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Week 2 Review

Delve into logical arguments & biblical references on the existence of God. Analyze cosmological, fine-tuning, and moral arguments. Understand the burden of proof and objections.

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Week 2 Review

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  1. Week 2 Review

  2. Questions for next week • 1. Read Deuteronomy 30:15-19 and rewrite Moses’s statement as a logical argument.

  3. Questions for next week • 2. What logical fallacy does Jesus refer to in Matthew 11:19?

  4. Questions for next week • 3. Read Matthew 7:3, Mark 4:21, and Luke 5:23. What do we see about Jesus’s approach to teaching in these verses? Why would he take this approach?

  5. I am The Existence of God

  6. Scope • God’s existence is a fundamental truth • Authority of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17) • Credibility of Jesus (John 5:19) • Purpose for mankind (Eccl. 12:13) • All apologetics point to God • Miracles • Origin of life • Creation of the universe • Claims of Jesus

  7. Several Approaches • Cosmological Argument • First Cause • God as a personal creator • Fine-Tuning Argument • Evidence of design in the universe • God as an intelligent designer • Moral Argument • Evidence from objective morality • God as a moral standard

  8. Before We Begin… • These three arguments are… • Simple, yet deep • Minimalistic, yet all-encompassing • Different, yet complementary • Burden of proof • Atheism = “there is no God” • Us: “it is reasonable to believe in God”

  9. Cosmological Argument • Κόσμος “cosmos” • The world, universe (Acts 17:24) • Implies order, harmony • Formal argument • Whatever begins to exist has a cause. • The universe began to exist. • There, the universe has a cause.

  10. Cosmological Argument • The necessity of a cause • Something cannot come from nothing • If so, why only universes? • The universe began • Infinite time? • Several other theories that do not hold up • Genesis 1:1

  11. Fine-Tuning Argument • AKA “Intelligent Design” • Order of the universe begs an intelligent designer • Watch analogy • Formal argument • The fine-tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance, or design. • It is not due to physical necessity or chance. • Therefore, it is due to design.

  12. Fine-Tuning Argument • The alternatives • Chance—astronomically impossible • Necessity—logically inconsistent/circular • Many astronomers actually accept this • “Monkeying with the numbers” • “Almost a miracle” • Romans 1:20

  13. Moral Argument • Existence of objective morals • God is the source of all morality • Otherwise, morals are an illusion • Formal argument • If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist. • Objective moral values and duties do exist. • Therefore, God exists.

  14. Moral Argument • Objective morals cannot exist without God • Objective—right or wrong regardless of opinion • Evolution cannot explain them • Almost everyone believes in objective morality • Ex: murder, stealing, rape • This does not follow from Darwinism • Romans 2:14-15

  15. Question 1 • In 1917, Albert Einstein realized that his General Theory of Relativity pointed to a universe with a beginning at some point in the past. Instead of accepting this, he included an extra number in his equations to keep the eternal universe model intact. Why would he do this?

  16. Question 2 • In response to the fine-tuning argument, one might say that our universe is just one of several universes, and ours just happens to support human life. What is a problem with this hypothesis?

  17. Question 3 • A common objection to the moral argument looks something like this: Either something is good because God commands it or God commands something because it is good. Either way, good becomes independent of God. How would you answer this?

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