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Does God Exist?
Can a person be certain that there really is a God? What kind of positive proof can be found for His existence?
Because of the revolutionary changes that belief in God necessarily produces in one's life, these are fair questions
to ask. Furthermore, Bible faith is not a blind "leap in the dark." Instead, it is the sincere trust of one who has
carefully weighed the evidence and made the only reasonable decision possible. This is the faith that pleases
God as found in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:6, James 2:14-26).
We need to begin by discussing the nature of proving something. Generally, when we think of proving something,
we envision scientists in lab coats stirring and staring at some odd solution in a test tube. After conducting various
tests upon the substance in the tube, they announce their results. But, God cannot be proven in this way. He will
not be put in a test tube and poked and prodded by anyone.
This does not mean, however, that one cannot prove that God exists. It merely means that other forms of testing
and evidence must be used. This should not be surprising because a great many things believed today cannot be
scientifically proven. For example, no one has ever seen love. It is a concept or state of being and cannot be put
into a test tube and investigated in that manner. Yet, we all believe that love exists because we have seen its effects.
In other words, we can infer that the emotional state of mind called "love" exists because we have seen what people
"in love" do.
When proving something we must also consider the testimony of history. No one alive today ever saw Julius Caesar.
You cannot put Julius Caesar in a scientific laboratory and analyze him in any way. Yet we all believe that Julius
Caesar really did live and rule the Roman world hundreds of years ago. People believe this because of the evidence
of history.
As Christians, we believe that by using the same sort of methods (inferring from effects and the testimony of history),
we can arrive at proof that God does indeed exist. Let us turn our attention now to three such proofs.
It is a scientific law that every effect has a cause. Nothing happens in and of itself alone; it is invariably the result
of one or more causes. This law, accepted by all scientists, is called the Law of Cause and Effect. It is used
continually by people every day. If the weather forecaster says a bad storm is coming (a cause), people prepare
their homes, take shelter, etc. because they know what effect the storm will have. We understand that there can
be no effect unless there is a cause. If the storm dissipates, there will be no damage to homes and property because
there is no cause. Remember, if there is no cause, there can be no effect. And, if there is an effect, there must be a
cause.
We live in the largest, most comprehensive and magnificent effect ever known to humanity: the universe. As we
have seen, every effect must have a cause. Now we ask: what was the cause for this effect? What caused the
universe? Some would reply, "A giant explosion, the Big Bang." But we would merely ask, "What caused that
effect?" If answered, "Space dust collided together." We would again ask, "And that was caused by what?"
As one can easily see, the atheist's position will eventually be reduced to confessing that there was an effect
for which there was no cause. Yet, science says that every effect does have a cause. Any theory of origins that
does not abide by this fundamental law of science surely cannot be considered scientific! We ask the atheist again,
"Where is the cause for the effect we live in?" To summarize, the very presence of this universe (an effect) argues
that there must be some cause, and we believe that cause is God.
Our second proof has to do with creation itself. Psalms 19:1 states, "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the
firmament shows His handiwork." We believe that one of the best proofs of God is the surpassing grandeur of this
world. There is tremendous order and careful design evident in every place that we look. The relationship between the
plant and animal kingdoms is an example of this design and order. Plants consume carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.
Animals consume oxygen, expelling carbon dioxide. Thus, these two kingdoms provide for each other perfectly. Could
such harmony be produced accidentally? Look at the way the planets orbit our sun so perfectly. When is the last time
the Earth banged into Mars on its way around? It has never happened because each planet's orbit is perfectly set into
place. Does this look like a solar system that has resulted from a large, chaotic explosion? Consider the human body
for a moment. Its transport, reproductive, waste removal, sensory, circulatory and respiratory systems function perfectly
and are far more advanced than anything that a human can devise. A child's hand is capable of more complex movement
than even the most sophisticated robot. There is no computer on earth that can rival the human mind in any way. For
speed, storage, retrieval, and indexing of information the brain is unsurpassed. Is all of this the result of just random luck?
If one was told that a wrist watch was the product of shaking watch parts together in a box, he or she would laugh and
say that someone must have designed and built that watch. Likewise, the presence of our majestic universe, planet, and
even ourselves argues for a Designer and Creator: God.
Finally, we consider the evidence of history. History tells us that one named Jesus came to this earth, died, and
rose to live again. This history is recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Although many have
tried to discredit the testimony that is found in those four simple volumes, it has never been done. The Gospels
tell us that God came to this earth, and if God came, then certainly God exists. Remember, when He came, He
was seen! In order to destroy the existence of God one must be able to demolish the integrity of the New Testament.
Please understand that stating that Jesus was a good man but not God, simply will not work. Christ proved that He
was God by rising from the dead (Matthew 28:6), and this resurrection is an
indisputable fact. Even Jesus' enemies admitted that the tomb was empty (Matthew 28:11-15). Yes, some have suggested
that the authorities removed His body. However, these authorities killed Jesus to be rid of Him and His movement. The
story of Jesus' resurrection only fueled that movement further. If those who hated Christianity so much had the body of
Christ, why didn't they produce it, thus destroying Christianity once and for all? This would have been the death blow
the enemies of Christ so dearly wanted to inflict (see Acts 4:15-18). How foolish the apostles would have looked,
proclaiming a risen Lord, when His body was put on display for all to see. Christianity would never have gotten off the
ground! Others say "Well, the apostles probably took the body of Jesus." This is simply not possible because
armed guards watched the tomb (Matthew 27:6266). Furthermore, all the apostles suffered severe persecution
(most were killed)
for preaching Jesus Christ as the Messiah who had risen again. Would those apostles have given their lives for a lie?
Hardly.
The apostles did not steal the body of Christ.
Some, recognizing the power of the resurrection argument, have even attempted to deny that the New Testament is
reliable history. While they have found it easy to say "The New Testamen t is poppycock, " they have found it
impossible to prove such an assertion. Appendix B discusses the reliability and believability of the Bible further.
However, we do note here that this attempt to evade the force of the resurrection has failed like all of its
predecessors.
Accurate history tells us that no one could have stolen Jesus' body. That body is not in the tomb. This leaves only
one choice: He is risen! That says so very much, not the least of which is that Jesus is God, and therefore, God exists.
We urge you to be intellectually honest with the evidence presented here. By science's laws, inference from what is
actually seen, and the testimony of history, God has been proven to exist. God is!
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