Philosophers have argued about the existence of God for millennia, and we might suppose that we could find God if we studied their arguments. There are two problems with such a proposal: the first difficulty is that philosophers disagree amongst themselves as to whether there are any valid philosophical arguments for God’s existence. However, there is a more fundamental problem, even if we thought that philosophical arguments were valid. This problem concerns the identity of God. We can illustrate this problem with regard to the philosophical argument for God’s existence which involves the concept of design.
Many people would say that there is design in nature and that this shows the existence of a creator. This is a powerful argument and it can be elaborated in great detail. However, the problem with the argument is that it is used by many different and conflicting religions. For example, had we been living in the days of the Babylonian Empire in Israel, the priests of the Babylonian religion would no doubt have claimed that it was their gods which were involved in the creation of the world, and they would have referred to their epic tales (e.g. The Gilgamesh Epic) to substantiate their claim. The prophets of Israel also made the same claim for the God of the Bible with great conviction and power using the account in Genesis.
As ordinary individuals living in those times, we might have agreed that the earth and sky showed very intricate ‘design’ (‘wonders’), but we might have been unsure as to who created the world. As individuals living today, we might find ourselves in the same position. We might see that there is a creator, but we might be unsure of who is that creator. Had we chosen to believe in the Babylonian gods of that era, we would have made the wrong choice, because those gods have come and gone. We need to avoid making a similar mistake today.
The God of the Bible has been worshipped throughout all ages, and this is strong evidence that He really exists. We can safely dismiss the gods that have come and gone, but there are other gods which have (so far) survived the vicissitudes of history. A few religions of the world are ancient religions, for example, Hinduism traces its beginnings back to approximately 1500 BC. Is there another line of evidence to establish that which is true?
We have said that the same philosophical arguments are claimed by all religions, and that they are not specific enough to find God. What we need in order to find God are arguments that a god uses and which are unique to him, and which can be evaluated and then received in faith. These arguments can only be found in words and sentences used by such a god, for arguments are tools of language.
The Bible supplies us with many arguments for the existence of the God of Israel. If these arguments stand up, then we will have found the one true God. The main line of evidence proving that the God of Israel is the one true God is fulfilled prophecy.
Is Pentecost Happening Today? – (Part 3)