Does God Exist?
Does God Exist - The Big Questions
Does God exist? An answer to this fundamental question is a prerequisite for answering the other big questions of life: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Do we serve a purpose? Do we have any intrinsic value? What happens after we die? The question of the existence of God is fundamental.
Does God Exist - A Philosophical Issue
Before we ask the question "Does God exist?" we first have to deal with our philosophical predispositions. If, for example, I am already dedicated to the philosophical idea that nothing can exist outside of the natural realm (i.e. there can be no supernatural God), no amount of evidence could convince me otherwise. Asking the question "does God exist?" would be pointless. My answer would be "No, He doesn't," regardless of whether God truly exists or not. The question would be impossible to answer from an evidentiary standpoint simply because anything which God might have done (that is, any supernatural act which might serve as evidence for His existence) would have to be explained away in terms of natural causes, not because we know what those natural causes could possibly be, but simply because a supernatural God is not allowed to exist! Dr. Richard Lewontin, the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University, put it like this: "It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door" (Richard Lewontin, "Billions and Billions of Demons," New York Review of Books, January 9, 1997, p. 28). If, on the other hand, I were neutral, and didn't already have an "a priori adherence" to a particular worldview (be it naturalistic or otherwise), the question "does God really exist?" wouldn't be pointless at all. Rather, it would be the first step in an objective and meaningful search for ultimate truth. Our willingness to ask the question with an open mind is fundamental to our ability to discover the truth behind the answer. So first of all, before you even ask the question, decide whether or not you're really willing to accept the answer.
Does God Exist - Things to Consider
Once you're ready to ask the question, "does God exist?" here are a few observations to consider as you begin your search for an objective answer:
- Discoveries in astronomy have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. There was a single moment of creation.
- Advances in molecular biology have revealed vast amounts of information encoded in each and every living cell, and molecular biologists have discovered thousands upon thousands of exquisitely designed machines at the molecular level. Information requires intelligence and design requires a designer.
- Biochemists and mathematicians have calculated the odds against life arising from non-life naturally via unintelligent processes. The odds are astronomical. In fact, scientists aren't even sure if life could have evolved naturally via unintelligent processes. If life did not arise by chance, how did it arise?
- The universe is ordered by natural laws. Where did these laws come from and what purpose do they serve?
- Philosophers agree that a transcendent Law Giver is the only plausible explanation for an objective moral standard. So, ask yourself if you believe in right and wrong and then ask yourself why. Who gave you your conscience? Why does it exist?
- People of every race, creed, color, and culture, both men and women, young and old, wise and foolish, from the educated to the ignorant, claim to have personally experienced something of the supernatural. So what are we supposed to do with these prodigious accounts of divine healing, prophetic revelation, answered prayer, and other miraculous phenomena? Ignorance and imagination may have played a part to be sure, but is there something more?
If your curiosity has been piqued and you desire to look into this matter further, we recommend that you consider the world's assortment of so-called Holy Books. If God does exist, has He revealed Himself? And if He has revealed Himself, surely He exists...
Has anyone ever seen God? According to the accounts of the Bible, no one has ever looked on God’s face, for God Himself says “But, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). It is not only for the sinful man that He says this but also for the believers in Jesus Christ. Moses asked this of God and God answered that He would show him His Glory. The Hebrew word for glory in this verse is ‘Kabowd’ meaning the culmination of God’s goodness and sovereignty. Can this Divine Spirit be seen as men see each other? Our eyes are not created to see the spiritual things of this world. Our bodies cannot withstand to behold the awesomeness of God. Surely the Creator who made the whole universe is beyond our ability to envision. Has anyone ever seen the Image of God? God has revealed Himself to many of the Old Testament characters but in diverse manifestations: Adam, Gen 3:8-21; Jacob, at Bethel in Genesis 35:7, 9; Abraham, Gen 18:2-33; Israel in Judges 2:1-5; Gideon in Judges 6:11-24; Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5, Isaiah 6:1-5, Ezekiel 1:26-28. In Numbers 12:8, God speaks of Moses saying, “With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.” Moses saw God as much as he was able with earthly eyes. Paul states in the New Testament, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV). Our human limitations will be transformed when we enter the Kingdom of heaven if we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then, we shall see God.
How can we know if God exists? Is it possible for a finite mind to know if God exists? There are three main arguments that theists (those who believe in God) use to demonstrate the existence of God. They are the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the moral argument. The Cosmological Argument This is an argument from creation to a Creator. The term comes from the Greek word, cosmos, meaning “universe.” The argument itself is dependent on the law of causality that says every finite thing is caused by something other than itself. The cosmological argument can be summarized as follows:
- The universe had a beginning.
- Anything that had a beginning must have been caused by something else.
- Therefore the universe was caused by something else (a Creator).
There is a wealth of scientific evidence supporting the first premise. The second law of thermodynamics states that in a closed, isolated system the amount of usable energy is continually decreasing. As a closed system, the universe started with a finite amount of usable energy, and it is running from order toward disorder. Since the universe still has usable energy remaining, it cannot be eternal, or it would have ran out of usable energy long ago. Astronomy has given much evidence that the universe had a beginning. The Big Bang Theory posits that the universe exploded into existence and is now expanding. This idea is supported by the Doppler “red shift” observed in light throughout the universe as galaxies move away from one another. A radiation echo that produced the exact pattern of wavelengths expected from a great explosion was also discovered. Additionally, astronomers have found a great mass of energy that would be expected from the initial explosion. As science continues to provide evidence that the universe had a beginning, we are left with two possibilities. Either no one created something out of nothing, or someone created something out of nothing. Which option is more reasonable? The Teleological Argument The term “teleological” comes from the Greek word, telos, meaning “purpose.” This argument reasons from design to an intelligent Designer. It can be stated as follows:
- All designs imply a designer.
- There is great design in the universe.
- Therefore there must be a Great Designer of the universe.
From our experience, we know that natural causes never produce specified complex systems, such as books, symphonies, or cars. We know that natural causes of wind and water produced the Grand Canyon, but we would never say that wind and water naturally produced Mount Rushmore. Watches imply a watchmaker, buildings imply an architect, and books imply an author. The design in these things is obvious, and we conclude a designer. Astronomer Carl Sagan wrote that the amount of information in the human brain expressed by the total number of neuron connections would be equivalent to 20 million books. He stated that “the neurochemistry of the brain is astonishingly busy, the circuitry of a machine more wonderful than any devised by humans.” If even computers require a human designer, then does the human brain not need an even more intelligent designer? The Moral Argument The moral argument reasons from a moral law to a Moral Law Giver. The argument can be outlined:
- Moral laws imply a Moral Law Giver.
- There is an objective moral law.
- Therefore there is a Moral Law Giver.
The second premise is the keystone in the argument, without which it falls apart. How do we know there is an objective moral law? Terms like “injustice” or “wrong” imply that there is some objective standard of comparison to which the terms refer. Without a moral standard, there would be no moral difference between Adolf Hitler and Mother Theresa. To say Hitler was wrong would merely be an opinion that has no real basis for others to agree with it. If Hitler was wrong by an objective standard, then there must be a standard beyond all of us. If there is such an objective moral law then there must be a Moral Law Giver (God). How Can We Really Know? Ultimately, these arguments will only convince someone who is willing to accept the possibility of God’s existence. To come to that place you have to examine your presuppositions, or what assumptions you have. When you are intellectually honest with yourself then you are ready to consider the evidence.
Is there any proof that God exists? Is there any proof that God exists? Whenever this question comes up, I am always reminded of Thomas in the Bible who would not believe that Jesus was alive until he could touch Him. That is the same analogy many people use today when it comes to answering the question “Is there any proof that God exists?” They want physical proof for something that must be taken on faith value. It takes greater faith to believe that an unseen God exists than it does to just dismiss Him because you cannot physically confirm that He is there. For those who deal in evidence there is proof all around you and inside of you that God does exist. Is there any proof that God exists? Take a good look around. When most people look at the world around them, they see only the trees; they do not see the forest that is there. It should be obvious that God exists because of His creation, not only us humans, but the world we live in, the galaxy that world is in, and the universe that the galaxy is in. Our universe contains too much order for our existence to have been created out of chaos. We are complex beyond our imaginations and when you look at such a complexity, you see God and His creation. Is there any proof that God exists? Take a good look inside yourself. Most people fail to look inside themselves for God. Instead, they look to their surroundings and conclude that since the world is such a mess, God must not be there, if He ever existed at all. They forget that since God created us, we bear His fingerprints and those fingerprints point to His existence. First, we are all born with an innate knowledge of what is right and wrong. Even a young child knows that when they misbehave they are doing something that goes against their parents’ wishes. The knowledge of good and evil comes from God. It was put there to keep us in balance and to allow us to understand why we need to come to God for forgiveness. Second, we have a desire to seek love. Our whole life is spent trying to fill a gap that exists in our souls; a gap that only be filled by the love of God. No matter what we do to try and fill this gap -- money drugs, alcohol, sex, possessions -- the hole will never be filled until we turn back to God and accept His Son as our Savior and Lord. These are only two of the inward feelings that should tell us that we are more than just some random mistake of nature; that we are created, that a real God that created us, and that He is still there watching over us. Is there any proof that God exists? Take a good look at His Son, Jesus Christ. All we need to do is take a good look at the life of Jesus to see that He was a man, but more than a man, He was God. When was the last time you saw a man walk on water, calm a storm, or make a man rise from the dead? Even Jesus Himself conquered death and rose again to ascend to Heaven. Think about the impact that Jesus has had on this world from the very moment of His birth; the way His life, death and resurrection have shaped world history, changed lives, and healed souls. No mere man could do this so we must say as the Roman soldier did at His crucifixion, “Surely this is the Son of God.” Philosophy says that our existence is based on that which we perceive existence to be. It is even suggested that maybe we do not exist as we think we do here, but on a different plane of reasoning not yet known to us. As God’s creation, we know God is real; all we have to do is take a good look.
Is there evidence God exists? The question of whether or not God exists has far reaching implications. If such a creator exists, new questions arise such as, ‘why did He create us?’ Because the discussion of these implications is entrenched in questionable ideology to most, the initial premise of God’s existence is dismissed out of hand. So the notion that there is no proof for God’s existence becomes prevalent in an ungodly society. Of course such a notion is mistaken. Philosophical arguments to prove God exists are woefully ignored. Consider Saint Thomas Aquinas’ argument on motion. Motion Exists. Motion can only be caused by other forms of motion. If you go back far enough you will find a primary unmoved mover. This is God. The Cosmological argument is another simple argument. We know that everything that exists has a cause related to its existence. We know that the universe exists. Because it is exists it must have an uncaused cause. The uncreated cause is God. Both of these arguments are dependant upon the universe having a beginning. If the universe is infinite, then a primary mover -- a creator -- has no place. However modern cosmology has determined the universe does have a beginning. The laws of thermodynamics have determined this. According to the second law of thermodynamics, we are running out of working energy. It’s obvious that things wear down. If the universe were infinite then we would have run out by now. The universe is drifting toward disorder. The question of how it became so remarkably ordered in the first place also points to God. As William Paley would suggest, if you see a rock on a beach you wouldn’t know how it got there. If you see a watch there you would know it has a designer because of the complexity and order of the watch. We can know God exists from the order and complexity of the universe. We can see remarkable order in physics. The law of gravity is perfectly fine-tuned to support the existence of life. The combinations of physical constants in our universe are perfectly set for the existence of life. Since an infinite number of combinations and values for the physical constants in our universe are plausible, we can safely assume someone set the conditions for life. And we know that it wasn’t aliens from the planet Zork from the 5th universe that set these conditions, as this would only transfer the problem to the planet Zork, who would require a cause. God is, by definition, that which is uncaused. Finally we find that human beings have an inward sense of morality. This presupposes an absolute value and standard to which we make comparisons, and this is God. This is how we apply natural law, and these values of right and wrong were written upon the hearts of men so that those who knew not the law were able to abide by the law. The one who wrote this knowledge of right and wrong on the hearts of men is God.
