Author's Note: I am stating this all by fact, instead of putting "I believe . . ." in front of every sentence. Because while this is what I believe, most of what you are about to read is merely facts, not an opinion. And I am not going to apologize for simply stating facts. But the few things I state in here that is my opinion, I also do not apologize for. I'm not apologizing for simply sharing what I believe, because I don't see how anyone could be offended by just hearing someone's beliefs. And I'm not going to say "I'm not trying to convert you", because that's a lie. Yep, I said it. As a Christian, my duty here on earth is to try to win people to the Lord. I am not going to apologize for being a good Christian. Thank you and please read on.
I, just like Antier, promised you all in the BBS that I would write an article on why I believe atheism isn't logical. Yes, by the time you're reading this I would have promised you that about two weeks ago. Sorry for the delay, I've been busy. But nonetheless, onto the article.
Does Truth Exist?
Some people like to argue and say "Truth doesn't exist." If truth doesn't exist, then that sentence isn't true. Therefore, truth exists.
Now that we have that covered, let's move on, shall we?
Does God Exist and What Made The World?
In light of all the evidence for a beginning of the space-time universe, the Beginner must obviously be outside the space-time universe. When God is suggested as the Beginner, atheists are quick to ask who made God. Because, everything has a cause, right?
As we have seen, the Law of Causality is the foundation of science. Science is a search for causes, and that search is based on our observation that everything that has a beginning has a cause.
So why then doesn't God need a cause? Because the average atheist misunderstands the Law of Causality. The Law of Causality does not say that everything needs a cause. It says that everything that comes to be needs a cause. God did not come to be. No one made God. He is unmade. As an eternal being, God did not have a beginning, so he didn't need a cause. Because if you think about it, something has to be before everything else, to make the first cause, or nothing would ever exist.
But, if I have an eternal God, then you can have an eternal universe! Right? Because if the universe is eternal, then it didn't have a cause.
And yes, that's logically possible that the universe is eternal and therefore didn't have a cause. In fact, it's one of only two possibilities: ether the universe, or something outside the universe is eternal. Since something undeniably exists today, then something must have always existed; we only have two choices: the universe, or something that caused the universe. And nature could not have caused a big bang that made everything come together. That is impossible because nature was created at the big bang. How could nature create something when itself wasn't even created yet?
But the problem with the universe being eternal is, while you might think it is logically possible that the universe could be eternal, it really does not seem to be logically possible. For all the scientific and philosophical evidence (SURGE - Second Law, Universe is expanding, Radiation Afterglow, great galaxy seeds, Einstein's GR - radioactive decay, and the Kalam Cosmological Argument) tells us the universe cannot be eternal. Also, in order for us to determine that the year is 2008, the earth must have had a beginning. Time is like a number line. If you're on ten in the number line, then you have to count ten backwards until you hit zero. If there was no zero, if zero extended for an infinity backwards, then where are you in the number line? Nowhere. You need to be able to count backwards in order to see where you are now. You cannot have an infinity backwards. Thus, the earth must have had a beginning, or a zero in order for us to know that it is 2008. So by ruling out one of the two options, we are left with the only other option. Something outside the universe is eternal.
When you get right down to it, there are only two possibilities for anything that exists: either it has always existed and it therefore uncaused, or it had a beginning and was caused by something else. (It can't be self-caused because it would have to exist already in order to cause anything)
According to overwhelming evidence, the universe had a beginning, so it must be caused by something outside itself. Notice that this conclusion is consistent with theistic religions, but it is not based on those religions. It is based on good reason and evidence.
So what was the first cause? You might think we need the Bible or some other so-called religious revelation for this one, right? Nope, we don't need any scripture to figure this out. Einstein was right when he said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." Religion can be informed and confirmed by science, as it is by the Cosmological Argument.
We can discover some characteristics of the first cause from what we have already covered. From that evidence alone, we know the first cause must be: self-existent, timeless, non-spatial, and immaterial (since the first cause created time, space, and matter, the first cause must be outside of time, space, and matter.) In other words, it is without limits, or infinite; unimaginably powerful, to create the entire universe out of nothing; supremely intelligent, to design the universe with such incredible precision personal, in order to to convert a state of nothingness into the time-space-material universe (an impersonal force has no ability to make choices).
These characteristics theists ascribe God. Again, these characteristics are not based on someone's religion, or subjective experience. They are drawn from the scientific evidence we have just reviewed, and they help us see a critically important section of the box top to this puzzle we call life.
But honestly, all of what I just stated isn't why I, myself, believe. That's just the technical reasons, and how it makes sense in the real world. See, Jesus is like the wind. You know it's there; you can feel it. There's no doubt if it's real or not. You just can't see it. But walk by faith, not by sight. I'm more sure of Jesus than I am that I'm alive and staring at this computer screen right now. I believe because when you give Him just a few moments of your time, and just let Him have His way with your life, you'll start to see a change. You won't even feel the same. You'll feel such a joy that you've never felt before. That's the joy of the Lord. ;)
Believing Will Not Get You To Heaven
I gave you the facts. It's your choice to believe them or not. Because no one could ever make you believe them, it's completely up to you.
If you do choose to believe, let me tell you one thing. You're not in the clear yet. Believing does not get you into heaven. Guess what? The devil believes there is a God. He certainly won't go to heaven. Yes, believing is necessary, but believing without a relationship with Jesus is absolutely pointless. The Bible says "Jesus is the only way to heaven", not "believing is the only way to heaven". Martin Luther said it right when he said "Being a Christian without prayer is no more possible than it is to be alive without breathing". If you'd like to know more about having a relationship with Jesus, just ask. But I'm not gonna get into that right now.
And to answer a question that was brought up a few weeks ago in the Times is "Does it really matter what religion we believe in?" Yes. Yes, it does. Because, if you have a decent bone in your body, you're not gonna want anyone you love to go to hell. Saying "I don't care what religion you believe in" is like saying "I could care less if you make it to heaven or not." The only reason I ever try to convert someone into believing there is a God, and He does love you very much is because I care about you and I'd do anything to get you to Heaven. Next time, take it as a compliment, instead of getting offended.
Now, I don't have all the answers. And I don't claim to, either. But if you have any questions about this article, I will try my best to answer them.
So I'm not gonna end this with "Do YOU believe?" because believing it isn't the thing that matters most, like I stated earlier. Instead, I will end this with a quote from a song by Stellar Kart.
"I can't make it clearer
Put it any other way
If you can't see the simple truth I do
There's nothing in this world that's left to say
But Jesus loves you"
With love,
Andrea(ppd)
