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Page 4: The Case For The Existence of God

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by George D. Foss, Oct 21, 2015.

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  1. George D. Foss

    George D. Foss New Member

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    What the Secular World Says About Creation
    In 1917 Albert Einstein(a widely touted genius) tried his hand at a solution to the origin of the universe. Although never coming to belief in a personal God, he recognized the impossibility of a non-created universe. The Encyclopedia Britannica says of him: "Firmly denying atheism, Einstein expressed a belief in 'Spinoza's God', who reveals himself in the harmony of what exists." This actually motivated his interest in science, as he once remarked to a young physicist: "I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details." Einstein's famous epithet on the "uncertainty principle" was "God does not play dice" -- and to him this was a real statement about a God in whom he believed. A famous saying of his was "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
    Arthur Eddiington(1882-1944),experimentally confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity in 1919. Then, after Einstein's General Theory of Relativity became commonly accepted around 1927 as proof that the universe had a beginning, Eddington. an atheist, commented in his book The Nature of the Physical World: "Religion first became possible for a reasonable man of science in the year 1927." Many of his defenders have complained that this statement has been used out of context because it is not consistent with Eddigmton's personal atheistic views. Eddington later stated: "Philosophically, the notion of a beginning to the present order is repugnant to me. I should like to find a genuine loophole, we must allow evolution an infinite amount of time to get started." Then Einstein ultimately gave at best a reluctant assent to what he called "the necessity for a beginning" and eventually to "the presence of a superior reasoning power." But he never did embrace the concept of a personal Creator, a compassionate God who cares for men and women and children.
    To his dismay, Einstein found that his theory of relativity would not permit an eternal model of the universe unless he introduced into his gravitational field equations a certain "fudge factor' in order to counterbalance the gravitational effect of matter. Einstein's universe was balanced on a razor's edge, however, and the least perturbation would cause the universe either to implode or to expand.
    Then, in 1920, after contemplating Einstein's model, Alexander Friedman and George Lemaitre came up withy a theory which predicted an expanding universe. The Friedman-Lemaitre model of an expanding universe had never before been considered by scientists. Up to that time the universe was regarded as fixed and immutable and the idea that it might actually be changing was inconceivable. However, if the Friedman-Lemaitre model proved correct, the universe could no longer be adequately treated as an eternal entity that has always existed. It would mean that the universe had a beginning. In 1929 Edwin Hubble's experiments dealing with the red-shift in the optical spectra of light from distant galaxies, gave confirmation to the Friedman-Lemaitre model. Hubble had discovered the isotropic expansion of the universe as predicted by Friedman-Lemaitre. This experimental discovery marked a veritable turning point in the history of science. This discovery implies that as one reverses the expansion and extrapolates back in time, one finally arrives at a singular point of beginning. The universe became a reality when this singular point exploded in a singular "BIG BANG."
     
    #1 George D. Foss, Oct 21, 2015
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  2. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
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    WHY GOD IS POSSIBLE



    Introduction
    Christians consider the existence of their God to be true. This assertion is valid, not solely because of overwhelming evidence for God from nature and the Bible, but also because God’s revealed attributes are consistent, and therefore represent a logical possibility.



    Proving that God could exist.

    Many Christians, as well as atheists, claim that it is impossible to prove a universal negative. In other words, due to our limited knowledge, it is impossible to prove that God cannot exist. To illustrate the point, because we do not have complete knowledge of the universe, unicorns and dragons may exist somewhere in the universe.



    This is true, provided the object of conjecture (God, unicorn, dragon) is logically coherent. If the attributes of the object of conjecture represent a logical impossibility, for example a perfect sphere with eight corners, then logically the object cannot exist.



    I intend to show that the attributes and actions of Yahweh represent a logical possibility and therefore the God of the Bible could exist



    Defining Yahweh
    The Biblical authors have revealed the following attributes of Yahweh: He is a sovereign (Psalm 115:3), eternal (Isaiah 44:6), creator (Genesis 1), all-knowing (Psalm 139:4), all-powerful (Job 42:2), holy (Isaiah 6:1-7), unchanging (Malachi 3:6), just (Psalm 97:2) and loving (First John 4:8) being that exists in three persons (Matthew 28:19; Second Corinthians 12:14).



    The biblical authors have revealed the following actions of Yahweh. God created the Universe and God’s creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was originally very good (Genesis 1:31). ). Mankind was created so that some would glorify God (Isaiah 43:7). Pain, suffering and physical death existed before Adam sinned (Revelation 21:4; Genesis 3:16). Adam, by disobeying God brought sin into the world (Romans 5:12). ). Sin caused a separation (spiritual death) of mankind from God (Isaiah 59:2). God knew before the foundations of the world He would graciously save all those He would put into Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6; Romans 8:28-30). God provided salvation from both the wages of sin and His just punishment and made the opportunity available (Acts 17:30-31). Even though suffering continues after salvation, we know that it is part of God’s plan to convert others (Romans 8:18-22). People who are unable to put their trust in Jesus will face God’s just punishment, so it still makes sense to sin as little as possible. (You can’t work your way to heaven, but you can dig yourself a deeper pit in hell.) (Luke 12:47-48).



    These attributes and actions of God are revealed in the Bible, which Christians believe was completely accurate when originally written and still is completely trustworthy today (Second Peter 1:19-21).







    Yahweh’s Activities before Creation

    God existed before He created the heavens and the earth. When He did create them, He created space and time. Timeless eternity is a difficult concept to grasp, but I submit that it is not a logical impossibility. Einstein’s formulations support the concept. I am not sure the Bible tells us fully why God created all of creation, but it is clear that planet earth was created for man, and man was created to glorify God. (Isaiah 45:18; Isaiah 43:7). While it can be asserted that God did not need to create creation, it does not follow that God could not choose to create creation, which He did (Psalm 115:3; Genesis 1).



    Yahweh’s Creation includes Pain, Suffering, Death and the Capacity to Sin
    In order for some of mankind to glorify God, we needed the capacity to choose to love God. This capacity carries with it the ability to choose to love oneself or other stuff. Without pain, suffering and death, the likelihood of anyone choosing to love God would seem to be low. In fact, it would approach a logical impossibility to envision God creating man to glorify God without pain, suffering, death and the capacity to sin. But once the relationship is established, then, like the pains of childbirth, pain, suffering, death and sin can be eliminated (Rev 21:4). Sin increased pain, suffering and death (Genesis 3:16; Genesis 6:5-7). God also causes or allows harm to individuals or groups in order to help whom He chooses, all those who place their faith in Christ. Since God has a purpose in allowing pain, suffering and death for the brief time of our lives, in order that we can choose with understanding between fellowship with God and separation from God, it follows that some of God’s love is tough love (Romans 8:18-22).



    Yahweh’s Eternal Punishment is Just
    For those of mankind that were unable to obtain mercy by placing their trust in Jesus Christ, God will judge them and punish them. They all get justice, no more and no less. They have no second chance, they will always, eternally, be separated from God. The Bible does not make clear what the mix will be, between possible quick annihilation for babies, kids and those without knowledge, and long suffering for those without excuse.

    But since, whatever it is, it will be just, the assertion that it is unjust is illogical. Whatever it is like, it will be a place where those that go there will regret not trusting in Jesus when they had the chance (Psalm 97:2; Luke 16:19-31).



    Yahweh’s Word is Understandable
    Even though the original manuscripts of the Bible have been lost, the accuracy of the currently available copies is sufficient for God’s purpose. While our understanding of the text is imperfect, by study and reasoning together, Christians can gain a sufficient understanding of God’s standards, commands, teachings and love to be transformed, renewed and conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-31; Second Timothy 3:16-17).



    Yahweh’s Word contains Difficulties

    The Bible contains difficult passages that seem to contradict other passages or are otherwise hard to understand. Most of the difficulties can be resolved through interpretation. In order to accurately handle the Word of God, we must study it in broad scope; what is this passage saying, how does this fit within the overall presentation of the Book, and how does this fit with the rest of the Bible; and we must study the passage in detail considering the literal, grammatical and historical aspects of the passage (Second Timothy 2:14-16). For example, the Bible does not teach that we should hate our parents and honor our parents, which is a contradiction. Instead it teaches we should love God more than anything else and hate the things that come between God and us (Exodus 20:1-17; Luke 14:26). And God does not eternally punish sons for the sins of their fathers, but the sins of fathers will hurt their families (Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 6:1-3). If you are looking for apparent contradictions in the Bible, you can find them; but with God’s help, if you are looking for consistent truth, you can find it (First Corinthians 2:7-14).



    Yahweh is All-knowing and expresses Emotion

    Human emotion is usually triggered by unfolding events. Sowhy would God, who can knows all things about the individuals He is interacting with, display emotion? Possibly to present His revelation in a manner that hits close to home, or is memorable. God is jealous (Exodus 20:5), teaches us that idolatry is a big deal with God. God is furious (Deuteronomy 29:24-29), God takes vengeance (Deuteronomy 32:41) and saved from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9), all teach that the wages of sin is death, that punishment is certain, and that we should seek mercy in Jesus Christ. Additionally, actual emotion can be triggered when considering a past event so knowing something does not preclude emotion (Genesis 6:6).



    The Conclusion of the Matter
    I have offered arguments, at least in part from scripture, for the possibility that the God of the Bible can exist because His acts and attributes are consistent and represent a clearly logical possibility. Once you brush aside the contention that the God of the Bible is a logical impossibility, you are left with the evidence, to borrow a phase, that demands a verdict. God is possible, and if we study the evidence, a wonderful possibility exists that we might just decide to turn from our self-serving life and place our faith in Christ.
     
    #2 Van, Oct 22, 2015
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