Has anyone read the book titled Show Me God (that was a rhetorical question). The book proves the existence of God from a purely scientific point-of-view. It brings up many questions such as the existence, or lack of existence, of intelligent life other than us. It also discusses the creation of the universe. I wanted to share this with everyone because Im sure that weve all dealt with unbelievers posing questions about this to us. And if not, its good stuff nonetheless.
-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Show me God!
- Thread starter jay1_z
- Start date
A Skeptics Questions:
Didnt the cosmological argument lose popularity a long time ago among philosophers? Isnt it possible that the universe is eternal that it just is and so theres no need for a Creator? And even if there is a Creator, isnt it just as likely that God is impersonal, that God is just a force, an organizing principle that God is simply nature?
A Theists Response:
The Universe could not have caused itself. All that we observe around us is proof of an uncaused Cause. Nothing in cosmology or philosophy has changed this fact. Philosophers may have moved on to other problems (leaving the origin of the universe to scientists), but its not because theyve solved this one.
Logic leads us to believe that this First Cause must be separate from what it created, transcending it that it must be eternal, spiritual, all-powerful, all-knowing, purposing tremendous undertakings on behalf of human beings, personal in short, that this First Cause is more perfectly explained by God than anything else.
Didnt the cosmological argument lose popularity a long time ago among philosophers? Isnt it possible that the universe is eternal that it just is and so theres no need for a Creator? And even if there is a Creator, isnt it just as likely that God is impersonal, that God is just a force, an organizing principle that God is simply nature?
A Theists Response:
The Universe could not have caused itself. All that we observe around us is proof of an uncaused Cause. Nothing in cosmology or philosophy has changed this fact. Philosophers may have moved on to other problems (leaving the origin of the universe to scientists), but its not because theyve solved this one.
Logic leads us to believe that this First Cause must be separate from what it created, transcending it that it must be eternal, spiritual, all-powerful, all-knowing, purposing tremendous undertakings on behalf of human beings, personal in short, that this First Cause is more perfectly explained by God than anything else.
Upvote
0
Logic Demands a Cause for Every Effect.
This is not rocket science. This is common sense, and no one has ever observed an exception. That every effect must have a cause is a self-evident truth, not only for those who have been trained in logic, but for thinking people everywhere. The cosmological argument for God is founded upon the old Latin axiom, Ex nihilo nihil fit: from nothing, nothing comes.
This is not rocket science. This is common sense, and no one has ever observed an exception. That every effect must have a cause is a self-evident truth, not only for those who have been trained in logic, but for thinking people everywhere. The cosmological argument for God is founded upon the old Latin axiom, Ex nihilo nihil fit: from nothing, nothing comes.
Upvote
0
The First Cause Must be Independent of Its Effect.
Logic demands that the Creator must be completely independent of His creation. The First Cause must not require any of the things that depend on it for their existence. Otherwise they would still be nothing. The idea of a Star Wars God, a God who is a mere Force that is one with the universe is eliminated. God must be transcendent; that is, above and beyond the boundaries of His creation.
Logic demands that the Creator must be completely independent of His creation. The First Cause must not require any of the things that depend on it for their existence. Otherwise they would still be nothing. The idea of a Star Wars God, a God who is a mere Force that is one with the universe is eliminated. God must be transcendent; that is, above and beyond the boundaries of His creation.
Upvote
0
The First Cause Must Be Infinitely Powerful (Omnipotent).
Although he was no Bible believer, the renowned philosopher Baruch Spinoza logically deduced that the First Cause had to be not only independent, but infinite as well. The First Cause had to be unlimited, because if it were limited, it would be limited by some other thing (it couldnt be limited by nothing), and it wouldnt be completely independent any longer. So this entity which requires nothing else for its existence must be without limits infinite.
Also, logic tells us that an effect cannot be greater that its cause. Thus the First Cause must be greater in power than anything in the universe; in fact, it must be greater in power than the sum of all the powers in the universe.
Once we accept the idea that the universe had a First Cause, we must also accept the fact that all the miracles of the Bible (from the parting of the Red Sea to the resurrection of Jesus Christ) are quite plausible and easily explained. What can be too hard for the God who created our entire universe?
Although he was no Bible believer, the renowned philosopher Baruch Spinoza logically deduced that the First Cause had to be not only independent, but infinite as well. The First Cause had to be unlimited, because if it were limited, it would be limited by some other thing (it couldnt be limited by nothing), and it wouldnt be completely independent any longer. So this entity which requires nothing else for its existence must be without limits infinite.
Also, logic tells us that an effect cannot be greater that its cause. Thus the First Cause must be greater in power than anything in the universe; in fact, it must be greater in power than the sum of all the powers in the universe.
Once we accept the idea that the universe had a First Cause, we must also accept the fact that all the miracles of the Bible (from the parting of the Red Sea to the resurrection of Jesus Christ) are quite plausible and easily explained. What can be too hard for the God who created our entire universe?
Upvote
0
The First Cause Must be Eternal (Transcending Time)
The Creator must exist outside of time. Nothing in the universe can go back before the creation event, but the Creator must, if He started the process. From our perspective He is without beginning or end. No other religious writings tell of a deity who fits the picture of a timeless God as well as the Bible. Psalm 90:2 says that before god brought forth the Earth and the universe, from everlasting to everlasting, He is God. Both 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 speak about what god purposed to do before the beginning of time.
When the Bible writers say that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4), they proclaim a divine perspective that we only now are beginning to grasp as the relativity of time. One of the most fundamental principles of Einsteins theories is that there is no absolute time. Each observer has his own measure of time, according to his perspective.
Other contemporary religions did not view time as such a relative thing. In fact most of them had gods who were who were restricted to place as well as time, tribal deities who could help their people in the hills, but not on the plains, etc., according to their limited jurisdictions. As archaeologists John Romer pointed out in his PBS television series, Testament, the God of the Hebrews was unique among all other gods because of His ability to move through both space and time, transcending them, leading His people over vast distances from one country to another and over many generations of time.
The Creator must exist outside of time. Nothing in the universe can go back before the creation event, but the Creator must, if He started the process. From our perspective He is without beginning or end. No other religious writings tell of a deity who fits the picture of a timeless God as well as the Bible. Psalm 90:2 says that before god brought forth the Earth and the universe, from everlasting to everlasting, He is God. Both 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 speak about what god purposed to do before the beginning of time.
When the Bible writers say that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4), they proclaim a divine perspective that we only now are beginning to grasp as the relativity of time. One of the most fundamental principles of Einsteins theories is that there is no absolute time. Each observer has his own measure of time, according to his perspective.
Other contemporary religions did not view time as such a relative thing. In fact most of them had gods who were who were restricted to place as well as time, tribal deities who could help their people in the hills, but not on the plains, etc., according to their limited jurisdictions. As archaeologists John Romer pointed out in his PBS television series, Testament, the God of the Hebrews was unique among all other gods because of His ability to move through both space and time, transcending them, leading His people over vast distances from one country to another and over many generations of time.
Upvote
0
The First Cause Must be Spiritual (Transcending Space)
Logically, we must deduce that an entity outside the universe is the only kind that could have created it. The First Cause may interact with the four dimensions of our spacetime, but it must be beyond them, beyond the physical. Jesus emphasized that God is Spirit, and that those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
Unlike every contemporary religious writing, the Bible did not allow images to be made of God, as if He were merely a physical God who belonged to this world. Not only did Solomon admit that his temple was incapable of holding Him, but that heaven and the heaven of heavens could not contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).
Logically, we must deduce that an entity outside the universe is the only kind that could have created it. The First Cause may interact with the four dimensions of our spacetime, but it must be beyond them, beyond the physical. Jesus emphasized that God is Spirit, and that those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
Unlike every contemporary religious writing, the Bible did not allow images to be made of God, as if He were merely a physical God who belonged to this world. Not only did Solomon admit that his temple was incapable of holding Him, but that heaven and the heaven of heavens could not contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).
Upvote
0
The First Cause Must be All-Knowing (Omniscient)
It is reasonable to assume that the Creator of all that is, knows all about His own creation. In recent history humans have only begun to appreciate the complexities of the atom, of DNA, of the symmetry and harmony of natures laws. As Einstein said, the harmony of natural law reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.
Scientists have come to expect a unified framework for natures laws because all our experience in discovering them shows that they wok together with tremendous precision (which physicist usually call fine-tuning) to make life possible. There is a supreme rationale behind them. The laws of the universe yield evidence of perfect forethought, not arbitrary patchwork.
Surely these rational laws are fully comprehended by the One who set them up, even if science is not yet able to uncover all their mysteries.
It is reasonable to assume that the Creator of all that is, knows all about His own creation. In recent history humans have only begun to appreciate the complexities of the atom, of DNA, of the symmetry and harmony of natures laws. As Einstein said, the harmony of natural law reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.
Scientists have come to expect a unified framework for natures laws because all our experience in discovering them shows that they wok together with tremendous precision (which physicist usually call fine-tuning) to make life possible. There is a supreme rationale behind them. The laws of the universe yield evidence of perfect forethought, not arbitrary patchwork.
Surely these rational laws are fully comprehended by the One who set them up, even if science is not yet able to uncover all their mysteries.
Upvote
0
Similar threads
