God – Part Five

The law of design demands there to be a God. Simply stated, where there is design there must be a designer. Observe a watch. An elemental observation reveals it does specific things exactly. It was designed by a designer to do them. Expand the principle and observe the universe. There is an obvious design to it. Where there is design there has to be a designer.

Biology is brimming with observable laws of science. Where there is a law there must be a law giver.

The Apostle John in writing about Jesus opened his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Dr. Robert Jastrow, one of the world’s greatest astronomers, in his book “God and the Astronomers” notes one of the most outstanding discoveries of modern astronomy is the universe had a beginning. That requires a “Beginner.” He said it is as though, “The scientist has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak, and as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1: 1)

All of His planning and creating pales in light of His planning for us a way to enjoy eternity. Following is His plan.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3: 16, 17)

God, the creator became God the created in a stall in Bethlehem. To understand Him as the God/man-man/God requires deep thought. He was Immanuel, God with us. In the cradle in Bethlehem that little baby was God breathing air, God whimpering and crying, God cooing, and God smiling. He was God incarnate, God in flesh and blood.

The babe of Bethlehem made the straw on which He lay. He, in eternity leaned on the chest of His Father without any mother, in time leaned on the breast of His mother without any father. He was as old as His Father and eons older than His mother. He was Immanuel, God with us.

Of that birth Isaiah the prophet wrote: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given….” (Isaiah 8: 6)

The child was Mary’s baby. The Son was God’s only begotten. He was God incarnate, that is, God in flesh. That is a miracle far more miraculous than any of the scientific ones.

This was done in order that He, the innocent one, might give His life for us the guilty ones. In order that whosoever believes in Him enough to make Him their Lord and Master might be saved and enjoy eternity with Him. That is God at His best.

God – Part Four

Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand all about God. No one ever has. If we could we would be as great as He and that would dramatically diminish Him.

Though we do not fully understand Him we can know Him. Some of His attributes help us to know Him.

One of the most mystifying aspects about God is where He is. 

His center is everywhere, His circumference is nowhere.

He is present in each event, though His presence is not quite the same as the presence of physical beings. God does not have a body; He is immaterial.  He is the ultimate spirit being.

His omnipresence means He is all present. It enables Him to be present with all of us at all times. That defies our imagination.

There is no science that enables us to be in more than one space at the time.

The fact we can be at only one place at a time makes it all the more challenging for us  to conceive of God as being at all places at one time.

God being all present at all times means nothing escapes His notice. The Psalmist confirms this, “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I escape from your presence?” (Psalm 139: 7 – 18) Though we cannot look on the face of God He continually looks upon each of us. It means you are never alone.

Some people can amazingly multitask, that is do several things at one time. God is the ultimate multitasker.

He can give personal attention to every person at once.

God is not spatially limited. We categorize everything along a timeline: past, present, and future. God is eternal. He always has been and always will be. With Him there is no time He is the creator of all things and will be the consummation of all things. He is the beginning and will be the ultimate end.

God’s omnipresence is not just a theory. It is a foundational truth of redemption. Although we have sinned and deserve God’s judgment, God comes to His faithful people and declares to them “I will be with you.” This means that God is here, wherever we are, but also that God is on our side. He is with us, not to destroy us, but to forgive and to save us from sin.

Historically God came to us physically in the person of Jesus to declare and demonstrate His presence, power, and love.

If you can’t fully comprehend His omnipresence, rejoice. If you could you would be as great as He and that would not be good. Conversely, He would be equal to you and that would not be good either.

Because God is omnipresent, you and I are never alone. Jesus Christ promises to be with us always and everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20).

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Proverbs 15: 3) Thus, He knows when you have a need. Call on Him.

God – Part Three

Design argues–there is a God.  Where there is design there must be a designer.  A watch operates by design.  Logically it can be concluded there was a designer of the watch.  The earth operates by design, the rotation and tilt of the earth causes the seasons showing design.  Earth is tilted 23 degrees. This allows a turning, allowing all parts exposure to the sun. If there were no tilt the poles would accumulate masses of ice and the center part become unbearably hot and life impossible. This operates by design. Therefore, there must be a Designer.

The authors of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” offer an argument for the existence that goes something like this.

A young boy wakes up one morning and goes down for breakfast to find his mom has left for work. He notices on the breakfast table a box of cereal has fallen over and pieces have spelled out on the table reading, “God loves you.” He assumes when the box fell over, the cereal formed the design.

He hurried down to the beach in hopes of seeing a girl named Sue he liked. There in the sand was drawn a large heart with an arrow through it and the message “Sue loves John.”  He assumed the waves just washed up and made it.

Looking up he sees puffy white clouds spelling, “Eat More Chicken.” Immediately he assumes the wind blew them in such a design.

It never occurred to him the message on the table had a design and his mom must have designed it.

The message in the sand had a design. Sue and John must have designed it.

The message in the sky had a design. There must be a designer. Sure enough, there is nearby a skywriting plane.

All of the effects had design. That required a Designer.

All the designs in the universe have a Designer.

Law is an evidence.  Where there is a law such as the 55 mile speed limit, there must be a lawmaker.  There are laws of science at work in the universe; thus, there must be a Lawmaker. The existence of law evidences His existence.

Without Him there can be no binding moral law, no absolutes.  There can be subjective law, laws made by individuals, but no objective law, law made by an objective source, God. Subjective law allows for every individual to make his or her own standard law. Where individuals set all the law there are no absolutes. Hence, man is god.

Evil, such as the holocaust, is absolute. Everyone agrees such is evil. For there to be such an absolute law there must be an object, God, who established the standard.

However, if morality is merely subjective, then moral choices are simply personal preferences. For example one likes war, one likes peace, one likes hate, and one likes love. However objective law requires an object, God who sets the standard.

Love, mercy, optimism, hate, and hope can’t be put in a test tube and proven by scientific method; but by faith we believe in them.

The law of cause and effect argues for the existence of God.  For every effect there must be an equal or greater cause.  The effect is the universe, the cause has to be greater…. He is.

Scientists concur that the universe is running down. This is known as the law of entropy. If it is not self-sustaining, neither was it self-creating. It has a beginning. The answer, “In the beginning God….”

Anthropology reveals a universal God consciousness among all people. Yet, there are some people who do not believe in God. People in general do, however. Their disbelief doesn’t discredit the general rule of God consciousness, any more than the fact that some people have only one leg disproves the general principle that people have two legs.

God – Part Two

The teleological argument for the existence of God, comes from the word “telos” meaning “the end.” It argues everything has an end, a purpose. Amidst the marvels of science indicating order is the human brain. Sir Henry Fairfield Osborn said, “…the human brain is the most mysterious object in the universe.” The human brain weighs approximately 3.3 pounds. It can perform what 500 tons of electrical and electronic equipment cannot do. It consists of 10 to 15 billion neurons, each a living unit in itself. Together they perform unimaginable feats.

Yet, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” (Romans 1: 28)

To believe in Him is good, but not good enough. We must obey Him.

God has given us clues of His existence, but still He can’t be proven by scientific method.  This is simply true because history can’t be rerun. However, His fingerprints are everywhere.

To say there is a God and not obey Him is little better than saying there is no God. Only when you can say, “He is my God and I love Him, and seek to obey Him” is there a difference. Then, “Keep seeking the things above… set your mind on things above; not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:12)

Faith is not static, it is growing and vibrant. Knowledge of the word of God is a stimulant to faith. Knowing more of what God promotes and provides is an encouragement to faith. A blend of knowledge with experience is a catalyst to faith. God becomes more trustworthy when trusted.

Likewise, it should be kept in mind that one of the laws of logic is that you can’t prove a negative. Start with the question regarding the existence of God. Non-believers should start by asking themselves what percentage of all knowledge they considered themselves to have: 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or maybe 98%. It just might be that 10% would be high for most folks. Could there be that in the unknown 90% there just might be a God? You don’t know what you don’t know, you know. Thus, to prove there is no God, you would have to be greater than and know more than God.  Then you would be god; and therefore, there would be a god — you. That is what some people make of themselves.

Therefore, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15: 13)

God – Part One

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God….’” (Psalm 53: 1)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1: 1)

You don’t know what you don’t know, you know.

In one generation, Americans doubting the existence of God has doubled from 31% to 61%. Two-thirds of Millennials question His existence. Most churches teach from the basic assumption He exists, and are offering little evidence He does. This leaves God with few advocates. It is expedient evidence of His existence be taught. This is a rerun of eight Posts on the subject. Consider saving all of them. Also, share them with younger persons to aid their understanding in order to refute teachings that He does not exist.

Persons who have a viable faith in God that governs their life are often criticized. Pragmatists demand proof before action. Yet, they will drive 75 miles an hour in heavy traffic and they have no proof their brakes will work the next time applied. That takes faith.

The first form of elemental faith is simply belief that “He is….” This is the starting point for all Christian faith.

Pierre Simon de La Place, considered one of the most outstanding astronomers, said it was infinitely more probable that a set of writing implements thrown promiscuously against parchment would produce Homer’s “Iliad,” than that creation was organized by any cause other than God. The effect, the universe, demands a cause, God.

One of the most outstanding writings on science is entitled “Cosmos, Bios and Theos” in English it is “The Universe, Life, and God.” It is a compilation of the writings of sixty notable scientists, twenty-four were Nobel prize winners. Nobel prize winner Professor Henry Margenau was the editor. He concluded that “there is only one convincing answer” for the intricate laws that exist in nature. He concluded the answer is “creation by an omnipotent omniscient God.”

Indeed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Psalm 19: 1)

The cosmological argument for the existence of God is viable. Cosmos means “universe.”  It speaks of “order and beauty.” Consider the beauty and function of our moon. Without our moon life on earth would be impossible. If the moon were deflected from its orbit all life on earth would cease. God has made the moon to serve as an orderly to clean land and seas. Without the tides which are controlled by the moon all of our ports and shores would become vast cesspools. Life could not exist near them. The waves breaking on shores serve to aerate the oceans providing oxygen for plankton, which is the foundation of the food chain of earth. Without plankton there would be no oxygen and life would be impossible.

God created the moon the right size and placed it the proper distance from earth, making life possible. It’s a wonderful earth – – – and moon. It is an all wise, all powerful God.