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#Post#: 23--------------------------------------------------
Question: "Does God exist? Is thereevidence for the existen
ce of God?"
By: lastdayschristians Date: November 18, 2012, 9:57 pm
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Answer: The existence of God cannot be proved or disproved. The
Bible says that
we must accept by faith the fact that God
exists: “And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who
comes to Him must believe that He exists
and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews
11:6). If God so desired, He could simply appear and prove
to the whole world that He exists. But if
He did that, there would be no need for
faith. “Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you
have seen me, you have believed; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John
20:29). That does not mean, however, that there
is no evidence of God’s existence. The
Bible states, “The heavens declare the
glory of God; the skies proclaim the work
of His hands. Day after day they pour forth
speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no
speech or
language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the
world” (Psalm 19:1-4). Looking at the stars, understanding the
vastness of the
universe, observing the wonders of
nature, seeing the beauty of a sunset—all
of these things point to a Creator God. If
these were not enough, there is also
evidence of God in our own hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us,
“…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” Deep
within us is the recognition that there is
something beyond this life and someone
beyond this world. We can deny this
knowledge intellectually, but God’s
presence in us and all around us is still obvious. Despite this,
the Bible warns that
some will still deny God’s existence: “The
fool says in his heart, ‘There is no
God’” (Psalm 14:1). Since the vast majority of people throughout
history, in all
cultures, in all civilizations, and on all
continents believe in the existence of
some kind of God, there must be
something (or someone) causing this
belief.
In addition to the biblical arguments for
God’s existence, there are logical
arguments. First, there is the ontological
argument. The most popular form of the
ontological argument uses the concept of
God to prove God’s existence. It begins with the definition of
God as “a being
than which no greater can be conceived.”
It is then argued that to exist is greater
than to not exist, and therefore the
greatest conceivable being must exist. If
God did not exist, then God would not be the greatest
conceivable being, and that
would contradict the very definition of
God. A second argument is the teleological
argument. The teleological argument
states that since the universe displays
such an amazing design, there must have
been a divine Designer. For example, if
the Earth were significantly closer or farther away from the
sun, it would not
be capable of supporting much of the life
it currently does. If the elements in our
atmosphere were even a few percentage
points different, nearly every living thing
on earth would die. The odds of a single protein molecule
forming by chance is 1 in 10243 (that is a 1 followed by 243
zeros). A single cell is comprised of
millions of protein molecules. A third logical argument for
God’s
existence is called the cosmological
argument. Every effect must have a cause.
This universe and everything in it is an
effect. There must be something that
caused everything to come into existence. Ultimately, there must
be something “un-
caused” in order to cause everything else
to come into existence. That “un-caused”
cause is God. A fourth argument is known as the moral
argument. Every culture throughout
history has had some form of law.
Everyone has a sense of right and wrong.
Murder, lying, stealing, and immorality are
almost universally rejected. Where did this sense of right and
wrong come from
if not from a holy God? Despite all of this, the Bible tells us
that
people will reject the clear and
undeniable knowledge of God and believe
a lie instead. Romans 1:25 declares, “They exchanged the truth
of God for a lie, and
worshiped and served created things
rather than the Creator—who is forever
praised. Amen.” The Bible also proclaims
that people are without excuse for not
believing in God: “For since the creation of the world God's
invisible qualities—His
eternal power and divine nature—have
been clearly seen, being understood from
what has been made, so that men are
without excuse” (Romans 1:20). People claim to reject God’s
existence
because it is “not scientific” or “because
there is no proof.” The true reason is that
once they admit that there is a God, they
also must realize that they are
responsible to God and in need of forgiveness from Him (Romans
3:23, 6:23). If God exists, then we are accountable to Him for
our actions. If God
does not exist, then we can do whatever
we want without having to worry about
God judging us. That is why many of those
who deny the existence of God cling
strongly to the theory of naturalistic evolution—it gives them
an alternative to
believing in a Creator God. God exists and
ultimately everyone knows that He exists.
The very fact that some attempt so
aggressively to disprove His existence is
in fact an argument for His existence.
How do we know God exists? As
Christians, we know God exists because
we speak to Him every day. We do not
audibly hear Him speaking to us, but we
sense His presence, we feel His leading,
we know His love, we desire His grace. Things have occurred in
our lives that
have no possible explanation other than
God. God has so miraculously saved us and
changed our lives that we cannot help but
acknowledge and praise His existence.
None of these arguments can persuade anyone who refuses to
acknowledge what
is already obvious. In the end, God’s
existence must be accepted by faith
(Hebrews 11:6). Faith in God is not a blind leap into the dark;
it is safe step into a
well-lit room where the vast majority of
people are already standing.
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