The Existance of God

Philosophos: You mentioned a moment ago that you define yourself as a Christian and you know that I consider myself one as well. This faith of ours has already largely shaped our discussion and it will continue to influence the things we talk about, so before we go any further I want you to briefly explain to me why it is that you are a Christian.

Nomodiphas: Ok. First off belief in God is rational. The world operates in cause and effect. We cannot have an infinite regress of causes, there must be some being or something that is causa sui. The law of cause and effect requires a first mover.

Philosophos: You are talking about God in the abstract, a being that is a cause in itself and the first mover of all else?

Nomodiphas: Exactly. People talk about the big bang as the cause of our universe, but from where did the material needed for the big bang originate? Did it create itself, or was there some force outside of it that created it? Though I talk of the big bang I don’t even believe in the big bang. My point is that even using the arguments of atheists, there needs to be some uncreated source; something that has it’s being in itself alone. In every conception of the universe there is a God concept—there is always the notion of something beyond time and the laws of nature that produced life in the universe. Atheists think this was eternal, unthinking matter that randomly produced an ordered universe with thinking creatures. I think it was the eternal, thinking God that created this ordered universe and gave man the capacity to think.

I also believe in universal, eternal truths. Take math for example. The angles of a triangle will always equal 180 degrees. This is true in any possible time or universe. It is a necessary truth. Because there are eternal truths, we can infer that there is an eternal mind that knows these truths. The eternal mind is, of course, God.

Philosophos: Is that all?

Nomodiphas: No, I have one more reason. Science shows us that order never comes from chaos. Order can and does descend into chaos, but chaos never, ever creates order. This is why I think the big bang and the whole of the modern theory of evolution is nonsense. The theory is totally contrary to science. Throughout the world we see order. Look at the different biomes, plant and animal life, look at the cosmos. Everything is ordered. As time goes on things fall apart, order denigrates into chaos, and plants and animals go extinct. We know of thousands of extinct or endangered plants and animals, but we have never documented a newly evolved species. This shows that the world once was perfectly ordered, but as times goes on disorder continues to set in. When you see order it is logical to assume that there is one who designed and ordered it, it is completely illogical to assume that order and design came out of a chaotic jumble. Think of a man finding a watch in the middle of the forest. What would be more logical: to assume the watch is some haphazard, random product of nature or to assume that because there is a well ordered watch there must be an intelligent watch maker who made the watch? Any rational man would choose the latter, but atheists in an attempt to live free of God’s laws irrationally choose the former.

Philosophos: I am really glad and proud to see that you have read Aristotle, Plato, and Boyle. It is good that you have pondered the existence of God through a number of different frameworks; however, I want to know why you, as an individual, believe in God.

Nomodiphas: Well, these men are much smarter than I am and I believe that their arguments prove the existence . . .

Philosophos: No, no one can ever prove God. We can state rational arguments that support the idea of His existence, but to believe in His existence is still an act of faith. I hope you have reason to believe in God outside of these abstract theories. I hope the God in whom you put your faith in is more than just an eternal mind or some first mover or a grand architect. I don’t want to hear anything more about God in the abstract. I don’t want you to repeat to me something from the meditations of Descartes or a reworking of Pascal’s wager; I want to hear something from you.

Nomodiphas: I feel my thoughts sound simple and dumb when compared to the wisdom of others.

Philosophos: I didn’t ask you how you felt about your thoughts, I asked you what they are, now answer my question.

Nomodiphas: Well God, as described in the Bible, is exactly the way I would expect God to be. That is why I believe in Him. . . . Does that make sense?

Philosophos: Not really, keep going.

Nomodiphas: I was thinking some time back, if I had never heard of God or knew anything about Him, what would I think He would be like? I would expect Him to be all powerful and all knowing of course. But I would also expect a perfect being to be all good as well. I would expect God to have created people for a purpose. Not to simply entertain God but to. . . . What is the deepest desire of all humans? Is it not to know others fully, to be known by others fully and from this place to love and be loved completely? The Bible says we are made in the image of God, by this I assume that it is God’s deepest desire to know and be known by others and to love and be loved from this place of full knowledge. This is the reason He created humans. I don’t just know this in the abstract, but this is the way God works in my life. I believe God is constantly drawing me into deeper relationship with Him, showing Himself more fully to me, wanting me to be more open and honest with Him, all the while reassuring me of His infinite love for me and His desire that I love him more fully. This is ultimately why I believe in God. Not because some guy made an equation that proved the existence of God, but because God is real and alive and active in my life.

Philosophos: This is good to hear. Belief in an abstract God will only carry you so far. Someone can always talk you out of a clever argument with an even more clever argument, but no one but yourself can convince you that someone you know and love and live in relationships with is not real. I know that you not only believe in God, but you know there is a God, and that is very important for our conversation. Your knowledge of God is essential when conceiving how government should function, for God is the only rational explanation of ethics. Without God we are merely an arbitrary collection of atoms and electrons. But what moral obligation does one arbitrary collection of atoms and electrons owe to another arbitrary collection of atoms and electrons? Evolution leaves men with no value and men need to have value for ethics to exist. The only way men may have value is in comparison to an absolute measure. That absolute measure is God.