“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them? Psalm 8:3-4

Throughout history, philosophers have come up with various arguments for the existence of God that do not involve Scripture. These are evidences, not proofs, for we cannot apply standards of proof to non-material things. What we can do is analyze the evidence we have and believe or disbelieve accordingly.

The cosmological argument states that every effect must have a cause since the natural state of matter is rest. Motion is unnatural. Anytime anything moves there must be something external acting upon it that causes that movement. Thirteenth-century philosopher Thomas Aquinas argued that if we trace every cause and effect back to the beginning of the universe, we must eventually come to a first cause. Like a falling line of dominoes, there must be something that flicked the first domino of the universe, which Christians know to be God.

The teleological argument derives from the fact that there is intricate design in the universe. The world reveals intelligence, order, harmony and purpose. The earth rotates at precisely the right angle at exactly the right distance from the sun with a perfect ratio of gasses in our atmosphere to sustain life. The laws of nature are so finely tuned and the human body so complex that many scientists and researchers agree this cannot be coincidence. It has been suggested that the world existing and operating simply by chance is as likely as a hurricane blowing through a junkyard and leaving behind a fully functioning 747. It is actually far more suspect to believe the universe came into existence by fluke, rather than believing an intelligent creator behind it.

There is also the ontological argument, which states our ability to imagine a God of absolute power and perfection is a strong indicator that such a God exists. The argument goes that we can only conceive of things that exist. We can imagine fictitious creatures like mermaids or unicorns because they are based on things that are: women, fish, horses and horns. But our concept of God, one that is held almost universally across every culture, is not a combination of other realities. No one has ever seen a being of absolute power or perfection, yet we can imagine Him. This suggests God must exist or we would be unable to conceive of Him.

These arguments are not perfect, but taken together, they produce a strong case for the existence of God. If He does not exist, taking a leap into this evidence will do nothing. But if He does exist, there is good reason to look beyond philosophy to learn more about this eternal, intelligent, conceivable Creator who has provided a means through Jesus Christ of receiving eternal life in Him.

PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, I thank You for all the evidence in the world around me of Your existence and for giving me a mind to reason that You must be.