Thursday, August 20, 2009

Existence of God

Over the last two weeks I've chatted with my scripture classes about the existence of God. Below are the points we worked through.

Sure, in most cases i actually argued the negative side of the discussion... but they only really got upset with me when i said the children with disabilities should be killed at birth.

So... Does God exist???

Here's the evidence... Not absolute proof... but the evidence that needs to be weighed up to see what the truth is.

Creation and Design - Buildings point to there being an designer of that building. They don't just fall into place. Why would it be any different with creation? How would something as intricate as the eye form by chance?

Life from Non Life - Never has life been birthed from something that is inanimate. At least not since creation...

Purpose and Meaning - Without God we are reduced to animals. Sophisticated animals, but animals none-the-less. Animals that should live by "survival of the fittest." Animals that (in the vast majority of cases) are born, live and die with no discernible impact on society at large, nor are remembered by future generations. Animals that are destined to be worm food.

Love - With no God, love is just a series of chemical reactions in your brain.

Suffering - Suffering is inconsequential. There is no reason to feel compassion or mercy. There is no right for justice in the world. Suffering is just an event that has effected another mammal.

Conscience - We have implanted into us a set of absolute values of what is right and wrong. In numerous cases society has gone in the face of the collective conscience but this is not something that we create, but an outside values system. Where did it come from?

Belief Systems - Every civilisation has had one belief system or another. Each society strives to answer the "big" questions in life. Each person has that "God shaped hole" in their being. Why would it be there if there was no God to fill it?

In fact, when you look at the history of the world, theists are in the minority. Shouldn't the onus be on them to change accepted beliefs?

Changed Life - The most compelling evidence that God exists is the way that it transforms the life of the believer.

As a Christian, the greatest single piece of evidence you can give that God the Father is real, that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Holy Spirit is alive and active is by showing how you have changed.

The evidence is the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life and displaying how living in obedience to God makes a positive change.

2 comments:

Claire said...

You said that children with disabilities should be killed at birth?
I don't understand... explain.

Graham said...

Sorry, with there being no purpose to life and humans being nothing more than evolved apes, people who are genetically flawed should be done away with.

They dilute the gene pool.

If suffering has no meaning and "survival of the fittest" rules, these are the potential results...

Harsh, but true.