1. Throughout
history, in all cultures of the world, people have
been convinced there is a God. Could one say with
any sense of confidence that all those people have
been mistaken? Billions of people, who represent
diverse sociological, intellectual, emotional,
educational makeups . . . all came to the same
conclusion that there is a Creator, a God to be
worshipped.
"Anthropological
research has indicated that among the farthest and
most remote primitive people today, there is a
universal belief in God. And in the earliest
histories and legends of people all around the world,
the original concept was of one God, who was the
Creator. An original high God seems once to have been
in their consciousness even in those societies which
are today polytheistic."(3)
2. The complexity
of our universe, our solar system and our planet
Earth all point to a knowing, deliberate Designer who
not only created our universe, but sustains it today.
Pages and pages of examples showing God's design
could be given here, possibly with no end. But here
are a few:
The Earth . . .
its size is perfect. The Earth's size and
corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly
nitrogen and oxygen gases over the surface of the
earth. Only extending about 50 miles above the
Earth's surface, our atmosphere contains the right
mixture of gases to sustain life. If Earth were
smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the
planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere
would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.(4) Earth
is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere
appropriate for plant, animal and human life.
The Earth is located
exactly the right distance from the sun. Consider the
temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees
to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away
from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we
would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the
earth's position to the sun and life on Earth would
be impossible. The Earth remains at its perfect
distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun
at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. And the Earth's
rotation on its axis allows the entire surface of the
earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.
Our moon is the right
size and distance from the Earth. The moon creates
important ocean tides and movement so ocean water
does not stagnate, and yet it restrains our massive
oceans from spilling over across the continents.(5)
Water . . .
colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no
living thing can survive without it. Water has not
been found on any other planet, yet covers more than
70 percent of our earth's surface. Plants, animals
and human beings consist mostly of water . . . about
two-thirds of the human body is water. The
characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:
It has an unusually
high boiling point and freezing point, allowing us to
live in an environment of constant temperature
changes, keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.
Water is a universal
solvent. Take a full glass of water, add a cup of
sugar, and nothing spills over the edge; the water
simply absorbs the sugar. This property of water
allows it to carry thousands of chemicals, minerals
and nutrients throughout our bodies and into the
smallest blood vessels.(6)
Water is also
chemically inert, not affecting the makeup of the
substances it carries. Food, medicines and minerals
are all absorbed and used by the body, while water
remains as a neutral carrying agent.
Water has a unique
surface tension. This, combined with another property
of water, allows water in plants to flow upward
against gravity, bringing life-giving water and
nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.
Water freezes from the
top down and floats, allowing fish to live in the
winter.
Ninety-seven percent
of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our
Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt
from the water and then distributes that water
throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean
waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are
easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the
land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a
system of purification and supply that has sustained
life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused
water.(7)
The human brain
. . . simultaneously processes an amazing amount of
information. Your brain takes in all the colors and
objects you see, the temperature around you, the
pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds
around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the
texture of this article in your hand. In addition to
all the sensory information, your brain recognizes
emotional responses, ideas and memories. Your brain
also keeps track of the ongoing functions of your
body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement,
hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.
The human brain
processes more than a million messages a second.(8)
Fortunately, your brain weighs the importance of all
this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant.
This screening function of the brain is what allows
you to focus and operate effectively in your world. A
brain that deals with more than a million pieces of
information every second, while evaluating its
importance and allowing you to act on the most
pertinent information . . . can we say mere chance
assembled such an astounding organ?
When NASA launches a
shuttle mission, it is assumed a monkey didn't write
the plan, but intelligent and knowledgeable minds.
How does one explain the existence of the human
brain? Only a mind more intelligent and knowledgeable
than humanity could create a human brain.
3. The
improbability of mere "chance" being the
explanation for life's characteristics. Could one
look at Mount Rushmore in which the likeness of
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt
are carved, and ever believe that it came about by
chance? Given infinite time, wind, rain and chance,
it is still hard to believe something like that, tied
to history, was randomly formed in the side of a
mountain. Common sense leads us to conclude that
people planned and skillfully carved those figures.
This article only
touches on a few necessary intricacies of our world:
the Earth's position to the sun, some properties of
water, one organ in the human body. Could any of
these have come about by chance?
The distinguished
astronomer Sir Frederick Hoyle showed how even the
amino acids randomly coming together in a human cell
is mathematically absurd. Regarding our lives, Sir
Hoyle illustrated the weakness of "chance"
with the following analogy. "What are the
chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard
containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally
assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for
take-off? The possibilities are so small as to be
negligible even if a tornado were to blow through
enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!"(9)
In all of life we see
a reasonable law of cause and effect. Every effect
had a cause. When one considers the intricacies of
our life and universe, it is reasonable to think that
an intelligent, loving Creator provided for
everything we need for life. The Bible describes God
as the author and sustainer of life.
4. Humankind's
inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be
biologically explained. Even a thief gets upset
and feels wronged when someone steals from him. There
arises in all of us, of any culture, universal
feelings of right and wrong. If someone violently
grabs a child from a family and rapes that child,
there is an anger and revulsion and a rage to
confront that act as evil, regardless of the culture.
Where did we get this sense of wrongness?
And in areas like
courage, dying for a cause, love, dignity, duty and
compassion, where did these come from? If people are
merely products of physical evolution, material and
biological substances, why do we have a sense of
rightness? How do we explain a universal law in the
conscience of all people that says murder for fun is
wrong? Do not all people sense that a humble spirit
and a focus on meeting the needs of others are
admirable qualities? Our conscience can best be
explained by a loving Creator who cares about the
decisions and harmony of humanity.
5. God has not only
revealed Himself in what can be observed in the
universe, in nature, in human life, but He has even
more specifically shown Himself in the Bible.
God's thoughts, personality, and attitudes can only
be known if God chooses to reveal them. All else
would be human speculation. We are at a loss if God
does not wish to be known. But God wants us to know
Him and has told us in the Bible all we need to know
about His character and how to relate to Him. This
makes the reliability of the Bible an important
consideration.
Archaeological
findings continue to confirm the accuracy of the
Bible, rather than refute it. For example, an
archeological find in northern Israel in August 1993
confirmed the existence of King David, author of many
of the Psalms in the Bible.(10) The Dead Sea Scrolls
and other archaeological discoveries continue to
substantiate the historical accuracy of the Bible.
The Bible was written
over a 1500-year time span, by 40 different authors,
in different locations and on separate continents,
written in three different languages, covering
diverse subject matters at different points in
history.(11) Yet there is an astounding consistency
in its message. Throughout the entire Bible the same
message appears:
1. God created the world we live in, and created us specifically
to have a relationship with him.
2. He deeply loves us.
3. He is holy and therefore cannot be in relationship with
sinful people.
4. But God provided a way for our sin to be forgiven through
Jesus Christ.
5. He ask us to receive His forgiveness by faith in Christ and
have a relationship with Him that will last eternally.
Along with this
central script, the Bible specifically reveals God's
character to us. Psalm 145 is a typical summary of
God's personality, thoughts and feelings toward us.
If you want to know God, here He is.
6. Unlike any other
revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most
specific picture of God. Why Jesus? Look
throughout the major world religions and you'll find
that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all
identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None
of them ever claimed to be equal to God.
Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus
apart from all the others. He said God exists and
you're looking at Him. Though He talked about His
Father in heaven, it was not from the position of
separation, but of very close union, unique to all
humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him
had seen the Father, anyone who believed in Him,
believed in the Father.
He said, "I am
the light of the world, he who follows me will not
walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life."(12) He claimed attributes belonging only
to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin,
free them from habits of sin, give people a more
abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven.
Here's the kicker. Unlike other teachers who focused
people on their words, Jesus pointed people to
himself. He did not say, "follow my words and
you will find truth." He said, "I am the
way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the
Father but through me."(13)
What proof did
Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what
people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed
people: blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple
of people from the dead. He had power over objects:
on at least a couple of occasions, he created food
out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several
thousand people. He performed miracles over nature:
walked on top of a lake, instantly stopped a raging
storm for some friends. People everywhere followed
Jesus, because He constantly met their needs, doing
the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe
what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in
me based on the miracles you're seeing.(14)
What did Jesus
reveal about God's personality? What about God's
thoughts, expectations and His feelings toward
humankind? Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle,
loving, aware of our self-centeredness and
shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with
us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as
sinners, worthy of His punishment, His love for us
ruled and God came up with a different plan. God
would have His Son receive the punishment for our
sin. And Jesus willingly accepted this plan.
Jesus was tortured
with a whip of nine sharp-tipped ends. A
"crown" of two-inch thorns was pressed into
his head. Then they secured Him to a cross by
pounding nails through His hands and feet into the
wood. Given His other miracles, those nails didn't
keep Him on the cross; His love for us did. Jesus
died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the
religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will
you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way
for us to have a relationship with Him. Jesus proves
a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us
to Himself. Because of Jesus' death we can be
forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved
by God. God says, "I have loved you with an
everlasting love, therefore I have continued my
faithfulness to you."(15) This is God, in
action.
The most conclusive
proof that Jesus is equal to God was Jesus' most
closely scrutinized miracle--His own resurrection
from the dead. Jesus said that three days after
His burial He would come back to life. On the third
day after His crucifixion, the almost two-ton boulder
in front of His tomb was catapulted up a slope.(16)
The guard of well-trained Roman soldiers saw a
blinding light and an angel. Except for the burial
clothes that had been wrapped around Jesus' body, the
tomb was empty. Over the years, legal, historical and
logical analysis has been applied to Jesus'
resurrection and the most feasible conclusion still
is that Jesus rose from the dead.
If you want to know if
God exists, investigate Jesus Christ. We're told that
"God so loved the world that He gave His only
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life."(17)
Do you want to
begin a relationship with God and actually know you
are accepted by Him? This is your decision,
no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by
God and come into a relationship with Him, you can do
so right now by asking Him to forgive you and come
into your life. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at
the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or
her]."(18) If you want to do this, but aren't
sure how to put it into words, this may help:
"Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You
know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask
you to forgive me right now and come into my life.
Thank you that you want a relationship with me.
Amen."
God views your
relationship with Him as permanent. Referring to all
those who believe in Him, Jesus Christ said of us,
" . . . I know them, and they follow me; and I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
and no one shall snatch them out of my
hand."(19)
Looking at all these
facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist
and can be known in an intimate, personal way. Please
contact
us if you need
more information about Jesus' claim to divinity, or
about God's existence, or if you have similar
important questions.
1. Romans 1:19-21
2. Jeremiah 29:13-14
3. Paul E. Little, Know Why You Believe
(Victor Books, 1988), p. 22
4. R.E.D. Clark, Creation (London: Tyndale
Press, 1946), p. 20
5. The Wonders of God's Creation, Moody Institute of
Science (Chicago, IL)
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Little, p. 24
10. Thomas McCall, "The Stone of the House of
David," The Levitt Letter (Zola Levitt
Ministries), September 1993
11. Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands A Verdict
(San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers, 1979),
p. 16
12. John 8:12
13. John 14:6
14. John 14:11
15. Jeremiah 31:3
16. Josh McDowell, More Than A Carpenter
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1977), p. 90-91
17. John 3:16
18. Revelation 3:20
19. John 10:27-29
© 1996 Campus Crusade
for Christ, International
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