FREE ESSAY ON PRESENCE OF A GOD

PRESENCE OF A GOD

Does a God Exist?
Either God exists or He doesn't. There is no middle ground. Any attempt to remain neutral
in relation to God's existence is automatically synonymous with unbelief. It is far from
a simple clear cut question, for if God does exist, then nothing else really matters; if
He does not exist, then nothing really matters at all. If He does exist, then there is an
eternal heaven to be gained (Hebrews 11:16) and an eternal Hell to be avoided (Revelation
21:8). 
The question for God's existence is an extremely important one. One might wonder why it
is necessary to present evidence for the existence of God. As Edward Thomson so
beautifully stated it: ...the doctrine of the one living and true God, Creator,
Preserver, and Benefactor of the universe, as it solves so many problems, resolves so
many doubts, banishes so many fears, inspires so many hopes, gives such sublimity to all
things, and such spring to all noble powers, we might presume would, as soon as it was
announced, be received by every healthy mind. Some, however, contrary to their higher
interests, have refused to have God in their knowledge and thus have become vain in their
reasonings and foolish in their philosophy (Romans 1:21,22,28). They do not see the folly
(Psalm 14:1) of saying there is no God. The Christian has not only the obligation to give
answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you... (I
Peter 3:15), but an obligation to carry the Gospel message to a lost and dying world
(Mark 16:15-16, et al.). There will be times when carrying the Gospel message to the
world will entail setting forth the case for the existence of God. In addition, we need
to remember that Christians are not agnostics. The agnostic is the person who says that
God's existence is unknowable. As difficult as it is to believe, some Christians take
that same stance in regard to God's existence. They assert that they believe there is a
God, but that they cannot know it. They state that God's existence cannot be proved. Is
God's existence some blind leap into the dark as so many have erroneously asserted? If we
do attempt to prove that there is a God, we do not mean by the word proved that God's
existence can be scientifically demonstrated to human senses as one might, for example,
prove that a sack of potatoes weighs ten pounds. But we need to be reminded (especially
in our day of scientific intimidation) that empirical evidence (that based solely upon
experiment and/or observation) is not the only basis for establishing a provable case. 
But an important question which serves as a preface to the case for God's existence is
this: From whence has come the idea of God in man's mind? The inclination to be religious
is universally and peculiarly a human trait. If, therefore, man is incurably
religious--and has the idea of God in his mind--and if we assume that the world is
rational, it is impossible that a phenomenon so universal as religion could be founded
upon illusion. The question is highly appropriate therefore: what is the source of this
religious tendency within man? The idea of God has not come from reason (skeptics hold,
of course, that the concept is unreasonable), and that it has not come from revelation.
The idea of God has simply come through imagination. David Hume, renowned in the secular
of philosophy, stated that the creative power of the mind amounts to nothing more than
the faculty of combining, transposing, augmenting and diminishing the materials afforded
to us by sense and experience. The imagination, it turns out, has `no creative power'.
Neither reason nor imagination create. Reason, like a carpenter's yardstick, is a
measure, not an originator. Imagination works only on those items already in the mind; it
does not create anything new. [Sigmund Freud, German psychoanalyst of the first part of
the 20th century, attempted to explain God's existence by stating that man had indeed
formed the heavenly father from the idea in his mind of his earthly father. But this idea
will not suffice either. Is the God of the Bible the God man would invent if asked to do
so? Look around at the god man invents when left to his own devices--the god of hedonism,
epicurianism, subjectivism, or the god of if it feels good, do it. The God of the Bible
is not the God man would invent, if left to his own devices. Freud's attempt to explain
the idea of God in man's mind failed miserably. The idea of God in man's mind could have
come through revelation. So is the concept of God a traceable communication between the
Creator and the creature? An argument against this can be posed in the following
question: If the idea of God is basic to human nature, we would not be able to deny it;
we do deny it, however; therefore it is not intuitive. It is sufficient to observe in
rebuttal to such a claim that man, under the enchantment of a deceptive philosophy, can
deny the most obvious of things. Those deluded, for example, by Christian Science
religion deny the existence of matter and death. Some today deny that the earth is
spherical or that man has ever been to the moon. But a denial of facts does not
automatically negate the facts. Man's attitude toward Truth does not. Dr. E.A. Maness
once remarked, If the word God were written upon every blowing leaf, embossed on every
passing cloud, engraved on every granite rock, the inductive evidence of God in the world
would be no stronger than it is. 
When the writer of Hebrews stated that, ...every house is builded by someone... (Hebrews
3:4), he suggested the well-known principle of cause and effect. Every effect must have
an adequate cause. Further indicated is the fact that no effect can be qualitatively
superior to or quantitatively greater than the cause. The universe is here, and is a
tremendous effect. Hence, it must be explained in terms of an adequate cause. There are
four possible explanations for the universe. (1) It is but an illusion, and does not
really exist. This is not a logical consideration. (2) It spontaneously arose out of
nothing. This view is not highly likely. No material thing can create itself. (3) It has
always existed. This theory, though held by many atheistic scientists of our day, is
scientifically untenable. Every moment reveals that the stars are burning up, the sun is
cooling off, the earth is wearing out, etc. Such facts indicate that the universe had a
beginning; otherwise it would long ago have already reached a state of deadness. The
essence of the strange developments is that the Universe had, in some sense, a
beginning--that it began at a certain moment in time. According to the second law of
thermodynamics, when applied to the Cosmos, indicates that the Universe is running down
like a clock. If it is running down, there must have been a time when it was fully wound
up. The astronomer comes to a time when the Universe contained nothing but hydrogen--no
carbon, no oxygen, and none of the other elements out of which planets and life are made.
This point in time must have marked the beginning of the Universe. In effect it must have
been created. This is the only remaining alternative and the only reasonable view of the
origin of the universe. Since our finite, dependent (and contingent) universe (of
matter/energy) did not cause itself, it was obviously caused by a force, to what this
force is depends on your beliefs. Was there a God in involved?
There are an estimated one billion galaxies, and most of them contain billions of stars
(the Milky Way galaxy in which we live, for example, contains over `100 billion stars').
It is so large that traveling at the speed of light (186,317.6 miles per second) it would
take you 100,000 years to go across just the diameter of the galaxy. Our nearest
neighboring galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy, which is an estimated 2,000,000 light years
away. That's so far that a radio wave which goes around the earth approximately 8.2 times
in one second would require over 1 million years to get there, and a return message would
take another 1+ million years. The observable universe has an estimated diameter of 20
billion light years. But it isn't simply the size of the universe that is so marvelous.
The size is important, of course, but so is the `design'. The earth, for example, in
orbiting the sun, departs from a straight line by only one-ninth of an inch every 18
miles--a very straight line in human terms. If the orbit changed by one-tenth of an inch
every 18 miles, our orbit would be vastly larger and we would all freeze to death. If it
changed by one-eighth of an inch, we would come so close to the sun w e would all be
incinerated.. Are we to believe that such precision just happened by accident? The sun is
burning at approximately 20 million degrees Celsius at its interior.. If we were to move
the earth `away' 10%, we would soon freeze to death. If we were to move the earth
`closer' by 10%, we would once again be incinerated. The sun is poised at 93 million
miles from earth, which happens to be just right--by accident? The moon is poised some
240,000 miles from the earth. Move it in just one fifth, and twice every day there would
be 35-50 feet high tidal waves over most of the earth's surface. The distance of 240,000
miles happens to he just right--by accident? And consider these facts: the earth is
rotating at 1,000 miles per hour on its axis at the equator, and moving around the sun at
70,000 miles per hour (approximately 19 miles per second), while the sun with its solar
system is moving through space at 600,000 miles per hour in an orbit so large it would
take over 220 million years to complete just one orbit. What would happen if the rotation
rate of the earth around the sun were halved, or doubled? If it were halved, the seasons
would be doubled in length, which over most of the earth would cause such harsh summer
heat and winter cold that not enough food could be grown to feed the world's population.
If it were doubled, no single season would be long enough to grow the amount of food
necessary to feed the world's population. The fundamental law of science, we repeat, is
the Law of Causality which states that every effect must have an adequate cause. There is
no known exception. The universe is admittedly a known effect. The Universe and
everything that has happened in it since the beginning of time, are a grand effect
`without a known cause'. The question is: `What is the adequate cause?' The
atheist/agnostic has no answer. The Christian does. `God is the First Cause', and has
left the evidences of His existence so evident that they are incontrovertible. 
Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the
long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of
the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. So many people fail to see one
of the most powerful arguments possible for God's existence--their own selves. Consider,
for example, the human body. It is composed of 30+ different kinds of cells, totaling
over `100 trillion' cells when all added together to make up the human adult.. These
cells come in all different sizes and shapes, with different functions and life
expectancies. For example, some cells (e.g., male spermatozoa) are so small that 20,000
would fit inside a capital O from a standard typewriter, each being only 1/20th mm long.
Some cells, put end-to-end, would make only one inch if 6,000 were assembled together.
Yet all the cells of the human body, if set end- to-end, would encircle the earth over
200 times. Even the largest cell of the human body, the female ovum, is unbelievably
small, being only 1/100th of an inch in diameter. Yet each cell is composed of a lipo-
protein membrane lining (lipids/proteins/lipids) which is approximately 6/100-8/100 fm (4
atoms) thick. Yet it allows selective transport outside the cell of those things that
ought to go out, and selective transport into the cell of those things that ought to go
in. Inside the cell's three-dimensional cytoplasm there are over 20 different chemical
reactions going on at any one time, with each cell containing five major systems: (1)
communication; (2) waste disposal; (3) nutrition; (4) repair, and; (5) reproduction. The
endoplasmic reticulum of the cell serves as a transport system. The ribosome produce
protein, which is then distributed around the body as needed by the Golgi bodies. The
mitochondria (over 1,000 per cell) are the powerhouses of the cell, producing the energy
needed by the body. The nucleus, of course, carries the genetic code in its DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid). Red blood cells (there are approximately 30 trillion of them)
live about 120 days; white blood cells (the blood's defense system) live about 13 days;
platelets (which help blood to clot) live about 4 days; nerve cells may live over 100
years. In any given 60-second period, approximately 3 billion cells die and are replaced
in the human body through the process we call `mitosis', whereby the standard chromosome
number (in the human, 46) is faithfully reproduced. A single cell contains a strip of DNA
(placed in the nucleus in a spiral-staircase configuration) which is about one yard long,
and which contains `over 6 billion biochemical steps'. Every cell of the body contains
such DNA--over a billion miles total in one human. How powerful is the DNA? It provides,
in coded form, `every physical characteristic of every living person'. How many people
are there on the face of the earth? There are a few more than 5 billion. It took two
cells (a male spermatozoa and a female ovum) to make each one of these people. If there
are roughly 5 billion people on the earth, and it took two cells to make each of them,
that's approximately 10 billion cells (remember: this is the DNA it took to give every
living person every physical characteristic he or she has), and that DNA would fit into
no more than `1/8th of a cubic inch'. Are we to then understand that this kind of design
came by accident? Consider the skin of the human. It is a nearly waterproof layer,
enclosing the body's contents, almost 60% of which is water. It prevents the exit or
entrance of too much moisture, and acts as a protector for the rest of the body. At the
same time it is both a radiator and retainer of heat, helping to regulate the body's
temperature in conjunction with the two hypothalamus glands in the brain. Skin may be as
thick as 5/16th of an inch (e.g., the eyelid). The skin contains over 2,000 sweat glands
which form one of the most ingenious air-conditioning systems ever known to man. Skin
acts as a barrier to protect the sensitive internal organs, and even has the power to
regenerate itself. Consider the skeletal system of the body. It is composed of 206 bones,
more durable and longer lasting than man's best steel. Each joint produces its own
lubrication and the system as a whole is able to provide not only structure, but great
protection (e.g., the 24 ribs guarding the internal viscera). There are 29 skull bones,
26 spinal vertebrae, 24 ribs, 2 girdle bones, and 120 other bones scattered over the
body. The bones range in size, from the tiny pisiform bone in the hand, to the great
femur (over 20 inches long in the thigh of an average man). Yet in a man weighing 160
pounds, the bones weigh only 29 pounds. And consider, of course, the muscles. There are
over 600 of them in the human, with the function of contraction and release. From the
smile on the face of the newborn baby to the legs of the marathon runner, the muscles are
in charge. They are placed, however, into two systems--the `voluntary system' over which
you have control (reach out and grab a ball), and the `involuntary system' over which you
have little or no control (try stopping a kidney). Are we to believe that the skeletal
and muscle systems, in all their complexity, just happened? No one could ever convince
you that, for example, a Cadillac limousine just happened. Yet something infinitely
greater in design and structure-- the human body--we are asked to believe just happened.
What kind of incongruous logic is that, to reach such a conclusion? One does not get a
poem without a poet, or a law without a lawgiver. One does not get a painting without a
painter, or a musical score without a composer. And just as surely, `one does not get
purposeful design without a designer.' Consider, for example, the human ear and the human
eye. The average piano can distinguish the sounds of 88 keys; the human ear can
distinguish over 2,500 different key tones. In fact, the human ear can detect sound
frequencies that flutter the ear drums as faintly as one- billionth of a centimeter (a
distance one-tenth the diameter of a hydrogen atom).. The ear is so sensitive that it
could even hear, were the body placed in a completely soundproof room, the blood coursing
through the veins. Over 100,000 hearing receptors in the ears are sending impulses to the
brain to be decoded and answered. The human eye is the most perfect camera ever known to
man. So perfect is it that its very presence caused Charles Darwin to say, That the eye
with all its inimitable contrivances...could have been formed by natural selection seems,
I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. Darwin also commented: If it could be
demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by
numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. The
eye, as it turns out, is such an organ, and Darwin's theory, as such, has broken down.
Each human eye is composed of over 107 million cells with 7 million cones (allowing the
eye to see in full, living color) and 100 million rods (allowing the eye to see in
blacks, whites, and greys). The eyes are connected to the brain by over 300,000 nerves,
and can detect light as feeble as 1/100 trillionth of a watt. How is the eye supposed to
have evolved? What intermediate state between no eye and a perfect eye could nature have
selected to be passed on to successive generations? There are so many systems in the
human body that could be discussed, but since space precludes discussing them all, it is
now to the brain that we turn our attention. The brain, of course, regulates the rest of
the body. It contains over 10 billion nerve cells, and 100 billion glia cells (which
provide the biological batteries for brain activity). These cells float in a jellied
mass, sifting through information, storing memories, creating what we call consciousness,
etc.. Over 120 trillion connections tie these cells together. The brain sends out
electrical impulses at a speed of 393 feet per second (270 mph), and receives nerve
impulses being produced at a rate of over 2,000/second. The brain receives signals
continuously from 130,000 light receptors in the eyes, 100,000 hearing receptors in the
ears, 3,000 taste buds, 30,000 heat spots on the skin, 250,000 cold spots, and 500,000
touch spots. The brain does not move, yet consumes 25% of the blood's oxygen supply. It
is constantly bathed in blood, its vessels receiving 20% of all the blood pumped from the
heart. If the blood flow is interrupted for 15-30 seconds, unconsciousness results. If
blood is cut off to the brain for longer than 4 minutes, brain damage results. Four major
arteries carry blood to the brain as a sort of fail-safe system. And, the brain is
protected from damage by not one, but three major systems: (1) the outer skull bone; (2)
the `duramater' and; (3) the absorbing fluid, which keeps the brain from hitting the
inner skull. With the brain properly functioning, all the other body systems (hormones,
circulatory, digestive, reproductive, etc.) can be overseen and controlled. An accident
in a universe that created it could not have had us in mind in the first place. Or, are
we created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26,27)? 
In order to get a poem, one must have a poet. In order to have a law, one must have a
lawgiver. In order to have a mathematical diagram, one must have a mathematician. A
deduction commonly made is that order, arrangement, or design in a system suggest
intelligence and purpose on the part of the originating cause. In the universe, from the
vastness of multiplied solar systems to the tiny world of molecules, marvelous design and
purposeful arrangement are evidenced. In the case of man, from the imposing skeletal
system to the impressive genetic code in all of its intricacy, that same design and
purposeful arrangement are evidenced. So has this all been purposefully designed by an
Intelligent Cause. Could this cause have been God? This examination of whether God exists
has not even touched upon the historical arguments which come to bear on the case. For
example, the historical Christ, the resurrection, the Bible, the system of Christianity,
and other such arguments are equally as important. The arguments from historical fact
point to the existence that there is a God, and He is not silent. That Christ existed
cannot he doubted by any rational person. His miracles and other works are documented,
not only in biblical literature, but in profane, secular history as well. The Bible
exists; therefore, it must be explained. The men who wrote it were either deceivers,
deluded, or telling the truth. What do the evidences say? The internal and external
evidences are enough to tell the story of God's existence, and the fact that He has
spoken to us from His inspired word. Paul stated that in him we live, and move, and have
our being... (Acts 17:28). Moses' statement still stands as inspired testimony to the
fact of the existence of God: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
(Genesis 1:1). So do we take these as factual and accept them as the final "truth" and
the existence of such a God? As in all things, you are entitled to your own opinion.