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Can We Know That God Exists?
Learning Set 3
Reasons For Christian Hope Chapters 5 & 6
What are the implications of a Godless world? What would it mean for
humanities most basic ideals like morality, justice, and hope?
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Post Moderns say, “God is dead if that works for you. God is alive if that
works for you. In fact, God can be your purple-spotted half monkey and half
rabbit that you imagine is your friend, if that works for you.”
The Post Modern view argues that it is perfectly justified to create one’s
reality based on experience; each person’s unique experience, therefore,
leads to their own unique reality.
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What is Real?
Illusion-- So according to this view, no matter what we think we see and
experience, reality could exist behind the visual perception, almost as if there
is a veil put over our eyes to mask what is actually real
Self-Created-- The universe was created by chance through a series of
random circumstances, essentially creating itself over an undetermined
period of time. Does this really make any sense?
Self-Existent-- The universe has always been there. Somehow, the universe
is eternal. Consider the possibility of a self-existent universe.
Created-- Something or someone outside the elements and confines
of time created the universe
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Evidence or Proof?
If you were asked to give evidence for Christianity, what would you come up
with?
Despite the need to have reason, we cannot prove beyond the shadow of a
doubt that God does indeed exist. However, we can illustrate convincing
evidence
So then, what qualifies as evidence?
Cumulative Case Approach:
1. Explanatory Power: The best explanation accounts for all the facts that an
alternative and faulty explanation does, but also explains the causes of other facts
which the second one does not take into consideration or cannot account for
2. Explanatory Scope: This covers all the relevant data. If explanatory power focuses
on the depth of the argument, then explanatory scope focuses on the breadth of the
evidence
3. Empirical Adequacy: We have empirical (experience or observation) evidence in
favor of the world. In other words, the world we live in is something we can
experience.
4. Rational Consistency: There are no contradictions; your view is logical and makes
sense as an explanation for the way things are
5. Simplicity: It may be possible, but is it plausible?
6. Experiential Relevance: You cannot argue a point of view or a reality that you
have not experienced yourself. How can you teach or discuss God if you have never
experienced Him yourself?
Our Approach to the Evidence
1. The existence of God and the creation of the universe
2. The problem of evil and pain
3. The reliability of the New Testament scriptures
4. The claims of Jesus Christ
5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Existence of God and
the Creation of the Universe
In the Beginning, God...
We can assert three key cause and effect evidences that show it is
reasonable to say God exists. To illustrate this and make it easy to
remember, we will use the acrostic B-I-G.
B- Universe that began requires a Beginner
“Cosmological Argument”: as in the cosmos or the universe
Romans 1:19-20
Acts 14:14-15
Acts 17:22-24
Evidence for the Beginning of the Universe
1. Everything that had a beginning had a cause because of the Law of
Causality
2. The universe had a beginning
3. Therefore, the universe had a cause
Possible objection: Who made God?
I- Intelligent Design (Teleological Argument)
Look up Psalm 19: 1-6
Evidence for Intelligent Design
1. Every design has a designer
2. The universe has a highly complex design
3. The universe had a designer
G- Moral Lawgiver
Evidence for the Moral Law Giver
1. Every law has a lawgiver
2. There is moral law
3. There is a moral law giver
Morals Versus Values
Although closely related, morals are not the same as values
Morals define now people affect the lives of other people
Values determine general principles of human behavior and can often
vary from culture to culture
When two opposing moral viewpoints cross paths they cannot exist as
correct in the same space at the same time (Law of Non-Contradiction)
If we somehow choose ourselves to be the means by which we
measure morality, then we are left with nothing to measure. The
measuring rod must be independent of the thing being measured,
otherwise we have nothing to measure
For the Christian apologist, relative morality may seem to present a
significant roadblock, however, relative morality becomes a larger
problem for the atheist.
In Conclusion: The cosmological evidence shows that he must be a
supernatural power, for he is a power beyond nature who brought the
whole natural world into existence. Also, he must be a super
intelligence, for he designed a super-complex universe and human life.
And he must be morally perfect, for he is the standard for all moral law
This is exactly what is meant by a theistic God. Once again, it is
important to stress that we cannot prove that God exists beyond all
doubt, short of the second coming of Christ.