Lecture 7:
The Existence of God
Major Arguments for God’s Existence
Based upon Natural Theology
What is our mindset on the subject of
God?
 When Scottish theologian John Baillie taught at
Edinburgh University, he made it a practice to open
his course on the doctrine of God with these words:
“We must remember, in discussing God, that we
cannot talk about Him without His hearing every word
we say. We may be able to talk about others behind
their backs, but God is everywhere, yes, even in this
classroom. Therefore, in all our discussions we must
be aware of His infinite presence, and talk about Him,
as it were, before His face.”
Definition of God:
 “An eternal, uncaused, independent,
Necessary Being, that hath life, power,
wisdom, goodness, and whatsoever other
supposedly excellency, in the highest
Perfection, in and of itself.”
~ John Howe, Bancroft, Systematic Theology,
60.
Definition of God:
 “God is an invisible, personal, and living Spirit,
distinguished from all other spirits by several kinds of
attributes: metaphysically God is self existent,
eternal, and unchanging; intellectually God is
omniscient, faithful, and wise; ethically God is just,
merciful, and loving; emotionally God detest evil, is
long suffering, and is compassionate; existentially
God is free, authentic, and omnipotent; relationally
God is transcendent in being, immanent universally in
providential activity, and immanent with his people in
redemptive activity.”
~ Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 492.
Definition of God:
 “God is the infinite & perfect Spirit in
whom all things have their source,
support, and end.”
~ A. Strong, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 55.
Definition of God:
 “There is but one living and true God,
everlasting, without body, parts or
passions; of infinite power, wisdom,
and goodness; the Maker and Preserver
of all things both visible and invisible.”
~ Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.
Definition of God:
 “The one to whom time and space do
not apply, who provides and creates all,
and is limited by nothing, yet personal
to everyone-perfection!”
~ CBS Student: Shannon Scacewater (7/16/2008)
What is a Syllogism:
Anything logical may be expressed in syllogistic form.
A syllogism involves three aspects:
1.
A Major Premise:
All mortals things will die.
2.
A Minor Premise:
All men are mortal.
3.
A Conclusion:
All men will die.
The Cosmological Argument:
A Cause at the Beginning. The universe had a
beginning caused by something beyond the
universe: Something cannot come from nothing.
1.
2.
3.
The universe had a beginning.
Anything that had a beginning must have
been caused by something (someone) else.
Therefore the universe was caused by
something (someone) else.
The Cosmological Argument:
A Cause to continue existing. Something not only caused
the world to come into being (Gen. 1:1) but something
causes it to continue to be (cf. Col. 1:17). Diamond is
dependent on two triangles.
1.
2.
3.
Every part of the universe is dependent.
If every part of universe is dependent, then
the whole universe must also be dependent.
Therefore, the whole universe is dependent for
existence right now on some Independent
Being.
The Teleological Argument:
Since the universe is exceedingly more complex in
its operation, there must be a Maker of the
universe.
1.
2.
3.
All designs imply a designer.
There is a great design in the universe.
Therefore, there must be a Great
Designer of the universe.
The Ontological Argument:
The perfect being. The mere concept of God as an absolutely
perfect being demands that He exist. It argues from the idea of
God to the existence of God. If God did not exist, then he would
be lacking one perfection, namely, existence. But if God lacked
any perfection, then he would not be absolutely perfect. But God
is by definition an absolutely perfect being.
1.
2.
3.
God is by definition an absolutely
perfect being.
But existence is a perfection.
Therefore, God must exist.
The Ontological Argument:
“The ontological argument seeks to show that once
we grasp the concept of God as the greatest
conceivable being, then it becomes clear that God
must exist.” ~ J. P. Moreland & William L. Craig
1.
2.
3.
God is by definition an absolutely
perfect being.
But existence is a perfection.
Therefore, God must exist.
The Ontological Argument:
The Necessary Being. The Very concept of a Necessary
Being demands its existence. For the very idea of a
Necessary Being demands that it must exist. For if it did
not exist, then it would not be a necessary existence.
1.
2.
3.
If God exists, we must conceive of Him as a
Necessary Being.
But by definition, a Necessary Being cannot
exist.
Therefore, if a Necessary Being can, then it
must, exist.
The Moral Law Argument:
The roots of moral argument for God are found in Romans
2:12-15 in which humanity is said to stand unexcused since
there is “a law written on their hearts.” Moral laws don’t
describe what is, they prescribe what ought to be.
1.
2.
3.
Moral laws imply a Moral Law Giver.
There is an objective moral law.
Therefore, there is a Moral Law Giver.
The Religious Need Argument:
Is the desire to believe in God an illusion, human wishes,
purely psychological, or is it factual? The desire for God
does exist, not as a psychological wish, but from real
existential need.
1.
2.
3.
Human beings really need God.
What humans really need, probably
really exists.
Therefore, God really exists.
The Argument from Joy:
Creatures are not born with desires unless
satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels
hunger; food can satisfy.
1.
2.
3.
Every natural innate desire has a real object
that can fulfill it.
Human beings have a natural, innate desire
for immortality.
Therefore, there must be an immortal life
after death.