Does God exist, or is He merely a fable? Is He, as Ludwig Feuerbach argued, merely the projection of human imagination? The question of God's existence is the most important question that we can ask. This is true because our eternal destiny hinges on the answer to that question.
There are a number of valid arguments for the existence of God. These include: Pascal's Wager, the teleological argument, and the cosmological argument. We will discuss each of these arguments. However, the bottom line is that we know that God exists because He has revealed Himself. He has revealed Himself through His creation (Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:18-24), our Conscience (Romans 2:14-15), miraculous experiences (Exodus 14:21-28, Joshua 6:20, John 6:1-13, John 11:38-41 and the many lives changed by the power of the Gospel), and through His Son (Matthew 1:23, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3). Now, let us look at the arguments for God's existence that have been developed by various philosophers. These arguments are very powerful, and they will stand up to the evidence.
The first argument we want to present is Pascal's Wager. Pascal was a renowned French mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and theologian who lived from 1623-1662. Pascal's Wager merely states that while it cannot be proven with absolute certainty that God exists, it is prudent to believe in God. Our current life, and maybe our future destiny, depends on whether or not we believe in God's existence. Pascal reasoned that by believing in God, you have everything to gain (eternal life) and nothing to lose. However, by not believing in God, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose (your eternal soul). He therefore reasoned that with all this at stake, the better wager is on God's existence.
The second argument we want to present is that the statement God does not exist is illogical. It involves a logical fallacy known as a universal negative. In order to make this statement, a person would have to be omniscient and omnipresent. In other words a person would have to himself/herself be god to make the statement that there is no God (Maybe God is in a form that we cannot discern or maybe He is in a location in the universe that we are not aware even exists. While you are in Detroit, maybe God is in Tokyo; or while you are in Tokyo, maybe He is in New York; or while you are in New York, maybe He is on the moon; or while you are on the moon, maybe He is on Pluto, etc.) Therefore, the argument is logically indefensible.
The third argument we want to present is the teleological argument. This argument reasons that due to the complexity of the universe, an intelligent designer is required. For example, the human brain is the most complex mechanism in the known universe according to scientists. It contains enough information for at least 20 million volumes. Another example of the complexity of the universe is the DNA molecule which is estimated to contain as much information as one volume of an encyclopedia. The probability of forming a single protein molecule by random processes would take approximately 10 to the 257 power years. That is a 1 with 257 zeroes behind it. The probability of forming a single cell by random processes would take around 10 to the 119,000 power years. On top of this, for life to exist there has to be a code a code could only come from an intelligent creator.
The final argument that we want to present is the Cosmological Argument or the argument from the cosmos. There are five possible explanations for the existence of the universe. (REMEMBER: *** IF ANYTHING NOW EXISTS, THEN SOMETHING MUST BE ETERNAL, OR SOMETHING NOT ETERNAL EMERGED FROM NOTHING!!) The five possible explanations are:
1. The universe is an illusion (called solipsism)
a. This possibility violates common sense and experience.
b. Predictability of weather and comet movement disproves this one.
c. Remind the individual who brings up this argument what they do to individuals who talk to people who don't exist. The very fact that they are talking to you proves that they do not fully believe this argument themselves.
d. Full blown solipsist looks both ways before crossing the street.
2. The universe created itself.
a. This argument also violates common sense.
b. This violates the law of noncontradiction. An object or entity cannot exist and not exist at the same time. The universe would have had to exist before it was created.
3. The universe sprang from nothing and by nothing (Big Bang theory).
a. This is the view that most evolutionists have historically held.
b. This argument also violates reason and common sense.
c. Violates a scientific law called the First Law of Thermodynamics (law of conservation) which states that from nothing comes nothing. An effect can be no greater than its cause.
d. Even apart from the above law, there is no scientific evidence to support this view.
e. Same as believing that an abridged dictionary can be created by an explosion in a print shop.
4. The universe is eternal (Hoyle's Steady State Theory).
a. This violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics which states that the universe is burning itself out. The amount of usable energy is decreasing.
b. If this argument were true, the universe would have died a heat-loss death an eternity ago.
5. The universe was created by Someone or something greater than itself.
a. This is the only rational explanation for the universe's existence (scientific or otherwise).
b. Only a personal God can account for human personality, thought and morality.