“Is there really a God?” A lot of people have already asked this question. And a lot of people, including those who are in the field of science, tried to seek answers. One of them was Dr. Sy Garte, who is now a retired biochemist and a former atheist. And this is his testimony of how he became a Christian.
Growing up in an atheistic home
Dr. Sy comes from a family of three generations of atheists. His parents were members of the American Communist Party in the 1930s, so their atheism was very strong and militant. With such upbringing, it’s no surprise for Dr. Sy not to believe in the existence of God.
He found interest in studying the chemistry of life so he entered biochemistry where he got his Phd. But even after being so sure of his career path, Dr. Sy said that as a young man, he did feel that there was something missing in his life.
He initially believed that everything has a scientific explanation such as evolution. But the more he studied and learned the complexity of life, the more he wondered if there was really something beyond science.
“In graduate school, I learned about the process by which proteins are made in cells and that’s a very complex process…and I remember feeling like a chill going down my spine…it was like ‘this is amazing, how did this get here?’
It took a while for him to open up to the idea of God because of his background but he eventually did after a friend brought him to church. At that time, he was already agnostic because of all the science that he was learning.
“The science I was learning did not support strict atheism, it did not support strict materialism,” he said.
Experiencing God Through Dreams
Dr. Sy started reading the bible for the first time after that church encounter. And the more he read it, the more God opened his heart to the truth–that Christianity is true and Christ is real and that he lived, died and rose again. That was his turning point and he became a Christian.
It also eventually made more sense to him now. He had been experiencing bizarre dreams way back when he was still agnostic and he had no idea back then what those dreams meant.
In one dream, he said that he was hanging from the edge of a cliff. Terrified and not knowing what to do, he screamed for help. Then he heard a man’s voice saying, “Just let go.” He was confused but he let go and the moment he did, the entire landscape turned and he was now lying on the ground.
He didn’t know what “let go” meant and who that man was at that time, but he eventually found out that it was Jesus telling him to let go of “all the baggage” that was in his life that was preventing him from knowing God.
Today, Dr. Sy continues to share his testimony of deliverance through his books and articles. And this is his message to those who are questioning their faith because of science:
“If you are being told that you have to choose between science and your Christian faith, reject that. Whoever told you that is wrong. It’s not true. What’s true is Christianity.”
