Throughout the centuries
mankind has always had some innate sense that there is a divine
being. Today, scientists, philosophers and other academics discuss,
debate and ponder over his existence. Is there really a God? Today
we are going to look at the evidence that God does in fact exist.
1. THE EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSE
How can the existence of the universe be evidence for God’s
existence?
Well let’s consider the possible explanations of the universes
existence. The universe either had a beginning or it did not have a
beginning. If the universe had a beginning then that beginning was
either caused or uncaused. Finally, if the universes beginning was
caused, then that cause was either personal or non-personal in
nature. It can be shown that the universe (a) had a beginning, (b)
its beginning was caused, and (c) it was caused by a personal being.
A. THE UNIVERSE HAD A BEGINNING
If the universe has always existed then that means an infinite
amount of time has gone by. However this is impossible – you
cannot reach infinity. Try counting to infinity – even if you
could live forever, it would be impossible. Because you can always
just add another number on to your existing number. But if you
cannot reach infinity than this means that the amount of time that
has elapsed is finite, and therefore the universe had a beginning.
One may ask, “God is eternal so doesn’t that mean that God must
have a beginning?” Philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig
offers the following explanation to this objection. Originally God
was in a timeless state of affairs – that is (1) He was in a state
in which no change whatsoever took place and (2) space and
consequently time itself, did not exist. Then he spontaneously
brought the universe, and consequently space and time, into
existence. Therefore God could have existed forever – in the sense
that he is eternal but was originally timeless, and not have
violated the law of non-infinity. Unlike God, time is an essential
property of the universe and since an infinite amount of time cannot
elapse, the universe must have had a beginning.
B. THE UNIVERSE HAD A CAUSE
Since the universe had a beginning, than it seems that its beginning
must have been caused. Something cannot just pop into existence from
nothing. If there is absolutely nothing – no matter, no energy, no
space, no time and no causes – then there will always be only
nothing. Nothing only produces nothing. Therefore the universe must
have been brought into existence by some sort of cause. In contrast
God does not need a cause since he had NO BEGINNING. He has always
existed and holds within himself his own reason for being. This is
certainly mysterious and very hard to understand – but unlike a
beginningless universe and a universe without a cause, it is not an
impossibility.
C. THE CAUSE OF THE UNIVERSE WAS A PERSONAL BEING
Now we can ask the question “What caused the universe?” Well we
really only have 2 choices – it could have been a personal cause
(i.e. some personal being) or a non-personal cause (i.e. some
condition that exists outside of the universe). Now both would have
to be eternal since they are the cause of the 1st event – the
beginning of the universe. After all it doesn’t make any sense to
say something caused the first cause!
Now it seems that the cause must have been personal. Why? For how
else could an eternal cause give rise to a non-eternal universe? If
the cause was non-personal – if it was just an eternal condition,
then the universe must also be eternal. For if the cause of an
effect is present – then the effect is also present. For example,
suppose I push down on a cushion. As soon as I touch the cushion it
compresses – there is no time waiting. They occur simultaneously.
Therefore if the cause of the universe exists then the universe will
also exist. And since the cause is eternal then the universe will
also be eternal. Yet we have seen that the universe could not have
existed for eternity.
The only way a non-eternal universe could come into existence from
an eternal cause is this – the universe was brought into existence
by the free act of some personal being. A non-personal cause can’t
choose to bring something into existence. If it exists, then its
effect exists. But a personal cause can exist eternally and then
spontaneously choose to bring the universe into existence.
Furthermore, the personal cause must be a very powerful being –
after all bringing the whole universe into existence is no small
feat! So the universe must have been caused by a powerful personal
being, or in other words, God.
2. THE DESIGN OF THE UNIVERSE AND LIFE
Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies
proclaim the work of his hands.” When I consider the physical laws
that govern the planets, stars and galaxies, along with the other
laws of science, I am drawn to the conclusion that a master designer
created the universe.
Physicist Paul Davies states:
"The very success of the scientific method depends upon the
fact that the physical world operates according to rational
principles which can therefore be discerned through rational
enquiry. Logically, the universe does not have to be in this way. We
could conceive of a cosmos where chaos reigns. In place of the
orderly and regimented behavior of matter and energy one would have
arbitrary and haphazard activity. Stable structures like atoms or
people or stars could not exist. The real world is not this way. It
is ordered and complex. Is that not itself an astonishing fact at
which to marvel."
Lets just consider one example - The proton to neutron ratio. In
order for the stable elements to exist, the mass of the neutron must
exceed the mass of the proton. But the neutron can only exceed the
mass of the proton by a very small amount - an amount which is twice
the mass of the electron. This critical point of balance is only one
part in a thousand. If the neutron to proton mass ratio were to vary
outside of this limit then chaos would result.
World-renowned astronomer Fred Hoyle remarks, "A common sense
interpretation of the facts suggests that a super intellect has
monkeyed with physics."
Then there is the overwhelming design of life itself.
Take for example, the human body. An adult human brain contains over
a hundred thousand billion electrical connections – more than all
the electrical connections in all the electrical appliances in the
world. Among the many complex features of the human eye is the
retina. John Stevens states, “While today’s digital hardware is
extremely impressive, it is clear that the human retinas real time
performance goes unchallenged. Actually, to simulate 10 milliseconds
of the complete processing of even a single nerve cell from the
retina would require the solution of 500 simultaneous nonlinear
differential equations 100 times and would take at least several
minutes of processing time on a Cray supercomputer. Keeping in mind
that there are 10 million or more such cells interacting with each
other in complex ways, it would take a minimum of 100 years Cray
time to simulate what takes place in your eye many times every
second.”
And what about the cell? A cell has been described as “a marvel of
detailed and complex architecture” and “more complex then
New York City
”. A 1979 Newsweek article comments “Power plants generate the
cell's energy. Factories produce proteins, vital units of chemical
commerce. Complex transportation systems guide specific chemicals
from point to point within the cell and beyond. Sentries at the
barricades control the export and import markets, and monitor the
outside world. A centralized genetic government maintains order.”
Then there is the D.N.A inside the cell. D.N.A is a biological
database that has an information density far exceeding the most
super engineered technological device created by man. If all the
information contained in a pinheads volume of D.N.A were written in
typewritten form it would fill a pile of paperback books 500 times
higher then the distance from the Earth to the moon.
Ounce more, all the parts of the body are inter-related and work in
harmony with each other with each part serving a specific and
meaningful function. There is purpose, there is order among each of
the awe-inspiring complex parts of the human body.
It seems that we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.
Continue to part 2
