I am addressing questions posed by members of Austin International Fellowship. Today will be only a partial answer to the question.
Q: Proof that God exists.
A: That’s a broad question, and the answer to it depends on what you mean by “proof.” Let me explain. Personally, I believe I have proof that my wife loves me, but if someone doubted my wife’s love, I don’t think I could prove to him that she loves me. The skeptic could always say that my wife’s words, gifts and actions had some other explanation. I would, thus, have sufficient proof for me but not for everyone else. In that sense, the skeptic always has an out.
For this reason, I don’t like the word “proof.” It has more than one meaning, and if you take the strictest meaning, then you can prove practically nothing, including things most people take for granted. For example, most people believe there is good proof that the Holocaust happened, but some people deny this. To them, proof is lacking. Now obviously the Holocaust happened, but I’m not likely going to prove it to the deniers. Therefore, instead of “proof that God exists” let’s talk about reasonable evidence. Is it reasonable to believe that God exists?
Yes. A thousand times yes. Intelligent, rational people have believed in God’s existence for thousands of years, and they will continue to do so for thousands more. Why? Is it because they are deluded? Or is there reasonable evidence that points to God? I believe there is reasonable evidence that points to God. So let me briefly give some of that evidence. Nothing I say will be new, and nothing I say will be a proof in the strictest sense. The skeptic will always have an out, but I don’t believe anyone can say these reasons are unreasonable. For purposes of space, I will stick to the main arguments and leave alone all the objections and answers to the objections.
The Existence of the Universe
The universe either began or it didn’t. Most scientists today say that the universe began. They date its beginning at about 13.8 billion years ago. Common sense tells us that the universe began, for every other physical thing we see had a beginning.
Once you grant that the universe had a beginning, you need to ask what caused it. This is crucial, for everything that begins has a cause outside itself. This is also common sense. A thing cannot cause itself to exist, for if it causes itself to exist, it already exists before it causes itself to exist. This is obvious nonsense. Therefore, the beginning of the universe had a cause outside the universe. It is rather silly to say that the universe popped into existence on its own.
What then caused the universe? Since the universe can’t create itself, it follows that something with immense power must have existed outside the universe and prior to the universe. Logic and common sense are now starting to point us in the direction of God. This argument is not a strict proof, mind you, but the explanation of God is an extremely reasonable inference from the data. No one can say you are irrational for believing that God caused the universe to begin. That explanation actually makes sense.
Apparent Design in the Universe
William Paley gave the most famous rendition of the argument from design. He said that if you take a walk and see a watch lying on the ground, you immediately assume a watchmaker. You do not think that all of those working parts just randomly flew together and presto, a watch. He then said that the universe we see is like a watch with many intricate parts, organized and working together. He concluded that the best inference from the data is that the universe has a watchmaker. Paley’s argument still stands today because it has an immense common sense approach to data. It is intuitively persuasive. Even if you disagree with him, you still see the power of the argument.
The idea that the universe looks designed is not at all unreasonable. Richard Dawkins, one of the most outspoken atheists on the planet today, said this: “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” The Blind Watchmaker, p. 1. In other words, one of the staunchest opponents of the design argument admits that the universe does indeed look designed.
Ok. We say, simply, that if the universe looks designed, maybe it is. Is that unreasonable? The coding in DNA seems to suggest a coder. The intricacies in the neurological system, the complexity of the single cell, the mathematical precision of the movements of the heavens, all these and more seem to point to design. In fact, if the universe looks designed, the most reasonable position is to assume design unless you have strong evidence against it. The nature of the universe, thus, puts the burden of proof squarely on those who deny design.
One of the ironies of arguments against design is that they never eliminate design as an explanation. Arguments against design say that the appearance of design comes not from a designer but from random actions and natural laws and processes. The problem is that these random actions cannot produce anything resembling design without the presence of natural laws and processes, and those laws and processes have the appearance of design.
If you want to get into the science more, I suggest exploring the scientific arguments surrounding the theory of intelligent design. Read both sides. For proponents of intelligent design try Stephen Meyer Signature in the Cell or Darwin’s Doubt, Douglas Axe Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life is Designed, Michael Denton Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, or Michael Behe Darwin’s Black Box. For the critics read Michael Shermer Why Darwin Matters, Niall Shanks God, the Devil, and Darwin: A Critique of Intelligent Design, or Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker. If you don’t have time to read entire books, try listening to a debate between Stephen Meyer and one of his critics. You’ll get to hear both sides in about an hour. You can access these debates on Youtube or elsewhere online. Just search for them.
I think you will find that the idea of design has some substantial scientific backing.
