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In the two previous articles of this series, we have taken for
granted that God exists; and, because of His laws, He established
godly morality and a godly ethic. This article is intended to equip
the reader with increased confidence in believing that God exists.
The existence of God can neither be scientifically proven or disproven
because no one can present God Himself as proof of existence, nor
can one present all of the universe including things seen and unseen
to show that God is numbered in the assembly. Likewise, science
can not prove that the earth came into existence from nothing and
evolved into the complex planet upon which we exist since theories
of evolution cannot be validated through scientific experimentation.
Therefore, science can not absolutely prove or disprove the belief
in a super- natural Being who created the universe. Science itself
declares that matter can neither be created or destroyed. Then,
where did matter come from in the beginning? God brought things
seen (matter) into existence by His word. So, it is "By faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that the things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible." (Heb. 11:3)
Therefore, it is not upon scientific experimentation that Christians
present evidence to validate belief in the existence of God. Faith
in God and the Bible are all that we need as evidence that God exists
and that He is Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth. Hebrews
11:1 says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen." Neither God, heaven, or the
creation of the universe has been witnessed by any human, but Christians
know that these are true and exist because of faith in God and His
word. Our substance to sustain this position and our evidence to
prove their existence comes from faith in God and His word. "So
then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
(Rom. 10:17)
Paul gives the most visible proof that God exists in his epistle
to the Romans. Paul says that all men can see the existence of God
in nature. Common sense tells us that order does not come from chaos.
To say that the universe was not created by a supreme super-natural
Being is like saying I found a new car in my garage that appeared
out of thin air - by random happenstance. Paul says in Romans 1:20-21:
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God,
nor were thankful, ..."
So, as Paul so carefully explains to the Romans, no one has an
excuse in disbelieving God, His word, or His existence. Not even
the Gentiles who lived during the time of the Jewish Law, who lived
without law, were excusable. (Rom. 2:11-16) Because, all men clearly
see the existence of God in nature and creation.
A few examples, out of thousands, that demonstrate the existence
of God as proclaimed in nature are noted below. The following quotes
are from Introduction to Christian Evidences by Farrell Jenkins
(pages 29-30):
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By the same reasoning, so many exacting conditions are necessary
for life on the earth that they could not possible exist in
proper relationship by chance. The earth rotates on its axis
one thousand miles an hour; if it turned at one hundred miles
an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long as now,
and the hot sun would burn up our vegetation each long day while
in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze.
-
Again, the sun, the source of our life, has a surface temperature
of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and our earth is just far enough
away so that this 'eternal fire' warms us just enough and not
too much! If the sun gave off only half of its present radiation,
we would freeze and if it gave half as much more, we would roast.
-
The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, gives
us our seasons; if it had not been so tilted, vapors from the
ocean would move north and south, piling up for us continents
of ice. If our moon was, say, only 50 thousand miles away instead
of its actual distance, our tides would be so enormous that
twice a day all continents would be submerged; even the mountains
would soon be eroded away. If the crust of the earth had been
only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, without which
animal life must die. Had the ocean been a few feet deeper,
carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable
life could exist. Or if our atmosphere had been much thinner,
some of the meteors, now burned in space by the millions every
day, would be striking all parts of the earth, setting fires
everywhere.
-
Because of these and a host of other examples, there is not
one chance in millions that life on our planet is an accident."
(A. Cressy Morrison, "Seven Reasons Why A Scientist Believes
in God ...)
God is the creator of all that is, whether seen or unseen (Gen.
1:1; Ex. 20:11; Heb. 3:4; 11:3; John 1:3-10; Acts 17:24; Eph. 3:9;
Col. 1:16; Rev. 4:11). And, He is the sustainer of all that He created
(Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; II Pet. 3:5-7).
Your faith in the Bible and the existence of God is as valid as
another persons faith in the sciences of men and theories of evolution.
Never allow anyone to convince you that they have disproved the
existence of God - simply ask them to validate their theory of evolution
to create a universe from nothing through scientific experimentation.
You see, this is an impossible task since evolution, something evolving
from nothing, is impossible.
The point is that neither evolution, creation, or the existence
of God can be scientifically proven; therefore, whether one believes
in evolution or creation by God, it stands as a belief. Christians
must believe, from the Bible, in the existence of a supreme super-natural
Being that created matter from nothing to form the universe. This
Being, who is Creator and Sustainer of heaven, earth, and all that
exists, is called God by those who believe His word.
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