God Is Evident!
The Bible doesn t try to prove God s reality, and there are two possible reasons for this: Some believe that in biblical times the idea of God was so universal that proof just wasn t necessary; the Athenians are a case in point, for Paul referred to their altar with this inscription: To the Unknown God (Acts 17:23). Or It may simply be that the evidence for God s existence was thought to be so overwhelming that the Bible and its scribes merely left it as if all its readers would believe the obvious. As King David said of God, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psa. 19:1). Similarly Tony E. Denton, 12/07. ASiteForTheLord.com
Paul wrote, Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead (Rom. 1:20a). God is an invisible spirit and hence can t be perceived/measured by our five senses. But Certain things about God are clearly seen via nature: His invisible attributes, eternal power, and even His divine nature. Now As we turn to the physical evidence of God s existence, there are four classic arguments which have testified of His existence and His nature to mankind for thousands of years.
There s the Cosmological Argument.
Firstly, the law of cause & effect requires there to be an uncaused-first-cause for all things. This law is accepted by all rational thinkers as a self-evident truth. All observation and experience agree that in the natural world nothing exists in and of itself; i.e., nothing happens on its own. So For every effect there must be an adequate cause. We may reason that the pattern of cause & effect reaches infinitely into the past, but this would be impossible, because this principle demands that the cause & effect chain itself have an adequate cause. In other words
Somewhere in the past, an uncaused-first-cause must have started the cause & effect pattern. And That uncaused-first-cause is obviously the God of the Bible: as John wrote by inspiration, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1-3). If the uncaused-first-cause is NOT the God of the Bible, then what or who is? Science is speechless. Secondly, and continuing with thoughts along these lines
The principles of deductive reasoning prove the existence of an uncaused-first-cause. The process of deduction reasons from general truths to specific conclusions; and, with universally accepted and self-evident truths, the proper use of deduction provides indisputable evidence of God the uncaused-first-cause. In this type of reasoning, we generally use what s called a syllogism with a major premise & a minor premise which result in an inescapable conclusion. For examples
Major: Something cannot come from nothing. Minor: Something exists. Con.: Something or someone has always existed. Major: Living beings cannot come from non-living. Minor: Living beings exist. Con.: At least one living being has always existed. Major: Rational beings cannot come from irrational. Minor: Rational beings exist. Con.: At least one rational being has always existed. So The Cosmological Argument evidence from causation proves that there has always been a living, reasoning, creative being God!
There s the Teleological Argument.
Firstly, DESIGN demands a DESIGNER. This argument should have an especially profound effect on scientists since science is founded upon orderliness and predictability. I.e. To witness the order and predictability of just our own solar system and then insist on the non-existence of a designer for it is totally dishonest. Research chemist, Elmer W. Maurer, once said, It is impossible for me to conceive the law and order of the universe as being the result of pure chance. The odds are simply too great. When I step into my lab I know that the laws which hold true today will hold true as long as the universe exists. Otherwise my life in the lab would be a succession of quandaries, a life of uncertainty & doubts, rendering all scientific activity futile, in fact, impossible. 1 Paul wrote, Every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God (Heb. 3:4).
Secondly, the VASTNESS of the universe demands a POWERFUL designer. If our sun were hollow, it could contain over one million Earths, yet there are stars that could contain half a billion of our suns! Our solar system is 100,000 light years in diameter, and revolves at a speed of 200 miles per second; yet it takes 200 million years to make a revolution. Our galaxy is made up of 100 billion stars of which our sun is just one little speck in our Milky Way. Other galaxies are numbered in the 100 millions in known space; in fact, Einstein once said, We have probed only one billionth of teleological space, and if that is true, then there are an estimated 10 octillion (that s 28 zeros) stars in the universe.
Thirdly, the PRECISION of the universe demands an INTELLIGENT designer. The planets don t move across the heavens haphazardly, rather each planet moves in its own particular orbit with a Swiss watch-like exactness. Astronomers can precisely predict the position of any star at any given moment past, present, or future; they can predict the visit of a comet or the time of an eclipse hundreds of years in advance. The same force that moves the heavenly bodies with such exactness also moves our Earth systematically and orderly; so night and day and the seasons follow each other in a consistent order.
Fourthly, the ORGANIZATION of the world demands a PURPOSEFUL designer. Human organs demand a purposeful designer. The Eye is made up of 107 million cells that have one purpose to produce sight; these specialized cells don t respond at all to sound, but when they are touched by light, they instantly focus and record the precise color and intensity of the light. The Ear is a very complex organ, the only purpose of which is to transmit sound waves; it can t see or taste, but it fulfills its function with precision. The Skin is designed to respond exclusively to touch; each square inch is equipped with 450 heat and pressure sensitive cells for the purpose of giving pleasure or protecting us from harm.
The design and location of the earth demand a purposeful designer. A physician and former president of the New York State Academy of Science, Dr. A. Cressy Morrison, once said, The evidence is strongly suggestive of [a] directive purpose back of everything. We ve found that the world is in the right place, that the crust is adjusted to within ten feet, and that if the ocean were a few feet deeper we d have no oxygen or vegetation. We ve found that the earth rotates in twenty-four hours and that were this revolution delayed, life would be impossible. We ve found that the sun is the one among thousands that could make our sort of life possible on Earth; its size, density, temperature, and the character of its rays all must be right and are right. We ve found that the gases of the atmosphere are adjusted to each other and that a very slight change would be fatal.
Considering the bulk of the earth, its place in space & the nicety of the adjustments, the chances of all of them occurring cannot be calculated even in the billions. The existence of these facts cannot, therefore, be reconciled with any of the laws of chance. It s impossible, then, to escape the conclusion that the adjustments of nature to man are far more amazing than the adjustments of man to nature. A review of the wonders of nature demonstrate beyond question that there are design and purpose in it all. A program is being carried out in all its infinite detail by the Supreme being we call God. 2 So
The Teleological Argument evidence from order and design proves that the happenstance collision of atoms (aka, The Big Bang Theory) cannot explain the vast, precise, and purposed condition of the universe; such design unquestionably demands a designer, and this designer is the God of the Bible. As we quoted David earlier: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psa. 19:1). And We might add more of David s words: The fool has said in his heart, There is no God (Psa. 14:1).
There s the Moralogical Argument.
Firstly, man differs from the beasts because only he possesses a sense of right and wrong. However, this moral sense mustn t be confused with animal instinct, for man possesses certain instincts just asanimalsdo; but these instincts aren t the same as the moral sense. Suppose you hear a cry of a man in danger; you re immediately confronted with two powerful instincts: the desire to help that arises from your instinct to save a fellow human being and the desire to keep out of danger that arises from your instinct of selfpreservation. However
In addition to these two impulses, you ll find within yourself a third element that tells you to suppress the impulse to run away and follow the impulse that tells you to help. This third element that judges between the two instincts cannot itself be either of them, rather it s a moral law within each person.
If two instincts are in conflict, and there s nothing within the mind except those two instincts, obviously the stronger one will win out. But It s at this moment when we re most conscious of the moral law within us: in the case of the man in danger, the moral law tells us to side with the weaker of the two instincts. You d rather run away due to the strong instinct to survive, but instead You help the man and risk danger to yourself, because a higher law compels you to do what s right. So the moral sense isn t instinct it s the judge of instinct.
This law within us also mustn t be confused with any set of moral principles that have been learned thru upbringing. Different cultures have set forth different laws of morality, but these differences have never a- mounted to a total difference. In fact An actual comparison of cultures, both ancient and modern, reveals similarities. E.g., can you think of a country where men are admired for running away in battle or where a man is proud about betraying his friend or where a criminal is purposely praised and the innocent is purposely hanged? This overall similarity among cultures is evidence of a common, moral sense within man. So
The moral law in us isn t something acquired, but that with which we are all born; even the most primitive savage possesses it: Romans 2:14-15 say, When Gentiles, who don t have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.
Secondly, the moral law in man demands an adequate lawgiver. Blind, irrational matter and force cannot give rise to morality; mere chance cannot explain the moral law within us. The presence of a moral law within us, and within us alone, demands a source different from and higher than the beast; what the beast doesn t have, he can t pass on to his offspring. The moral law within man demands a moral lawgiver; only a moral lawgiver is adequate enough to produce the moral law within us.
The moral law clearly distinguishes between good and evil, so a moral lawgiver must be the source of knowledge about good and evil. The moral law in man urges him to avoid evil and do good, so the moral lawgiver Himself must be good and opposed to evil. So we see that The Moralogical Argument evidence from the moral law within man proves that the only logical cause for man s innate sense of right and wrong originates with our Creator the holy God of the Bible. Now Quite related to this argument is the next and last one:
There s the Ontological Argument.
Firstly, man s intuition tells of a higher power. Intuition is the direct perception of truth independent of any reasoning process; 3 and much like the moral law within us, intuition is a witness to God s existence exclusively from within our minds. Although it can t be tested by science, it has long been acknowledged by history and anthropology. All nations & tribes in every age have believed in supernatural beings; whether ancient or modern, near or far from others, one experience is common to all the desire to worship a higher power. Since all the knowledge of modern times has neither displaced nor replaced this hunger, then we know that this urge to worship isn t the result of ignorance or superstition, but an innate need that can t be cut away from our existence.
King David, a mere human being like each of us, once said to God, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, Oh God (Psa. 42:1-2a). Secondly, man s intuition points him beyond the material world to find satisfaction for his deepest needs and aspirations. Despite its great vastness, the material world is too narrow for us, because it addresses only one side of our nature. This physical world can feed us when we re hungry and clothe us when we re cold; it can shelter us from the elements and give us protection from its harsh extremes. But There are real needs and aspirations within us that just cannot find fulfillment here.
We hunger for eternal life, but this world only gives us death. We hunger for a purpose for our existence that transcends ourselves, but this world gives us no purpose greater than mere self-preservation. We seek a relationship with a being who s everything we aren t eternal, all-knowing, all powerful, & unchanging, but this world doesn t offer such. We seek a transcendent being who possesses a perfect degree of every good quality which we can conceive but cannot achieve perfect holiness, justice, truth, and love; we seek such because we were created with an innate need for a relationship with a being worthy of worship, and this world provides no end to our search.
Wouldn t it be a strange world where people in it required food & water and neither existed to fulfill those needs? And wouldn t it be just as strange to find that man possesses spiritual needs and there was no spiritual reality to satisfy them? Intuition teaches us to look past this physical world in our search for spiritual fulfillment. So The Ontological Argument evidence from intuition teaches us that man s spiritual hunger exists to be satisfied and that, therefore, there must be a higher power adequate enough to satisfy it; and, again, the God of the Bible fits the bill. Now Let s summarize and conclude our thoughts:
The evidence from the material world is overwhelming proof of God s existence to anyone who has a mind to perceive and receive it. The only cause adequate to produce the universe is the creative God of the Bible. The only designer adequate to design and order the complexities of the universe is the all-knowing and all-powerful God of the Bible. The only adequate explanation for the moral law within man is the holy God of the Bible. And The only adequate explanation for the spiritual hunger in man is the spiritual God of the Bible.
GOD E. A. Maness wrote, If the word God were written on every blowing leaf, embossed on every passing cloud, and engraved on every granite rock, the inductive evidence of God in the world would be no stronger than it is. 4 GOD GOD
The same evidence that proves God s existence also reveals the divine attributes of God. If God is the uncaused-first-cause, then He s selfexistent, eternal, and totally independent. If God is the designer of the universe, then He s incredibly limitless in intelligence, power, & purpose. If God is the author of the moral law within us, then He s moral and holy. And If God is the source of the spiritual hunger within us, then He must be a spirit Himself. Lastly
The witness of these classic arguments for God s existence lead us to agree with Paul: In Romans 1:18-20 he wrote, The wrath of God is revealed from heaven because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. God has never left Himself without witness, for in Acts 14:16-17 Paul said that God had in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
The End