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The  Existence   of  GodAn  Argument  for  Christian   Theism

Dr.  John  Oakes

Outline

n Atheist  arguments  against  the  existence  of  God

n The  failure  of  Atheism

n Arguments  for  theism

Arguments  Against  the  Existence   of  God

n God  cannot  be  seen/observed.

n Hypocrisy  of  believers.

n The  problem  of  suffering.

n Atheism  is  the  default  position.

God  Cannot  Be  Observed:Therefore  He  Does  Not  Exist.

n Yuri  Gagarin,  first  man  in  space:    “I  didn’t  see  any  God  up  here.”

n The  Wrong  God.

n Electron,  wind,  consciousness,  love,  hope,  beauty.

n Existence  inferred  from  the  observed  effects.

Hypocrisy:    The  Evil  Done  by  Believers  Argues  Against  the  Existence  of  God.

n Evil  has  certainly  been  done  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.      (Crusades,  Spanish  Inquisition,  priest  abuse,  us!)

n But  what  is  evil?

n Is  this  a  valid  argument?    This  is  not  even  an  argument.    It  is  a  smoke  screen.

n The  difference:    When  a  Christian  does  such  things,  it  violates  an  absolute  moral  standard  he  or  she  holds  to.

The  Problem  of  Suffering

n If  God  is  omniscient,  omnipotent  and  loving/compassionate.

n Then,  in  view  of  suffering,  that  God  certainly  does  not  exist.

n Argument  based  on  false  premises.

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Suffering  and  Evil:    Twin  Problems

n Assumes  that  a  loving,  omniscient,  omnipotent  God  ought to  prevent  all  suffering.

n Free  Will.

n Natural  Causes.

n Pain,  physical  and  emotional,  are  not  evil  or  even  “bad.”

No  God  Is  The  Default  Position

n Says  who?

n The  majority  of  intelligent,  well-educated,  psychologically  healthy  people  believe  in  some  sort  of  higher  reality.

Why  Atheism   Fails

n Based  on  Circular  Reasoning.

n Atheism  Cannot  Answer  the  Hard  Questions.

n The  Bankruptcy  of  Atheism.

Circular  Reasoning

n One  would  have  to  be  transcendent  to  know  that  a  transcendent  being  does  not  exist.    Flatland.

n There  is  no  absolute  truth.    How  do  you  know  that?

n The  strongest  argument  that  God  does  not  exist  is  that  it  is  obvious  he  does  not  exist.

A  recent  BBC  broadcast  forum:

n Questioner:    How  do  you  know  that  physical  reality  is  all  there  is:  that  there  is  no  God?

n Response  of  a  vehement  materialist  (after  much  prodding):      I  simply  believe  it  to  be  true.

n Questioner:    Well,  now  we  at  least  have  it  out  on  the  table!

n In  other  words,  the  strongest  argument  I  have  that  physical  reality  is  “all  there  is”  is  that  I  believe  physical  reality  is  “all  there  is.”

Questions   Science   Can  Answer

n When?n What?n Where?n How  many?n By  what   means?

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Questions   Scientific   Naturalism    Cannot   Answer:

(that  Christianity  does  answer)

– Why  am  I  here?– Is  that  the  right  thing  to  do?– How  valuable  am  I?– Does  God  exist?    Does  God  act  (theism)?– Will  that  God  respond  if  I  pray?– Do  supernatural  events  (miracles)  happen?- Why  is  there  evil  and  suffering  in  the  world?    

If  Materialism/Naturalism   is  right  then:

n “I”  do  not  exist.    Consciousness  is  just  random  moving  around  of  chemicals.

n No  soul,  no  spirit,  no  non-physical  reality.

n Belief  in  God  is  just  a  “meme”    the  unfortunate  accidental  result  of  brain  evolution.

n Life  has  no  value.    Human  beings  have  no  value.    What  is  value?

n Love  is  chemicals  moving  around    (vs.  God  is  love)

The  Bankruptcy  of  Atheism

n Atheist  “experiments.”– USSR– Red  China– North  Korea– Pol  Pot  Cambodia– Myanmar– French  Revolution

Where  will  a  society  whose  compass  is  set  by  scientific  materialism  go?

Arguments   For  Theism

n The  Moral  Argumentn The  Cosmological  Argumentn The  Teleological  Argumentn The  Ontological  Argumentn The  Argument  From  Desiren The  Argument  From  Experiencen The  Argument  From  Changed  Livesn The  Argument  From  the  Inspiration  of  the  Bible.

=  God

We  Cannot  Prove  the  Existence  of  God:Inference  to  the  most  reasonable  explanation

The  Moral  Argument

n Do  moral  absolutes  exist?n Is  it  wrong  to  rape  a  young  child?

1.  Absolute   moral  laws  exist.

2.  Such  laws  must   be  promulgated  by  some  authority.3.  That  authority   is  God.

If  this   argument  is  false,   then  justice   is  a  meaningless  wordMoral  law  is  a  real  as  the  law  of  gravity.

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The  Moral  Argument

n That  moral  absolute  exists  implies  a  source  of  this   moral  absolute,  which   is,  by  definition,   God.

n Do  the  words   good,  evil,  right  and  wrong  have  any   objective  meaning?

n If  so,  then   there  must   be  a  metaphysical   authority.

n Alternatives:    Naturalism  and  Postmodernism.

The  Cosmological   Argument

1.  Everything  which  exists  has  a  cause.

2.  The  universe  exists.

3.  The  universe  was  caused  to  exist.

4.  That  cause  is  God.

Q:  Why  does  anything  exist  at  all?

The  Kalam  Cosmological  Argument(William  Lane  Craig)

1.  Everything  which  begins  to  exist  has  a  cause.

2.  The  universe  began  to  exist.

3.  Therefore  the  universe  was  caused.

4.  God  is  that  cause.

That  the  universe  began  to  exist  has  been  virtually  proved.

Accident or Design?

The Teleological Argument

William Paley

The Teleological Argument

Evidence for Design in Nature

The Anthropic Principle

Boeing 747

Design or Accident?

Physics:

The  Finely  Tuned  Universe

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Fine Tuning of the Gravitational Constant

Fine Tuning of the Universe

Constant A Little Bigger A Little Smaller

1. Gravitational constant very short-lived stars no stars

2. Ratio of electrons to protons no stars or galaxies no stars or galaxies

3. Strong Nuclear Force no hydrogen, fusion only hydrogen

4. Weak Nuclear Force all H2 He at big bang no He at big bangno heavy elements

5. Electric Force no chemical bonding no chemical bonding

6. Expansion rate of universe no galaxies universe collapses quickly

7. Ratio of matter to antimatter too much radiation for life not enough matterfor galaxies to form

and many more….

Fred  Hoyle  on  Fine-Tuning

“… a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and

biology.”

The  Ontological   Argument

n Anselm  of  Canterbury    1077

n God  is  the  thing  “that  than  which  nothing  greater  can  exist.”

n Questionable  value  as  apologetics

The  Argument  From  Desire  (C.  S.  Lewis)

n Every  known  human  desire  has  a  corresponding  real  thing  which  can  fulfill  that  desire.

n The  desire  to  know  God  and  ultimate  truth  is  as  basic  as  any  human  desire.

n Therefore  God,  the  object  of  that  desire,  exists.

The  Argument  From  Experience/Changed  Lives

n Tens  of  millions  of  rational,  well  educated  people  have  experienced  God  through  prayer,  revelation,  etc.

n Changed  lives:    For  what  it  is  worth,  Christianity  works.– Marriages  saved– Lives   lived   with   purpose  and  meaning

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Argument  From  the  Inspiration  of  the  Bible

n If  the  Bible  is  supernaturally  inspired,  then  God  exists.

– Fulfilled  prophecy– Fulfilled  prefigure  and  foreshadow– Consistency– Historical/Archaeological  accuracy– Scientific  accuracy– It  works