural explanation for things it's easy to rely on that imaginary being to make sure things are taken care of which can lead to a lack of care for the things such as our air, water, trees, plants and oceans that are the true providers of everything we know and love.