Jia did not see her friend Lee for two weeks. When she asked a neighbor, she heard the sad news that Lee’s mother had died after a long illness. Lee had gone back to Taoyuan to be with his family.
When Jia saw Lee a few weeks later, she expressed her sorrow at the death of his mother. Lee thanked her for her kindness but then spoke with anger, “This is why I can’t believe in the Christian God. If there is a God, why did he allow my mother to suffer so much? You say your God is all-powerful and all-loving. If he truly loved my mother and truly had the power to stop her suffering, why did he let her suffer so much? Maybe there is a God, but he doesn’t have the power to help us. Or maybe there is a God, but he doesn’t really care about our suffering. Or maybe there is no God. I believe we are alone in the universe.”
Can anyone know absolutely that there is no God? Imagine all the knowledge in the universe as a large circle. Now imagine your knowledge as a circle inside the total knowledge in the universe.
Unless the circle of your knowledge matches the circle of all the knowledge in the universe, you do not know everything! If your current knowledge does not include the knowledge of God's existence, it could be that God exists in the broader circle of knowledge and not in your own. You would have to have all the knowledge in the universe to prove that God does not exist. Many unbelievers admit this, and agree that it is possible that God exists, but that they haven't discovered him yet.
If it is possible that God exists, an honest person should be willing to examine the evidence for the existence of God. People such as C.S. Lewis and Josh McDowell examined this evidence and came to believe that God exists and has revealed himself to us through the Bible.
This lesson will examine the evidence for the existence of God. We will see that there are many reasons to believe that God exists.
Evidence for the Existence of God: The Cosmological Argument
The word cosmological comes from cosmos, which means “world.” The Cosmological Argument demands an adequate explanation for the existence of the world. This argument asks, “Why does the world exist?” It concludes, “The world exists because it was created by God − a personal, eternal, self-existent Being.”
The Cosmological Argument begins with the idea that everything must have an adequate explanation. For example, imagine that you asked me, “Where did the chair you are sitting on come from?” Imagine that I answered, “The chair just happened; no one made the chair; no one brought the chair into this room; the chair just appeared.” You would know this is wrong. Everything must have an adequate explanation, including the universe as a whole.
The Cosmological Argument has three premises and a conclusion:[1]
Premise A: The universe could not have come from nothing. Premise B: The universe could not have always existed as it is. Premise C: The universe could not have come from impersonal matter or energy. Conclusion: Therefore, the universe must have been created by a personal, eternal, self-existent Being.
Let’s discuss possible explanations for the universe.
Some People Say the Universe Came from Nothing
How could nothing produce something? Nothing would have to be something in order to produce something else. If we say that the universe created itself, we have to say that the universe existed before it existed. The universe would have to be and not be at the same time. This is self-contradictory. Something cannot exist and not exist at the same time.
Some People Say the Universe Has Always Existed as It Is
The two laws of thermodynamics show that it is impossible that the universe has always existed as it is. The first law of thermodynamics states that matter/energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The second law of thermodynamics states that the usable energy in the universe is being converted slowly into unusable energy. When you put the two laws together, they show that the universe began with a fixed amount of usable energy that is slowly depleting.
What is the significance of this? The universe is slowly dying. If it has always existed as it does now (including the natural laws of the universe), the energy in the world would already be used up, everything would be at the same temperature, and we would all be dead.
Some People Say That the Universe Came from Matter or Energy
If the universe came from an impersonal force, the only factors that produced the universe are impersonal. It is impossible for something without personality to create personality. But humans have personality. If the impersonal cannot produce personality, humans must have been created by a personal, eternal Being.[3]
If No Other Explanation Is Sufficient, the Universe Must Have Been Created by a Personal, Eternal, Self-Existent Being
Since the other options are not valid, the only reasonable explanation for the universe is a self-existent Creator.
Another form of the cosmological argument has two premises that lead to a conclusion:
Premise A: Whatever begins to exist has a cause. Premise B: The universe began to exist. Conclusion: The universe has a cause.
Premise A is supported by the fact that something cannot come from nothing. Scientifically, this has been constantly verified. Our common experience confirms this.
Premise B is supported by the expansion of the universe and the second law of thermodynamics. Most scientists agree that the universe had a beginning.
If Premise A and Premise B are true, then the conclusion is true: The universe has a cause. What is this cause like? It must be uncaused (an infinite regress of causes is impossible), non-physical, and unimaginably powerful. The Cause must be highly intelligent to bring about such intricate design and order in the universe. We can even argue that the Cause is a person.[2] One reason the Cause must be personal is because personal creatures like us−with power, intelligence, and will−could not have come from something that does not have these features. This personal, all-powerful being is God!
This is the Cosmological Argument for God’s existence. Here are some questions to ask when talking to someone about the first cause:
"Do you agree with the vast majority of scientists that the universe had a beginning?”
If they say "yes," ask:
“Do you believe that something [like the universe] can come from nothing?”
If they say "no," ask:
“So if something now exists, then something must have always existed, right?”
“Would the something that always existed have to have the power, intelligence, and will to bring about everything in the universe?”
“Don't you think that if this eternal, all-powerful being went to all the trouble of putting us here, that he would tell us why he did?”
“According to the Bible, the reason God put us here is to have a personal relationship with him.”
[1] Argument from premises to a conclusion is a long-established form of logic. A premise is a simple statement. In a valid logical argument, if all the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
[2] One could argue that a personal cause is the only way to explain how a timeless cause can produce a temporal effect (beginning of the universe). Without a will, there would be no permanent cause without a permanent effect. A personal being with freedom of the will could bring about something spontaneous and new, such as the creation of the universe. For a more detailed explanation of this argument, read William Lane Craig on the cosmological argument for the existence of God. His book On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2010)gives a good presentation of it.
[3]“No one has ever demonstrated how time plus chance can produce the complexity of the universe, let alone the personality of man.”
- Adapted from Francis Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent
Section A Review
What question does the Cosmological Argument ask?
How does the Cosmological Argument answer this question?
What are three unreasonable explanations for the universe?
Present the cosmological argument in a deductive form with 2 premises and a conclusion.
Evidence for the Existence of God: The Teleological Argument
An argument related to the Cosmological Argument is the Teleological Argument. The word teleological comes from the Greek word telos, which means “goal.” It has to do with purpose, or design.
The Teleological Argument asks, “How did the universe get its careful design?” It concludes that “the intricate design in the universe requires a Designer.”There must be a goal or purpose guiding our universe. Let’s see some examples from science.[4]
The human eye[1] is a very intricate design. Each part of the eye plays a purpose in the overall design. No part of the eye would “evolve” until the eye was complete. The iris of the eye is useless without the rest of the eye.
All the parts of the eye must have appeared at the same time. This describes creation, not evolution. It is impossible for a structure with this much design and purpose to have come into being by chance.[2] The only designer who could create such an intricate design is God.
A single strand of DNA[3] is more complex than the most advanced modern computer. All the information for each human body is contained in a strand of human DNA that takes up less space than the period at the end of a written sentence.
The amount of information that could be stored in a pinhead’s volume of DNA is equivalent to a pile of books 500 times as high as the distance from the earth to the moon. The Teleological Argument says that the complexity of human DNA requires a designer of great intelligence. The only designer capable of such design is God.
The Earth’s Environment
Have you ever considered the wonder of the earth’s location in the universe? If we were any closer to the sun, we would burn up. If we were any farther away, we would freeze to death. The earth’s atmosphere is just right to support life. Everything necessary for life is provided on the planet earth. This implies that the earth and its atmosphere were made for us by an intelligent Being who created the world with a design. The earth is not the result of chance. The earth was created for a purpose by God.
[1] Image: The Human Eye, author National Eye Institute, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaleyeinstitute/7544457124/sizes/o/in/photostream/ April 18, 2020, Public Domain
[2] To learn more about God’s design for the eye, visit www.answersingenesis.org/go/eye.
[3] Image: DNA, author Zephyris, retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15027555 April 18, 2020, CC BY-SA 3.0
[4]“Suppose there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking? It's like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes will give you a map of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, I can't trust the arguments leading to Atheism. I have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.”
- C.S. Lewis The Case for Christianity
[5]Image: "Human eye diagram-sagittal view-NEI", National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_eye_diagram-sagittal_view-NEI.jpg, public domain.
[6]Image: "Acido desoxirribonucleico (DNA)" by Kadumago retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%81cido_desoxirribonucleico_(DNA).png, licensed under CC BY 4.0, desaturated from the original.
Evidence for the Existence of God: The Moral Argument
The Moral Argument for the existence of God asks, “Why does humanity have an inborn sense of right and wrong?” It answers, “Humanity’s sense of right and wrong comes from God, the Supreme Lawgiver who gives us morality.”
This argument was made by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. He wrote about a sense of “oughtness” that people from every culture have. Even though different cultures sometimes disagree about what is right and wrong, all persons from all cultures know that they “ought” to do some things, or “ought not” do other things. Where did this sense of “oughtness” come from? The Moral Argument says that this moral sense of right and wrong must come from a Supreme Lawgiver.
Here's the formal logical argument:
Premise A: If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist. Premise B: Objective moral values and duties do exist.
Conclusion: Therefore, God exists.
Premise A says that apart from God, there could be no objective morality. Morality could not be the same for everyone if there was not a transcendent personal Lawgiver to whom we are all accountable. Moral commands only make sense if there is a person to give the command and another person to receive it. If there are some commands that apply equally to everyone in the world, there must be a transcendent Person from which that command came and to whom all people are responsible. Furthermore, moral guilt is only appropriate when laws from a person are violated. Guilt does not come simply from breaking a law. A person (higher authority) must be involved.
Premise B says that moral values exist objectively. They are valid whether or not anyone believes in them; and they are discovered, not invented. Even some atheists admit this. For example, atheist Peter Cave said, “Whatever skeptical arguments may be brought against our belief that killing the innocent is morally wrong, we are more certain that the killing is morally wrong than that the argument is sound… Torturing an innocent child for the sheer fun of it is morally wrong.” Some things are recognized as wrong in all cultures and all times.
If Premise A and B are both true, then the conclusion that God exists must also be true.
►Read Romans 2:12-16. What does Paul teach about the moral law written on the hearts of those who do not have the Bible?
Section B Review
What question does the Teleological Argument ask?
How does the Teleological Argument answer this question?
What question does the Moral Argument ask?
How does the Moral Argument answer this question?
Present the moral argument in a deductive form (with 2 premises and a conclusion)
The #1 Objection to the Existence of God: Evil and Suffering
The most common objection to the existence of God is this: “If there is a good and omnipotent God, why is there evil and suffering in the world? The existence of evil proves there is not a good, omnipotent God.” Very often this objection is presented like this:
Premise A: A good God would not allow suffering in the world. Premise B: An all-powerful God could remove all suffering. Conclusion: Therefore, there is no good, all-powerful God.
People expect a good, all-powerful God to immediately deal with sin and suffering. They say that if God were both good and all-powerful, he would keep the world free of pain and evil. How do we respond to the question, “Why is there evil in the world?”
► How would you respond to this question, “If God is both good and all-powerful, why does he allow evil in the world?”
Here are some answers to this objection:
Evil Is the Result of Man’s Free Choice to Disobey God
There is evil in the world because the first humans abused their freedom and chose to disobey God. Suffering is the consequence of human disobedience.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and, as a result, the whole world was cursed.[1] Even innocent people suffer because of this curse.
Some people will ask, “But why did God make free creatures? If God had made humans without the power to choose sin, there would be no suffering in the world.”
One answer to this question is that God created humankind for love and relationship. Love is impossible without freedom of choice. God gave humanity the freedom to choose love – or to choose rebellion.
The Problem of Evil Implies That There Is a God
Remember the Moral Argument for the existence of God. The very problem of evil implies that there is a God. We would not know that evil exists without an absolute standard of right and wrong. This absolute standard of right and wrong must come from an Absolute Lawgiver, who is God.
If there is no Lawgiver, you cannot say there is evil in the world. Without a Lawgiver, what you call evil, I might call good. If I choose to steal money from you, it is neither right nor wrong; it is just a choice. It is only a Lawgiver that establishes absolute right and wrong.
It is only when we accept a moral law of right and wrong that we are faced with the existence of evil. The problem of evil suggests that there is a good God. But, if God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow evil in the world?
God Has Provided an Answer to the Problem of Evil and Suffering
Some people will ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about the evil and suffering in the world? Why does he allow suffering to continue?”
The answer is that God has already done something about it. In Jesus, the God of infinite love stepped into human history and became part of the broken world in which we live. He took into himself suffering and even death, and then destroyed death in his resurrection. Because of Christ's atonement, we can be freed from sin and someday escape our suffering forever.
Why is it taking so long for our pain to be removed? We still live in a fallen world; and God is first dealing with sin, as the ultimate cause of our suffering. Dealing with sin takes time because people are willful.
The fact that suffering is the result of moral evil does not mean that all suffering is the direct result of individual sin. Everyone experiences pain because of Adam's sin, not necessarily because of his or her own sin. In our fallen world, even innocent people suffer unjustly because of the sin of others. But all suffering will eventually be over for those who let God deal with sin in their own hearts and lives.
Even when we experience pain now, we have God’s comfort. As Christians, we have the assurance that “all things work together for good to them that love God.”[2] Though we may not understand it, God has a purpose for what he allows in our lives. God takes our pain and uses it for our good. He uses even the pain in our life to draw people into a relationship with himself. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. It is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”[3]
"For most of my life I was an atheist. I thought the idea of an all-loving, all-powerful creator was stupid. My background is in journalism and law. I tend to be a skeptical person. I was the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. So, I needed evidence before I would believe anything.
One day my wife said that she had become a follower of Jesus Christ. I thought this was the end of our marriage. But I soon saw positive changes in her values, in her character, in the way she related to me and the children. It was attractive and made me want to investigate her new faith.
I went to church one day and heard the message of Jesus in a way that I could understand. I heard that forgiveness is a free gift, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that we can spend eternity with him. I was still an atheist, but I walked out saying, “If this is true, it has huge implications for my life.”
For nearly two years, I used my journalistic and legal training to investigate the truth of Christianity. On November 8th 1991, I realized that to be an atheist I would have to ignore all the evidence pointing to the truth of the gospel. I couldn't do that. I was trained in journalism and law to respond to truth. And so on that day, I received Jesus Christ as my forgiver and as my leader. Just like with my wife, my life began to change. My values, my character, the purpose of my life began to be transformed. As I look back, I cannot compare my former life with the adventure and joy of following Jesus Christ."
[1] This transcript is adapted from Lee Strobel's testimony, "Atheist to Evangelical." Retrieved from https://youtu.be/E8IE9Y4wudk March 5, 2021.
Conclusion
As Jia prepared to answer Lee, she sensed the Holy Spirit telling her that the answer to Lee’s question was more than an intellectual response. She must speak to his heart, not just to his head.
Jia said to Lee, “First, I want you to know that I feel your hurt. You are my friend and when you hurt, I hurt. More than that, I want you to know that God feels your hurt. God the Father watched as his beloved Son died on a cross. He knows the pain of losing someone close to him.
“I can’t explain all the suffering in our world, but I know that God created a world without suffering. He created a perfect world without death. Sadly, our first father, Adam, rebelled against God and brought sin into this world. Sin brought suffering and death. Adam knew before he ever broke God’s law that his sin would bring death into the world. Man broke the perfect world that God created. Each of us continues the chain of sin that started with Adam. Every one of us breaks God’s law.
“Because of Adam’s sin, we are born into a hurting world. We live in a broken world. But, Lee, can I tell you two things to remember through your tears?
“First, God himself became part of our suffering world. He sent his Son to become part of our world. He sent his Son to die so that our world can someday be free from the curse of sin.
“Second, because God sent his Son, you can have eternal life. The same Bible that warns against the penalty of sin promises that those who accept Jesus Christ will have eternal life. This book promises that someday God ‘will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.’[1]
“Lee, imagine a God who loved us so much that he sent his Son to die and to provide the cure for death. That is a God who is all-powerful, but who gave himself in love to us. That God loves you with an awesome love.”
(1) Apologetics and the Head: You will begin the next class with a test over the review questions from Lesson 3. Study these questions carefully in preparation for the test.
(2) Apologetics and the Heart: It is sometimes easy to “explain” evil and suffering; it is much harder to empathize with the suffering. Pray that God will give you a tender heart for those who are suffering. Pray that he will speak through you to bring comfort to the hurting.
(3) Apologetics and the Hands: Talk to an unbeliever about the arguments for the existence of God. Share the three arguments from this lesson. If possible, share these arguments with an unbeliever you’ve talked to for a previous lesson.
Lesson 3 Test
(1) What question does the Cosmological Argument ask?
(2) How does the Cosmological Argument answer that question?
(3) What are three unreasonable explanations for the universe?
(4) Present the cosmological argument in a deductive form with 2 premises and a conclusion.
(5) What question does the Teleological Argument ask?
(6) How does the Teleological Argument answer this question?
(7) What question does the Moral Argument ask?
(8) How does the Moral Argument answer this question?
(9) Present the moral argument in a deductive form with 2 premises and a conclusion.
(10) What is the most common objection to the existence of God?
(11) Give three answers to the question, “How could a good and all-powerful God exist, if there is evil in the world?”
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