Is there a God?
Is there a God?
The word God conjures up different things to different people. Those from a Christian, Islamic or Jewish background may think of a monotheistic God. Others from pantheistic religions such as Hinduism may see God more as a divine force or otherwise.
If you’re asking this question then you’re not alone. Human beings have been exploring the idea of God pretty much forever. The reasons for that are obvious because if God is real then it has a profound impact on why we are here and who we are.
Before we can answer which God is real (logic tells us they can’t all be), we must deal with the idea that there may be no sort of God at all. This is typically classified as atheism.
Atheism is the lack of belief in gods (including God)
Our easiest starting point to address atheism is to understand where life came from. Note that we can use many words to also describe ‘life’ such as the universe, nature and so on. This is a question of linguistics but doesn’t change the outcome of the question.
There are two possible answers:
- Life created itself
- Life was created by something greater than it
We can see that both of these two options actually lead back to some form of God. If anything could create itself (it can’t), it could only be explained by some sort of divine. But even then falls short as a conceptual impossibility.
And if life was created by something greater than it, this is by definition something outside of nature, specifically divine.
What the Bible says about atheism
We find therefore that the position of atheism is best matched to the one described in the Bible.
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, 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.
Romans 1:19-21
Our lack of belief in God does not hold up for very long at all under a proper philosophical discussion because it derives from the unwillingness to acknowledge God for what he has done. For if there can be no God then we need not acknowledge what he has to say. In rejecting the idea of God, ironically we ourselves become gods (philosophically speaking).
Is there a God?
Most definitely. But now begins the better question, who is God?
You might also like this article: Did God Use Evolution?
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How did the universe begin?
How did the universe begin?
The Big Bang Theory is the idea that the universe began as a single point and has been expanding out ever since. The Bible also aligns with this perspective, telling us the following.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
You will be quick to realise of course that scientific consensus makes no note of the Christian God being the source of the big bang. But the Big Bang Theory does bring with it a worldview that includes the idea of God. Let’s examine why.
Nothing can create itself
We’re all aware of the reality that nothing has the ability to bring itself life. Living beings (such as a parents) are able to bring the next generation into existence. And through the wonders of science and human knowledge, we can play with some of the parameters of life itself. But no one can bring themselves into existence, no more than an egg can lay itself.
So Nature (aka the universe) could not have brought itself into existence. It is a conceptual impossibility.
If Nature did not create itself then the only other answer is that it has always existed. If we assert that Nature has always existed then surely in some sense we are simply stating that Nature is a form of God.
Of course, not directly or necessarily the Christian God. But something divinely powerful that has the ability to bring forth life in such volume and wonder? What other word could we use?
The naturalistic worldview does not remove God, it simply designates Nature as God.
What do we know about Nature as God?
If Nature is God then it must be a very bad one, even evil. All of the world’s atrocities, pains, wars, genocides, murders, abuses and so on have taken place as a result of Nature.
How can we expect justice, peace or comfort at the hand of such a merciless monster of affliction? We cannot.
And yet in a strange twist of events, Nature also has the capacity for great beauty. The wonder of the sun and the sea. The delight of good food, friendship and music. And of course sex. The list goes on and on.
Nature behaves more like a broken vehicle than a divine being
This strange mix of both beauty and brokenness makes no sense from a naturalistic point of view. The only way we can get around this philosophical constraint if we abandon all sense of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Then we can say that these categories are meaningless and arbitrary and Nature itself is neither good or evil. And yet most naturalists are kind, wonderful and generous souls. Perhaps they betray their Christian roots.
What is the Christian worldview of the universe?
The Bible tells us that Nature did not bring itself into existence (a purely nonsensical notion) nor did it always exist but that Nature was created by a Supernature we call God.
God has always existed and nothing created him just as we supposed with Nature earlier. But this is what we should expect to find with a divine Supernature such as God.
How do we explain good and evil with God?
God created Nature and it was good. He also created man to take care of Nature. Man rebelled against God and caused Nature to become spoilt and broken. The rest of the story is about God himself coming in the form of a man to deal with the mess and to offer a means of redemption.
This is the good news about Jesus.
You might also like our article: Did God Use Evolution?
Enjoy this article? Check out our latest video content on YouTube
Did God use evolution?
Did God Use Evolution?
It is now commonly accepted in western culture that humans are the product of evolution. The idea is that all life (including humans) have evolved from simpler forms of life over the course of a very long period of time.
Let’s start by asking the following question.
How does the Bible explain the origin of human beings?
The Bible account in the book of Genesis tells us that God created the first human beings directly himself.
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:7-8 (ESV)
If we are to take this account literally and on face value then the theory of evolution appears to be incompatible. For the Christian, God directly breathed life into man and formed him.
This of course creates some problems with navigating the culture that we live in because evolution is commonly accepted.
What are the implications of the Biblical account?
We are then faced with the possible options:
- The Bible is not accurate or reliable. We might as well not bother following Jesus at all then.
- Evolution did not take place.
- Genesis is describing events that are taking place metaphorically not literally.
The latter option seems unlikely and most likely comes from our desire to fit in with our peers but we’ll consider it as a possible option for now.
A footnote on adaptation
It’s worth noting that the Biblical view in Genesis is completely compatible with the idea of adaptation (gradual mutation within a species) but rejects the idea that a species could become something else entirely (e.g. evolution asserts human beings have evolved from apes).
Could God have used evolution to create humans?
Let’s pursue the possibility that our final option is correct and the events of creation described by the Bible are not literal.
Even still, the theory of evolution remains thoroughly incompatible with central Christian doctrine. Here’s why.
Evolution says death isn’t the result of sin
Evolution necessarily requires death in abundance to work. Mutation theoretically occurs over millions of generational iterations. This means that death was already present in the earth before the creation of man.
But we know from the rest of scripture that sin is a result of man’s disobedience to God. And the wages of sin are death. Therefore sin didn’t cause death and who could blame us for sinning if we are a product of death itself?
This also has huge implications on the nature of God.
Evolution says God is evil
If God used evolution to create man then God used the deaths of countless generations of pre-human species to do so. Not only does this mean that God is the author of death but it also raises huge ethical questions around these previous generations.
God is good therefore he cannot do anything evil. Now that sin and death is in the world, God uses it (think Jesus on the cross) to redeem humanity. But he is not the originator of it. Yet evolution implies he is.
Evolution has moral implications
There have been many periods of history when a group of human beings (usually identified by race) have been treated as sub-human. Yet this is the inescapable conclusion of the theory of evolution. When we consider those previous generations of pre-human life, at which point did they become human beings, made in the image of God?
God did not use evolution to create human beings
Although it’s tempting to try to fit the culture we live in by asserting God could have used evolution, it’s clear to see that the Bible teaching is directly contradictory to the theory of evolution.
Interested in finding out more about the philosophy of a Christian worldview? Watch this teaching that explains why evolution cannot be true here.