How Can I Know There Is A God? | Part Two

How can I know there is a God? This is the most foundational question in life. While the majority of people claim to believe in God, many of us have doubts harbor about the existence of God.  

Why We Doubt the Existence of God:

• Natural Doubt: It is normal to doubt the existence of something or someone we can’t see.
• Philosophical Doubt: If there is a God, why is there suffering in the world?
• Experiential Doubt: Sometimes our disappointment in God causes us to doubt God.
• Spiritual Doubt: Some people deny God’s existence because they don’t want to subject themselves to someone greater than they are. The reason some people don’t search for God is the same reason criminals don’t search for a policeman.
• Empirical Doubt: Some people doubt God’s existence because they embrace the naturalist’s assertion that there is no empirical evidence for the existence of God. Can we prove the existence of God? While it is impossible to prove the existence of God, it is also impossible to prove there is no God. The real question is, in which direction does the evidence point?

1. The Evidence For The Existence Of God

• The Cosmological Evidence: 

Why are there planets, land, oceans, trees, and you and me? The naturalist’s answer is “No One x Nothing = Everything.” Obviously, that is not an answer. The fact that all these things exist points to a transcendent and personal Cause for all that exists.

• The Teleological Argument

The Naturalist, when confronted with the evidence for a Creator that comes from the complex design of the universe, the atheist will argue that such design occurred by chance. Yet, at the same time, he is arguing the randomness of the universe; he also bases his alternative theory for the origin of the universe on scientific laws based on order, not on chaos. 

You can’t have your philosophical cake and eat it, too! Either the intricate design found in the universe is the result of random events that may or may not be repeatable, or it is the product of a Creator Who has designed the universe to run according to observable and repeatable laws. The evidence that the design and order of the universe provide for the existence of God is often called the “teleological” argument for God (“teleos” means “design”). Where exactly do we see this design that argues for a Creator?

The Universe

The Big Bang theory postulates that the universe began with a dense mass of matter which exploded into our universe that continues to expand. However, if the initial mass of the universe had varied by more than a single grain of table salt, the universe would not exist today. It either would not have expanded, or it would have expanded so rapidly that it would have become nothingness instantaneously. By “chance” the universe began with just the right matter to continue its existence.

Earth
The design found in the universe is not limited to its beginning. The universe has been intricately designed to allow for life on our planet, even though the universe as a whole seems hostile to life. Scientists estimate there are more than one hundred conditions that form a biological “welcome mat” for human beings here, making the earth uniquely suited for human life. Among those conditions are:

• Size
• Water
• Gravity
• Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide 

The Cell
As Michael Bene demonstrates in his book Darwin’s Black Box, the cell is that complex organ that renders Darwin’s theory untenable. Darwin, like other biologists of his day, failed to understand the complexity of the cell. Behe explains that a cell requires a number of functioning systems that must be present at once rather than evolving over a period of time including a functioning membrane, a system to build the DNA units, a system to control the copying of DNA, and system for processing energy. What is the possibility of a fully functioning cell assembling itself together by chance? Cambridge University astronomer and mathematician Sir Frederick Hoyle writes, “The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 [zeroes] after it … It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution … If the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.”

The Human Body

Of course, our bodies consist of more than a single cell. The human body is comprised of thousands of complex organs and systems necessary to experience life as we know it. For example, consider the eye you are using to read this blog. Your eye is a ball containing a lens on one side and, on the other side, a light-sensitive retina that consists of rods and cones. The lens is protected by a covering called the cornea and rests on an iris that is designed to protect the cornea from excessive light. Every four hours, a watery substance within the eye is replaced, while tear glands continually flush the outside of the eye clean. Every eye also has its own “windshield wiper” called the eyelid that spreads a special secretion over the cornea to keep it moist and to protect it from dust. If that were not complicated enough, the eye does not exist by itself. As light hits the human eye, billions of bits of information travel from the eye through millions of nerve fibers that are linked to the brain. There, at “information central” in the visual cortex of the brain, that data is processed and dispatched, along with various instructions.

• The Anthropological Evidence

The anthropological evidence or argument for God is based on the presence of human beings (“anthropos” means “man”) on the earth.

• Our Existence
• Our Consciousness
  • of ourselves
  • of God
  • of morality

• The Experiential Evidence

Admittedly, this argument offers the least amount of empirically verifiable evidence, yet it provides one of the most thought-provoking rationales for the existence of God. Consider the millions of people throughout history who claim to have experienced a personal relationship with God despite great sacrifice or skepticism. For example, 12 apostles and more than five hundred witnesses claim to have seen the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:5-6). Some dismiss their experiences as simple wish-fulfillment. That is, these followers of Jesus so desperately wanted to see their Leader again that they imagined they saw Him after His death.

But they did. And they were so convinced of what they saw that, with the exception of one, they experienced horrible martyrs’ deaths. Beyond those who personally saw the resurrected Christ, there were countless others during the early decades of the Christian faith who claimed to have experienced a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ—a claim that resulted in a great personal sacrifice. 

The experiential argument for the existence of God is not limited to one or two people but encompasses untold millions of people throughout history from every station of life and every nation in the world. Furthermore, millions of people have embraced belief in God in spite of ridicule, torture, and even death. Evolution provides no answer for why so many millions of people would embrace a belief that is contrary to their own self-interest.

2. The Choice: “Where Does The Evidence Point?”

While the atheist cannot prove there is no God, we who are believers must honestly admit that we cannot prove there is a God. The bottom-line question is, “Does the evidence argue for or against the existence of God?”

Every day, we make choices based on the best available evidence rather than absolute proof. The amount of evidence we require to make a decision is determined by the importance of the decision.

Instead, the argument from the universe, the complexity of design, the uniqueness of man, and the experiences of millions of people throughout history are strong evidence for the existence of God. For the atheist to dismiss this evidence means that he must “slide into eternity with his fingers crossed,” hoping he was right.

Why would any rational person be willing to take that chance?