Skip to main content

The Existence of God - Naturalistic & Biblical Arguments


Charles Ryrie states that traditionally there have been two lines of argument used to demonstrate the existence of God, the naturalistic and the biblical arguments.[1] Here I will evaluate those that fall within both the naturalistic as well as the biblical arguments.

Naturalistic Arguments

Dan Story contends that “it doesn’t take much reflection for us to realize that we exist, and we did not create ourselves. And since that’s true, it’s easy to figure out that something or someone besides ourselves brought us to be. And with a little more reflection, we can also see that the entire universe came to be in one of three possible ways: (1) it created itself; (2) it has always existed, and therefore had no Creator; or (3) it was created by something or someone outside of itself.”[2]

Cosmological Argument
A well-established philosophical principle is ex nihilo nihil fit (Latin meaning, “from nothing, nothing comes”). The idea or point of the principle is that you cannot get something out of nothing, something simply cannot derive from nothing, all one can get out of nothing is nothing. The concept of “nothing” just means “non-being” or “absence of existence.” In other words, existence does not—indeed, cannot—come from nonexistence.[4]
The cosmological argument is the argument from cause and effect which simply states that every effect must have a cause. Something cannot come out of nothing and since the cosmos (world) exists then there must be an original cause. A simple illustration will help make the point; you have a vehicle parked on your driveway; you have never seen the people who built that vehicle, yet you know they exist because the vehicle is in your driveway. Since there is an effect (the vehicle) there must be a cause (the people who built it). Since an effect has never been proven to be uncaused, or in other words, since something created has never been proven to come from nothing, the only logical and reasonable explanation is that an original cause, a supremely intelligent and powerful Being created all that is. God is that Cause, the only One who could produce such a complex and magnificent effect as the universe or the human body. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible (Heb. 11:3). Here is a clear suggestion that there is nothing haphazard or accidental in the coming into being of the cosmic order. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).

Teleological Argument
The teleological argument is the argument from order and design. Henry Thiessen argues that “order and useful arrangement in a system imply intelligence and purpose in the organizing cause. The universe is characterized by order and useful arrangement; therefore, the universe has an intelligent and free cause.”[5]
Everywhere you look in this universe, all you see is design, order, usefulness, harmony, and purpose which must be accounted for. Let us go back to the vehicle illustration; that vehicle parked on your driveway is not just a heap of metal and plastic, that vehicle has design, functionality, and purpose. Did that just happen, or was there a designer, an engineer behind it? We have been eyewitnesses to God’s magnificent creation; the universe declares the glory of the Master Designer.
The teleological argument points out that such intricate design and complex order simply cannot be the product of random processes and chance (which is powerless to create since it is . Rather, these characteristics indicate an intelligent being caused them. When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him a son of man that you look after him? (Ps. 8:3-4); The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun (19:1-4).


Biblical Arguments


The biblical argument can be presented simply by enumerating a number of Scriptures that clearly teach the existence of God. A Bible student would do well to study these passages and even commit them to memory. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but rather a sampling of verses: Gen. 1:1; Ps. 8:3-4; 19:1-4; Isa. 40:26; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:18-20.




[1] Charles C. Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago: Moody, 1972), pp. 11-15.
[2] Story, D. (1997). Defending your faith (p. 23). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel.
[5] Henry C Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, revised by Vernon D. Doerksen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), p. 28.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Inspired, Infallible, and Inerrant Word

  All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16).   Our primary and final safeguard against false teaching is the Word of God. Verses 16 and 17 of 2 Timothy 3 are among the most important and significant in all the New Testament. They clearly declare the Source of Scripture and thus the Scripture’s authority. Second Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:21 for the basis for our conviction that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. Paul points out three important truths here: First, all Scripture is God-breathed. When Paul writes in that all Scripture is inspired , he is saying that the entire Bible and every word in it originates with God. Tom Constable correctly states that the Bible “does not merely contain the Word of God or become the Word of God under certain conditions. It is God’s Wor

A Living Sacrifice

  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom.12:1 NKJV).   In the last four chapters of Romans Paul takes up the matter of our duty as children of God. He kicks this chapter off by dealing with the believer’s consecration. We learn here that consecration is not only the will of God, but also the reasonable service of every believer.      Paul first makes an appeal to a consecrated life. Therefore refers to the believer reckoning himself dead to sin and alive unto God as established in the previous chapters. Beseech means “to entreat; to supplicate; to implore; to ask or pray with urgency.” In the context here it is better to consider the word not as a command. Paul is urging believers to respond willingly from within themselves rather than be influenced or even forced by apostolic authority to conform. Paul is imploring believers to die to

Key Figures in the Tribulation (Part 3)

  His Career      The career of the Antichrist can be broken down into four stages. These stages or phases characterize his progression and ultimately his demise. Prior to the Tribulation     According to Daniel 7, the Antichrist ( “ little horn” ) will come out of the revived Roman empire which means that he is coming from the West. At this stage, he will most likely be the political leader of a powerful western country, powerful enough to enter into a covenant with Israel and guarantee her safety. The restored Roman empire will result from the coming together of a western federation of nations, which appears to take place after the beginning of the tribulation. We may very well be witnessing the initial stages of this prophecy as we witness the coming together of many western European countries who have forged a federation or union socially, politically, and economically.      According to Revelation 6:2, early in the tribulation, the Antichrist will go out to conquer. I lo