Hi! Since yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and today is Friday the 13th, I thought I'd offer a simple little quiz in honor of both occasions. Okay.

Question 1: Do you exist?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don't know

The correct answer is A. Those of you who answered B, since you don't exist, your answers don't count. For those of you who answered C, if you have to wonder whether or not you exist, you can be sure of one thing: You DO exist. If you didn't, you wouldn't be around to take this test, much less wonder about your existence. Okay, next question.

Question 2: Is your existence a necessity?

A. Yes, the universe as we know it would end if I didn't exist.

B. No, the universe got along just fine without me, and will go on its merry way after I am gone.

This time the correct answer is B. Those of you who answered A are delusional. Sorry, but facts are facts. You may think the world revolves around you, but that doesn't make it so! Okay, so we've established that you exist, but that it is not necessary for you to exist. We'll get back to that in a minute. For now, the next question.

Question 3: Concerning your existence, which of the following is true, assuming for the moment that we are talking about your existence in this physical universe?

A. I have existed forever.

B. There was a time before I existed.

Those of you who answered A, how many of you celebrate birthdays? And what does a birthday commemorate? So at some point, you were born? Okay, just so we're clear.

Stay with me, here. We're coming along great. So, in spite of the fact that at one tiime you did not exist, and there is no reason that you have to exist, at this point in time you do , in fact, exist. This means that something or somebody did something that caused you to start your existence. For the moment, let's call them your "parents." So, without getting into exactly what your parents did to bring you into existence, repeat questions 1-3 about your parents. And their parents. And their parents. Now keep doing that as far back as you want to. At some point, you'll run out of parents. So, about those great, great, great grandparents of yours: Well, they obviously existed, and they weren't necessary to the universe either, and yet something caused them to exist.

Taking it back a step further, the earth isn't necessary to the existence of the universe either, and there was a time when IT didn't exist, either. And yet something caused it to exist. For that matter, there's no scientific or logical reason that the universe even has to exist, and yet it does. And there was a time when it didn't . Scientists call the time when the universe came into existence "The Big Bang." Before the Big Bang, no universe. Then something caused it to exist when it didn't have to. Whatever that something is, we know three things about it:

1. It's not part of the universe

2. It existed before the universe

3. It's powerful enough to bring the universe into existence, and make it what it is.

And that, my friends, is the definition of "God." So, let's ask those first three questions about this "God:"

1. Does he exist? Okay, let's skip that one for now.

2. Is His existence necessary? Yes. Quite literally, the universe would not exist without him.

3. Is He eternal? Yes, again. This force must be outside theof the universe, and therefore outside of time, since time is a part of the universe, just like height, width, and depth. Also, it must have existed before the universe did. Those two things are the definition of "eternal." Okay, final question:

Since this all powerful, eternal being exists, and since you owe your very existence to Him, wouldn't it be a smart idea to know more about Him, and where you stand in His eyes?

Just something to think about.

"The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.' "

"For it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgement."