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Home::Technology & Science
Arguments for and against...
Author : Terry Dashner
Arguments for and against…
Terry Dashner……………..Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013
I’m going to lay it on the line for you. I’m going to tell you what they say regarding the existence of God. And then I’ll conclude my remarks by telling you what I say about the arguments. So here I go.
I begin with the ancient Greeks.
Aristotle gave us the most systematic expression of the reasons for believing in God. His philosophy, in turn, influenced the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and its greatest theologian—St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas, you might remember, gave us five proofs of God’s existence: Motion—things grow and develop by a hidden hand in nature (God); Causation—one thing causes another until you reach the first cause of all things which is God; Possibility and necessity—things exist in a network of relationships. Everything is dependent on something, except God. Gradation of being—the universe is a pyramid of beings at different levels of perfection. From worms to man to angels to God there is a continuum of creatures. And number five is Governance of the world—design in the universe speaks of a rational, caring, and orderly God.
Thomas’ A Posteriori Proofs (proving God’s existence by external things) stood solid throughout the Middle Ages and into the Reformation, but the 19th century turned things upside down. Philosophers like Hume and Kant tore into the argument of design with a vengeance. Kant affirmed that the most it could prove was that the universe had an architect. To convert the architect into God, a theologian would have to add the ontological argument. Later on scientists began attacking it. Scientists claimed that the design in the universe is appearance but not reality and make their appeal to Darwin or evolution. They concede that the hands and eyes of man are engineering marvels but emphatically claim that they are the products of millions of years of evolution.
But Darwinism isn’t every scientist’s rave. Evolution is refuted by the biologists who say that there isn’t enough time for evolution to take place by purely natural or chance factors within the two billion years that life is supposed to have existed on the earth. It takes greater faith then the theologian’s to believe that a bucket of dirt can evolve into a horse in a matter of ages. Then again the evolutionists counter: The giraffe must grow a long neck to reach the leaves he feeds on; the deer must develop long slender legs for running faster than his predator. These intra related connections speak of survival and adaptation of the fittest. But on the other hand, in cosmic teleology no such connections exist. Evolution fails again. There is no necessary connection between the distance of the earth from the sun and the amount of nitrogen on the surface of the earth. Again, to resort to probability or chance variation to produce these conditions calls for a greater miracle and a greater act of faith than believing in God (Bernard L. Ramm, A Christian Appeal to Reason, World Books Publishers 1972).
And then there is the A Priori Proofs (proving God’s existence by internal things—innate knowing that God exists). Some have said that God’s existence is an innate idea. Augustine and Calvin taught this. Augustine said that God is continuously putting pressure on man. Man’s sense of finitude is a way in which God impresses Himself upon man. But then again, the British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), vigorously attacked the notion of man having any kind or innate, a priori knowledge (Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690). Time does not afford me the opportunity to list the other internal proofs of God’s existence. But take my word for it. For every one stated positively, there is also a thunderous refutation.
Now let me tell you what I think about this. I think we are missing the boat when we focus on proving the existence of God by human intellect alone. I think the argument should change directions. I think Professor Ramm states it well. He writes, “The whole weight of the Biblical view of God is in another direction. Scripture is not a record of how man finds God but how God finds man. The point of departure in Scripture is not how man infers or proves that God exists by either a logically organized proof or an unusual experience but that it is God who breaks into man and lets Himself be known” (Bernard L. Ramm, page 101). Hence, the key expression in Holy Scripture would not be proof of the existence of God but the true knowledge of God or the reality of God. The Bible doesn’t waste time trying to prove God’s existence through logic but declares His existence in the opening verse—“In the Beginning God…” From that point on the Scriptures demonstrate the Living God who invades human history and reveals Himself to man. God comes looking for man and not the other way around.
I don’t have to wrestle with proving God’s existence. I don’t understand many of the existential arguments anyway. Most of them give me a headache, trying to follow along. But here is the good news. God doesn’t expect me with my finite brain to understand His infinite ways. He comes searching for me. He gives me His own Spirit with which to hear His voice and respond by faith. God comes looking for me. God reveals Himself in the way He wants to be discovered. He initiates the process. I get to enjoy the relationship through Jesus Christ His Son.
It’s simply faith—that’s what God wants from me. He lives. His Life makes the difference. I don’t need a “philosophy” of religion when I can have a relationship in Jesus, the True Vine. How about you? Are you relating and abiding in the Vine?
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon.
Pastor T. dash…
About the Author
Pastors a small church. Related articles
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