How
to Know God Exists Series
The Complete Argument for God's Existence
We have spent a good deal of time
looking at points supporting the existence of God. What I would
like to do is summarize all that we have studied and put it
together into a single cohesive argument that shows the strength
of the Christian position 1.
As a recap, I'll outline the
previous articles we've covered in this series. If you've missed
any of the articles, you may read them online at our website.
They can be found at http://www.comereason.org/newsletters/.
We began our discussion looking
at the existence of objective morality. We noted that in order
for objective morality to exist, it must given by God. We then
looked at two popular objections to the idea of objective
morality - moral relativism and utilitarianism - and found each
of these positions inadequate to explain the idea of morality as
we understand it.
The next topic in our study
focused on the notion that the universe had a beginning so it
must also have had a cause. We demonstrated this with something
called the Kalam cosmological argument, and followed that with
what is known as the Anthropic principle - the idea that the
universe shows features of design. Briefly, we looked at some
claims of evolution as a "designer" and how we could
respond to them.
We then spent a considerable
amount of time (5 months!) looking at the specific historical
evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, how it is a fact
of history and why. The last point we touched on was the reality
of the Christian experience, if claims that are subjective by
their nature have any merit, and how it shows that God is truly
working in people's lives.
FIVE EVIDENCES
TO SUPPORT GOD'S EXISTENCE
If we condense each argument for
God's existence, we would have five main evidences. These are:
- In order for objective moral
values to exist, they must come from a personal entity that
transcends humanity, namely God. Objective moral values
exist; so therefore God exists.
- Whatever begins to exist has a
cause of its existence. The universe began to exist.
Therefore the universe has a cause for its existence. That
cause must be personal and eternal, and therefore God.
- The universe shows complexity
and intricacy of design, far more so than man-made items
such as watches. These designs cannot be adequately
explained away by chance or evolution, therefore they argue
for a designer, namely God.
- The death and resurrection of
Jesus is a fact of history. Points of support for this fact
are the reports read as history, the testimony given by
eyewitness, the close proximity of the reports to the event,
the changed lives of the disciples, and the problem of the
empty tomb. If Jesus claimed to be God and He raised from
the dead as evidence of His claim, then Jesus is God and
therefore God exists.
- The objective claim of the
Bible is that people who trust in Christ as their Lord will
experience transformed lives. There exists testimony from a
vast number of people from all cultures over two millennia
who claim that they were transformed in this way. Because a
large sample of individuals who experiences match an
objective grid (the Bible's claim tied to an objective
event, the resurrection), it is reasonable to believe that
God is really working in the lives of those who believe in
Him.
THE CRUX OF
THE ARGUMENT
The five points mentioned above
seem overwhelming. However, believe it or not, just having a
number of points that argue for the existence of God is not
enough. When rationally weighing a truth-claim, one must not
only examine evidence to support its affirmation but also
evidence to support its denial. In other words, if I want to
investigate the claim "Does God exist", then I must
ask what are the arguments to verify this claim and what are the
arguments that falsify the claim. If the evidence of veracity
are more compelling than those of falsification, then is it
reasonable to accept the claim as being true.
The real strength of the
Christian position on the existence of God lies in the fact that
_there are no arguments to support the claim that God does not
exist!_ Many atheists argue for alternate explanations of
creation, morality, etc. but they don't give reasons to show why
God cannot exist or why God should not exist or why it is
logically impossible for God to exist.
We have offered five evidences
that argue for the existence of God and I have not yet found any
compelling argument that supports the non-existence of God.
Therefore, until they are offered and found sound, any
reasonable person should believe that God truly exists.
I hope that you have been
enlightened, equipped and strengthened in your faith as a result
of this study. Please write and tell us if you've enjoyed the
series and what other topics you would like to see here.
Beginning next edition, we'll
begin a series examining the difficulties reconciling God's
predestination verses man's freedom to choose. We'll study both
popular sides of the issue as well as a position which is
gaining ground in scholarly circles. I hope you join us then.
God bless, and have a happy New Year!
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