Friday, February 24, 2023
2 Ways To Live
In the beginning God created the heavens and earth Gen 1:1
It is impossible, to disprove God's existence. Most philosophers and scientists agree that you cannot conclusively disprove the existence of God, because it is almost impossible to prove a "universal negative." In fact, even many atheists would concede that it is impossible to prove that God does not exist.
It is not only religious people who believe things: everyone depends on certain beliefs. Christians have beliefs. Atheists have beliefs. Even agnostics have beliefs. Faith involves belief and trust. Yet faith and reason do not by definition exclude each other; they can in fact be complementary. The Bible does not lead us towards a faith devoid of reason. Alongside the centrality of the heart and will, the New Testament also emphasizes reason and the life of the mind.
Gen 1:26,27 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The terms of what constitutes rational proof are to be understood.
Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). Jesus Himself said, "I am the truth" (John 14:6). Likewise, when Paul was on trial accused of being insane, he said, "I am not insane… What I am saying is true and reasonable" (Acts 26:25). Paul affirmed a rational basis for his belief in Jesus, and he often spoke about his "belief in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
To be a Christian is to believe in the truth; there is rationality to faith. For this reason, the apostle Peter writes, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).
The apostle Paul made the assertion that, "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" (Romans 1:20). He was clearly convinced of there being some sign or rumour of God in the creation itself. What is the evidence for this assertion?
Evidence from the fact that there is "something rather than nothing"
As we look at the world around us, it is natural to wonder why it is here, or where it came from. Modern science has actually sharpened that question for us. "The existence of the Big Bang begs the question of what came before that, and who or what was responsible." Einstein accepted that the universe did have a beginning and the implication of "the presence of a superior reasoning power,"
Astrophysicist Robert Jawstrow wrote:
At this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation… Now we see how the astronomical evidence leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ, but the essential elements and the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same; the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.
Evidence from the "fine tuning" of the universe
Professor Anthony Flew was one of the most influential rationalist atheist philosophers and the mentor to my Philosophy teacher and mentor Ron Laura. But in 2004, he changed his mind. The Church Times said, "Flew… abandoned his life-long commitment to atheism and he now accepts that God exists. In his own words he 'simply had to go where the evidence leads' and recognize that 'the case for God is now much stronger than it was before.'"
Evidence of the nature of human beings
If things just are, as some atheists claim, then there cannot be absolute right and absolute wrong. But in that case, where does this innate sense of right and wrong that we all seem to carry within us—whether Christian, agnostic, or atheist—come from? Paul says that it is the way we are created. God made us with a conscience. He writes that the requirements of the law are written on our hearts. Sometimes they accuse and sometimes they defend us, because we have a conscience (Romans 2:15).
Another compelling piece of evidence to do with human nature is the longing that many find within themselves for something transcendent. St. Augustine (ad 354–430) said, "You formed us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you."14 This is the evidence of experience, the emptiness that is in every human heart. Deep down we know that material things alone cannot satisfy, and that even human relationships are not enough.
the wages of sin is death Rom 6:23
Evidence of God the Liberator
People who profess Christian faith today can look not only to the evidence of creation and of human nature, but also to the historical life of Jesus Christ. John Stott has written: God is partly revealed in the ordered loveliness of the created universe. He is partly revealed in history and in experience, the human conscience, and the human consciousness… Nevertheless, God's full and final self-revelation… has been given in and through Jesus alone.… That is the reason why every enquiry into the truth of Christianity must begin with the historic Jesus.
Evidence of the life of Jesus
No one seriously doubts the fact that there is a great deal of evidence for Jesus' existence. This comes not only from the Gospels and other Christian writings, but also from non-Christian sources. For example, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote that, "Christ, from whom they [Christians] got their name, suffered the extreme penalty [ie, the crucifixion] during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate." There is plenty of evidence both inside and outside the New Testament for the existence of Jesus.
Christ died for our sins.., that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day 1Cor 15:3,4
Evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus
Jesus Christ's physical resurrection from the dead is the cornerstone of Christianity. For myself, it was through the life, death, and in particular the resurrection of Jesus, that I came to believe that there is a God. Christians come to know who God is through these events of history into which God has entered.
For many people the most impressive evidence for the existence of God is the reality of transformed lives and transformed communities. The apostle Paul wrote, "We… are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Evidence of the transformed lives of Paul and the apostles
In the eighteenth century, two eminent lawyers, both atheists, Lord Lyttleton and Gilbert West, were absolutely determined to destroy the Christian faith. They made an agreement between them that they would do this by undermining two things: the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of St. Paul. He sifted the evidence for the resurrection from a legal standpoint, and he finally become satisfied that Jesus was raised from the dead in the way the Gospels described.
Lord Lyttleton's book was entitled Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul., "The conversion and apostleship of St. Paul alone duly considered is in itself demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine revelation."
Evidence of transformed lives and communities
The countless examples of transformed lives in church history and of today offer further evidence of the rationality of faith. The conversion of St. Augustine and the conversion of John Wesley number among them. Personally, I have heard innumerable stories of people whose lives have been transformed at our church and around the world.
Francis Collins, former leader of the Human Genome Project, is one of today's leading scientists. Raised by freethinking parents, he became first an agnostic and then an atheist. He worked in medicine and recounts what happened:
"I was raised by… freethinking parents… for whom religion was just not very important.… I became first an agnostic and then an atheist… One afternoon, a kindly grandmother with only a few weeks to live shared her own faith in Jesus quite openly with me, and then asked, "Doctor, what do you believe?"… I fled the room, having the disturbing sense that the atheist ice under my feet was cracking, though I wasn't quite sure why. And then suddenly the reason for my disquiet hit me: I was a scientist. I was supposed to make decisions based on evidence. And yet I had never really considered the evidence for and against faith. As I explored the evidence more deeply, all around me I began to see signposts to something outside of nature that could only be called God. I realized that the scientific methods can really only answer questions about HOW things work. It can't answer questions about WHY—and those are in fact the most important ones. Why is there something instead of nothing? Why does mathematics work so beautifully to describe nature? Why is the universe so precisely tuned to make life possible? Why do we humans have a universal sense of right and wrong and an urge to do right… Confronted with these revelations, I realized that my own assumption—that faith was the opposite of reason—was incorrect. I should have known better: Scripture defines faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Evidence! Simultaneously, I realized that atheism was in fact the least rational of all choices… How could I have had the arrogance to make such an assertion? After searching for two years more, I ultimately found my own answer—in the loving person of Jesus Christ. Here was a man unlike any other. He was humble and kindhearted. He reached out to those considered lowest in society. He made astounding statements about loving your enemies. And He promised something that no ordinary man should be able to promise —to forgive sins. On top of all that having assumed all my life that Jesus was just a myth, I was astounded to learn that the evidence for His historical existence was actually overwhelming. Eventually, I concluded the evidence demanded a verdict. In my 28th year, I could no longer deny my need for forgiveness and new life—and I gave in and became a follower of Jesus. He is now the rock upon which I stand, the source for me of ultimate love, peace, joy, and hope. Time after time after time, all around the world, millions of people are experiencing the risen Christ today. This is evidence. It is not just individual lives that have been transformed, but whole communities.
Evidence of miraculous healing
Former cardiothoracic surgeon based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for over 25 years, Professor Hughes OA made significant contributions to aortic and coronary artery surgery and led surgical teams across Asia. He is also internationally recognised as a leader in the field of health care quality and safety, told us about the miraculous healing he observed of a heart surgery which went wrong, and how he and the staff observed visually the split heart arteries sew themselves together and then reattach themselves to the patient's heart in the minute before the patient should have died, without human intervention, in answer to prayer.
A friend, Dr. Ken Panten was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, given only a month to live at most by a cancer surgeon. After prayer he was completely healed by the next day.
The doctrine of creation gives meaning to the concept of beauty.
The doctrine of the fall explains why nothing is ever quite perfect —both in the created world and also in the human heart. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the great Russian novelist, wrote, "The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts."
The doctrine of salvation, that God stepped into human history in the Person of His Son, to provide the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and then be raised on the third day, gives evidence for the reality of our need of a Saviour and God's provision of that Saviour.
All that needs to be determined for you to enjoy salvation and a transformed life is for you to receive this Saviour as your Saviour.
This is a personal thing only you can do.
It is your decision.
John 3:16 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
There is a line between faith and unbelief.
Which side are you on?
Would you like to move from this side to this side?
Would you like to do this now?
