Why believe in God?
Sermon for Adrian Christian Church
Danny Ferguson
Intro
Why do you believe in God? Have you ever been asked this question? Are you prepared to answer this question?
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
So we should be prepared. Think for a minute about what your answer would be. If we want to find God, or to show others the way to him, then we must look for ways that he has revealed himself to us. After all, if he wanted to stay completely hidden from us, then he certainly would be able to. But we believe that he has chosen to reveal himself to us in many ways. Some ways are obvious, and others take a little more thought. For instance, the Bible is one of the ways that God reveals himself to us. We could call it a special revelation. God’s interaction with the patriarchs and the prophets are also special revelation. The most important instance of God’s special revelation is when he actually became a man, when Jesus walked the earth. Special revelation teaches us all of the important things about God and what he wants from us. The only problem is that because it’s special it doesn’t happen very often. And unbelievers find it easy to ignore this type of revelation. If someone doesn’t believe that God exists, then will the Bible convince them of that? It’s possible. But really the Bible is a book that assumes God’s existence, rather than trying to prove it. How do we prove that God is real to people who think the Bible is just a bunch of old fairy tales?
God doesn’t reveal himself only in special revelation. There’s also something that we call general revelation. Rather than being a special, one-time, seldom event directed toward a specific group of people, general revelation is going on all the time, for all people. This morning I want to tell you about three ways that we can argue for God’s existence from general revelation. These three ideas are not new. They have been used by the likes of C.S. Lewis, R.C. Sproul, John Locke, Thomas Aquinas and Augustine. They are even hinted at in the Bible.
The three arguments are the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological Argument and the Moral Argument. If we can get some understanding of these three ideas, then not only will we be more prepared to give reasons for the hope we have, but we will find that our own faith has been strengthened, and doubt will have less power over our minds.
Cosmological Argument
We’ll begin with the cosmological argument. The name comes from the Greek word cosmos, which means ’world, universe.’
This is an argument for God based on the fact that the universe even exists at all. Have you ever wondered why the universe is here? Why is there any universe instead of absolutely nothing? Let’s think this through. Either the universe was always here (is eternal) or the universe came into being at some point. Very few people no believe that the universe is eternal. This has to do somewhat with the Big Bang theory, which claims that the universe came into being several billion years ago. So even unbelievers no think the universe is not eternal. So if it came into being, then we have two choices. It was uncaused or it was caused. There’s no reason to think that anything would just pop into existence for no reason, so it makes the most sense to believe that the universe was caused. If it was caused then we have three more choices. 1) It was self-caused. This doesn’t make any more sense that saying the universe was uncaused. How can something that doesn’t exist cause itself to exist? 2) It was caused by something that was caused by something that was caused by something, etc. In other words, an infinite regress of contingent causes. Again, this doesn’t really explain anything. There must be something at some time that started it all, a first cause. And that’s the third alternative and the one that makes the most sense. 3)The universe was caused by and eternal, non-contingent being.
This gives us very basic, but very important, information about God. Namely, that he is eternal and uncaused.
I want to play a few clips from a video where William L. Craig explains some of these arguments during a debate. The title of the video is Atheism vs. Christianity and it’s available from Willow Creek Resources. (4:03)
So science and logic work together in the cosmological argument to give the same message that we find in Genesis 1:1 – God created the world. Colossians 1:15-17 shows us that his work continues, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Jesus works in the world now to sustain creation."
We can see how God’s special revelation and his general revelation teach us the same things.
Teleological Argument
Next we have the teleological argument. This comes from the Greek word teleos, which means ’end, purpose.’
This argument points out complexity, purpose and design in the universe in general and especially in life forms. Where there’s design there must be a designer.
One of the most popular forms of this argument is the Watchmaker analogy, first used by William Paley. It says that if you are walking in a field and you find a stone, you can assume that it was formed by natural processes. If you find a pocket watch, however, you can assume that it was made by an intelligent designer. You make this assumption because the watch exhibits intelligent design. It has a spring to give it motion, gears and wheels to transmit the motion, the gears are made of brass so they won’t rust, the spring is made of steel (which is flexible enough for springs) and the front cover is made of glass so you can see the face. It’s obvious that thought and purpose went into the watch. Trillions of years of natural processes couldn’t have created it. Its complexity, purpose and design point to an intelligent designer. Then Paley pointed to the universe and the life within it. It’s much bigger and more complex than a watch and it’s unlikely that natural processes and chance could produce such a complex and purposeful universe.
This same type of argument for God’s existence is made in Scripture, too.
Romans 1.18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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.
God says that even people who have never heard his name or read his word should know some things about him just by looking at what he has made. They should recognize that someone intelligent created the world and even their bodies.
David said in Psalm 139.14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
William Paley came up with the Watchmaker analogy in 1794. Since that time there have been many discoveries in astrophysics, microbiology, genetics, etc., that strengthen the argument. When DNA was discovered everyone was amazed at how much complex information there is stored inside every living cell.
Some people think this argument is disproved by the theory of evolution, which replaces intelligence with mere chance. It’s possible that dumb luck could produce all the order that we see in the universe. The question is, how likely is it? Which makes more sense? When people thought the universe was eternal, the odds for evolution weren’t that bad. Given an infinite amount of time, chance could produce a lot. But now that no one believes the universe is eternal, evolution and chance don’t provide a very good explanation for the order we see in the universe. On top of that, there’s still no reason to think that completely natural processes could ever create even the simplest life-forms from non-living materials. In the next video clip, Dr. Craig discusses the odds that a universe created by blind chance would support life, as our universe does. (1:46)
Summarize: The teleological argument says that the universe displays complexity, purpose and design that could only come from an intelligent designer.
Moral Argument
This argument moves from the existence of an objective moral law to the existence of a moral Lawgiver.
1. Objective moral law requires a Moral Law Giver
2. Objective moral law exists.
3. A Moral Law Giver must exist.
Objective moral law means that people all over the earth and all throughout history have had basically the same ideas about what is right and wrong (good and evil). The objective part means that it’s not just an idea in our head or a social custom, but an actual fact. Almost everyone agrees that if objective moral laws exist then there must be a supernatural explanation for it. There’s nothing in biology, psychology, genetics or anywhere in nature that can explain why we would all share concepts about what is right and wrong. It has to be something supernatural. A supernatural law from a supernatural Lawgiver.
Since no one has come up with a decent challenge to the first premise, the only thing unbelievers can do to refute this argument is to deny the second premise. And that’s just what atheist philosophers have done from Nietzsche to Skinner. They’ve denied that there is any such thing as objective moral values. There is no right or wrong. Yet in the last couple of years, it’s been hard for anyone to try and convince people that there’s no such thing as good and evil. Since a group of men hijacked four airplanes and crashed them into buildings, killing thousands of innocent people, you just haven’t heard anyone trying to say that good and evil don’t really exist. Everyone knew that what happened that day was the result of the evil intentions of some very disturbed and manipulated people. We don’t just feel like it was wrong. We don’t think it’s wrong because morality just a human invention or an adaptation to aid our survival. We don’t believe it’s wrong just because that’s what society tells us. What happened that day was really, objectively evil. And the firefighters and police who died trying to save as many people as possible with no regard for their own safety, they really were doing something morally good. Good and evil are not just ideas humanity has dreamed up. If that day taught the world anything, I hope it taught us that.
If an unbeliever still refuses to believe that morals are real in the face of historical evidence, then it’s not difficult to show him that deep down, he himself believes they are real. I could go hear an atheist philosopher give a speech on why there is no such thing as right and wrong, but if I walk out into the parking lot and smash his windshield with a sledgehammer, what will he say when he sees it? He’ll say “That was wrong! You should pay for that!” Wouldn’t that make a good episode of Judge Judy?
As before, we can find this line of reasoning at work in the Bible, too. "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 2:15"
Video (4:26).
Here’s an example from real life. I was exchanging some emails with an agnostic friend of mine and I was using a form of the moral argument to explain to him why I believe in God. Here’s what he said: “Any claim to objective morals leads to intolerance, injustice and tyranny.” What’s wrong with this statement? He makes the assumption that intolerance, injustice and tyranny are objectively wrong. If they are, then he does believe that objective morals exist. If they’re not objectively wrong, then why does he think they’re such bad things?
Have you ever heard this: “There’s too much suffering in the world for God to be real”? Many people have denied that God is real because of the cruelty, injustice and evil in the world. Ironically, when they do this, they’re making the claim that these things really are wrong, which can only be true if there is some supernatural source of moral values. That doesn’t mean that God created evil, but that he created us with a choice between good and evil, based on real moral laws. Since people have chosen evil, there are consequences. So one of the most common reasons given for not believing in God can be used as support for the Moral Argument. Do you see the opportunities here? If someone tells you they don’t believe because of how bad the world is, you can ask them why they think those things are bad. Find out where they get their notion of morality. You can show them that God is the only plausible source of objective moral values.
That’s the essence of the moral argument. Objective moral law requires a Lawgiver. Moral law exists, so there must be a supernatural source, who we know, of course, as God.
Conclusion
So let’s review what can be learned about God without even opening the Bible. The cosmological argument shows that God must be eternal and uncaused and very powerful if he created the entire universe. The teleological argument shows us that God is highly intelligent if he designed such a complicated and functional universe. It also shows us that he pays a lot of attention to details. Finally, the moral argument shows us that God is a moral being. He created morality and he himself is completely good. It also shows us that he wants us to be good.
And above all, these three arguments point to the fact that God exists, he is real. Knowing this makes us want to learn more about him, and to see if he has revealed himself more specifically at any point in history. It’s in the Bible where we find this special revelation. It’s in the Bible where we learn what the penalty is for not living within God’s moral law. And where we learn the only solution for that penalty, the death of God’s own son, which we receive through faith. Faith begins with the understanding that God exists, but then it grows into something more than abstract logic and philosophy. It becomes a relationship. We’ll talk some more next week about how that relationship affects us, but now if there’s anyone who wants to put their faith in God for the first time and begin the relationship, there’s no better time than right now. Or if you want to join this church and let everyone here know about your faith or even if you just need to ask for the prayers of the church, you can do that during our invitation.
Note: I have handouts that go along with this if anyone is interested. The video I refer to can be ordered at http://www.zondervanchurchsource.com/product.asp?ISBN=0310245796
