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Evidence for the Existence of God
Mike Riddlewww.CreationTraining.org
PremiseBecause 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.
Romans 1:19-20
Five Evidences1. Cosmological evidence2. Evidence from design3. The existence of non-material entities4. The reality of God’s Word5. The moral argument (right and wrong)
Atheism and Arguments
The strongest argument for atheism is the problem of evil. It is strong because it is based on a seemingly strong premise:
The reality of evil seems logically incompatible with the reality of an
all-good, all-powerful God.
Atheism and Arguments
The second strongest argument for atheism is the apparent ability of scientists to explain all the data we observe without God.
Two WorldviewsMaterialismAll that exist is mass and energy. There are no supernatural forces or gods.
“The cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be.” - Carl Sagan, Cosmos, 1980
Two Worldviews
BiblicalGod exists and His Word (the Bible) is true.Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed
Cosmological Argument
The universe created itself.
The universe has always existed.
The universe was created.
The existence of the universe
A beginning
No beginning
A beginning
The Law of Cause and Effect
Everything that has a beginning has a cause.
Every material effect must have an adequate cause that existed before the effect.
What is the Cause?
By the word of the LORD the heavens
were made…
The Universe Created Itself
1. What could cause this to happen since nothing exists? If nothing exists, there can be no source of energy for a cause.
Starting point: No space, time or matter
2. Since nothing exists, there can be no space (place) to come into existence.
Two very BIG problems
Quantum MechanicsDavies, P., 1983. God and the New Physics, Simon & Schuster, p. 215.
“… spacetime could appear out of nothingness as a result of a quantum transition. … Particles can appear out of nowhere without specific causation … Yet the world of quantum mechanics routinely produces something out of nothing.
Cause/Effect Still Works Theories that the universe is a
quantum fluctuation must presuppose that there was something to fluctuate.
A ‘quantum vacuum’ is a lot of matter-antimatter potential - not ‘nothing’.
If the universe had no cause then it can’t have any properties to explain its extraordinary ability to come into existence by itself.
Cosmological Evidence
The universe created itself.
The universe has always existed.
The universe was created.
The reality of the universe demands a verdict
No beginning
A beginning
FALSE
The Universe Has Always Existed If the universe has always existed (no
beginning) then it would be an infinite number of years old.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics The amount of available energy for doing
work is decreasing. Material things wear out.
Has the Universe Always Existed?
Infinite number of years old
•Time without end•Latin for boundless (without end)•Older than a trillion years
Does this agree with observable science?
No RefillsNo Refills
Small PrintOne tank of gas – no refills(finite amount of energy)
Small PrintOne tank of gas – no refills(finite amount of energy)
After about 300 miles the car is out of fuel (energy) and can no longer move.
After about 300 miles the car is out of fuel (energy) and can no longer move.
Stars and EnergyStars and Energy
Finite amount of energy (hydrogen)Finite amount of energy (hydrogen)
Thermonuclear fusionThermonuclear fusion
Lighter to heaver elements
H He C O Fe
Lighter to heaver elements
H He C O Fe
10 BillionYears
10 BillionYears
100 BillionYears
100 BillionYears
100 MillionYears
100 MillionYears
1 Trillion Years
1 Trillion Years
No Stars
Stars Are Wearing OutStars Are Wearing Out
Star Formation and ScienceStar Formation and Science
The popular idea is that stars form from vast clouds of rotating gas and dust through gravitational contraction.
The popular idea is that stars form from vast clouds of rotating gas and dust through gravitational contraction.
Gas and dust clouds will
expand NOT contract
Nebula
Jason Lisle (Ph.D. Astrophysics), Acts and Facts, “Blue Stars Confirm recent Creation,” Sep 2012.
“Star formation is problematic at best. Gas is very resistant to being compressed…. However, in a typical nebula, the gas pressure far exceeds the miniscule force of gravity.”
John Hartnett (Ph.D. Physics), Dismantling the Big Bang, 2005, p. 144.
“Without ‘something else’ the outward pressure due to kinetic energy of the gas molecules in the cloud is so much greater than the inward pressure due to the mutual gravitational attraction of the cloud that the resulting net outward pressure would cause the gas cloud to disperse rather than collapse.”
Abraham Loeb, (Harvard Center for Astrophysics), quoted by Marcus Chown, “Let there be Light”, New Scientist, Feb 7, 1998.
“The truth is that we don’t understand star formation at a fundamental level.”
Cosmological Evidence
The universe created itself.
The universe has always existed.
The universe was created.
The reality of the universe demands a verdict
A beginning
FALSE
FALSE
Summary
The universe can be shown to have had a beginning (2nd Law of Thermodynamics).
The universe therefore requires a cause more powerful than itself.
Who Made God?
Who Made God?Who Made God?
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: (Ex 3:14)
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: (Ex 3:14)
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Rev 22:13)
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Rev 22:13)
Logic and Who Made God?Logic and Who Made God?
Two PossibilitiesTwo Possibilities
A regression of “God’s” back to an all-powerful Creator GodA regression of “God’s” back to an all-powerful Creator God
One God Who created everythingOne God Who created everything
Principle of Occam’s Razor
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and
there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and
there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isaiah 46:9
Conclusion
The Bible teaches that God is the Creator of space, time, and matter. Since God had no beginning, He does not need a cause. In addition, since He is not material, He is not governed by the laws of science.
Conclusion Cosmological Evidence
The evidence demands a Creator
“Belief in God is genuinely coherent with all we know about ourselves and our universe. It contradicts no known facts and it makes sense of many things that would otherwise be inexplicable.”
C. S. Evans (Ph.D. Philosophy), The Quest for Faith: Pointers to God, 1986, p. 131.
The Moral ArgumentDo Absolute Standards Exist?
Does God really exist?
Do absolutes really exist?
Moral Relativism
Why does God allow
evil?
EXPOSING FALSE BELIEFS
Challenges
Where was God on September 11? Where is God when natural disasters
strike? There is too much evil in the world;
therefore, there cannot be a God.
“Stress that whether a specific action is right or wrong depends on the meaning that a given group attaches to the action.”
Houghton-Mifflin Teacher’s Edition, Sixth Grade Social Studies Text, Around the World, 1980, p. 70.
Textbooks
“A child comes to school with his values in a state of confusion. And since the parents and the church have contributed to that confusion, the school must help the child clarify his own values.”
Dr. Sydney Simon (Co-founder of values clarification), instruction to teachers.Cited in, Public Education Against America, Marlin Maddoux, 2006, p. 82.
“Moral relativism rejects any abiding moral values for all, maintaining that there is no objective ethical right and wrong and that morality is an individual or cultural matter; none more binding than another.”
Paul Copan (Ph.D. Philosophy of Religion), True for You but not for Me, 1998, p.22.
Absolutes vs. Moral Relativism
Why Know This Subject?Why Know This Subject?Lack of an answer provides a reason why
nonbelievers are able to justify why they don’t believe in the God of the Bible.
Most Christians are not able to answer the challenge.
Feelings about this subject can be very strong.Students, when confronted with this argument,
are not prepared and lose confidence in the Bible.
Lack of an answer provides a reason why nonbelievers are able to justify why they don’t believe in the God of the Bible.
Most Christians are not able to answer the challenge.
Feelings about this subject can be very strong.Students, when confronted with this argument,
are not prepared and lose confidence in the Bible.
Effects of Moral Relativism
Abortion Embryonic stem cell research Pornography Homosexual behavior (gay rights) Hollywood movies (sex, killings,
aliens, divorce, …)
In a number of important issues, modern society is infected by moral relativism.
What about the Ten Commandments?
The Problem of EvilThe Problem of Evil
“The problem of evil is one of the most crucial protests raised by unbelievers against the fact of God.”
James Edwin Orr (Th.D., Ph.D., Ed.D.), The Faith That Persuades, 1977, p. 80.
1912 – 1987Chaplin U.S. Air Force, WWII
The Problem of EvilThe Problem of Evil
“The theologians’ inability to supply the skeptic with a straightforward and satisfying answer to this challenge has made evil, no doubt, the biggest single stumbling block to belief in a God of love.”
Ed Leroy Miller, God and Reason: A Historical Approach to Philosophical Theology, 1972, p. 139.
Did God Create Evil?Did God Create Evil?
“God created human beings with the potential and the capacity to choose good or evil. He created the possibility of evil but not its reality. Thus, God is not the author of evil…. In essence, sin is the abuse of free will, the misuse of what is good.”
Steve Kumar (Ph.D.) with Jonathan Sarfati (Ph.D.), Christianity for Skeptics, 2012, p. 61.
The God of the Bible is evil because He
slaughters whole nations.
The God of the Bible is evil because He
slaughters whole nations.
Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah
Jericho
10 Plagues of Egypt
Jericho
10 Plagues of Egypt
“No one can sit at the bedside of a dying child and still believe in God.”
Bertrand Russell (Nobel prize winner and atheist, 1872 - 1979)
Since you do not believe God exists, why are you blaming Him?
Response to Bertrand Russell
If God does exist, why do you think He should stop all the suffering?
Should He then prevent you from any form of doing anything wrong (free will)?
1. There is evil in the world.
2. Evil is incompatible with God.
3. Therefore, God does not exist.
Popular Atheist Argument
Response
1. The skeptics are assuming evil is incompatible with God.
2. The skeptics must prove their assumption.
3. It is logically possible God has a good reason for allowing evil.
How to Answer the Non-believerHow to Answer the Non-believer
1. Understand the nature of the challenge.
2. Challenge the non-believer for why they believe their statement is true.
3. Provide a solution.
1. Understand the nature of the challenge.
2. Challenge the non-believer for why they believe their statement is true.
3. Provide a solution.
If God is good then why does He allow death and suffering?
Part 1Understanding the Challenge
Part 1Understanding the Challenge
The challenge is a conclusion based on some value (or standard) of what
is good and what is not good.
Absolute MoralityAbsolute Morality
If God created us, He has the right to set the rules. Otherwise, why not make our own rules?
If God created us, He has the right to set the rules. Otherwise, why not make our own rules?
How do you decide “right” from “wrong”?How do you decide
“right” from “wrong”?
Whoever is in power makes the rules.Whoever is in power makes the rules.
The Existence of Moral AbsolutesThe Existence of Moral Absolutes
I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Isaiah 45:19
I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Isaiah 45:19
What is your absolute standard for measuring what
is good and what is evil?
(Right from Wrong)
What is your absolute standard for measuring what
is good and what is evil?
(Right from Wrong)
Part 2
Challenge for the Non-believer
Part 2
Challenge for the Non-believer
Overview: 4 ResponsesOverview: 4 Responses
1. Personal opinion
2. What benefits society
3. The laws of society
4. Feelings
1. Personal opinion
2. What benefits society
3. The laws of society
4. Feelings
Moral Relevance
Possible Response 1Possible Response 1
If the standard (moral code) is based upon personal opinion,If the standard (moral code) is based upon personal opinion,
ThenThen
How can we condemn murderers, rapists, and burglars?
How can we condemn murderers, rapists, and burglars?
Possible Response 2Possible Response 2
If the standard (moral code) is based upon what benefits society,If the standard (moral code) is based upon what benefits society,
ThenThenStatements like “the society was evil” are meaningless because different cultures have different conventions.
Statements like “the society was evil” are meaningless because different cultures have different conventions.
Possible Response 3Possible Response 3
If the standard (moral code) is based on the laws of society,If the standard (moral code) is based on the laws of society,
We can have many different moral codes because different societies have different laws. We are assuming all laws are good.
We can have many different moral codes because different societies have different laws. We are assuming all laws are good.
ThenThen
Possible Response 4Possible Response 4
If the standard (moral code) is based on what makes people feel good,If the standard (moral code) is based on what makes people feel good,
We can have many different moral codes because people have different feelings. This response allows for murder, stealing, torture, and rape.
We can have many different moral codes because people have different feelings. This response allows for murder, stealing, torture, and rape.
ThenThen
The Nonbeliever and StandardsThe Nonbeliever and Standards
Personal opinion
Benefit of society
Laws of society
Feelings
Personal opinion
Benefit of society
Laws of society
Feelings
All fall short
No universal standard
All fall short
No universal standard
Whoever is in power makes the rules
Biblical standard
In principle, the non-believer has no foundation for his presuppositions.
The ParadoxGod is all-good.
God is all-powerful.
Evil exists.
A Fourth Premise
God has a morally sufficient reason for the evil which exists.
The Solution: God’s Standards Genesis 1; Col 1:16 Ten Commandments Romans 1:19-20 Matthew 22:37 Matthew 5:48 Romans 3:23, 6:23 John 3:16 John 14:6
Genesis 1; Col 1:16 Ten Commandments Romans 1:19-20 Matthew 22:37 Matthew 5:48 Romans 3:23, 6:23 John 3:16 John 14:6
How to Answer the Non-believerHow to Answer the Non-believer
1. Understand the nature of the challenge.
2. Challenge the non-believer for why they believe their statement is true.
3. Provide a solution.
1. Understand the nature of the challenge.
2. Challenge the non-believer for why they believe their statement is true.
3. Provide a solution.
Principle of 1 Peter 3:15Principle of 1 Peter 3:15
Deductions: Moral AbsolutesDeductions: Moral Absolutes
The fact of evil in no way eliminates the reality of God. It has more to do with His character than His existence. Through His infinite knowledge, God may permit evil for a very good reason.
Deductions: Moral AbsolutesDeductions: Moral Absolutes
The Bible reveals where evil on Earth came from. God’s creation was perfect (Genesis 1:31), but this was destroyed when the first man rebelled (sin).
Deductions: Moral AbsolutesDeductions: Moral Absolutes
Let the moral relativist be lied to, be the victim of false advertising, their computer hacked into, or a family member intentionally harmed, and they instantly become a moral absolutist.
A person’s reaction to what they consider unfair ethical treatment always betrays their true feelings on the matter of relative versus objective moral laws.
Deductions: Moral AbsolutesDeductions: Moral Absolutes
In the atheist worldview they cannot legitimately raise the question since they do not believe God exists.
The Claim:There is too much evil in the world; therefore, there cannot be a God.
If evil exists, then we are assuming there is such a thing as good.
If good exists, then there must be a moral law to differentiate between good and evil.
A Response:
This is what you are trying to disprove (the existence of God)
If there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law.
If there is no moral law, there is no good. If there is no good, there is no evil.
Therefore, what is your challenge?
If you admit to a moral law, you implying there is a moral law giver.
ConclusionConclusion
The Evidence Demands A Creator
CosmologicalMoral Absolutes
ConclusionBecause 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.
Romans 1:19-20
5-Day Apologetics Teachers College5-Day Apologetics Teachers College
When: June 1-6, 2015
Where: Lifeway Ridgecrest Conference Center, Ridgecrest, NC
Who: 60 students (pastors, youth leaders, school teachers, parents)
Building an “Army” of Christian Educators
For more information www.CreationTraining.org
Email: [email protected]
Facing Our GoliathFacing Our Goliath
