“For in Him we live and move and have our being …” (Acts 17:28a).
Is there any objective evidence that God exists? This question has been debated for centuries. Some reject the traditional arguments for the existence of God, saying the logic is faulty. Some say that even if God’s existence can be proven rationally, this would undermine faith. Whereas others say even if such an assertion can be proven, reason can only produce an abstract God that has no resemblance to the God of Scripture.
Despite these protestations, we must face the fact that we live in an age of unparalleled skepticism of the Christian faith. Many believe that if God’s existence can be disproven, Christianity will fall. Of course, the truth of Christianity does not depend on the views of the skeptics. The existence of God can be proven without a doubt. His existence as the Creator and the first cause of the universe is one and the same with the God revealed in Genesis as the self-existent being who brought the world into existence.
In short, if something exists now, something exists necessarily. Something must have the power of being, of existence, within itself. That “something” is God. If something exists now (and it does), there was never a time when nothing existed, for nothing can’t produce something. If there was a time when nothing existed, nothing would exist now. Therefore, there must be a self-existent being from which everything derives its existence.
When trying to explain the universe’s existence three views are put forth: 1) The universe is self-created. This is irrational because something cannot create itself—this would presuppose existence. 2) The universe is self-existent. This option is not valid because something that is self-existent must be eternal and unchangeable. Matter is changeable and therefore not eternal. But those who propose this argument say there is an energy, or something, that has the power of being in itself, giving existence to all things. Christians respond to this argument, saying that “something” is God.
Thus 3) The universe is created by a self-existent being. This, of course, is the Christian view. God is the source of all existence. The third proposition stands. In the beginning was God, the first cause of all creation.
Does the use of arguments to prove the existence of God undermine Scripture in any way? What is the purpose of using such syllogisms to prove God’s existence? Does this undermine faith? What is your response to people who deny God’s existence?
