Lesson 2 – Evidences for the Existence of God

“Faith in God is a choice that we make between two alternatives. The river of evidence for
God’s reality runs strong and deep, but its current is not irresistible. Many people do swim
against it, at least for awhile.” (Gary Henry) 1 Alternatives. Choices. Our lives are full of them.
Most, if not all of us in the class, have made a choice to believe in God; more than that, we take a
stand for what we believe. This stand will not be without its costs, yet the rewards are great.
What is it that led us to make this choice? Why do we believe in God?

“According to the principle in logic called the Law of the Excluded Middle, a thing either is, or it
is not. There is no middle ground. Applied to the matter of God – He either does, or does not
exist. A person is driven to one or the other of these conclusions.” 2 What is it that leads to one
of these conclusions? Can the existence of God be proven? Yes. This does not mean God’s
existence can be scientifically demonstrated in the same way a person might prove that a
package of flour weighs five pounds. However, adequate evidence is available to prove
conclusively that God exists. “Legal authorities recognize the validity of a prima facie case. A
prima facie case exists when adequate evidence is available to establish the presumption of a
fact, which, unless such can be refuted, legally stands as a fact. So it is with the existence of
God. There is a vast body of evidence which makes an impregnable case for the existence of
God – a case which simply cannot be refuted.” 3 Let’s present the case.

I. Revelation
• What do Job 11:7 and Isa. 55:8-9 say about our ability to know God?

• How can a person be known? What does this mean: “a person is known as he chooses to be
known”?

God is above us in every way. He is “not obligated to reveal Himself to man. And if He is
pleased to do so, it is for Him alone to determine the content, form, timing, and extent of His
self-disclosure.” 4 So, how has He made Himself known?

• Read Psa. 19:1-14. What are the two themes of this psalm? You might think of these as two
means of revelation. What does each reveal about God?

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God reveals Himself in two ways:
1) General Revelation (or Natural Revelation) – this is what can be known about God from
nature.
2) Special Revelation – this is God’s Revelation of Himself in Scripture.

A. Natural Revelation
We can learn some information about God by
observing that which is around us: this material
universe. As we read in Psa. 19, the heavens
declare His glory. Paul made use of this type of
revelation in two sermons to Gentiles. “The
approach to Jews was to show that Jesus is the
Christ in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies;
the approach to Gentiles was to show that there is
one true God to whom man is accountable.” 5

• Read the two sermons and describe what is

revealed about God: Acts 14:15-17; 17:22-31.

• Paul also argues that certain invisible things about God can clearly be seen by observing
things made (Rom. 1:18-23). What are these invisible things?

Just as Paul made use of Natural Revelation to make his arguments about God, we can do so
today as well. Sometimes this is the only appeal some will listen to, for they reject God’s written
revelation out-of-hand.

B. Special Revelation
Today, this type of revelation is made available to us through the scriptures, but I like to think of
it more generally as through communication. In the beginning, God spoke directly to man (Gen.
1:29-30; 2:16-17; 3:9-19). As time progressed, God spoke only to the patriarchs, and then only
through prophets. God’s self-disclosure culminated in the person of Jesus (Jn. 1:18; 14:7-9) who
was Immanuel (God with us). Finally, God communicated
through the apostles, those with the gifts of prophecy, and
inspired writers.

Only certain things can be learned about God through

Natural Revelation (e.g. that He Is, of His power, of His
divinity). Special Revelation is required to reveal God’s
will for mankind. It is only in this manner that man can
learn of his plight and the need for a redeemer.

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God has chosen to reveal Himself and has done so in two ways. These are not two different
revelations, but two aspects of His revelation. We have two great books to turn to: Nature and
the Bible. In this lesson and the next, we will look at evidences from nature.

II. The Classical Proofs

Proofs for the existence of God have developed over many years. Aristotle developed arguments
for an original First Cause which is Himself uncaused. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274 A.D.) is
probably the most famous originator of philosophical arguments for the existence of God. He
stated that “reason must infer the existence of God from the effect of God in nature.” There were
five arguments of Thomism. These have been modified and added to over the years until several
“classical proofs” were finally developed. These are:

1) The Ontological Argument – We can think of one who is perfect

2) The General Argument – Universal belief in God
3) The Cosmological Argument – The cosmos is an effect produced by an adequate cause
4) The Teleological Argument – Based on the evidence of design in the universe
5) The Moral Argument – There is within man a moral nature
6) The Esthetical Argument – The presence of beauty and sublimity in the universe

We will only discuss some of these in detail. You can find more information about each in
books on Christian evidences. The first we will discuss is the cosmological argument.

III. Cosmological Argument

• Define cosmos (also cosmology)

The cosmological argument addresses the fact that the universe (cosmos) is here and therefore
must be explained in some fashion. It “went from the presence of a cosmos back to a creator of
the cosmos. It sought a rational answer to the question, ‘Why is there something rather than
nothing?’ It sought a sufficient reason for a real world.” 6 “The Universe exists and is real.
Atheists and agnostics not only acknowledge its existence, but admit that it is a grand effect. If
an entity cannot account for its own being (i.e., it is not sufficient to have caused itself), then it is
said to be “contingent” because it is dependent upon something outside of itself to explain its
existence.” 7

This argument is closely tied to the Law of Cause and Effect, which states every material effect
must have an adequate and antecedent cause. Notice what this law says in more detail.
“Material” – anything composed of matter or energy. “Adequate” – an effect is never superior to
in quality, or greater than in quantity, the cause. “Antecedent” – causes occur before the effect.

• Is this law suggested in Heb. 3:4? Explain.

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Even a child understands this fundamental logic. They might ask, “Where did this apple come
from”? After giving them the answer, “from a tree,” they will probe further. “But where did the
tree come from”? And so it goes. The Christian would ultimately respond “God made it.” How
might an atheist respond? They may go into a discussion of evolution and talk about a
succession of transformations by accidents, but finally they come to the point of saying what?
From nothing?

The cosmological argument then asks the

question, what caused the universe? “There
are but three possible answers to this question:
(1) the Universe is eternal; it has always
existed and will always exist; (2) the Universe
is not eternal; rather, it created itself out of
nothing; (3) the Universe is not eternal, and
did not create itself out of nothing; rather, it
was created by something (or Someone)
anterior, and superior, to itself.” 8

The first alternative was proposed years ago

by several evolutionists who developed what
was called the “Steady State Theory.” They A photograph of interstellar gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula
suggested that at points in space, hydrogen captured by the Hubble telescope called the “Pillars of Creation”
was coming into existence from nothing. It was eventually discounted and rejected because of
the first law of thermodynamics: neither matter nor energy may be created or destroyed in
nature. Others who advocated an eternal universe encountered another problem – it violated the
second law of thermodynamics: as energy is employed to perform work, it is transformed from a
usable to a nonusable form. As astronomer Dr. Robert Jastrow stated, “The Universe is running
down like a clock. If it is running down, there must have been a time when it was fully wound
up.” The Universe is “running down” because energy is becoming less available for use.

The second alternative, the universe created itself, has been proposed by some. Yet, there is no
known process whereby matter could fashion itself from nothing. From nothing comes nothing.
For a time, in the 1980’s, the “inflationary model” was proposed and the idea of the universe
evolving from nothing was speculated. Prominent scientists, such as Stephen Hawking,
eventually dismissed this idea.

• Which law of thermodynamics would this idea violate?

So, we come to the third, and only remaining alternative. The universe was created (caused) by
a) something that existed before it did, b) something superior to it, and c) something of a
different nature since the finite, dependent Universe of matter is unable to explain itself! 9

From nothing comes nothing. Think about that statement. In order for something to exist now,
something always had to exist. What was that something? There are only two choices: that
which is mind or that which is material (matter or energy). But the idea of the material being

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eternal has been dismissed. What then is the only conclusion? “Mind” (or Spirit) is eternal.
That Mind is identified and described in the Bible as God. There Is a God!

“The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.” (Ps. 14:1)

“… the doctrine of the one living and true God, Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of the
universe, as it solves so many problems, resolves so many doubts, banishes so many fears,
inspires so many hopes, gives such sublimity to all things, and such spring to all noble powers,
we might presume would, as soon as it was announced, be received by every healthy human
mind.” 10

1
Henry, Gary (2003), Diligently Seeking God, [Indianapolis, IN : Wordpoints], Jan. 12 reading.
2
Thompson, Bert and Jackson, Wayne (1992), A Study Course in Christian Evidences, [Montgomery, AL :
Apologetics Press, Inc.], p. 13.
3
Thompson (1992), p. 14.
4
Jenkins, Ferrell (1989), Introduction to Christian Evidences, [Bowling Green, KY : Guardian of Truth
Foundation], p. 16.
5
Jenkins, p. 17.
6
Sproul, R.C. (1994), Not A Chance [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker], p. 169.
7
Thompson, Bert (1995), “The Case for the Existence of God [Part I]”, [Montgomery, AL : Apologetics Press].
8
Thompson (1995).
9
Thompson (1992), p. 18.
10
Thomson, Edward (1872), Evidences of Revealed Religion, [Cincinnati, Ohio : Hitchcock and Walden], p. 1.

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