THE EXISTENCE AND NATURE OF GOD
“Only fools say in their hearts, “there is no God”. They are corrupt and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” Psalm 53:1
Something cannot come from nothing (0 + 0 = 0), being cannot come from non-being, and life cannot come from non-life. Information at the highest level that requires action or response can only come from intelligence (like we find in the genetic code of all living things). These are common sense and scientifically sound statements!
The control of public education today (particularly in higher academia) is in the hands of a majority who do not believe in God, or who are so ingrained in the belief of secular evolution through the philosophy of humanism. This affects the research and curriculums in almost every subject. They admittedly close the door on any evidence that has a “Divine Footprint” or that points to a supernatural cause. If a researcher or scientist presents evidence of “creation’s intelligent design” it will be mocked, belittled, and dismissed. They will not get published in the secular-humanistic controlled periodicals, therefore most people are indoctrinated without even knowing the alternatives!
There is a lot of legitimate research going on out there by Christians (and even by non-Christians that are aware of the secular-humanistic monopoly). If you are a Christian, or a doubter of the Christian worldview, check out some of these research groups, publications, reports and studies that are being done on a regular basis with the hope of having equal hearing someday in the secular arena. These are the ones that I recommend:
Institute for Creation Research: icr.org
Creation Ministries International: creation.com
Creation, Evolution and Science Ministries: creationministries.org
Reasons to Believe: reasons.org (old earth creation view)
Center for Science and Culture: cscinfo@discovery.org (old earth creation view)
It is important to know that Christian Apologetics defends the faith from both inside and outside the Scriptures, and there are various methods of apologetics that can be employed. In this series we will be taking a decisively Biblical stance on the teachings found in Genesis 1-11. Having said that, in our previous series this year “Defending the Faith 101,” we looked at four specific arguments from outside the Bible that support the existence of God. To review those four areas click the area you’d like to review for the link to the previous post on that topic.
Four Lines of Evidence For the Existence of God (click on each for link):
- Philosophical Argument
- Cosmological Argument
- Teleological Argument Part 1 and Teleological Argument Part 2
- Moral Argument
Why is there something instead of nothing? Why is the Universe so finely tuned for life to exist rather than non-living things? Why do sentient beings exist (us) that have non-material properties such as intentionality, choice, emotions, and the innate sense of something beyond us? Why are all living things designed with such complexity as evidenced in the information code found in our DNA? Information at the highest level (requiring an intelligible response) is found in our genetic code and this indicates a designer with purpose in mind – what is that purpose?
The Christian worldview has the best answers for these kinds of questions if we just take some time to investigate. The Bible never argues for God’s existence, it assumes it. It is with this view that we will begin our study and make a case for creation vs. the secular-humanistic view of evolution as the mechanism of origin for complex life.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4
Genesis 1:1
The Bible right away grounds the scientific argument for the existence of God. If God is the Creator of all things then it would only make sense that His first act would institute the things we use to measure scientific evidence in our world today:
In the beginning God…
According to the laws of Physics and Chemistry, everything that we know to exist has the following properties: Time—force—energy—space—matter
Genesis 1:1 gives us these same properties when it describes God’s act of creation:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning = time
God = force
Created = energy
The heavens = space
and the earth = matter
“Oh LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praises because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the sea. O LORD, our lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8
Going Deeper:
Watch this amazing documentary called “God of Wonders” to reflect on all that God has done in His creative abilities:
We are only getting started! Join us next week as we look at the nature of God in the Trinity!
Genesis Chapter One – Reflection and Discussion:
Keep a notebook or journal as you study through Genesis with us:
- Read through Genesis chapter one. Focus on verse one and the fact that there was nothing and then God spoke everything into existence.
- Go to the Gospel of John and read chapter one. Think about what is being said in this Gospel concerning the person of Jesus and His role in the creation.
- Write down your thoughts and questions about God after viewing “God of Wonders.”
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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.
Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.
Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15