I exist therefore God exists
The Creation of the Animals / Tintoretto (1550)
The debate over the existence of God often begins and ends with material reality: neuroscience, astronomy, biology, and chemistry. But what if the answer is not found in the distant reaches of the universe, but right here under our noses?
I believe that existence is something that must spring from a divine source. I do not need to conduct experiments or rely on scientific data to realise that I exist; it is a self-evident fact. However, I do not simply exist in the way a rock does. I sense, feel, think, and intuit. I possess a subjective experience and a sense of agency.
While we, as humanity, create sophisticated tools and technology, these creations lack the innate ability to replicate themselves as life does. More importantly, they lack consciousness, subjectivity, and agency. In other words, life is imbued with something unique that cannot be programmed: the soul.
If I possess a soul—and if every living thing does as well—then what sustains it? Materialists might argue that we are powered by food, but food cannot reanimate a cadaver. There must be an invisible source of vital life energy that animates the body. To me, that source is the Creator.
When He created life on Earth, from the very first cell to the vast diversity of forms alive today, He imbued it with a direct connection to His vitality. It is like an invisible umbilical cord made of light that our eyes cannot normally see, yet it is what keeps us alive.
When Moses asked for God’s name, the reply was, “I am that I am”. The message is profound: the "I-ness" of every individual—the inner core of our coherent identity—is a reflection of the Divine. Freud called this core the “ego,” but Jung went further, distinguishing it from the Self: the “God image” that sits at the centre of the soul. God is immanent within His creation; we are, in a sense, made of His "flesh", because His "flesh" is existence itself.
My names, Elior Elkayam, translate from Hebrew as "My God is Light" and "God exists." I do not believe my presence in this family, or the names I carry, are accidents of birth. I am here to assert the divinity inherent in all creation. For me, the belief in God does not require extraordinary external proof—though such evidence exists in abundance. My existence, my core identity, and my consciousness are all woven from the Divine; I am a witness to the light that sustains the living. It is as simple as that.
