It may sound strange that a Christian pastor and teacher would ever doubt the existence of God, but I confess that I have had moments where I stop and ask, “Does God actually exist, or have I been duped?”
For me I suppose it’s more like nagging thoughts or questions instead of a serious crisis of doubt. Nevertheless, I admit that my analytical mind can on occasion find it hard to take in Christian theology.
I believe this is perfectly normal for anyone who believes that faith involves reason and the embrace of mystery. As we learn and move forward in our journey, we often revisit some of the most basic presuppositions of our faith. It’s OK. It’s good. It’s healthy and should be done as needed.
Let’s be clear about this… Jesus never asked anyone to leave their brain at the door in order to have faith. But he does tell us that we must be willing to believe things unseen if we’re going to grow into faith-FULL people.
I have concluded that belief in God makes good logical and scientific sense. I’m most convinced by the historical resurrection of Jesus than anything else.
While this wasn’t the way I first came to believe in God, it has since become important to me as I learn to love God with all of my mind.
I have studied and taught on the classical arguments for the existence of God. If you’re not familiar with them, here they are in a nutshell:
- Cosmological Argument – everything has a cause, God is the initial “First Cause” of the universe. Therefore, God must exist.
- Ontological Argument – can’t conceive of anything greater than God. Therefore, God must exist not only in our minds but in reality.
- Teleological Argument – evidence of design and purpose point to Creator. Therefore, God exists as grand designer and chief engineer.
- Moral Argument – our sense of morals and values come from a moral Creator. Our innate sense of morality proves that God exists.
I think that in order to fully appreciate these arguments, we must do good philosophy and theology because they truly go hand-in-hand.
Put on your thinking cap and take a look at the following video on what is known as the Kalam Cosmological Argument, made by ResonableFaith.org
Were you already familiar with these arguments? Which argument do you like best? Do you think these arguments are helpful? What do you think about the Kalam Cosmological Argument? Share your thoughts.
D.D. Flowers, 2013.
Check out these science-related posts:
The Centrality and Supremacy of Jesus Christ 
September 16th, 2013 at 4:47 am
God confounds the wise, the natural mind has reasoned theology. What theology can the natural mind discover? Human theology spawns paganism. This is not much comfort for anyone who is asked why they believe. Explanations abound yet there is sure confirmation for us who have heard His call and believe His Gospel. Surely a review of our being, our personal life will find the guidance of His presence. Certainly we know that love awaits discourse, eager to share. The only stoppages after the fulfillment of the perfect sacrifice that opened access through the blood expended on the cross are our own reservations. Our Father is limitless, we must fall into His embrace.
September 16th, 2013 at 6:42 am
Hey buddy! Nice post. It has been a very long time since I had any doubt or questions, but I too used to have slight nagging questions in the past. One thing that helped me was looking back at times in my life when God showed up in a big way.
As far as the classical arguments go, I strongly dislike the Ontological argument. Your summary is ok, but when reading that in full, it rambles on and on in a circular argument and seems to say and mean almost nothing. Sorry Origin, God bless ya, but those rumblings dang near sound the inner thoughts of a stoned hippie.
My favorite has to be the Teleogical argument. I love the study of creation – and a design demands a designer.
September 16th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Ha! Hey Aaron, thanks for commenting. Did you like the video on the cosmological argument?
September 17th, 2013 at 10:51 am
Actually sir, I just now watched it after you ask. 🙂 Yes I did like it. It reminds me of something Kent Hovind said about the universe.
The universe being made up of Uni-Verse. Uni = One, Verse = Single spoken sentence. In the beginning, God said…. and it was so…… and it was good.
September 16th, 2013 at 9:18 am
I think all of the arguments have considerable weight. However, I tend to lean on 3 and 4 (design/purpose and morality). I also resonate with C.S. Lewis’ quote about how everything makes more sense in light of the truth of Christianity. It is the best explanation for the world that we observe.