Proof in science is similar to a law court. Lawyers speak of “proof beyond reasonable doubt.” They can’t mathematically prove someone did the crime but they can build up a case using confession, eye-witnesses and documentary evidence. It is this type of proof that Christians offer when it comes to God. Here are some arguments:
The argument from morality: we have an innate, built-in sense of right and wrong. This points to a law inside us, which points to a lawgiver - someone
outside ourselves who has put that law in us.
- The aesthetic argument: art and beauty point to something beyond ourselves. . A character in Chasing Francis, a book about a church pastor who loses his faith says: “The object of all great art is beauty and it makes us nostalgic for God.” Francis Collins, one of the world’s leading geneticists, used to be an atheist. He became convinced of God’s existence when he saw a beautiful frozen waterfall!
- The argument from desire: this is the idea that there’s more to life than this, which points to the fact that we don’t belong here. CS Lewis said: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
- The argument from cosmology: the existence of the Universe points to the existence of a God who created it. When the Big Bang Theory came out in the 1930s, atheists tried to get rid of it because it supported the Christian idea of the universe having a beginning. And if it had a beginning, something or someone must have kick started that process.
- Argument from design: if a tiny change was made in something like the gases in the air or how close the Earth is to the sun, life would be impossible. Is everything perfectly in balance because of chance? Or could it be that someone has put it all together? Look at how complicated humans are. Could this point to a god who designed us? Isaac Newton said: “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”
- Argument from personal experience: ask any Christian how they know that God exists and they will have their own unique story and reasons.
Questions to ask:
- What ‘proof’ would make it impossible for you not to believe in God?
- Why doesn’t God make himself more obvious?
- What makes you think God doesn’t exist?
