20 Compelling Evidences That God Exists: Discover Why Believing in God Makes So Much Sense

169 Pages·2005·1.69 MB·English

by  Kenneth Boa

CONTENTS
FOREWORD
1. THE EVIDENCE OF REALITY
If a belief system doesn’t claim to correspond to reality, head for the nearest exit!
2. THE EVIDENCE OF KNOWLEDGE
You can know the truth—and still not be an arrogant pain in the neck!
3. THE EVIDENCE OF EXISTENCE
The most elementary question: Why is there something rather than nothing?
4. THE EVIDENCE OF THE UNIVERSE’S BEGINNING
The universe hasn’t always been here, and it’s a good thing, too
5. THE EVIDENCE OF THE UNIVERSE’S FITNESS FOR LIFE
Somebody went to a lot of trouble to make it possible for us to be here
6. THE EVIDENCE OF LIFE’S ORIGIN
The more we learn about the origin of life, the more of a puzzle it becomes
7. THE EVIDENCE OF LIFE’S INTELLIGENT DESIGN
The closer we look, the clearer it is that life was intelligently designed
8. THE EVIDENCE OF A FALLEN WORLD
As wonderful as it can be, it’s obvious that not all is right with the world
9. THE EVIDENCE OF THE BIBLE’S RELIABILITY
The general reliability of the Bible’s text and major “story line” is not in question
10. THE EVIDENCE OF THE BIBLE’S ACCURACY
Where we can test the Bible’s accuracy in matters of fact, it holds up remarkably well
11. THE EVIDENCE OF THE BIBLE’S FULFILLED PROPHECY
The Bible contains remarkable predictions of events occurring centuries later
12. THE EVIDENCE OF THE BIBLE’S PROFOUND WISDOM
Despite all criticism, the Bible contains the wisest counsel ever written
13. THE EVIDENCE OF JESUS’ LIFE
No one can afford to ignore Jesus, the most compelling person in history
14. THE EVIDENCE OF JESUS’ CLAIMS
By claiming to be God, Jesus left us no room to view Him as just a great teacher
15. THE EVIDENCE OF JESUS’ DEATH
The death of Jesus holds the key to His identity and to the nature and love of God
16. THE EVIDENCE OF JESUS’ EMPTY TOMB
The empty tomb of Jesus is a cold, hard fact that even early critics couldn’t deny
17. THE EVIDENCE OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
The accounts of Jesus’ appearances cannot be reasonably explained away
18. THE EVIDENCE OF THOSE WHO LIVED FOR CHRIST
The reality of Jesus’ resurrection is evident in those who have lived for Him
19. THE EVIDENCE OF THOSE WHO DIED FOR CHRIST
Only Christ has inspired so many to die so nobly as martyrs for their faith
20. THE EVIDENCE OF THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST
The world’s religions have no one and nothing to compare with Jesus Christ
AFTERWORD
ENDNOTES
SCRIPTURE INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX
READERS’ GUIDE
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
EXTRAS
FOREWORD
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with
doubts, he shall end in certainties.
—Francis Bacon1
What? Begin with doubts?
Well, yes, of course—if that’s where you honestly are.
We can speak from experience here. We’ve struggled in the past with doubts too. We wondered if
there really was a God and if He cared about us. When we first heard about the God of the Bible, we
weren’t sure if we could believe it. The whole thing seemed so—fantastic. Frankly, we wanted some
evidence. We didn’t buy into the Christian message without first becoming convinced that there were
some very good reasons to believe it.
So, if you’re not sure what to believe and you want some evidence that Christianity isn’t just a
nice, uplifting myth, we can relate. In this book, we offer twenty evidences supporting belief in God.
We think these evidences are compelling. But whatever you do, don’t take our word for it. Consider
the arguments, investigate the evidence, check out our facts, seek out alternate opinions—do whatever
you need to do to settle the issue in your own mind. We assume that you’re at a point in your life
where you are open to the evidence and want to know whether God is real or not. If that’s the case,
the evidence presented in this book should be of interest to you.
Before we go any further, it might be helpful to tell you the kinds of reasons that we will not be
giving for belief in God. We don’t claim that believing in God will make you more successful or
wealthy. Unfortunately, every religion has its hucksters—people who try to turn that religion into a
way to bilk people out of their money—and Christianity is no exception. Don’t let such people
distract you from getting at the truth of whether or not God is real.
All of the twenty evidences we discuss in this book pertain to showing that the God of the Bible
—the God who created us and who has demonstrated His love for us in Jesus Christ—really exists.
These evidences are not, by the way, the findings of our own “undercover investigation” into the
existence of God. (Beware of the person who assures you that he has finally, for the first time in
human history, discovered proof that God exists!) They are more like signs that God Himself has
posted to show people where to find Him and that many people, ourselves included, have found to be
personally compelling pointers to God.
When we describe these evidences as “compelling,” then, we don’t mean that everyone will be
bowled over by our explanation of every bit of evidence, or that we have made such a definitive and
irrefutable case for these evidences that no one will be able to resist the conclusion that God exists.
The evidences are compelling in and of themselves, but our articulation of those evidences will only
be as good as our grasp on them. On the other hand, if someone doesn’t want to believe in God, no
amount of evidence can force such a person to accept God’s existence as fact. Furthermore, because
people are different, certain points will probably weigh more heavily with you than others. That’s
OK. There is only one God, but there are many evidences that support belief in Him—more, in fact,
than we discuss in this book.
We should also note that some of these evidences for God are compelling only in conjunction
with other evidences. If a particular piece of evidence is isolated from the others and treated
abstractly as a single point, it may lose its punch. That being the case, you should know that the later
chapters build to a considerable extent on the earlier chapters. Feel free to skip around if you like;
just keep in mind that we have tried to present these evidences in a helpful order.
Before we launch into our discussion of the evidences for God, we need to clarify a couple of
things. Our goal here is not merely to provide evidences that support believing in a God. In other
words, we’re not just trying to disprove atheism. Our focus in this book is on evidences supporting
belief in God. This God is someone real—someone we want you to know.
The whole history of humanity as such can be written as a search for a
meaningful answer to the question of the existence of God.
—TERRY L. MIETHE AND GARY R. HABERMAS2
The easiest way for us to tell you about this God is to tell you the story of what He has done. It is
a story already familiar to many. God created the universe and designed it as a place for us to live.
He made life and brought the human race into existence. He thinks of us as children, wanting to love
us and give us everything but also expecting us to live by His rules. When we turned away from Him,
He acted to restore our relationship with Him. He revealed himself to Abraham and his descendants,
created the nation of Israel as a special people through whom He would make Himself known to the
rest of the world, and gave them His laws and His wisdom. Then, when the time was right, He sent
His Son into the world to live as a human being. His name was Jesus. He healed the sick, performed
other miracles, taught about His Father, and spoke out against the hypocrisy in His own people’s
religion. He was put to death on a cross and three days later rose from the dead. Before going back to
heaven, Jesus told those who believed in Him to tell others what had happened and what it meant. His
death, which they had thought was a terrible tragedy, was actually the means by which God was
bringing human beings back into a relationship with Him. His resurrection was the proof that God had
sent Him and the beginning of new, eternal life for all who believe in Him. Jesus’ followers have
been spreading this message ever since, in some instances at the cost of their lives. It is a message of
hope for all people.
This is the God we want you to know. He is infinitely deserving of your time, of your trust, and of
your love. But again, don’t take our word for it. Consider the evidence for yourself.
1
THE EVIDENCE OF REALITY
If a belief system doesn’t claim to correspond to reality, head for the nearest exit!
We don’t mean to discourage you from reading the rest of this book; but in the interest of full
disclosure, we should tell you that, in a sense, there is only one good reason to believe that
God exists: because it’s true.
Throughout this book, we will be presenting evidence for the existence of the God of the Bible.
There are many such evidences, but they all have value because they help us see that the God of the
Bible is real.
The moment we bring reality or truth into the discussion about God, though, many people get
uncomfortable. Ask who won the World Series in 1961 or what percentage of the American
population is sixty-five years of age or older or how to get a rocket to the moon, and everybody
expects sober answers that relate to the real world. Gasoline, not lemonade, goes in the fuel tank of
your car; we would all view a person as crazy who thought that it was a “personal lifestyle choice” to
put lemonade in his car and drink gasoline. In most matters, most people speak and act as if reality
matters. But not when it comes to God. Somehow, in matters of religion, spirituality, faith, or God,
people have this idea that it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re sincere and don’t hurt
people. In fact, many people are troubled by claims that a particular religious belief is actually true—
that it corresponds to reality—and is not merely the subjective feeling or point of view of those who
believe it.
What could be behind this notion? Here is one possibility: The idea that no religious belief can
claim to express reality could presuppose that there is no religious reality to know. For example, the
idea that religious beliefs about God cannot claim to correspond to reality might presuppose that there
is no real God at all. If this were true, then God would not really exist. Rather, God would be a myth
or symbol, the ultimate Imaginary Friend. When people pray to God, they would in actuality be
talking to themselves. God would be at best a comforting lie, something people believe in because it
helps them escape from reality.
Frankly, if we thought there was any truth to this view of God, we wouldn’t bother you with
evidences supporting belief in Him. For that matter, we wouldn’t bother believing in God ourselves.
We have absolutely no use for escapist religion. If God doesn’t really exist, we should close up all of
the churches and turn them into cinemas or bowling alleys or libraries. Our only interest in
Christianity is in whether it can deliver on its promises—and what Christianity promises cannot
happen unless Christianity is true. As C. S. Lewis put it:
Christianity is not a patent medicine. Christianity claims to give an account of facts—to tell
you what the real universe is like. Its account of the universe may be true, or it may not, and once
the question is really before you, then your natural inquisitiveness must make you want to know
the answer. If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful it
might be: if it is true, every honest man will want to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all.1
You might be wondering why Lewis would say something like this. Can’t Christianity be a
positive, helpful religion even if it’s not literally true? And why believe in it if it isn’t helpful? The
answer is that Christianity ultimately claims one thing: to tell us what the real, living God has done to
bring us back into a relationship with Him that will last beyond the grave for all eternity. If this God
doesn’t even exist, obviously, the whole thing is just a sham. Yes, some people might find some
“help” in believing a lie, but that isn’t the right way to live. On the other hand, if this God does exist
and you believe in Him, you are not guaranteed immediate entrance into a thornless rose garden. So,
the only things that really matter here are whether Christianity is true and whether the God of the
Christian faith really exists.
T ’ N E
HERE S O SCAPE
I refuse to be intimidated by reality anymore.… My space chums think
reality was once a primitive method of crowd control that got out of hand.… I
made some studies, and reality is the leading cause of stress among those in
touch with it. I can take it in small doses, but as a lifestyle I found it too
confining.
—LILY TOMLIN AS TRUDY IN THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE
IN THE UNIVERSE2
In the popular science-fiction movie The Matrix, Keanu Reeves plays an ordinary man who is not
ordinary at all. But then, everything that seems ordinary turns out not to be real. Reeves’ character,
called Neo—a tip-off that he is the first of a new kind of man—learns that his whole world is actually
a virtual reality illusion called “the Matrix” that was created by artificial intelligence machines that
have taken over the Earth. He and the rest of humanity have been living a lie. At first the truth is very
hard to accept, and Neo finds it difficult to make the transition from the virtual world to the real
world.
The Matrix is an enjoyable and thought-provoking film on many levels. There is, however, one
way to ruin it entirely, and that is to take it too seriously. Like much science fiction, The Matrix is
best understood as a parable.3 Its point is not that alien machines might exist or that virtual reality
might one day supplant living in the real world (although many people take both speculations
seriously today). At its heart, the film provokes the viewer to consider the possibility that reality is
larger than the familiar material world that we experience through our five senses. But it would be a
big mistake to take the scenario depicted in the film literally.
On one level, The Matrix and countless films like it are tools of escapism. They provide for their
viewers an opportunity to escape from the real world into a cinematic virtual reality where life is
more exciting, more romantic, or in some other way more enjoyable than their ordinary lives. Good
escapist films give us an emotional boost that helps us get back to our daily routines with more
enthusiasm. In that way, escapism in the movies (or in books or television) is not really about
escaping reality but about strengthening us to deal with reality.
While escapism in the movies is fun and generally harmless, escapism in worldviews,
philosophies, or religions is foolish and can be very harmful indeed. There’s no point in trying to
avoid the truth about who and what we are or why we’re here in this world. If there is a God who
made us and who expects something of us, we need to know. If God is nothing more than make-
believe, on the level of Santa Claus or the tooth fairy, we need to know that, too.
That reality exists and is inescapable can be illustrated using The Matrix. In the story line, the
reality is that the machines have taken over the planet and the lives that Neo and his human friends
have been living are virtual-reality fiction. When Neo learns this is the reality of his world, he does
not conclude that nothing is real but that what he had thought was real was merely an illusion. The
very concept of an illusion presupposes a reality, since an illusion is a distortion or deception that
hides the way things really are. At some point one must reach a bottom line, a place where the
illusion ends and nothing but reality remains. Thus, reality must exist, and ultimately we cannot
escape it.
F F O F
AITH OUNDED N ACT
There are many religions in the marketplace of ideas. Why believe in one rather than another? Let us
begin by narrowing the field down to those we can take seriously. Here’s a suggestion: Start by
eliminating all religions that show a disregard for facts in the real world. Suppose we were to invite
you to believe in the Great Pumpkin.4 Naturally, you would begin asking questions about matters of
fact: Has anyone ever seen the Great Pumpkin? Did he ever leave you candy? Suppose that we not
only had no facts about the Great Pumpkin to offer you, but we dismissed your questions as irrelevant
and irreverent. If we told you, “The Great Pumpkin comes only to those who ask no questions,”
would you take Pumpkinism seriously? Of course not. But for some odd reason, people often accept
this sort of contempt for reality in religion. Many religions encourage their members to base their
beliefs on their feeling that it is true. Other religions base their claims on tradition—“We’ve passed
these stories down for centuries,” they say, “and they’re part of our heritage.”
Please understand: we’re not knocking feelings or tradition. They are both important elements of
human existence, and we can’t function well without them. Our point is that it is the job of neither
feelings nor tradition to serve as the basis for accepting a belief. A belief should be embraced
because it’s true—because it’s based on reality.
Christianity is one of the few religions that even professes to be grounded on facts in the real
world—factual claims that you can read about, investigate, and that are well supported by evidence.
It is also a religion that believes it is possible for humans to know these facts and to be held
accountable for their response to them. As John Warwick Montgomery put it, Christianity is a “faith
founded on fact.”5