Why is the God of the Bible the One who created everything?
Perhaps, instead, it had been other gods?” One skeptic challenged:
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...even if you are correct and all scientific
and "naturalist" explanations eventually lead back to a supernatural
explanation, you have absolutely no basis to determine WHICH supernatural
explanation is the actual truth. All you have is a book that says "this is
the truth" among a million other books which also say they are the truth
but have completely different explanations.
In response, I think that the evidence best fits the Biblical
description of the Biblical God. In the same way that a book requires an
author, the universe requires a competent Creator, who must be:
ETERNAL AND UNCAUSED - How do we account for anything? There
must be a sufficient uncaused Causer (who doesn’t require a prior cause) from
whom all else originated. Causation makes no sense without an uncaused eternal
Causer. Without such a God, nothing could possess an adequate cause or
explanation. If instead, the universe was eternal and uncaused, there could
never be a rational explanation for anything, since everything would require a
prior cause, an illogical, infinite regress of causation.
Besides, if time is infinite and eternal, it would be
impossible to ever accomplish (or count) an infinite number of years to ever
arrive in the present.
Furthermore, only an uncaused Causer is capable of
accounting for how this world of molecules-in-motion is maintained. For one
thing, the immutable and universal laws of science would need a transcendent
explanation if everything else in this universe is in constant flux.
OMNIPOTENT - The cause must always be greater than the
effect. To create and to harmoniously hold all things together, including the
immutable and elegant laws of science, requires an all-powerful God.
Consequently, there are many realities that depend on an omnipotent God -
existence, freewill, consciousness, objective moral truth, life, DNA, the
immutable laws of science, prayer-answers, fine-tuning...
OMNISCIENT- The world requires the design and harmony that
can only come from omniscience. We have no evidence of a god tampering with the
laws of science trying to improve any mistakes. It seems that, instead, God had
an adequate understanding of what He was doing from the beginning.
This also puts the kibosh on the possibility of multiple
finite gods. These would be unable to account for the stability of the universe
and its laws. Multiple gods would also defy the principle of parsimony (Occam’s
Razor).
RIGHTEOUS - Such a God explains our desire and willingness
to do the right thing, even when our emotions tell us to run. He provides the
only possible basis for objective moral truth and meaning, the things that our
heart craves. Otherwise, society would be a competition between many different
wills and ideas, all trying to dominate the others through raw force.
Besides, if our creator is evil, there would be no reason to
outdo him to be good. Rather, such an attempt might even infuriate this god. Instead,
the moral laws inscribed upon our conscience tend to accord with those of the
God of the Bible.
JUST - If there does not exist an omniscient and supremely
moral God of justice, society would still have to create just laws to maintain
order. Parents would still have to teach their children right/wrong, good/bad,
and just/unjust and to make believe that these non-existent entities have
authority over our lives. Teachers would still have to make-believe that it is
wrong to bully and to cheat, even though our laws would be no more than evolving
social conventions of those in power.
There are many other areas that we would have to live
disingenuously and make-believe that freewill, human responsibility, honor,
meaning, equality, human rights, and integrity exist once they reject the God
of the Bible.
ONE - The harmony and immutability we find in science is
best accounted for by the existence of a single God rather than in a
competition among many gods, creating disorder.
LOVE - This creation seems to be incredibly fine-tuned to
fulfill our desires and needs. It satisfies all of our longings for food,
drink, family, friendship, sex, and aesthetics in a way that shows us that the
Creator loves us. His love will eventually satisfy the rest of our needs in His
promised heaven.
God’s miraculous answers to our prayers also confirm His
love for us.
TRUTH – God is the one sought-after unifying principle or
cause. God’s truth satisfies our needs to know and to systematically understand
how all knowledge fits together. Even our planet seems to be situated in a
place that maximizes knowability. Consequently, truth is elegant and knowable.
Just look at the precise and elegant laws that make science and learning
possible!
The above suggests that the creation (including ourselves)
is the product of no lesser God than the God of the Bible. No other Source can
better explain the reality that we navigate, even our own psychology, than the
God of the Bible.
Besides these considerations, there are many reasons to
belief that the Bible is divinely authored: The miracles of the Bible,
fulfilled prophecies, it’s wisdom which has changed lives and has elevated
Bible-centered cultures, internal and external supportive evidence. We just
need to recall these truths. Consequently, Moses continually reminded Israel of
their reasons to trust in their God:
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you shall not be afraid of them but you shall
remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great
trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the
outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD
your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. (Deuteronomy 7:18–19)
Fear can control our lives. Therefore, we must remember our
God, who can empower us! It is only when I recall that I am enabled to stand
against adversity and threat.
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