REASONS WE BELIEVE: CHAPTER TWO
Reasons We Believe in God
Colossians 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorizes— all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
PART I – Belief in God Makes Sense The Obvious Because we cannot put God in a test tube, some erroneously charge we can not prove the existence of God. Such reason equals that of a person riding in a car denying the existence of a carmaker.
In Psalm 139 David sees the amazing facts of our creation:
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, For I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
Now in our scientific, time we have more reasons than ever to believe. Science is increasingly detailing the amazing intricacies of everything in our universe. How many times I have heard it said, if something was not in place just so, we could not have life on earth, in our bodies, in our universe. If it were not for the extremely complicated and balanced machinery of our bodies, we would not have life. If it were not for the right balance of the solar system, we would not have life on earth. If we did not have a moon, there would not be life on earth. If there were not diatoms (small microscopic organisms), we would not have life on earth. If the earth was not tilted at the exact degree it is, there would not be life on earth.
The extremely complicated and complex machinery of the universe is astounding. Increasingly scientists are coming to faith from this obvious fact. It is too ludicrous to deny a creator.
The Human Cell The unveiling of scientific knowledge, even the very smallest part of our bodies, the human cell, is astounding scientists. They used to say the cell was just proto-plasma, or just a blob of jelly. Now scientists are saying the cell is as complicated and involved as New York City, for there is tremendous manufacturing, communication, and transportation going on in each cell.
The Human Genome Project is mapping a sequence of DNA representing the functional blueprint of the human species. Here is a picture of a “map” from the Human Genome Project from the National Center for Biotechnology Information web site. They are trying to categorize the millions of bits of information contained in each cell. It is obvious a “blueprint” constructs us all. Each cell contains over 3 million bits of information detailing how each person is uniquely made: the color of your hair, your stature, fingernails, longevity, etc. All of this is going on in each of your 60 Trillion cells that make up YOU!
Another amazing fact is that there are 60,000 different types of proteins within every cell of your body. Each type of protein has its own particular function and has its own “zip code” so it knows where to go in the cell.
In fact, if you would unravel all the DNA ladders that are twisted up in the chromosomes of your body and put them end to end they would reach from the Sun to Jupiter, and back, seven times. This is obviously coded information. Somebody, a GREAT Creator, has put a lot of time and thought into you!
Another report said, if you put this genetic code, which is in the chromosomes in one cell into a computer code written in a book. The book would be as tall as the Washington Monument!!! Now remember – all of this is going on in just one of your cells, which is so small you need a microscope to see it!
Each process in each cell is a great study in itself. I remember seeing on TV a class on cellular biology. In order for a cell to reproduce a chromosome, the chromosome would split and float into a type of “garage” where it would have to fit perfectly onto one part of the system that had a unique four-part connector. Once it was found to be perfectly connected then the “garage” would recreate another identical chromosome. In this way, the chromosomes could be reproduced and cause growth of more cells.
There are many intricate components of cells such as power stations and numerous “floating”, “intelligent” gates on the cell walls which discern what substances are helpful and harmful. Then they only let in the helpful substances. All this is floating unattached within the cell. The cell is floating by itself with out strings attached yet, all this, works together to form you - your body. Design, plan, and purpose are overwhelmingly present.
Scientists Discover God In a Newsweek’s cover story “Scientists Discover God” it said, many scientists are being over-whelmed with the complexity in everything. Many are concluding it is too improbable, anymore, to say it could have all just happened - God must be behind it all.
New studies continue to reveal the great complexities of creation, even parts of our bodies, like the eye, or the human brain, which defies evolutionists. For instance, the cells in the retina of your eye are processing 10 billion calculations a second. That is a phenomenal computer function which evolution could never produce or explain.
For example Carl Sagan admitted the extreme complexities of the human brain and said of the bits of information in a brain: “If written out in English, say, that information would fill some twenty million volumes, as many as in the world’s largest libraries. . . . The neurochemistry of the brain is astonishingly busy, the circuitry of a machine more wonderful than any devised by humans.” -Carl Sagan, Cosmos p.4.
Example: “Sir James Jeans one of our greatest modern astronomers said that the more he examined the vast expanses of space and the tremendous complexity of these things, the more the universe seemed to be one gigantic thought of a great mathematician.”
The word “Cosmos” means “ordered and beautiful.” That is also, why we derive from it the word cosmetics. There is so much evidence of beautiful order.
Another Example is in Quantum physics. At the level of subatomic particles, there is an irresistible urge towards symmetry. There is an amazing cosmetic aspect to the whole universe.
Max Planck started Quantum Physics in 1900, then Einstein and others continued the work. Before Quantum Physics, mankind held to the view, in opposite contention with the Bible, that matter and energy always existed, with no beginning or end. Yet the Bible repeatedly states that God has created everything out of nothing. But now, Quantum physics is showing that the whole universe has had a beginning. The Big Bang theory is showing the universe had a beginning - out of nothing. “God spoke, and “bang” it happened!”
One of the laws of physics called “Entropy” states that everything is run- fling down and if there are any changes, they go to a more deteriorated state. In other words, there has been a beginning and will probably be an end. The Greeks, up to modern man, held the opposite view, but now science is catching up to what the Bible has always stated.
PART II – A Delicate Balance We constantly see purpose in the universe and in our lives. If we see a computer, we do not think it created itself. We know, without question, someone created it and put it there. Even in the smallest of details, if anthropologists see square stones on top of one another they declare these stones did not just happen that way. Obviously, men intentionally set them there for a purpose. When we see clear patterns of intention and purpose in creation, we would be foolish to deny God’s creative intent, intelligence, and purpose. So much more so, when we see extremely complex machinery and balance in effect we would be foolish not to identify intentional creation.
In our solar system, Earth is the only planet tilted on its axis. This provides equal distribution of sunlight and temperature to moderate the planet. If the earth averaged 4 degrees colder, we would be an ice planet.
Without the moon, all life on earth would cease. The moon causes tides which regularly clean up our shores and waterways, otherwise they would become stench pools. The oceans are therefore aerated providing oxygen for the plankton, which is the very foundation of the food chain of our world. Without this balance, man could not live on the earth.
The changing seasons of our world continually mix the atmosphere. This keeps a perfect mixture of 78 percent nitrogen and 21 % Oxygen and 1 % other trace elements.
This mixing causes lightening. Lightening places the nitrogen into the soil, which plants need to grow. God worked it out so that the 100,000 lightening bolts strike the earth every day around the world. This produces a hundred million tons of usable nitrogen plant food in the soil every year. God provides the needed rains. Trainloads of water could never provide nearly enough.
A thin layer of Ozone protects us in the upper atmosphere. If compressed, it would only be 1/4 inch thick. It filters out eight varieties of killer rays that come from the sun. Yet, it filters just enough of some of these rays to kill green algae to keep them from overgrowing and filling up all our lakes, waterways, and oceans of the world.
The earth’s crust beneath our feet is relative proportionally thinner than the skin on an apple. Below our crust is molten lava; above our air are deadly rays and the vacuum of space.
We see a constant care of countless details in full operation. God constantly secures us by His care. We see the magnitude of His intelligence and wisdom to give us life on this planet.
Man has never created a law of the universe. Yet when we he discovers one, he acts so smart, yet does not acknowledge He is only coming to recognize and use what God has established. We still don’t understand much; take for example one of the four main powers of the universe — gravity, we don’t have a clue how it works, we can only measure its effects.
All this assures us the lawgiver cares; otherwise, it would all deteriorate into madness and chaos. What if the sun would not come up, or gravity would fluctuate?
Nature programs which espouse evolution and what “Nature” has done, constantly talk about “design and purpose,” yet they deny the Creator or our need to listen to and obey Him. As the Bible says in Psalm 41:1-3:
The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
There is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Romans 1:18-23 says:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, “since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plan to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Thank you Lord! Forgive us when we so shallowly dismiss you and laughingly say that all this just happened by chance. We need you! Save us!
STORY OF THE VBS BOY:
Coming home after Vacation Bible School on a summer day the little boy marveled at the butterfly on his finger and flying around the colorful flowers. Flopping on the grass, he was absorbed by the sky with its blue color and changing clouds. As he skipped by his neighbors place, his middle-aged neighbor asked him “Where have you been Johnny?” To Bible School,” he replied. “OH?” the man, questioned, “tell you what, I’ll give you a dollar if you can show me where God is.” “Mister,” the boy responded” I’ll give you a dollar if you can show me where He isn’t.
The Hunger in the Human Heart In the study of anthropology, we see that men have always had a constant belief in the supernatural and belief in God, a power higher than us that created and controls things.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says of God:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Blaise Pascal, the great 17 Century mathematician referred to the “God shaped vacuum” which is in every man. Humanity has always sought and believed in the divine, even though they do not see God or understand everything.
We do not expect to see the World Book Encyclopedia created by a print shop exploding. So too, while Christians believe God spoke and bang it happened, it was obviously not an explosion of chaos. Explosions do not create! Rather, this “Big Bang” was an explosion of creativity, with intent and reason.
Creation demands the verdict - there is a Creator!
PART III Reasons From Moral Law Moral law makes no sense to evolution. Think about it, if we are all just the product of accident and survival of the fittest, why would there be any higher moral law? Self-sacrifice for others would be foolish and contrary to natural law. Where did this idea come from? From a higher plane!