Overview
Does God exist? Is an age old question. It's as old as humanity itself. And yet till today the question is being asked?
And if God exists, which God is the true one? the Christian God? the Muslim God? the Mormon God? Who is right and who is wrong?
This opens an labyrinth of questions with no end.
In order to make sense of this, we will attempt to think through the following points:
- What prerequisites should we attempt to achieve before entering into discussions with others regarding this topic?
- What approach should we take with regards to answering this age old question?
- What should our attitude be towards others of opposing views?
- What's the purpose of entering into these discussions?
Expectations
I'll get it out of the way now, I will not be going through a detailed breakdown of the evidence for the Existence of God. I'll do a quick overview, however.
Instead I'll provide you resources which will help you gain some knowledge.
- C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4)
- The Case for Christ
- Article from the Curriculum
Discussion Flow
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Thesis
Why is it important to be convinced of the Existence of God?
It is primarily for us personally. It's not to prove it for other people. It is to be secure in the reality that God loves us and cares for us. Or else:
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19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have [d]fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. |
It follows that when we are convinced of the good news, then we can share it with others with the intent of them being grafted into the Olive Tree, which is Christ.
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or if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? |
I put forward as my thesis then that learning about evidence of the existence of God, is not to get into arguments and prove others are wrong, but to be secure in the reality of a loving God and to share the good news with others with love and care.
Evidence vs Proof
Before we start learning about Evidence we have to define what Evidence and Proof actually mean.
Can we prove the existence of God beyond the shadow of doubt?
First we need to learn a new term: "Burden of Proof"
If you get in an argument with an atheist, IE someone who doesn't believe in the existence of God, if he is academic, he'll say something like this:
"I'm starting with the null theorem. Meaning there is no God. You want to prove to me that God actually exists, so the burden of proof is on you"
In this context "Burden of Proof" is the requirement to provide evidence. It is always on the person seeking to prove a claim or change the status quo.
The burden of proof would change depending which time period you're at and where you are in the world. For example if you are in Egypt, the null theorem is that there is a God. And therefore, the burden of proof is on the person trying to disprove the existence of God.
However, for the sake of this argument, let's assume the burden of proof is on us; the people trying to prove the existence of God.
Back to the idea of Evidence vs Proof:
Evidence can be thought of as a set of facts or material which suggest something. For example: If you're investigating a murder, evidence can be things like finding the murder weapon in the suspect's apartment, or finding the victim's blood on the suspects shoes.
However as they stand, this is just evidence and does not prove that the suspect is the murderer. For example the murder weapon could've been planted.
Proof is something like video evidence of someone committing the murder. It proves the guilt of the suspect beyond the shadow of doubt
When it comes to proof, if we want to be lawyers about it, we can apply three different standards:
- Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
- This means that, if any rational person would be left with some sort of doubt about whether or not the defendant committed the crime, then the defendant cannot be found guilty
- Clear and Convincing Evidence
- Less strict than the above. Enough evidence to prove an argument
- Preponderance of Evidence
As the lowest standard of proof for conviction, this essentially just means that the judge or jury has to be slightly more convinced than not that the defendant is guilty.
The question that we should now ask is, which category does the evidence for the Existence of God fall in?
You'll always have contentions about this. The atheist will say that there isn't sufficient evidence, while the Christian will say that there is.
Moral Argument
This is outlined quiet well in "Mere Christianity".
It basically argues the existence of God from the existence of a Moral Standard.
If two people argue with each other regarding the right for someone to a seat on the bus, as an example, for their argument they are both appealing to a moral standard. Each one of them tries to prove how his position is closer to that Moral Standard.
The logical question is: Where does the Moral Standard come from?
It can not be man made. It has to be a standard independent of man.
And since it's is a "Moral Standard", the entity which established it, must be intelligent and moral. Therefore, God.
Historical Argument
It's covered in part in "Mere Christianity", but also it is covered more extensively in "The Case for Christ".
There is ample historical evidence which point to the existence of a person named Jesus Christ, who claimed to be God.
There is ample historical evidence which point to his death and resurrection.
Therefore, Christian God.
This is by far the most solid argument. It is even referenced in the Bible:
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1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which [a]He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many [b]infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. |
There are eye witnesses, IE absolute proof, of Jesus Christ's resurrection. And if we can ascertain the validity of these historical accounts, then we have proven Jesus Christ is God.
Cause and Effect
This is probably the weakest argument in my opinion.
It states that every cause must have an effect. And if you track it backwards the very first event must have a cause. What is it?
How did the universe come to be? Was it self-create? Eternal? Created?
It can not be self-created, because for something to create itself, it must first exist before it exists, which is a logical falacy.
Science has proven that the universe is not Eternal.
Logically, then it must be created. Therefore God.
The problem with this argument is it argues the metaphysical from the physical. The physical is in the realm of observations, experimentation and science. The metaphysical is not.
Before we embark on examining the answer
I will not be going into a lot of details about the different evidence we have Before
Can we prove beyond the shadow of doubt that God exists? Historic evidence (Case for Christ), Moral evidence (Mere Christianity)
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