Is There a God?

In human existence there is no more profound question demanding an answer. Is there a God? is a question that challenges every thinking person, and the answer has far-reaching implications for each of us no matter where we are in life.

To begin with, consider the law of cause and effect. No effect can be produced without a cause. There's a note in your door. Someone put it there. The painting on the wall, someone drew it. Nothing comes from nothing! We as human beings and the universe itself are effects that must have had a cause. We come eventually to an uncaused cause, who is God.

God, the Creator, the Beginner, by definition is eternal. He is uncreated. He is self-existent. Were God a created being, He would not be a cause, He would be an effect. He would not and could not be God. R.C. Sproul, author and lecturer, explains, "Being eternal, God is not an effect. Since He is not an effect, He does not require a cause. He is uncaused. It is important to note the difference between an uncaused, self-existent eternal being and an effect that causes itself through self-creation.

The human body, for instance, is an admittedly astounding and complex organism, a continual marvel of organization, design and efficiency. So impressed was Albert Einstein with this that he concluded: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illuminate superior Spirit who reveals himself to the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God." To our knowledge, he never progressed to believe in a personal God.

There are basically two choices for Christians and non-Christians alike: Did the universe and the human race begin by chance or by purpose and design?

Life forms would then evolve. However, the difficulties this theory presents are so enormous that today those same scientists are forthrightly pointing out its weaknesses.

The distinguished astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle has proposed an analogy to illustrate these difficulties. He asks, "How long would it take a blindfolded person to solve a Rubik's Cube?" If the person makes one move per second, without resting, Hoyle estimates it would take an astonishing 1.35 trillion years! Therefore, he concludes, when you consider the life expectancy of a human being, a blindfolded person could not solve the Rubik's Cube.

Hoyle then explains that it would be equally as difficult for the accidental formation of only one of the many chains of amino acids in a living cell in which there are about 200,000 such amino acids. Now if you would compute the time required to get all 200,000 amino acids for one human cell to come together by chance, it would be about 293.5 times the estimated age of the earth (set at the standard 4.6 billion years). The odds against that happening would be far greater than a blindfolded person trying to solve the Rubik's Cube!

In another analogy Hoyle bolsters his argument. He likens this to a "junkyard mentality" and asks, "What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for takeoff" Hoyle answers, "The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!"

In the beginning you [LORD] laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Psalm 102:25

-Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little parts from Chapter 2