This is the first of several presentations on the topic of God. Part 1 is a presentation of evidences for the existence of God from the Bible, from Philosophy and from Cosmology. We overview each of these arguments, and then give examples of evidence from each. We also provide references for going deeper for those who would like to explore these concepts further.

Overview Notes From the Presentation

Topic #2: Conversations About God

Part 1: How Do We Know God Exists?

From a Biblical perspective

“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

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God…

The Bible always assumes, and never argues, God’s existence.
The Bible describes God as the Creator who is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-holy, all-righteous, complete in justice, full of truth and mercy, complete in love and grace and everywhere present.
The Bible is God’s eyewitness account given to Moses in the beginning (Exodus 31:18, 34:1-2, 27-28, Psalm 111:1-4, Isaiah 42:5-9), and continues as God’s inspired Word to other authors to give us His historical narrative.
He existed before the beginning of time (Colossians 1:17)
He existed at the beginning of time (John 1:1-2)
God is present everywhere in the universe and is not constrained by time/space (Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:24)
He is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16)
He is eternal and unchangeable (Psalm 9:7; 1 Timothy 1:17; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)
He is the sustainer of everything (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3)
His wisdom is without limit and His understanding is complete (Psalm 147:5; 1 Jn. 3:20)
He knows the beginning from the end (Isaiah 42:9)

God is the Creator of all things:

A creator of a thing does not fall under, and is not held to, the rules of the thing He created
God exists outside and inside His created time-space continuum, and although everything we know to exist had a beginning God has always existed
God is the uncaused, first cause of all things, and there must be a first uncaused cause for anything to exist
The Creator would have to be, by definition, an uncaused causer

Something cannot come from nothing,

being cannot come from non-being,

life cannot come from non-life,

and intelligence (a mind) cannot come from non-intelligence

I. Philosophical Arguments for the existence of God

Anselm’s Ontological Argument

“God is a being of which nothing greater can be thought. This is a greatness, not in size or space, but in perfection—perfection of intelligence, power, truth, love, and all that makes perfection is found within this being.”

Therefore, if you try to describe God in human terms then He must be greater than what you can describe.
Theologian and philosopher Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) proposed an ontological argument in the second and third chapters of his Proslogion. Anselm’s argument was not presented in order to prove God’s existence; rather, Proslogion was a work of meditation in which he documented how the idea of God became self-evident to him.

The Kalam Cosmological Argument

An infinite number of days has no beginning and no end, but today is an end day of history (history being a collection of all days).
There were not an infinite number of days before today (i.e., time had a beginning).
For example, count forward—will you ever get to the last number? Count backward (negative numbers)—will you ever get to the beginning?
Therefore, life’s history had to have a beginning.

Going Deeper

Search: “The Kalam Cosmological Argument” with Dr. William Lane Craig, website: reasonablefaith.org

II. The Cosmological Argument for the existence of God

Based on the inference of Intelligent design

Premise #1: Whatever begins to exist must have a cause; all effects must have a cause.

*Premise #2: The Universe began to exist, because what we see in the Universe, for example, the second law of thermodynamics and the explosive beginning known as the big bang, are evidence of effects requiring a cause.

Premise #3: Therefore, the Universe has a cause, and because the evidence of effects imply a cause, there must be a causer.

*We must provide evidence for premise #2 for premise #3 to be true.

The Cosmos (Universe)

Carl Sagan would say in his 1980’s PBS show: “The Cosmos is all there is, all that ever was and all that will ever be.”

This could be considered the “Atheist’s Creed.”
Scientists, like Sagan, had assumed that the Universe was static and constant, without a beginning, but the Kalam argument in philosophy challenges this, and concrete scientific evidence backs it up!

According to the laws of Physics and Chemistry

God’s creation and everything that we know to exist has the following properties:

Time, force, energy, space and 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

Intelligent Design in Cosmology: Evidence #1

The second law of thermodynamics (the law of entropy)

“In a closed system the amount of useful energy is moving toward zero, or in other words it is being used up. A closed system is where no matter or energy can come in from the outside. Within this system you have energy in it, entropy, and over time it is being used up.”

The Bible tells us that God has set it up this way…

“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” Psalm 102:25-27

Intelligent Design in Cosmology: Evidence #2

The Theory of Relativity

In 1905 Albert Einstein unintentionally proved that the Universe was expanding as he proposed the theory of relativity (he thought he had made a calculation error).

E=MC²

In 1920 Edwin Hubble and his studies confirmed Einstein’s theory and showed that there was an expansion going on in the Universe and the movement of the galaxies was away from the earth. This is confirmed based on measurements of Red Shift, Background Radiation and Background Noise.

The Bible also tells us that in God’s creation of the Universe He did it this way…

“This is what God the LORD says – he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it…” Isaiah 42:5

Intelligent Design in Cosmology: Evidence #3

The Big Bang Theory

Definition: The sudden and immediate expansion resulting from an explosive beginning.
Confirmed based upon Einstein’s work, Hubble’s experiment, the red shift evidence, background radiation and background noise – together this is overwhelming evidence of a sudden and explosive beginning
Astronomer Sir Fredrick Hoyle coined the term “Big Bang” in 1950
On April 24, 1992 ABC News Nightline reported on the implication of the Big Bang in support of a Biblical account of creation

“If the universe is continually expanding, then at earlier points in history, it must have been smaller and smaller. This literally represents the origin of the universe from nothing.”

-Dr. William Lane Craig, Christian Philosopher, Theologian and Apologist

“That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.”

-Robert Jastrow, Astronomer and Director of Mount Wilson, Founder of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies

“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

“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

There are actually four “big bangs” that atheists (and evolutionists) have to account for:

1) Cosmological big bang; 2) Biological big bang; 3) Anthropological big bang; and 4) Psychological big bang

We will look at these other three over our new few posts!

Going Deeper

(Book) “God’s Crime Scene,” by J. Warner Wallace, see the Full Presentation at Apologetics Canada Conference on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9zEqyi1c7Q

You can also check out Wallace’s website with tons of articles, videos and more at coldcasechristianity.com

Reflection

If you only had one minute for each question, to the best of your ability, give an answer in your own words: (Note – these are building from the notes each week)

What are the four areas of our Christian walk that we should work on growing in? (From the Ministry Statement in the first session)
What makes the ”Christian Worldview” unique, and how do we know it is true?
What are the differences between objective truth, subjective truth and relative truth?
How do you answer a relativist who might say “Your Christian view may be true for you, but it is not true for me?

Bible Study

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

NOTE: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for “Discussion” or “Going Deeper” questions. Cite your sources to share with your group.

Daily Devotional:

Read one chapter a day from the book of Proverbs for five days and take two days off. This week do Proverbs chapters 21-25, note any questions you may have, or anything that stands out to you as a life application.

1. From your daily devotional reading in the book of Proverbs 21-25, discuss the following:

These Proverbs have a focus on life and conduct. Contrast the wise with the foolish on these topics (site specific verses to support your answers):

a. What is taught about raising children?

b. What is taught about gluttony and drunkenness?

c. What is taught about acquisition of wealth?

d. What other things stood out in your reading of Proverbs this week?

Bible study:

Read Ephesians chapter 4, then to the best of your ability, answer these questions:

2. Re-read Ephesians chapter 4:1-32 with your table group. This chapter starts the second half of this letter that focuses on unity in the body of Christ. Note, we will do some cross-referencing practice here:

a. What are the characteristics included in the “walk” Paul lays out for Christians in a “manner worthy of the calling in which you have been called” (4:1-3)?

b. Cross-reference by reading Galatian 5:16-26: What are the characteristic deeds of the flesh? What are the characteristic deeds, or fruits, of the Spirit? Self-reflection: What deeds of the flesh would you like to get rid of, and what deeds of the Spirit would like to get better at?

c. There are many gifts with which a believer may be given at any time. What are some of the leadership gifts, and what are their purpose in the body (4:11-13)? What are some of the other spiritual gifts God gives (not an exhaustive list, but more can be found by cross-referencing Romans 12:4-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-20)? Self-reflection: What gift(s) did God give you, and are you using them? (Ask God to help you if you have not yet found a way to use your gifts!)

d. In the second half of this chapter, what warnings, and admonitions, does Paul give believers, and what does he say about how to live out our Christian walk (worldview)? Cross-reference by reading Romans 12:1-3. What does Paul say happens to a person who stays in a “pagan” walk/worldview?

3. Going Deeper: In what ways do we see the teachings in our devotional book of Proverbs line up with the teachings of Paul here in Ephesians?

4. Memory Verses: Recite with your table group 1 Peter 3:15; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 4:6-7; and Romans 12:2 (12:1-3 for a challenge).

Join us next week as we continue our study in Christian Apologetics with the Teleological (design) evidence for the existence of God!

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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