Transcript Slide 1

The Bible doesn’t try to prove God’s reality,
and there are two possible reasons for this:
Some believe that in biblical times the idea of God
was so universal that proof just wasn’t necessary;
the Athenians are a case in point, for Paul referred
to their altar with this inscription: To the Unknown
God (Acts 17:23). Or…
It may simply be that the evidence for God’s existence was thought to be so overwhelming that the
Bible and its scribes merely left it as if all its readers would believe the obvious.
As King David said of God, The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament shows His
handiwork (Psa. 19:1). Similarly…
Tony E. Denton, 12/07.
ASiteForTheLord.com
Paul wrote, 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 (Rom. 1:20a).
God is an invisible spirit and hence can’t be
perceived/measured by our five senses. But…
Certain things about God are clearly seen via
nature: His invisible attributes, eternal power,
and even His divine nature. Now…
As we turn to the physical evidence of God’s
existence, there are four classic arguments
which have testified of His existence and His
nature to mankind for thousands of years.
There’s the
Cosmological
Argument.
Firstly, the law of cause & effect requires there
to be an uncaused-first-cause for all things.
This law is accepted by all rational thinkers as a
self-evident truth.
All observation and experience agree that in the
natural world nothing exists in and of itself; i.e.,
nothing happens on its own. So…
For every effect there must be an adequate cause.
We may reason that the pattern of cause & effect
reaches infinitely into the past, but this would be impossible, because this principle demands that the
cause & effect chain itself have an adequate cause.
In other words…
Somewhere in the past, an uncaused-first-cause
must have started the cause & effect pattern. And…
That uncaused-first-cause is obviously the God of
the Bible: as John wrote by inspiration, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God. All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made
(John 1:1-3).
If the uncaused-first-cause is NOT the God of the
Bible, then what or who is? Science is speechless.
Secondly, and continuing with thoughts along
these lines…
The principles of deductive reasoning prove
the existence of an uncaused-first-cause.
The process of deduction reasons from general
truths to specific conclusions; and, with universally
accepted and self-evident truths, the proper use of
deduction provides indisputable evidence of God—
the uncaused-first-cause.
In this type of reasoning, we generally use what’s
called a syllogism with a major premise & a minor
premise which result in an inescapable conclusion.
For examples…
Major: Something cannot come from nothing.
Minor: Something exists.
Con.: Something or someone has always existed.
Major: Living beings cannot come from non-living.
Minor: Living beings exist.
Con.: At least one living being has always existed.
Major: Rational beings cannot come from irrational.
Minor: Rational beings exist.
Con.: At least one rational being has always existed.
So The Cosmological Argument—evidence
from causation—proves that there has always
been a living, reasoning, creative being—God!
There’s the
Teleological
Argument.
Firstly, DESIGN demands a DESIGNER.
This argument should have an especially profound
effect on scientists since science is founded upon
orderliness and predictability. I.e….
To witness the order and predictability of just our
own solar system and then insist on the non-existence of a designer for it is totally dishonest.
Research chemist, Elmer W. Maurer, once said, It
is impossible for me to conceive the law and order of the
universe as being the result of pure chance. The odds are
simply too great…. When I step into my lab I know that the
laws which hold true today will hold true … as long as the
universe exists. Otherwise my life in the lab would be a
succession of quandaries, a life of uncertainty & doubts,
rendering all scientific activity futile, in fact, impossible.1
Paul wrote, Every house is built by someone, but
the builder of all things is God (Heb. 3:4).
Secondly, the VASTNESS of the universe demands a POWERFUL designer.
If our sun were hollow, it could contain over one
million Earths, yet there are stars that could contain half a billion of our suns!
Our solar system is 100,000 light years in diameter,
and revolves at a speed of 200 miles per second;
yet it takes 200 million years to make a revolution.
Our galaxy is made up of 100 billion stars of which
our sun is just one little speck in our Milky Way.
Other galaxies are numbered in the 100 millions in
known space; in fact, Einstein once said, “We have
probed only one billionth of teleological space,”
and if that is true, then there are an estimated 10
octillion (that’s 28 zeros) stars in the universe.
Thirdly, the PRECISION of the universe demands an INTELLIGENT designer.
The planets don’t move across the heavens haphazardly, rather each planet moves in its own particular orbit with a Swiss watch-like exactness.
Astronomers can precisely predict the position of
any star at any given moment—past, present, or
future; they can predict the visit of a comet or the
time of an eclipse hundreds of years in advance.
The same force that moves the heavenly bodies
with such exactness also moves our Earth systematically and orderly; so night and day and the
seasons follow each other in a consistent order.
Fourthly, the ORGANIZATION of the world
demands a PURPOSEFUL designer.
Human organs demand a purposeful designer.
The Eye is made up of 107 million cells that have
one purpose—to produce sight; these specialized
cells don’t respond at all to sound, but when they
are touched by light, they instantly focus and record the precise color and intensity of the light.
The Ear is a very complex organ, the only purpose
of which is to transmit sound waves; it can’t see
or taste, but it fulfills its function with precision.
The Skin is designed to respond exclusively to
touch; each square inch is equipped with 450
heat and pressure sensitive cells for the purpose
of giving pleasure or protecting us from harm.
The design and location of the earth demand a
purposeful designer.
A physician and former president of the New York
State Academy of Science, Dr. A. Cressy Morrison, once said, The evidence is strongly suggestive of
[a] directive purpose back of everything…. We’ve found
that the world is in the right place, that the crust is adjusted
to within ten feet, and that if the ocean were a few feet
deeper we’d have no oxygen or vegetation. We’ve found
that the earth rotates in twenty-four hours and that were
this revolution delayed, life would be impossible…. We’ve
found that the sun is the one among thousands that could
make our sort of life possible on Earth; its size, density,
temperature, and the character of its rays all must be right
and are right. We’ve found that the gases of the atmosphere are adjusted to each other and that a very slight
change would be fatal….
Considering the bulk of the earth, its place in space & the
nicety of the adjustments, … the chances of all of them
occurring cannot be calculated even in the billions. The
existence of these facts cannot, therefore, be reconciled
with any of the laws of chance. It’s impossible, then, to
escape the conclusion that the adjustments of nature to
man are far more amazing than the adjustments of man to
nature. A review of the wonders of nature demonstrate beyond question that there are design and purpose in it all.
A program is being carried out in all its infinite detail by
the Supreme being we call God.2
So…
The Teleological Argument—evidence from
order and design—proves that the happenstance collision of atoms (aka, The Big Bang
Theory) cannot explain the vast, precise, and
purposed condition of the universe; such
design unquestionably demands a designer,
and this designer is the God of the Bible.
As we quoted David earlier: The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament shows His
handiwork (Psa. 19:1). And…
We might add more of David’s words: The fool has
said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psa. 14:1).
There’s
the
Moralogical
Argument.
Firstly, man differs from the
beasts because only he possesses a sense of right and wrong.
However, this moral sense mustn’t be confused with
animal instinct, for man possesses certain instincts
just asanimalsdo; but these instincts aren’t the same
as the moral sense.
Suppose you hear a cry of a man in danger; you’re
immediately confronted with two powerful instincts:
the desire to help that arises from your instinct to
save a fellow human being and the desire to keep
out of danger that arises from your instinct of selfpreservation. However…
In addition to these two impulses, you’ll find within
yourself a third element that tells you to suppress
the impulse to run away and follow the impulse that
tells you to help.
This third element that judges between the two instincts cannot itself be either of them, rather it’s a
moral law within each person.
If two instincts are in conflict, and there’s nothing
within the mind except those two instincts, obviously the stronger one will win out. But…
It’s at this moment when we’re most conscious of
the moral law within us: in the case of the man in
danger, the moral law tells us to side with the weaker of the two instincts. You’d rather run away due
to the strong instinct to survive, but instead…
You help the man and risk danger to yourself, because a higher law compels you to do what’s right.
So the moral sense isn’t instinct—it’s
the judge of instinct.
This law within us also mustn’t be confused with any
set of moral principles that have been learned thru
upbringing. Different cultures have set forth different
laws of morality, but these differences have never amounted to a total difference. In fact…
An actual comparison of cultures, both ancient and
modern, reveals similarities. E.g., can you think of a
country where men are admired for running away in
battle or where a man is proud about betraying his
friend or where a criminal is purposely praised and
the innocent is purposely hanged?
This overall similarity among
cultures is evidence of a common,
moral sense within man. So…
The moral law in us isn’t something acquired, but
that with which we are all born; even the most primitive savage possesses it: Romans 2:14-15 say, When
Gentiles, who don’t have the law, by nature do the
things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the
work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves
their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.
Secondly, the moral law in man
demands an adequate lawgiver.
Blind, irrational matter and force cannot give rise to
morality; mere chance cannot explain the moral law
within us. The presence of a moral law within us, and
within us alone, demands a source different from and
higher than the beast; what the beast doesn’t have,
he can’t pass on to his offspring.
The moral law within man demands a moral lawgiver;
only a moral lawgiver is adequate enough to produce
the moral law within us.
The moral law clearly distinguishes between good
and evil, so a moral lawgiver must be the source of
knowledge about good and evil. The moral law in man
urges him to avoid evil and do good, so the moral
lawgiver Himself must be good and opposed to evil.
So we see that…
The Moralogical Argument—evidence from the moral
law within man—proves that the only logical cause
for man’s innate sense of right and wrong originates
with our Creator—the holy God of the Bible. Now…
Quite related to this argument is
the next and last one:
There’s the
Ontological
Argument.
Firstly, man’s intuition tells of a higher power.
Intuition is the direct perception of truth independent of any reasoning process;3 and much like the
moral law within us, intuition is a witness to God’s
existence exclusively from within our minds.
Although it can’t be tested by science, it has long
been acknowledged by history and anthropology.
All nations & tribes in every age have believed in
supernatural beings; whether ancient or modern,
near or far from others, one experience is common to all—the desire to worship a higher power.
Since all the knowledge of modern times has
neither displaced nor replaced this hunger, then
we know that this urge to worship isn’t the result
of ignorance or superstition, but an innate need
that can’t be cut away from our existence.
King David, a mere human being like each of us, once
said to God, As the deer pants for the water brooks,
so pants my soul for You, Oh God (Psa. 42:1-2a).
Secondly, man’s intuition points him beyond
the material world to find satisfaction for his
deepest needs and aspirations.
Despite its great vastness, the material world is too
narrow for us, because it addresses only one side
of our nature.
This physical world can feed us when we’re hungry and clothe us when we’re cold; it can shelter
us from the elements and give us protection from
its harsh extremes. But…
There are real needs and aspirations within us
that just cannot find fulfillment here.
We hunger for eternal life, but this world only
gives us death.
We hunger for a purpose for our existence that
transcends ourselves, but this world gives us
no purpose greater than mere self-preservation.
We seek a relationship with a being who’s everything we aren’t—eternal, all-knowing, all powerful,
& unchanging, but this world doesn’t offer such.
We seek a transcendent being who possesses a
perfect degree of every good quality which we
can conceive but cannot achieve—perfect holiness, justice, truth, and love; we seek such because we were created with an innate need for a
relationship with a being worthy of worship, and
this world provides no end to our search.
Wouldn’t it be a strange world where people in it
required food & water and neither existed to fulfill those needs? And wouldn’t it be just as strange
to find that man possesses spiritual needs and
there was no spiritual reality to satisfy them?
Intuition teaches us to look past this physical
world in our search for spiritual fulfillment. So…
The Ontological Argument—evidence from intuition
—teaches us that man’s spiritual hunger exists to be
satisfied and that, therefore, there must be a higher
power adequate enough to satisfy it; and, again, the
God of the Bible fits the bill. Now…
Let’s summarize and conclude our thoughts:
The evidence from the material world is overwhelming proof of God’s existence to anyone
who has a mind to perceive and receive it.
The only cause adequate to produce the universe
is the creative God of the Bible.
The only designer adequate to design and order
the complexities of the universe is the all-knowing
and all-powerful God of the Bible.
The only adequate explanation for the moral law
within man is the holy God of the Bible. And…
The only adequate explanation for the spiritual
hunger in man is the spiritual God of the Bible.
GOD
E. A. Maness wrote,
If the word “God” were
written on every blowing leaf,
embossed on every passing cloud,
and engraved on every granite rock,
the inductive evidence of God in the world
would be no stronger than it is.4
GOD
GOD
The same evidence that proves God’s existence also reveals the divine attributes of God.
If God is the uncaused-first-cause, then He’s selfexistent, eternal, and totally independent.
If God is the designer of the universe, then He’s incredibly limitless in intelligence, power, & purpose.
If God is the author of the moral law within us, then
He’s moral and holy. And…
If God is the source of the spiritual hunger within
us, then He must be a spirit Himself.
Lastly…
The witness of these classic arguments for
God’s existence lead us to agree with Paul:
In Romans 1:18-20 he wrote, The wrath of God is revealed from heaven … because what may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to
them. For 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.
God has never left Himself without witness, for in
Acts 14:16-17 Paul said that God had in bygone
generations allowed all nations to walk in their own
ways. Nevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness in that He did good, gave us rain from
heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with
food and gladness.