Evidence That God Exists
This study provides a basic argument for the existents of God.
It is by no means meant to be an exhaustive argument -- just
starting point.
At the end of this study is a link to our resources page that
will help you find other sites that’ll help you expand these
ideas.
How do we know that God exists? We’ll explore three
categories of evidence: The Evidence of Cause, The Evidence of
Design and The Evidence of Morals.
1) THE EVIDENCE OF CAUSE
A) The universe had a beginning
B) Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by
something else
C) That "something else" was God
To give an example, this study was "caused". It
did not write itself so that means something else caused it to
appear (that “something else” was me).
The same idea applies to the universe. The theory of the
Big Bang doesn’t hold up because it says in the beginning
was nothing then nothing exploded and the universe formed.
Nothing cannot create everything. Something must have cause the
universe to form.
The Bible agrees with this:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth." - Genesis 1:1
But how do we know that "something" was God?
2) THE EVIDENCE OF DESIGN
A) Designs imply a designer
B) There is great design in the universe
C) So there must be a Great Designer of the universe
Here’s another example: If you find your computer laying out
in a field would you say it evolved or that it was created?
You would say it was created. Why? Because it
is too complex to have come about by chance.
We are far more advanced than any computer.
In living things, information is stored in patterns of DNA, which
encode the instructions to make proteins, the building blocks for
all the machinery of life.
There is enough information capacity in a single human cell to
store the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 30 volumes of it, three
or four times over.
DNA couldn’t have been coded without an intelligent Great
Designer.
The anti-theistic physicist Paul Davies admitted: ‘There is
no law of physics able to create information from nothing’
And Information scientist Werner Gitt says that the laws of
nature pertaining to information show that, in all known cases,
information requires an intelligent message sender.
DNA is only one example of design in the universe God has proved
He is real by His creation:
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible
qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
without excuse." - Romans 1:20
OK, but how do we know God is the God of the Bible?
3) THE EVIDENCE OF MORAL LAW
A) Everyone is aware of a moral law
B) Moral law implies a moral Lawgiver
C) Therefore there must be a supreme moral Lawgiver
We all admit we aren't perfect but we never stop to ask the
question, "How is it that I know I am not perfect?"
The fact we admit we are not morally perfect means that
there is a standard that we are comparing our thoughts and
actions to.
God has written this standard (His Law) on all men's hearts:
"When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things
required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though
they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements
of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also
bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even
defending them" - Romans 2:14-15
Now there’s a problem. We all know in our hearts two facts:
1) We know how we should act
2) We don't act that way.
God would agree with this:
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, -
Romans 3:23
So if God exists, and He created us with a moral standard, and we
fail to live up to that moral standard, than we are at odds with
God.
God confirms this and tells us the consequences for disobeying
Him:
“For the wages of sin is death…” – Romans
6:23
But the story doesn’t end there. Christianity is different
from every other religion in that it deals head on with this
problem (which we call sin). Here is the second part of Romans
6:23:
“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.”
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus
Christ, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment
that brought us peace with God was upon him, and by his wounds we
are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
4) SUMMARY
We have looked at three categories of evidence for the God of
Christianity:
- CAUSE: Nothing cannot create everything. Something else must
have created everything (Genesis 1:1)
- DESIGN: Our complex bodies and universe indicates a Great
Designer at work (Romans 1:20)
- MORAL: We are aware of a moral law which indicates a moral
lawgiver, but we don't follow that law. That means we are at odds
with God. God sent His only Son Jesus to deal with this problem.
(Romans 2:14-15; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; Isaiah 53:5)
5) FOLLOW UP LINKS
- If you would like to start a relationship with God,
read How To Know God:
www.biblestudyplanet.com/good.htm
- If you would like to more about what the Bible says about
Jesus, read Who Is Jesus?:
www.biblestudyplanet.com/s5.htm
- If you would like to visit other sites that deal with evidence
for God more in-dept, visit our Bible Study Tools & Resources
section (Check out the links in Apologetics / Science
section):
www.biblestudyplanet.com/tools.htm