Evidences for the Existence of God

Some think “faith” means believing something that cannot be true, or that is incredible or unreasonable; to some, “faith” means believing the unbelievable.

But not so! Christian belief is based on evidence – credible, reasonable, resolute evidence. We arrive at certain determinations because we have examined the evidence and are forced to the logical conclusion. Then, when we join that conclusion with trust, we arrive at Biblical faith: conviction and commitment.

Is there evidence for God’s existence? Yes, indeed: credible, reasonable, and ultimately conclusive evidence that points to an intelligence and wisdom higher and greater than man. Consider some evidences for the existence of God:

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE & EFFECT (the Cosmological Argument). It is a fact that everything that begins owes its existence to some producing, beginning cause. The universe exists; how did it come to be? Of necessity, the universe owes its existence to a cause equal to its production. We all know that a building demands a builder, a design demands a designer, a watch demands a watchmaker – likewise, creation demands a Creator – an Originator – and the Bible says that Creator is God (Hebrews 3:4; 11:3). Our universe points to the existence of a Divine Maker (Psalm 19:1-4).

2. ORDER IN THE UNIVERSE (the Teleological Argument). It is a fact that order and collation pervade our universe, and they demand an intelligence and purpose as the cause of that order—an intelligence to initiate the order, and a power to purpose and sustain it. The incredible complexity of the universe and all life therein is amazing, and demands an amazing Designer. For example, one could look into the sky, see an airplane, and know there is a pilot guiding and steering the plane (though the pilot can’t be seen with the naked eye). The Bible calls the intelligence that sustains all life, God (Psalm 139:3-9).

3. MAN (the Anthropological Argument). Man’s intellectual and moral nature requires an intellectual and moral Being as its author. Man is the masterpiece of God’s creative acts (Psalm 139:14). For example, a surgeon can cut into flesh, and then stitch together the open wound; but an amazing designer, God, is behind the process which enables muscles, nerves, and skin to fuse back together. The surgeon, with all his training and skill, cannot make that happen. The Bible further teaches that a holy Lawgiver and Judge is responsible for the very conscience of man (Romans 2:14-15).

4. THE NECESSARY IDEA OF GOD (the Ontological Argument). Space and time are infinite and eternal; there must be an infinite and eternal Being to whom these attributes belong, for That which is made is a reflection of its maker. God made man, man reflects God, and has knowledge of God – his Maker. Man universally has a concept (an idea) about God; that fact demands God as the cause of that concept. Man’s instinctive hunger for the spiritual is evidence of the reality of the spiritual, and his intrinsic belief and knowledge of a Higher Power, of a Supreme Being, pervades every society and culture (unless man is persuaded otherwise). The reason man instinctively seeks God, according to the Bible, is because God placed within man this intuitive knowledge of His existence (Acts 17:22-23; Psalm 42:1). Atheism is the exception, not the rule, in any society or culture.

5. BASIC MORALITY (the Moral Argument). Man is a moral being, possessing an inner sense of right and wrong, and recognition of the responsibility to do right and avoid wrong. Unless his conscience has become seared, when man violates his conscience, he is subject to guilt, shame, remorse, and fear of punishment. Where did these feelings of right, wrong, justice, injustice, or fairness, which men (even children) possess, come from? The conscience of man points to a Designer of that conscience (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

6. BIOLOGICAL (the Life Argument). It is a scientific, biological fact that life can only come from life. All life must be traced back to a life-source. From nothing can come nothing. Life is here: what is its life-source? The answer is God (Psalm 36:9; John 1:1-5; 11:25; 14:6). The idea that life – any life – could have “evolved” from absolute nothingness is not only incredible, but also factually wrong. Frankly, it requires much more “faith” to think life was regenerated from nothingness, than to believe a Supreme Life-source originated all that exists.

7. THE BIBLE (the Scriptural Argument). Perhaps you haven’t considered this, but the existence of the Bible itself is an argument for the existence of God. The Bible is here – from where did it come? A careful, or even casual, examination of the contents of the Bible demonstrate it to be a Book beyond the ability of mere man to write; the Bible demands an intelligence and wisdom, insight and foresight, that is higher and greater than man. The Bible is a witness to the existence of God, and demands Deity as its Author (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).

8. HISTORY (the Historical Argument). Human history points to an unseen hand, exhibiting numerous illustrations and examples that behind it exists a Higher Power moving, guiding, governing, shaping, influencing, and sometimes even controlling men and nations and events. It is the hand of God! Consider the history of Israel, or the history of the early church, or any other Biblical histories, and recognize that these argue for God’s existence and that some events cannot be rationally explained without acknowledging God’s guidance (Daniel 2:20-21).

9. JESUS CHRIST (the Christological Argument). Jesus Christ is evidence for the existence of God. Jesus never doubted His Father’s existence. He called God “my Father,” fulfilled prophecies, worked miracles, taught with words unequalled in humans, and arose literally and bodily from the dead after He was crucified. Can one explain any of that without God? All that Jesus was, said, and did attests to God’s existence (1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:18; John 14:9). How could Jesus be the “Son of God” if there is no God?

10. HARMONY OF EVIDENCE (the Congruity Argument). Congruity means “agreement, correspondence, harmony.” Any of the previously listed arguments are individually powerful. But more than just that, they are in agreement with each other, and have correspondence and harmony between them as they compliment each other. So as we examine these evidences, and see them build upon one another, we consider them in totality and realize they are overwhelmingly and positively conclusive: there is a God!

True Biblical faith is arriving at the inescapable conclusion that there is a God (Romans 10:17), and then putting our trust, which includes our love and obedience, in the one true God (Hebrews 11:1, 6).

There is a God, He is alive, in Him we live, and we survive.

From dust our God created man, There is a God, the Great I AM.

By John M. Brown

Introduction to Christian Evidences

Is Christianity logical and verifiable? Is it reasonable? Is it true?

We are going to begin a series on the evidences for Christianity. The Christian religion is an historical religion based on historical facts (see, for example, Luke 2:1-5 and Luke 3:1-2, where specific historical names, places, and events are mentioned). Christianity is not the same as mythology, superstition, supposition, or mere cultural tradition. Christianity is based upon facts.

Is it right to “check things out,” to investigate, to question? Actually it is wrong not to! (see John 7:16-17; Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1). God wants us to be sure, to ascertain, and to know the certainty of the things recorded in the Bible. Biblical faith is based upon an acceptance of the facts the Bible states (Romans 10:17).

There are many philosophies in our land today, about which the Christian must be aware.

  1. RELATIVISM: The relativist believes there is no such thing as absolute or objective truth, that “truth” in only what each individual perceives it to be.
  2. AGNOSTICISM: The agnostic believes one cannot know whether there is a God or not.
  3. ATHEISM: Atheists deny the existence of God. However, the atheist cannot know for sure there is no God; he must believe that. Unless one had all knowledge or could be everywhere present, he could not know there is no God somewhere. So atheism is a belief system.
  4. PANTHEISM: The pantheist believes that God is in all, and all is God; that God is the world, and the material world is but an illusion; man’s true self is God. These are the views of the New Age movement, as well as certain forms of Hinduism and Zen Buddhism. (This is what many in Hollywood seem to believe.)
  5. SKEPTICISM : This is the belief that all things held to be true are questionable or doubtful, that nothing can be absolutely known for sure. Thus all religious beliefs, according to this philosophy, are unsure, and nothing is certain.
  6. SUBJECTIVISM: This is the belief that all knowledge is subjective and relative, not absolute or objective.
  7. THEISM: This is the belief that there is one eternal God, who is a personal Being and really exists; that the world is a created reality and that absolute truth exists and can be known; and that there is a moral standard determined by the laws of the Creator to which man is subject.

Let us ask some important questions:

  1. DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THERE IS SUCH A THING AS ABSOLUTE TRUTH? The answer: Yes! The Bible affirms the reality and certainty of truth (see John 14:6; Psalm 100:5; Ephesians 4:15; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 2:3-8). There is a distinction between truth and error, right and wrong.
  2. CAN TRUTH BE KNOWN? Again the answer is “Yes!” The Bible affirms that truth can be recognized, learned, known, understood, and believed (see Proverbs 22:17-21; John 8:31-32; 2 Peter 1:12).
  3. WHAT CAN WE KNOW? The Bible affirms that we can know God (John 17:3), that God exists (Psalm 46:10), that our Redeemer lives (Job 19:25), that Christ’s doctrine is of God the Father (John 7:17), and many, many other things!
  4. SHOULD WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD? Again the Bible affirms, “Yes!” We can and should, in fact, we must, have knowledge of the things of God (see Habakkuk 2:14; Ephesians 4:17-18; 2 Peter 3:18). In many places in the Bible, “know” and “believe” are used together (see John 8:24, 28; John 10:37-38; John 17:21-23).

“Faith” is “belief.” But why do we believe what we believe? The only correct reason for believing what we do is because it is true!

Christianity is based on the testimony of eyewitnesses (see Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-3; and many other passages). Apologetics is the field of study that means to make a defense. It is right, and it is required, that we make a proper defense of the things which we believe. The Bible tells us to “prove” (that is, to test, to examine, to scrutinize, to approve as right and worthy) in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and 1 John 4:1.

Faith, as used in the Bible, is our confidence regarding what we hold to be true, and what we hold to be true is based on evidence (Hebrews 11:1). Thus faith is the assurance we have concerning that for which we hope, and the proof we have concerning that which is not seen with the naked eye. Faith is not a “leap in the dark” (as it has sometimes been described), but rather, faith is a step into the light; it is our conviction based on overwhelming evidence regarding what is true. Something is not true because we believe it; we believe it because we have assurance it is true!

We invite all to examine the evidence for Christianity. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to express concerns. The purpose of this column will be to answer questions and give assurance. Christianity can be examined, tested, and verified – of this we are certain. There are many Bible verses cited above, and these are recorded so that you may look into the Bible and check for yourself what it says.

In the columns that will follow we will be looking at such questions as: Is there a God? Is the Bible really God’s Word? Is Jesus the Son of God? Is Jesus the only way of salvation? Are the things the Bible says about Jesus really true, and did they happen (like the virgin birth, His death for sin, His resurrection from the dead)? What is God like? What about heaven and hell?

Faith never has anything to fear from honest investigation. Indeed, the deeper you look into the evidences for Christianity, the stronger will be your faith. If you have questions, please ask. We will address your questions, your interests, and your concerns. If you are an unbeliever, all we ask is that you keep an open mind. Give us an opportunity to explain the Christian faith.

Our faith gives meaning, purpose, and direction to live. We invite everyone to come with us on this journey as we explore the reasons of belief.

By John M. Brown