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Is God Real? – Objections to Christianity

Posted by on Apr 13, 2012 in Godly Man

(note:  This post is a part of a series of posts based on a book by Alex McFarland called, ‘The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity’.  I highly recommend it and the small-group study guide in the back of the book to bring out conversations about this topic in a safe, honest way in church small-groups or other similar settings.  Please read the first post in this series before reading  (if you haven’t already) to understand why this series is being written and the objective of doing so.)

 

Objection #1:  No one can prove that God is real.

There is a story that I am sure many of you have heard before that reminds me of this first objection to the claims of Christianity.  It goes something like this:

A college student was in class one day when his professor explained with great certainty and conviction that God is not real and that He cannot be proven to exist because you cannot actually see Him.  His argument was that Christianity, therefore, is foolish for anyone with half a brain to believe in since God could not be physically seen with the naked eye.  The student, a Christian, stood up and politely got the professors attention.  He asked the professor if he believed that he had a brain.  The professor said that, of course, he did, indeed, have one.  To which the student replied that he did not believe him because unless the professor has ever actually seen his own brain or could provide physical evidence of it that it would be foolish for anyone with half of one to believe him.

Point well taken.

I don’t know if that story was made up or not, but it brings up a legitimate point.

The professors point of view is a valid one.  For example, I have never seen an alien in person and I don’t believe that they exist.  If someone were to try to convince me to believe the opposite it would be laughable to me until I saw some solid evidence to suggest otherwise.  This is the same position of those who object to the claims of the Christian God, too.  To those outside of the faith, it is like explaining that there are aliens and this one particular alien created everything and made an alien son come to earth to save it.  Sounds a little like science fiction even as I write it – which is exactly why some people object to its claim.

But what Alex McFarland’s book and this post is after is the truth.  What we particularly want to know is this:  Is there any reason to believe with solid conviction that God does, in fact, exist?

A few things to consider as you begin your search for answers:

 

There is Order.

In the movie Alice in Wonderland, Alice goes on a journey through a new world full of twists and turns.  As she wanders around it becomes obvious that this world she is in does not make sense.  There is no rhyme or reason for why things happen the way they do and there is clearly no order.  For some, this is how they view the world we live in as well.

In reality, however, exactly the opposite is true.  Everywhere you go, there is incredible order.  For example, nature is full of laws (like gravity and inertia) and complex functions (like the way the brain or the eye works) that are too amazing to simply say that random chance was behind it all.  It takes a lot more faith to believe that everything exists in the way that it does because certain atoms and molecules happened to collide and form life out of nothing.  While having order does not prove that there is a God, it is a solid piece of evidence to put towards the question on trial.

 

Everything Created has a Creator.

Assume that you were on the beach one day and you were digging through the sand.  Now imagine that you are digging deeper and deeper into the cold, wet sand and you find something buried beneath the earth.  When you pull the object out you discover that an ancient object that appears to be a football had been buried in the ground for centuries.

Would it be fair to assume that the buried football was formed from the ground by random chance or by the pressure from the sand and a collection of perfectly aligned molecules that could somehow create a football from nothing?  No!  It would be a foolish and naive thought at best.  Any person with common sense would understand that the football had to be created by someone years ago.  Every honest person would have to agree that it is impossible to be formed unless someone (the football’s creator) was behind it.

In the same way, creation screams to us that there must be something (or someone) behind it all.  Everything from the incredibly complex structure and function of DNA, to watching a child be delivered, to sunsets and massive oceans, to planets that are lightyears away, to rainbows and the complexity of human beings all point to an intelligence behind it all.  Whether it is God or not is the question at hand.  What cannot be denied, however, is that everything in existence has been created by something or someone and the best answer to it is that there must be a creator of some kind who orchestrated it all.

 

These two very simple points are not enough to “prove” anything.  But, as I mentioned earlier, they are critical pieces of evidence that support one’s belief in a God who is very real.  As the series continues and the objections grow, so will the evidence.  As you grow in your apologetics (your defense of what you believe) hopefully your confidence in the object of your belief will overcome your objections to His existence.  If not, and your belief is that there is no God – then hopefully you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is not real and you will be satisfied with your conclusions.

God is not afraid of honest objections and questions that require evidence.  So please, question and search and see what you find.  If God is not real then you have nothing to lose.  But if He is, then there is everything to gain.

 

 “For 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, so that men are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20.

 

What makes you believe that God is real?  If you don’t believe – what objections do you have against His existence?  Please share your comments and thoughts below.

 

Further Reading & Resources:

Now That’s a Good Question!

Is There A God? 

Does God Exist

 

photo by DamienHR on Flickr

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  • Wilsonb

    One piece that I would like to add is the importance of our actions in the debate on whether or not God is real.  The data I have read and the experiences I have seen have lead me to believe it is our actions as Christians that have a strong impact on helping others make up their mind on the issue (especially those with little knowledge).  I do agree that we should be able to have good facts and data when asked about our beliefs, or when we see an oportunity.  From experience though, I have seen how badly this can go when hypocritical Christians try to preach something that their audiance has trouble believing due to the way that person chooses to live.

    • http://www.blog4men.com/ Nate Whitson

      Valid point, my friend. Unfortunately, many people reject Christianity for reasons other than fact or evidence and more than likely it is because of experiences with people (as you mentioned). It has been said that “i’d rather see a good sermon rather than hear one anyday!” The only thing we can do is try to live our Christianity in such a way that other people would choose to hear our point of view and would encourage them to want to learn more about their objections. Good addition to this conversation, Ben! Thanks.