If we believe that God is there, how do we convince people who do not believe that he is?
     It's an age old question, one which has occupied many, many individuals through human history, and spawned thousands upon thousands of books.  Year after year, century after century, people write about various keys they believe they have found to unlock the door of unbelief.
     Most of these keys ring true.  But there's more to the picture than that.  The other night, I sat in on an apologetics seminar that had been designed specifically for unbelievers.  I heard mention of humanity's universal and perennial quest for meaning, the enduring need for a transcendent point in this life to make full sense of its complexities, and the deeply felt emotional--and spiritual--need to connect with something larger in one's life.
     Though I couldn't argue with most of the points being made, I thought also of two friends of mine, both of whom attend my atheist discussion group, who had decided to come to this seminar.  They wanted, they told me, to ask difficult questions and get reasonable and solid answers to them.  They wanted to engage believers.
     And they did.  As I observed some of the exchanges, however, I realized, and not for the first time, that such things will be decided ultimately not intellectually but rather by emotion and will.  Massive amounts of information and argumentation mean little unless those listening reach a point where they are willing to listen to them not just as a mental exercise but as a work of their heart.  God's not a being of mind alone, nor does he speak into our intellect only.  Ultimately, he speaks to our heart.  Case in point, Jesus didn't appeal to his audience's mind as much as he did their heart.  We are profoundly emotional beings. Although we believe in our reason, we almost always, as many have pointed out, employ it on a foundation of sentiment and emotion.  Our reason doesn't stand alone.
     In other words, what about belief speaks not to your mind, intellect, or even conviction and dogma, but to you?  After all, you are the only you.
     And God is the only God.