Monday, July 20, 2020

Evidence for God's existence

Bertrand Russell abandoned his Christian faith at the age of 18 and spent his life trying to disprove the existence of God. He was once asked, "If you meet God after you die, what will you say to Him to justify your unbelief?" He responded, "I will tell Him that He did not give me enough evidence." Wrong answer!

Last week we watched the International Space Station fly over our home five nights. We missed one night because I lost track of time. In addition, we saw the comet Neowise. We were able to  watch these in space because their exact flight paths and times were available, and the reason they were available is because God has so fine-tuned this universe that scientists are able to map out the exact location of every planet, star and man-made object in space. Such fine-tuning is not possible if the universe came into existence through a series of random events. This points to a Creator who created the universe and our planet with everything necessary to sustain life.

Many elements that make up our universe are limited to minute fractions of one percent in order to sustain life. I won't begin to list them in this post, but they make an interesting study. If any of these elements are off by fractions so small our human minds cannot grasp them, life could not exist on Earth and our universe would cease to exist.

Every time I watch the space station fly over our home it is a time of devotions for me. I stand there watching it rise above the horizon and continue its flight until it is out of sight, and I marvel at the power of God and His creative ability. Quite often I am reminded that the God who created this amazing universe is interested in me, that He cares about me, and one day reached into my life to draw me into a relationship with Him. These are amazing truths that should give anyone pause.

Apologists offer us many reasons to believe in the existence of God, and one rejects these arguments at great peril. Personally, I doubt that Russell will be able to make his charge. The Bible tells us that as we stand before God we will kneel and confess that Jesus is Lord. At the moment Russell stands before the Lord he will immediately realize the foolishness of his claim against God, but it will be too late.

God has given us more than enough proof of His existence if we are willing to honestly look for it. For me, the fine-tuning argument is sufficient. The other arguments are just icing on the cake. As I look up at the sky and watch the stars follow the paths they have been given, as I watch the ocean tides come in and go out with perfect timing, as I learn more about the precision with which our universe exists I am convinced that there is a God, and this God is worthy of my worship and service.

I pray the same is true for you.

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