23 Dec Three Reasons Why It’s Safe To Believe in God
IF YOU CAN’T SEE HIM, HEAR HIM, OR TOUCH HIM, WHY BELIEVE IN HIM?
As a Christian, and as a discipler, it is possible that life can become so hard that someone might begin to question the existence of God. It is best to have that issue resolved before it comes up. There are three compelling reasons to believe in God.
1. The Existence of the Universe
Jean-Paul Sartre correctly observed that the greatest philosophical question is “why is there something rather than nothing?” Since every effect must have an adequate cause, it is not enough to say, “I don’t believe in God!” You have to have a credible alternative.
So here we have a bedazzling effect: the universe. What’s the cause?!? There are three options.
A. Matter is eternal
B. Something came from nothing
C. God created it
There are no other alternatives.
It is incongruous to think that matter is eternal. It is not scientific to believe that matter is eternal. The scientific method relies on data gained by verifiable and repeatable results. Therefore, there is no scientific evidence to demonstrate that matter is eternal. In fact, most scientists today believe (the theory) that everything we see came into existence approximately 13 billion years ago with the big bang… a long time ago for sure, but a far cry from being eternal. When a scientist makes pronouncements about reality that are not rooted in the scientific method, he is no longer speaking as a scientist, he is speaking as a philosopher. And a non-scientist has just as much essential credibility to speak as a philosopher as a scientist does.
So, on the philosophical basis of the incongruity of matter’s being eternal, as well as the supposition that all matter came into being thirteen billion years ago (a point in time), it is not credible to believe that matter is eternal.
Next, it is also incongruous to believe that something came from nothing. Nothing is nothing, and something cannot come from nothing, which has been a universally agreed-upon principle of reality. In fact, a line from a song in the iconic movie, The Sound of Music, goes, “Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.” I’m not agreeing with the idea. I’m just saying that the idea of nothing coming from nothing was such an agreed-upon idea that it made it into a classic song. The idea didn’t have to be defended or supported. We all agreed with it.
To suggest that something could come from nothing is a leap of faith into the absurd, prompted by desperation in someone who chooses not to believe in God but must come up with another explanation for reality, no matter how incomprehensible.
That leaves God. The only truly reasonable position.
2. The Design of the Universe
Not only is something “here,” but what is here has apparent purpose, meaning and design to it. The laws of the universe that allow life to exist are balanced on a knife-edge. If any of the many forces were changed even slightly, the universe could not exist as it does. Nothing in physics can explain why the fundamental laws of the universe should conform exactingly to life’s requirements, but they do. It has all the earmarks of a “designer,” something which even some atheist scientists agree to, even though they then break with the evidence and deny God.
In any other area of life, if we were to look at something so complex and wonderful as the universe, we would conclude that there was a “maker.” Why not do the same with the universe?
3. The Uniqueness of Humanity
The third reason to believe in God is because humanity is distinct from all other life forms on earth. Humans have a concept of self, beauty, morality, the divine, and the afterlife that separates us from all other life forms, and can only be adequately explained by the fact that humans are created in the image of God.
Conclusion
You don’t have to convince a child that God exists. It’s perfectly reasonable to children, based on the existence of the universe. You take a piece of art and you ask, “who made this?” The answer is the artist. You take a computer and ask, who made this? The answer is, Apple or Dell. Then you take the universe, and you ask, “who made this?” And the perfectly reasonable answer is, “God.”
People are made aware of the existence and nature of God by the universe. God intended us to look up at the stars at night and say in our hearts, “There must be a God!” (Romans 1:20) So why don’t all people believe in God? Paul has the answer again in Romans 1:18. They suppress the truth. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” They don’t want to follow God… so they suppress the truth, and deny His existence.
Children find believing in God very easy. They will believe in Him unless someone suppresses the truth, and teaches them to disbelieve.
When we believe in the existence of God, we are standing, not on thin ice, but on the spiritual Rock of Gibraltar.
As a disciple of Christ, we must be solid and confident in these reasons, and we must lead those we mentor into a solid conviction on God’s existence as well. If we mentally own these three reasons, we can stand strong ourselves, as well as be winsome and compelling to those we are trying to influence.
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