“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.” Louis Pasteur, father of microbiology

In a world saturated with information, science, technology, and access to endless intellectual resources, believing in God, especially in the one who uniquely entered history by becoming human in the person of Jesus can seem outdated and naive, in our modern hyper-rational world.

And if that’s what you think, that’s perfectly okay. I’m not your typical religious fanatic who gets defensive or emotional when someone questions what I believe. On the contrary, I genuinely welcome it. Why? Because I’ve spent over twenty years on my own journey of wrestling with spirituality, doubt, and the meaning of life.

I lived in 10 countries, some in Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia. And I talked with priests, pastors, imams, sheiks, rabbis, gurus, monks, roshis, gianis, abuelos and even leaders from modern movements that practice spirituality through objects and rituals that are human centered.

Mesa Verde, Colorado 2021. Native american from Colorado

Every time I lived in a different country I tried to understand the local religion of the city I was at, always asking with respect trying to understand why people believe in what they believe.

My intention isn’t to brag, because I know that knowledge alone doesn’t equate to wisdom. After earning 4 degrees, 2 master’s, becoming fluent in 5 languages, and having the privilege of engaging in incredible conversations with some of the brightest minds at top universities around the world, I still couldn’t find the answer to life’s most fundamental question: the purpose of our existence.

I’ve always had a deep love for science, its methods, its precision, the way it uncovers how the universe works. I love Science and History museums and I do not mind spending entire days there.

Saint Petersburg Hermitage Museum, Russia 2012

Usually, when I choose a travel destination, it’s because I’m eager to explore a specific museum or archaeological site. I’ll admit, I can be pretty annoying about it! When I went to Miami with my sister, I was on the hunt for a tour guide who could show me the city’s history, which, to be honest, I found a bit unimpressive and too modern (sorry if you’re from there!). Meanwhile, my sister just wanted to shop and hit the beach.

But still, even with all that knowledge, something was missing. No matter how much I learnt and how many conversations I had with intellectuals, none of it ever truly helped me understand spirituality in a real, living way. I had the opportunity to assist to many University debates about ethics at the Sorbonne in Paris for a summer, I was taught about materialism by one of the best teachers at the University of Bologna where I studied for a year, I met many smart tech and business leaders in London and America, and I even had amazing conversations with really kind atheists from Uppsala in Sweden and intellectuals from Saint Petersburg in Russia where I worked and lived too.

I was hungry for truth that went beyond intellect. That’s when I decided to dive into the living traditions of faith. I decided to enroll in those courses for beginners that want to convert into a religion, but my intention was only learning. I lived in a jewish moshav where I had to wake up at 5am to sing, pray, learn hebrew and read the Torah. I completed the initiation course in a mosque for people that want to convert to Islam.

I went to India and visited hindu and sikh temples and talked to really interesting gurus in the Rajasthan region. I also met a buddhist leader for 3 hours and had dinner at his place while he was teaching me about his religion. I talked to native Americans in Colombia, Peru, Mexico and United States and learnt about my ancestors (I am 65% native south American from the Muisca tribe) and its rituals. I also did some searching into black African religions in Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and paganism from the ROMA community.

Through all of this, through the study, the doubt, the immersion, and the honest seeking, I came to believe not just in God, but in the God of the Bible: Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

The reason? I encountered something far deeper than intellect, something that reached my soul. I found the most interesting, amazing and loving character ever. This was not a blind leap. It was the most rational and compelling, and conclusion I have ever reached.

Are you still here? Great!

SCIENTIFIC MINDS AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS

“God is a mathematician of a very high order and He used advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.” Paul Dirac, Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist

Paul Dirac (1902 –1984), one of the founders of quantum mechanics

Dear reader, before you decide that you are a hardcore atheist, let me remind you gently, that you are very arrogant. Unfortunately, you are an unbelievably small particle in this vast universe. Your brain, as brilliant as it may be, is still finite. You haven't been outside the Earth, and no matter how many documentaries you've watched or science articles you've read, none of us truly knows the full picture of what’s out there.

We can’t even fully grasp the depths of our own oceans. Science itself suggests there are more dimensions than we can perceive, and yet we walk around acting like if we can’t see it, it can’t be real. Our eyes can’t even detect microscopic life without a microscope, so how can we be so sure there’s nothing beyond what we can measure?

Globular cluster Messier 79, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA and ESA.

So why is it so crazy to think that Someone exists beyond time, space, and matter? What if your longing for purpose points not to random biology, but to something greater, something real?

I’m not asking you to blindly believe. I’m asking you to consider that maybe, just maybe, there is a reason you keep searching, doubting, and wondering. How about opening your heart to the possibility?Because I’ve walked the road of questions, too. And it led me not away from God, but toward Him.

Modern science has given us astonishing insights about the universe. We’ve discovered that the universe had a beginning with the Big Bang theory, pointing to a moment when time, space, and matter all came into being. Einstein revealed that the fabric of space-time is dynamic, bending and warping with gravity.

The Multiverse theory suggest our universe might be one of many, each with its own physical laws. The Anthropic principle reveals a universe finely tuned for life. Artificial intelligence and neuroscience are revealing patterns in how the brain works, but still can’t explain subjective experience, why we feel, hope, dream, or believe. And this is related to the fact that the emergence of consciousness from non-conscious matter remains one of science's greatest mysteries.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are revolutionizing artificial intelligence by mimicking the functioning of the human brain. These networks, composed of layers of nodes or "neurons", are mathematical models capable of learning and making decisions based on data.

None of this proves God in a strict empirical sense, but it gestures strongly toward intentionality. It whispers of design.

“A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology.” Fred Hoyle, British astrophysicist and former atheist

Fred Hoyle, 1915 – 2001. Creator of the theory of Stellar Nucleosynthesis

god reincarnateD WITH A HUMAN BODY: THE CHARACTER OF JESUS

From a historial perspective: Jesus is one of the most well-attested figures of ancient history. Roman historians like Tacitus and Jewish historians like Josephus mention him, as do early Christian sources written within a generation of his life. He lived in first-century Judea, a volatile region under Roman occupation. What makes him historically unique is not just that he lived, but that after his death, a movement exploded across the Roman Empire. Within three centuries, this movement reshaped Western civilization, even without political power or military force.

The Praetorian Guard, a marble relief now housed at the Louvre, showing Roman soldiers, from the Roman Imperial era. Christophe Jacquand.

From a sociological perspective: Jesus stood radically apart from the social norms of his time. He welcomed the poor, the marginalized, women, foreigners, the sick, those considered unworthy by cultural and religious elites. He taught that every human being has infinite value because they are made in the image of God. His followers created the first truly multi-ethnic, cross-class communities in the Roman world.

Sociologists agree that the early Christian movement was unique in how it challenged the status quo, not through revolution, but through radical love, forgiveness, generosity, and service.

From a spiritual perspective Jesus is not just a historical figure or moral teacher. The central claim of Christianity is that he is God in the flesh, the Creator stepping into creation. Sounds crazy, does not it? For some religions sounds even a blasphemy, and for agnostics it sounds senseless for the amount of faith that had to be put. Just like when people believed for a long time that neutrinos were faster than light and it was disproved by the CERN recently…

In christianity, Jesus is not a myth or a symbol. But a real person who walked among us. Christians believe Jesus was fully human (he got tired, hungry, and felt pain), and fully divine (he forgave sins, healed the broken, and rose from the dead).

This is the place where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The catholic church took over to preserve holy places. At the time there was nothing there, it was a manger.

Now, you might wonder, why did He come? What was the point? Because the world was not as it should be. Humanity is beautiful but broken, capable of love, yet bent toward selfishness, injustice, and despair. Jesus came not just to teach us, but to rescue us, from sin, shame, and death. His life shows us who God is. I do not know you, but even if this sounds like a nice story or a legend it is beautiful, come on, do not deny this deity is pretty approachable at least.

Christians believe Jesus died and was raised from the death, a pretty powerful act that someone from another dimension can only do, normal humans can not perform something like this, we agree on that right? His death absorbs the consequences of human evil. And his resurrection breaks open the door to hope.

This is what Christians mean when they say, “Jesus saves.” He didn’t come to start a religion. He came to restore what was lost: our connection to God, to others, and to ourselves…Uff I love that! I never heard from any lord, deity, prophet or god from any other religion…

The Uniqueness of Jesus Among other Religious Founders

What sets Jesus apart from the founders of the world’s major religions?

Buddha pointed to a path of detachment.
Muhammad claimed to bring God’s final revelation.
Moses delivered divine laws.
Krishna taught divine play and cosmic duty.

But here’s what makes Jesus different from anyone else in history, and honestly, what made me fall in love with His story: He didn’t just come to teach us how to live or drop a few inspiring quotes. He claimed to be God Himself, not as a metaphor or some poetic symbol, but God in flesh and blood. And the reason He came wasn’t just to give us good advice or mystical insights. He came to die. To take on evil, suffering, and the weight of our brokenness, and then rise again to come back to heaven.

Jesus suffering hours before dying. This is not probably the image you would expect from God.

What moves me deeply is how He did it.

If Jesus really was God, you’d expect Him to show up like a Roman emperor, surrounded by armies, glory, and all the power in the world. Or at the very least, born into a wealthy, influential family, right? But no. He chose to come through a young, humble couple from a small, oppressed nation. Not exactly the center of power or prestige.

And when He arrived, there wasn’t even a proper place for His birth. He wasn’t born in a palace or even a normal home. He entered the world in a manger! Not exactly royal treatment for the Creator of the universe.

The Roman Empire back then, the richest empire in the world. Consummation of Empire by Thomas Cole, 1836.

And here’s what amazes me: He didn’t skip over the human experience. He didn’t just pop into history as a fully grown adult, He had to go through the process… He started from the beginning, just like us. A baby. Vulnerable. Dependent. He grew up. Faced hunger. Pain. Rejection. And eventually, He died the most brutal death the Roman world could offer: the cross.

Imagine a God who understands suffering, not as an outsider, but from the inside. A God who doesn’t just tolerate our pain but has walked through it Himself.

Jesus flipped the idea of power upside down. He broke every mold of what leadership was supposed to look like. He taught things that still sound wild today such as love your enemies, pray for those who hurt you, turn the other cheek, serve instead of dominate, forgive endlessly. And He didn’t just preach it. He lived it.

That’s the God I believe in. Not a distant, unreachable deity demanding perfection, but a God who came close. So close, that He put on skin and walked among us. A God who didn’t silence my doubts, but met me in them. Who made space for my questions, my grief, and my messy story.

Jesus is a God who knows trauma, rejection, betrayal, and loneliness; not from far away but experientially since He was beaten, rejected and He felt forsaken. He knows what it’s like to cry out, to feel abandoned, to bleed. He understands PTSD and loss and despair. This is not only a God of ideas that wants to be in our minds, but the One who meets us in our deepest pain and our wounds. And in doing so, He heals.

And the wildest part? Jesus said we can call God Father! Father! Let's sink in… This is crazy! I’ve never heard that in any other belief system…calling the creator of the universe father… Not some cold, distant force in the sky. But Father: intimate, present, close, personal, loving. And for me, that changed everything.

Philosophers have always asked: What is truth? But Jesus didn’t just claim to know the truth. He said, “I am the truth.” That’s bold. No one else says that. And yet… in Him, I’ve found something deeper than ideas. A truth that doesn’t just speak to the mind, but to the soul.

The Existential Emptiness of Modern Achievement

I’ve met people who have “made it”, wealth, professional fulfillment, power, knowledge... And they are often hollow. Why? Because we were not made merely for success. We were made for communion.

San Francisco and the Bay Area may boast some of the highest salaries in the world, but they also struggle with some of the highest rates of mental health issues.

Blaise Pascal, the mathematician and physicist, said: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be filled by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

Every natural desire corresponds to something real: hunger to food, thirst to water, fatigue to rest. So why do we hunger for transcendence, eternity, and unconditional love? This longing doesn’t make sense in a purely materialistic universe. But it makes perfect sense if we were made for another world, and for having a relationship with a Superior Being.

“God who gave us the gift of reason and the ability to understand His creation did not mean for us to stop at understanding—it was meant to lead us back to Him.” Francis Bacon, father of the scientific method.

why I Believe

I believe in Jesus because:

The scientific structure of the universe suggests an intelligent Creator.
The philosophical hunger for truth finds fulfillment in the Logos made flesh.
The historical life, death, and resurrection of Christ are unmatched in religious history.
The psychological need for love, meaning, and identity is met in Him.
The ethical beauty of His teachings continues to transform the world.
The spiritual encounters I have had with Him are undeniable, and you can have it too.

But ultimately, I believe not because of fear of hell, tradition or blind faith, but because I encountered love, incarnate love. I’m talking about a love that’s willing to suffer, to show up when things get ugly, to stay even when it costs everything. A love that felt personal. Close. Unexpected. And for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was chasing answers, I felt like Someone had found me.

Jesus found me when I was lost, clueless, in pain, in the middle of my self sufficiency, arrogance, and pride. And after I accepted my need, I surrender and experience Him personally.

If you’re an atheist, an agnostic, or simply spiritually numb, I get it. I’ve been there. I don’t ask you to blindly convert. I ask you to consider Jesus. Not religion. Not institutions. Him. Read His words. Study His life. Wrestle with His claims. And ask yourself: What if it’s true?

Jesus is not one of many paths. He is the bridge between the infinite and the intimate. He is God with us. And He is worth everything.

Thank you for coming all the way down here, I really appreciate it. You do not have to agree, just open your heart, what if this is what you have been looking for?

Natalia Cortes. Bogotá, Colombia May 2025

the God of the Christians

SCIENTIFIC MINDS AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS

god reincarnateD WITH A HUMAN BODY: THE CHARACTER OF JESUS

The Uniqueness of Jesus Among other Religious Founders

The Existential Emptiness of Modern Achievement

why I Believe

san francisco: the modern sodom and gomorrah