God: Innocent until Proven Guilty

Things have gotten pretty heated against us ex-christian bloggers lately. I guess here's some more fresh meat for you all to chew on...

In 1998, back when I was a Christian in Michigan, I witnessed a fatal accident involving multiple cars. I watched as a small car's left tires merged ever so slightly into that "slush" that builds up on the side of the highway in winter (those of you from the north know what I mean). It looked to me as if that was the cause of that small car suddenly spinning out of control on the cold and wet road.

The car in front of me was the first to slow down enough to avoid the collision, and I was the second. The 3 cars in front of us were not so fortunate. I later learned one of the passengers in a car died that night (or a few days later or something).

When my car came to a stop I remembered thinking that if I had left my church only seconds before or after I did, that I might have been one of the victims too. I then thought about all the little things that caused me to leave when I did -- I remember having to park a little further back in the lot that Sunday; I remember the guy stopping me to shake my hand as I walked out; and the list goes on.

At the time of the accident I closed my eyes and thanked God for saving me. I think most of us have been in similar situations. After resiging from my church and becoming an atheist, I'm finding myself re-thinking all those supposed "answers" to prayer and intercessions from God in my life.

So, I have an honest question: To the Christian, how can I know if it was your God working over my life all those years? What reason do I have to believe it was the Christian God rather than simply believing those things just happened to me? Is there a test to know the difference? Is there a way to show God is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for saving my life?

I think that if God exists and is involved in our world, there would be a way to distinguish between something God did and something that just happened because of the very fact of nature (like Hurricane Katrina or a Tsunami).

I know some Christians might say nothing that happens in the world is a coincidence; it's all directed or allowed to happen by God's hand. But I'm asking as someone who doesn't already believe in God. I'm just a member of the jury - what is the reason I should believe it was God who did it?

God, in this case, is innocent until proven guilty. If there is no evidence, no test, no way to show beyond a reasonable doubt that it was God who committed these "gracious" acts in my life, then we should declare him to be innocent in this case.

(insert gavel sound here).