Does God exist? Here are six straight-forward reasons to believe that God is really there.
By Marilyn Adamson
Just once wouldn't you love for someone to
simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No
statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to
candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.
But first consider this. If a person opposes even the
possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized
or explained away. It is like if someone refuses to believe that people
have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to
change their thinking. Photographs of astronauts walking on the moon,
interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks...all the evidence would be
worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot
go to the moon.
When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible
says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they
have suppressed the truth about God.[1] On the other hand, for those who
want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find
me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you."[2]
Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider...
1. Does God exist?
The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not
only created our universe, but sustains it today.
Many examples showing God's design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:
The Earth...its size is
perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer
of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above
the Earth's surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be
impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its
atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.[3] Earth is the
only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of
gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.
The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider
the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120
degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all
freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in
the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The
Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates
around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on
its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed
and cooled every day.
And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for
its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and
movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet our massive oceans are
restrained from spilling over across the continents.[4]
Water...colorless,
odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without
it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about
two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the
characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:
It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water
allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes,
while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.
Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that
thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout
our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.[5]
Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup
of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals
to be absorbed and used by the body.
Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can
therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and
nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.
Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.
Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But
on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the
water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation
takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are
easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for
vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and
supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and
reused water.[6]
The human brain...simultaneously
processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the
colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of
your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your
mouth, even the texture of your keyboard. Your brain holds and
processes all your emotions, thoughts and memories. At the same time
your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your
breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles
in your hands.
The human brain processes more than a million messages a
second.[7] Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering
out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows
you to focus and operate effectively in your world. The brain functions
differently than other organs. There is an intelligence to it, the
ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take
action, and relate to other people.
The eye...can
distinguish among seven million colors. It has automatic focusing and
handles an astounding 1.5 million messages -- simultaneously.[8]
Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing
organisms. Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source
of the eye or the brain -- the start of living organisms from nonliving
matter.
2. Does God exist? The universe had a start - what caused it?
Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous
explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. This was
the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the
universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.
Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic,
stated, "The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was
planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living
creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that
were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion...The Universe
flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to
happen."[9]
Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment
of this explosion, "the universe was about a hundred thousands million
degrees Centigrade...and the universe was filled with light."[10]
The universe has not always existed. It had a start...what
caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of
light and matter.
3. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?
Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on
day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a
counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the
speed of light doesn't change -- on earth or in galaxies far from us.
How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?
"The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this
is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let
alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment
springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave
this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change
unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which
things pop in and out of existence."[12]
Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum
electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The
fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."[13]
4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell's behavior.
All instruction, all teaching, all training comes with intent.
Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. Did you
know that in every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed
instruction code, much like a miniature computer program? As you may
know, a computer program is made up of ones and zeros, like this:
110010101011000. The way they are arranged tell the computer program
what to do. The DNA code in each of our cells is very similar. It's made
up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C.
These are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and
so on. There are three billion of these letters in every human cell!!
Well, just like you can program your phone to beep for specific
reasons, DNA instructs the cell. DNA is a three-billion-lettered program
telling the cell to act in a certain way. It is a full instruction
manual.[14]
Why is this so amazing? One has to ask....how did this
information program wind up in each human cell? These are not just
chemicals. These are chemicals that instruct, that code in a very
detailed way exactly how the person's body should develop.
Natural, biological causes are completely lacking as an
explanation when programmed information is involved. You cannot find
instruction, precise information like this, without someone
intentionally constructing it.
5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.
I was an atheist at one time. And like most atheists, the issue of
people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists
that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting
something that we don't believe even exists?! What causes us to do that?
When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions as caring for those
poor, delusional people...to help them realize their hope was completely
ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged
those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could
convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the
question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they
were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go
about my life.
I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so
heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come
to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention
that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself
and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as
if I couldn't escape thinking about the possibility of God. In fact,
the day I chose to acknowledge God's existence, my prayer began with,
"Ok, you win..." It might be that the underlying reason atheists are
bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing
them.
I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm
Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion
that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he
remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even
for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom
I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God
was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected
and reluctant convert in all of England."
Lewis went on to write a book titled, "Surprised by Joy" as a
result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully
admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I
became amazed by his love for me.
6. Does God exist?
Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most
specific picture of God revealing himself to us.
Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find
that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as
teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God.
Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the
others. He said God exists and you're looking at him. Though he talked
about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation,
but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone
who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in him,
believed in the Father.
He said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will
not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."[15] He claimed
attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their
sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and
give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused
people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say,
"follow my words and you will find truth." He said, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me."[16]
What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine?
He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed
people...blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the
dead. He had power over objects...created food out of thin air, enough
to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over
nature...walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for
some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because he constantly
met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to
believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in me based on
the miracles you're seeing.[17]
Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our
self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship
with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of
his punishment, his love for us ruled and God came up with a different
plan. God himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment
for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving
fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if
they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because
he first loved us.
Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the
religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God
reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship
with him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs,
drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, he
offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God
and genuinely loved by God. He says, "I have loved you with an
everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to
you."[18] This is God, in action.
Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ.
We're told that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."[19]
God does not force us to believe in him, though he could.
Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to
willingly respond to him. The earth's perfect distance from the sun, the
unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number
of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds
to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known
through Jesus Christ. If you need to know more about Jesus and reasons
to believe in him, please see: Beyond Blind Faith.
If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can.
This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be
forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so
right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus
said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who
hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her]."[20]
If you want to do this, but aren't sure how to put it into words, this
may help: "Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and
that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come
into my life. I want to know you in a real way. Come into my life now.
Thank you that you wanted a relationship with me. Amen."
God views your relationship with him as permanent. Referring to
all those who believe in him, Jesus Christ said of us, "I know them, and
they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand."[21]
So, does God exist? Looking at all these facts, one can conclude
that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal
way. If you need more information about Jesus' claim to divinity, or
about God's existence, or if you have similar important questions,
please email us.
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