Often, in their zeal to
express the glory of an obedient life dedicated to the Lord, Christians forget
that not every individual has even a base understanding that there is a true
God, let alone who He is or of what His will consists. Given the overwhelming number of conflicting
views of both God and human origins in our society today, being confused is
entirely understandable. At one time in
our society, the majority of individuals had at least a base understanding
about who God is even if they did not agree on what God intends for
humans. The purpose of this article is
perform a basic examination of the evidence of an intelligent designer, which
is a necessary foundation before advancing on to what God wants of us.
What evidence is there
that God exists? It is easy enough for a Christian who already believes in the
veracity of the Bible to point to this Scripture or that Scripture to prove
God’s existence, but for a person who is still seeking truth this evidence may
be too advanced for their current state.
Much of the “scientific” community today would have us believe that the
universe and everything contained therein is the product of both chaos and
happenstance. All life, according to
these scientists, sprang from non-life, which is goes against every bit of what
science can even prove.
Consider it this way:
in our society, there are buildings and machines of the utmost complexity
surrounding us. Would you believe
someone who claimed that a tornado tore through their junkyard, and because the
elements were just right, constructed a pristine 1965 Ford Mustang from
junkyard parts? What would be the probability of such an event happening? What
if someone claimed that the same tornado tore through a construction site and
constructed a perfect apartment building (complete with proper wiring and
plumbing)? Such a claim goes against all logical reasoning, and yet many today
are indoctrinated with the theory of evolution that claims something much more
fantastical than either of these two claims (a single cell is more complex than
either an apartment building or a 1965 Ford Mustang). Does this seem reasonable to you?
On the other hand, what
if a representative from Ford drove up in a new prototype vehicle and told you
that the engineers at Ford headquarters had designed and built it? Would you
believe such a story? Absolutely we would believe this because we see such
evidence constantly around us (simply look at the overwhelming number of
vehicles on the road and on the car lots around the United States).
We should apply the
same principles when we look at the earth and everything that grows, lives, and
reproduces on it. Is it logical to
believe that chemicals just happened to combine at just the right time and in
just the right combination to create everything that is around us, or is it
logical to believe in an intelligent designer? If an apartment building and a
vehicle require an intelligent designer in order to be constructed, then it
logically stands to reason that the universe in all of its complexity required
the same.
The world around us is
filled with wonders; intricate organisms working together towards common goals. Even the tiniest of life forms and organisms
exhibit complex behaviors such as multi-generational migrations, cellular
respiration, and reproduction. Each of
these examples points not to chaos, but to organization completed by an
intelligent entity. The Apostle Paul
establishes a very similar principle in Romans 1:20 where he writes that “since
the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead…”
The Bible, which is
God’s inspired word (a concept which will be explored in another article),
tells us that God created the universe and everything in it. As a statement of fact, Genesis 1:1 says, “In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (read Genesis 1-2 for the
account of creation). While some may
advocate the idea that God “got the ball rolling,” but then had no further
input in events (this is a mixture of creation and evolution), Genesis 1-2
makes it clear that God was in complete control. Again, we must question whether or not it is
logical to believe that God started everything, but then allowed evolution to
take over without having any more impact.
For instance, some purpose that the days depicted in the first chapter
of Genesis were actually eons of time.
Does this make sense? Would any life be able to endure eons of time in
either complete sunlight or complete darkness depending on which side of the
earth they were on? The obvious answer is that no, they would be unable to do
so because they would either cook or freeze.
The logical answer, then, is that the days depicted were normal days (as
the text confirms).
While the complexity of
the world around us points to an intelligent design, it does not necessarily
teach us what this intelligent designer may or may not require of humans. The requirements of God for us are extremely
important concepts and they impact every facet of our lives, but it is beyond
the scope of this particular article.
The purpose of this article is to establish that God does exist and to
cause the reader to desire to know more about Him.
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