Does God Exist?
In Romans 1:20, the
Apostle Paul wrote that “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…” When questioning the existence of God, it
seems rather odd to start with a verse from the Bible, but consider what was
written here. Examining the world around
us provides a wonderful place to start our consideration of the existence of
God!
Frank Lloyd Wright was
a highly acclaimed architect in his day, and the homes and buildings he
designed are still held in high esteem today.
Would you believe me if I told you that Frank Lloyd Wright never
existed? That the houses attributed to him were not built by human hands, but
rather by a bazaar set of coincidences that just happened to fall in place at
just the right moment for these supposed “works of art” to come into existence?
Would you look at me as though I were crazy?
Everything, from
plastic toys to elaborately planned buildings, requires a
creator/designer. This is a simple fact
of life! We do not look at beautiful homes and even entertain the absurd idea
that a storm, meteor, or flood brought them into existence. What would be the odds of even a catastrophic
event or an amazingly extensive amount of time creating a perfect replica of a
Frank Lloyd Wright home (complete with finished interior, plumbing, and
electrical wiring)?
Which is more complex,
a properly and elaborately built home or the human body? If it seems absurd to
us to think that it is highly improbable (impossible?) that an elaborate home
could be built by sheer happenstance no matter what the circumstances or how
long we give it, then it should be even more absurd to think that every single
living entity on earth (plant and animal) are the product of happenstance! Carl
Sagan, a noted atheist, “estimated that the chance of life evolving on Earth is
one in 1x10 2,000,000,000 [1 followed by two billion zeros]. It would take 6,000 books of 300 pages each
just to write that number!”[1] With a probability this
remote, it might just as well be dubbed impossible. Further, Edwin Conklin of Princeton
University stated that the “probability of life originating from accident is
comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an
explosion in a printing shop.”[2] Should we, in any way, believe that the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary came into being as the result of an explosion in a
printing shop?
The purpose of this
approach is not to address the theory of evolution, but rather to show that
even atheists such as Carl Sagan realize the improbability of all life being
the result of happenstance. If, as Dr.
Sagan estimates, the probability of life evolving without intelligent design is
1x102,000,000,000, then the more logical deduction would be that
there is an intelligent designer. What
is the probability that Frank Lloyd Wright designed a house using blueprints
and then construction workers followed those blueprints under Wright’s
supervision to create these works of art?
Consider the following
questions for a moment: when has non-life spawned life? When has non-matter
created matter? If we observe the world around us, we can see that kind begets
kind, life begets life, and so it has always been. Why do we not live in constant fear that
another universe will spontaneously appear over ours, thereby crushing us or
blowing us to oblivion? What mother rationally fears begetting a dog or even a
monkey when she gives birth? Scientific experiments are conducted frequently in
attempts to deduce the origins of life, but even those scientific experiments
require intelligence; those
experiments cannot conduct themselves free from human manipulation!
When we observe the
world in order to discern kind after kind, we use intelligence. Scientific
experimentation requires intelligence. Observing that matter cannot create itself
utilizes intelligence. It is logical, then, to realize that if intelligence is required in all of these
circumstances, then intelligence must
have designed life, and therefore God must exist.
Can the existence of
God be proven using the scientific method? The answer may sound odd, but no, we
cannot. Neither, of course, can the “Big
Bang Theory” or other evolutionary theories about the origin of the
universe. Belief in God and belief in
evolution both require faith, which is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as
“firm belief in something for which there is no proof” and “something that is
believed especially with strong conviction.”[3] Likewise, both belief systems fit the
definition of religion, which is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held
to with ardor and faith.” Which belief
system requires the larger leap of faith, Intelligent Design or spontaneous
generation? If everything about the world points to intelligence, then does it
not require more faith to believe that life “spontaneously generated by
accident from inorganic substances”?[4]
Returning to the quote
from Romans 1, we must realize that once we have established that an
Intelligent Designer does exist, that realization in and of itself does not
inform us of His will. Since God exists,
does His creation tell us what we need to do to be pleasing to Him? Do we need
to be pleasing to Him? Paul does not make the claim that creation informs us as
to God’s will, but rather that we are without excuse for disbelief, rebellion,
and wickedness.
While beyond the scope
of this particular lesson, God does not leave us floundering without hope. Man, when left to his own devices, will make
poor choices more often than not, which clearly indicates the need for higher
guidance. King Solomon wrote that there
“is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs
14:12; 16:25). Likewise, it is written
in Jeremiah 10:23, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not
in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
God realizes our need for guidance and has provided His inspired word to
fulfill that need.
What does God expect?
Is the Bible His inspired word? Can we trust the Bible?
“’Come now, and let us
reason together,’ Says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18).
[1] Jackson,
Wayne, Eric Lyons, and Kyle Butt. Surveying the Evidence. Montgomery, Ala.: Apologetics Press, 2008.
Pg. 27.
[2]
Ibid., 27.
[3]
“Faith.” Merriam-Webster. N.d. Web.
17 Nov. 2015.
[4] Evidences, 27.
The Bible - God's Inspired Word
Before we begin this
study we should clarify that the intended scope is not a comprehensive study of
all available evidences on the topic at hand. To attempt such in this brief space would obviously
be an insurmountable task. Our goal
instead is to provide a few foundational evidences that will aid in the
building of faith in God and/or intrigue the reader enough that they to continue
their study of the Bible.
While it is possible to
look at the world around us and derive that there must be an intelligent
designer, this observation alone cannot reveal the mind of that intelligent
designer to us. No matter how well we
may know another person, we cannot truly know what they are thinking unless
they tell us. Many people today will say
that if God exists, than He MUST accept certain things based on their own
preconceptions rather than looking to the Bible to see what God has revealed
His will to be. In 1 Corinthians 2:11,
the Apostle Paul establishes the principle that we cannot know the mind of God
unless He reveals it to us, just like we cannot know the mind of another person.
There is a rich history
of God speaking at various times to various men and women by various
methods. In Hebrews 1:1-2, we are told
that God “at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” The
idea, as expressed by the writer of Hebrews, is that God has not left us to
wonder what He wants of us, but rather has told us. Consider 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where the Apostle
Paul writes that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.”
What is inspiration?
How has God revealed His will to us? God the Father used the prophets, His own
Son, and the Apostles to convey His will.
Consider, for instance, what is said in Deuteronomy 18:18, “I [God is
speaking through Moses] will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among
their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them
all that I command Him.” The “Prophet”
spoken of here is a prophecy not only about the coming of the Christ, but also
of how and what Jesus would speak. In
John 12:49-50, Jesus says, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the
Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should
speak. And I know that His command is
everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I
speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” Essentially, we have Jesus confirming that He
was the Prophet prophesied about in Deuteronomy 18 and that He spoke only the
things given to Him by God the Father to speak.
Refer back to Hebrews
1:1 where we were told that God spoke through the prophets in time past, then
turn to Isaiah 59:21 where God is speaking to Isaiah the prophet: “As for Me,’
says the Lord, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and
My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your
mouth…” Note the similarities in what is
said to the prophet Isaiah here and what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
2. Like the prophets of the Old Testament,
the Apostles were inspired both to speak and to write. In 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, Paul writes that
now “we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from
God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by
God. These things we also speak, not in
words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.” Paul
is informing us that he spoke not of his own volition! Like Jesus, he spoke only what the Father had
given him to speak. Consider a statement
earlier in the same chapter where Paul writes, “And my speech and my preaching
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in
the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
The Bible has been
provided for us through the inspiration of the writers of Scripture. In many instances, these writers were passing
on eye witness testimony. In 1 John
1:1-4, John writes,
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life - the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us - that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
He speaks frequently
about how they were bearing witness of the things which they had seen and
handled. Likewise, in Luke 1:1-4 it is written, “Inasmuch as
many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have
been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses
and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also,
having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to
you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the
certainty of those things in which you were instructed.” To clarify, the passages from 1 John and Luke
1 show us that in addition to being inspired by God, these writers were
conveying their eye witness testimonies.
Again, this article is
not meant to be a comprehensive study of the inspiration of the
Scriptures. There are many, many
secondary texts dedicated to showing how we have compiled the manuscripts now known
as the Bible and there is far too much to examine here. It is fair to ask questions about how we
obtained the Bible, how it has been translated, and how it has successfully
maintained its validity over the course of thousands of years. Consider, however, that if God is the
intelligent designer of the world, is anything too difficult for Him? Would it
be impossible for God to ensure that we have His complete will? How would the
rather simple task of translation be too much for Him?
Because God has
provided us with His will, we must strive to live within it and to do as He
commands us. In Colossians 3:17 we read,
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
The term “in the name of” means, essentially, “by the authority of” the
person (in this case, Jesus) named, such as the modern term “open up in the
name of the law.” Like Jesus and the
Apostle Paul (and all other inspired prophets and authors), we must speak in
accordance with the word of God (1 Peter 4:11, 2 Timothy 2:15).
As Peter has written,
“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
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