WHY THE GOD OF THE BIBLE

 

 

 

 

 Why is the God of the Bible the One who created everything? Perhaps, instead, it had been other gods?” One skeptic challenged:

 

·       ...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:

·       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.