How Great Thou Art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBP8Nhb4bHU
HOW GREAT THOU ART (Joshua Aaron & Aaron Shust) LIVE at the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem
Faith and Reason
Definitions matter. Our culture assumes that faith is the OPPOSITE of reason, that faith is blind and doesn’t care about evidence at all.
People can reason intelligently or poorly, whether they are Christians, atheists, or other.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~Hebrews 11:1.
Faith is a commitment to a belief that we have good reason to believe is true based on the evidence.
Crain uses the example of flying. “You get on an airplane without checking the pilot’s license, reviewing the mechanic’s log, or checking the cargo for explosives. Do you know with absolute certainty that people have done those things for you and have done them correctly? Do you have good reason to trust that they have? Yes. That’s faith.”
Crain also provided statements by four atheists that Crain recorded that reveal what they think about Christians’ faith and reasoning. They generally believe that we operate on blind faith with no care for evidence. One insinuated that we are insane. The four atheists quoted are Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, William Harwood, and Bertrand Russell.
The fact of the matter is that both faith AND reason are necessary for the level of trust required for real faith.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ~Hebrews 11:6
God’s Argument for His Existence
The argument from GENERAL REVELATION
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools… ~Romans 1:18-22
The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ ~Psalm 14:1a
Pascal’s Wager
Pascal’s wager is a philosophical argument presented by the seventeenth-century French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and theologian Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). It posits that human beings wager with their lives that God either exists or does not.
Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (an eternity in Hell).
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager
The Cosmological argument
The argument from CREATION (Gk. cosmos, “universe, world”).
Two forms:
- The cosmos needed a cause at its beginning.
- The universe had a beginning. Why do we believe that?
Second Law of Thermodynamics – Increased Entropy
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is commonly known as the Law of Increased Entropy. While quantity remains the same (First Law), the quality of matter/energy deteriorates gradually over time. How so? Usable energy is inevitably used for productivity, growth and repair. In the process, usable energy is converted into unusable energy. Thus, usable energy is irretrievably lost in the form of unusable energy.
“Entropy” is defined as a measure of unusable energy within a closed or isolated system (the universe for example). As usable energy decreases and unusable energy increases, “entropy” increases. Entropy is also a gauge of randomness or chaos within a closed system. As usable energy is irretrievably lost, disorganization, randomness and chaos increase.
Second Law of Thermodynamics – In the Beginning…
The implications of the Second Law of Thermodynamics are considerable. The universe is constantly losing usable energy and never gaining. We logically conclude the universe is not eternal. The universe had a finite beginning — the moment at which it was at “zero entropy” (its most ordered possible state). Like a wind-up clock, the universe is winding down, as if at one point it was fully wound up and has been winding down ever since. The question is who wound up the clock?
The theological implications are obvious. NASA Astronomer Robert Jastrow commented on these implications when he said, “Theologians generally are delighted with the proof that the universe had a beginning, but astronomers are curiously upset. It turns out that the scientist behaves the way the rest of us do when our beliefs are in conflict with the evidence.” (Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, 1978, p. 16.)
Jastrow went on to say, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” (God and the Astronomers, p. 116.) It seems the Cosmic Egg that was the birth of our universe logically requires a Cosmic Chicken…
~AllAboutScience.org. https://www.allaboutscience.org/second-law-of-thermodynamics.htm.
The Rest of the Cosmological Argument
- Anything that had a beginning must have been caused by something else
- Therefore, the universe was caused by something else – a Creator.
The cosmological argument depends upon the Principle of Causality:
The principle of causality is a first principle. First principles are self-evident or may be reduced to the self-evident, although perhaps not to all. The vast majority of philosophers have all agreed on the validity of the principle of causality, which simply stated says that:
- Every effect has a cause
- Everything that begins has a cause
- Everything that changes has a cause
- Everything that is finite has a cause
- Everything that is limited has a cause
Even the famous skeptic, David Hume, when questioned about causal relationships such as these, confirmed the necessity of the Principle of Causality: “I never asserted so absurd a proposition as that anything might arise without a cause.”
The Argument from Scripture: God said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ~Genesis 1:1
- The cosmos needs a cause to continue existing.
The Argument from Scripture: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ~Colossians 1:17
Beginning of Universe and 2nd Law of Thermodynamics Disputed
In recent years, some scientists have come up with new theories about the universe that they believe could indicate that it did NOT have a beginning. Bruno Bento, a physicist who studies the nature of time at the University of Liverpool in the UK, has used a new theory of quantum gravity called the theory of causal sets to explore the beginning of the universe. They believe that it is entirely possible that the universe did not have a beginning – it always existed in the infinite past and only recently turned into what we call the Big Bang. Here is an article for more information on this subject:
“As for the 2nd law of thermodynamics…The laws of thermodynamics are some of the most important principles in modern physics, because they define how three fundamental physical quantities – temperature, energy, and entropy – behave under various circumstances.
But now physicists say they’ve found a loophole in one of these laws, and it could create scenarios in which entropy – or disorder – actually decreases with time.
Here is an article for more information on this subject:
Scientific “facts” and theories change over time. What is put forth as indisputable fact at one point, in time is disproven and replaced by other “facts” and theories as new information is discovered. The truth is that we do not know all there is to know, and importantly, we do not know what we do not know. We are ignorant of the extent of our ignorance. ~Carolyn Wilson
The Teleological Argument
The argument from DESIGN (Gk. Telos, “end, purpose”).
- All complex design implies a designer.
- There is complex design in the universe.
- Therefore, there must be a Designer of the universe.
William Paley’s watchmaker analogy: In 1802, theologian William Paley stated that if you were to find a watch in an open field, you would naturally conclude that the watch had a designer because of the complexity of the object. The universe is far more complex than a watch, thus it is logical to conclude that the universe had a Designer – God.
Examples from science:
- Design in Biology – DNA. Every cell of our bodies contains DNA. DNA is composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. DNA carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. Human DNA contains as much information as 12 sets of The Encyclopedia Britannica!
- Design in Physics – The fine-tuning of the earth and universe. Earth has been uniquely designed to support human life. The sun and other planets in our galaxy have numerous precise properties that must exist in order for human life to exist. If the Earth were tilted a little more or less, temperatures would vary too much to support life. There are many other factors that if they varied even slightly would preclude life on earth.
The Ontological Argument
The idea of a perfect BEING (Gk. ontos, “reality, being”).
The ontological argument claims that God exists because if he did not exist, he would not be the most perfect being, and if he were not the most perfect being, then he would not be God. What makes the ontological argument unique as an argument for God’s existence is that it is entirely a priori, or an argument from reasoning, and requires no empirical evidence about our world.
Perfect, as Anselm meant it, was a property of something that had been completed. Later it came to mean the absolute best possible.
A priori means relating to or derived by reasoning from self-evident propositions.
The argument says that if we can conceive of God, then God exists, thus it is thus self-contradictory to state that God does not exist. This is a controversial position, and the ontological argument has had both detractors and defenders since its inception.
Many philosophers have attempted to modify Anselm’s ontological argument in light of objections. Contemporary philosopher Alvin Plantinga offers a version of that uses modal logic, which is a collection of formal systems that use the language of necessity and possibility.
The Ontological Argument explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBmAKCvWl74
The Moral Argument
- Moral laws imply a Moral Law Giver.
- There is an objective moral law.
- Therefore, the is a Moral Law Giver.
Objections:
Objection 1: Cultures have different ideas of right and wrong so there must not be objective morality.
Objection 2: Morals are just a matter of personal opinion.
The Moral Argument According to Scripture
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
~Romans 2:12-15
The Argument from Religious Need/EXPERIENCE
This is related to the Anthropological Argument.
Many people claim not to need God and that seems to be true based on how they live. But even many atheists have had experiences and/or made statements that indicate that this is true.
The Anthropological Arguments says that we are created with the need to worship and this is born out by human history.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ~Jeremiah 29:13
Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. ~Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3
The heart is restless until it finds its rest in God. ~St. Augustine
The Argument from Joy (CS Lewis)
If I find that I have a desire for something that nothing in this world can satisfy, that is an indication that I was made for another world.
- Every natural innate desire has a real object that can fulfill it.
- Human beings have a natural, innate desire for immortality.
- Therefore, there must be an immortal life after death.
The Axiological Argument
The argument from making VALUE JUDGMENTS (Gk. axios, “value, worth”).
The Anthropological Argument
(read the Blue Letter Bible doc)
Bibliography
AcademicKids.com. https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Ontological_argument.
AllAboutScience.org. https://www.allaboutscience.org/second-law-of-thermodynamics.htm.
BlueLetterBible.com. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/does-the-god-of-the-bible-exist/07-what-is-the-anthropological-argument-for-gods-existence.cfm.
ColdCaseChristianity.com https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-the-principle-of-causality-points-to-the-existence-of-god/
Crain, Natasha. Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side.
Geisler, Norman. The Big Book of Apologetics.
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.
A Pilgrim's Journey 