Two Arguments Why the Believe in God is Rational
There are many reasons why people believe in God, least of which should be emotional justifications or ‘blind faith’. Are there good rational reasons to believe in God? The two reasons why I believe in God is firstly, my personal experiences of His love and presence and the profound changes that took place in my life that far exceeds mere emotional experiences and secondly, confirming my experiences, the good evidence for His existence. The radical change that took place in my heart was not from a rational decision but in response to an overwhelming Love that became rational. www.torquetalk.nl
Not regarding emotional convictions and beliefs, or ‘blind faith’, or any individualistic subjective experiences of the love of God and of His presence, what are rational arguments to believe in God?
Some of the arguments reasoning for the existence of God are:
- The evidence from what exists, from what we observe (Romans 1:20*); the impossibility of an eternal universe and the evidence for a finite beginning. Secondly, the design argument (the laws, the order and fine-tuning we observe in nature pointing to a mind behind it), and the information represented in DNA (again pointing to a mind – if you read the letters/information in a book you know there is a mind behind it). 2. The absurdity of life without God if the universe and humans are just the product of time + matter + chance (atheistic/materialistic view) and everything, man and the cosmos, will end up in death, it eliminates any possibility of any ultimate meaning in existence. 3. No objective morality possible in the absence of a moral Lawgiver. 4. The reliability of the Gospel manuscripts. 5. Evidence for the resurrection.
Discussion of Two of the Arguments why the Believe in God is Rational
I. Arguments for the Existence of God; The Beginning of the Universe and Design.
We exist in a universe that exists. Has it always been there, always existed, and we happen to find ourselves in this eternal universe? Atheist Bertrand Russell; ‘The universe is just there and that’s all’
But there is no evidence for an eternal universe, rather there is evidence for the universe with a finite beginning: 1. The philosophical argument: If the universe had no beginning, reaching the present moment would require crossing an actual infinite number of moments, crossing actual infinity, and the present moment would have never arrived. The present moment has arrived. Therefore, the universe has a beginning. 2. The scientific argument; the Second Law of Thermodynamics; a process taking place in a closed system always tend toward a state of equilibrium – useful energy constantly decreases over time. Therefore, the universe is slowly running out of its useful energy. If the universe had been here forever, it would have run out of usable energy by now. Thus, the Second Law of Thermodynamics points to a universe that has had a finite beginning. This was confirmed by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity (1915). Alexander Friedman and George Lamaitre, working with this theory, predicted the expanding universe. This was confirmed by Edwin Hubble, in 1927, by measuring the Red Shift in the light from distant galaxies – this empirical evidence confirmed that the universe was expanding and sprang into being from a single point in the finite past.
Therefore, the universe has a beginning. If the universe had a beginning, was it caused? And if caused, was it necessarily caused by an uncaused cause?
Consider the Kalam Cosmological Argument; Premise 1, Whatever begins to exist has a cause. Premise 2, The universe began to exist 3. Conclusion: The universe has a cause. But is premise 1 true? There is no example in the universe of anything coming into existence out of nothing. Everyday experience and scientific evidence confirm premise 1. We have argued that Premise 2 is true; the universe had a beginning, began to exist.
With both premises true, the conclusion, the universe has a cause, is true.
The universe can’t cause itself. Its cause must be beyond the space-time universe with its innate matter and energy properties. The cause must be timeless, space less, immaterial, uncaused, and powerful, acting from a free will (volition). The Judeo-Christian, (and other mono-theistic religions), concept of God.
We observe laws in the universe; laws of motion, of heat, of chemistry. Add to this the constants of nature, extremely finely balanced, e.g. gravity, weight of an electron; the minutest variations in these constants, of which there are about 25, and life would not have been possible. These all point to a mind behind the laws, behind the order and the finetuning. Science cannot explain the existence of the laws, or why there is order.
It is reasonable to assume a mind, a Designer, behind the beginning of the universe, the laws and order we observe, and the finetuning.
It is therefore reasonable to believe in the existence of God.
II. Objective Morality as a Rational Reason to Believe in God.
If there is moral objectivity, and deep inside we all know there is, then it is best explained by a moral lawgiver, an objective moral standard outside of us. We know there are some things that are absolutely morally wrong, e.g. killing people for fun, stealing, and some things that are morally right, e.g. caring for the sick, love people;
1. Moral truths have imperative truths behind them. They have the force of command ‘Do not steal’. This imperative force is best explained if there is a Commander behind them.
2. Moral law produces shame and guilt when we violate it. More than guilt or shame in the face of society. It is difficult to explain this guilt or shame in the face a moral abstract that doesn’t have a person behind it.
3. Why is morality present in the universe?
4. Why do humans have equal value and rights? Human beings are not equal in almost all aspects, e.g. intelligence, beauty, strength. Humans must have something in common that gives them equal value and whatever that is must be weighty. We are all created in the image of God and it is impossible to justify equal rights without God.
Without God there cannot be objective morality. There can only be an expression of individual taste; subjectivism, relativism, which makes it impossible to judge good and bad on a cultural, societal, or personal level as it will differ from society to society, culture to culture and person to person.
Can one be good without believing in God? Absolutely, but can you be good without God? One would argue that this is not possible.
If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist; without an objective reference point we cannot say that something is really good or bad, right or wrong. God’s nature is the standard against which all truths, right or wrong, is measured. It provides an objective moral reference point, the standard against which all decisions and actions are measured. Without God there is no such reference point and we are left with individuals point a viewpoint. One individual’s view not more valid than anybody else’s; subjective morality only. Without God there cannot be evil or good. God expressed His moral nature as commands, in moral duties; love, generosity, sacrifice, equality, and the opposite greed, abuse, discrimination. God is the standard of moral values; the more one’s actions and decisions is like God’s nature the better it is. There are no moral obligations or duties without God. The atheist see man merely as a higher animal, but animals has no moral obligations; no right or wrong.
Our moral experience convinces us that moral values are objectively real every time we say ‘that’s not fair’, ‘that’s wrong’. It affirms our believe in objective moral values. Think of racial injustice, child abuse; everybody knows it is wrong and not personal preference.
The moral argument for the existence of God is; if God does not exist, subjective moral values and duties do not exist. Objective moral values and duties do exist; therefore, God exists.
Source, William Lane Craig; https://www.reasonablefaith.org
‘You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.’ Jeremiah 29:13
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