October 4

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” —ROMANS 1:20

Many people will argue that it is naïve to say creation reveals the Creator, but actually it is profoundly important. It is what we call “natural revelation”, and is available to anyone who will believe what they see and follow it through to its logical cause.

Throughout history, there have been arguments for the existence of God that do not rely on the Bible or on God’s revelation, but upon what is naturally available. There is the cosmological argument, which says every effect must have a cause. Rest is a natural state which needs nothing behind it, but motion is an unnatural state and needs something behind it. If a stationary object such as a chair or table were to suddenly move across the room on its own, we would want an explanation. The earth is constantly moving and there needs to be a cause behind it.

There is the teleological argument, which is one that argues for design because the world reveals intelligence, order, harmony, purpose. That implies the world exists not randomly, but for an intelligent purpose, and there is a supreme being adequate for the production of such a world. Without intelligent design, the world and all life within it would be a fluke.

There is the ontological argument, based on the fact we can only mentally conceive of things which actually exist. We can think of fictitious things, but even those are based on human experience. For example, a mermaid is entirely fictitious; half fish, half woman. Fish and women exist, or a Martian with one big eyeball and feathers. Eyeballs and feathers exist. When it comes to God, we are able to conceive of absolute power and perfection, even though we have never seen it. This is evidence that something like this exists, simply because we can conceive of it. 

There is a moral argument that says we have an innate sense of right and wrong. We have a conscience and as Paul says in Romans 2:15 the laws of God are written upon our hearts. The issue is not do we have a revelation of God, but do we suppress the logic of that revelation? 

Abraham Lincoln wrote: “I never gaze at the stars without feeling that I am looking into the face of God. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the sky and say, ‘There is no God’.” Everyone has had a revelation of God in creation, and it is the starting point, which if followed through, leads along a path of knowing God. 

PRAYER: Lord, I cannot conceive of a world without You, not only as the Creator, but as our life. Thank You for being all that You are. 

TO REFLECT UPON: What is the clearest evidence of God’s existence to me?