| DOES GOD EXIST?
Here are four things which Christians would say demonstrate the
existence of God.
Evidence from THE LIFE AND WORK OF JESUS
The most powerful proofs of the existence of God are the
historical events of the life, death and especially the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. So we only ever want to point
people to Jesus!
Evidence from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
The personal testimony
of the things God has done in the lives of Christians (and lives
of friends) is very persuasive. This includes how and why we
committed our lives to Christ. But it also includes the
difference being a Christian makes to our daily life, accounts
of answered prayer, miracles and healings and ways God has
helped us in our times of need.
Another angle to this
appeal to experience is to use evidence from CHURCH HISTORY. By
this we mean inspiring stories from the church around the world
in every age, from the early martyrs thrown to the lions, to
great missionaries (Livingstone, Carey) and social reformers
(Booth, Shaftsbury), to biographies of Christians today (Brother
Yun, Brother Andrew, David Wilkerson, Jackie Pullinger). The
impact the Church has made on the world reveals God at work.
Evidence from CREATION
Many classical
philosophical “arguments for the existence of God” are based on
the idea that God revealed Himself in His Creation. “The
argument from first cause” says that everything happens as a
result of something causing it, and if there was no God then
nothing could ever have come into existence. “The argument from
design” looks at aspects of creation, from e.g. the greatness of
the universe (see Psalm 19:1-4) to the minute intricacy of the
human brain. Design requires a Designer. A similar argument can
be made from beauty, conscience and spirituality, which could
never have “evolved”. But a hint: only scientists should argue
“Creation and Evolution” with scientists!
Evidence from THE BIBLE
The Bible derives its
authority from God. So arguing that God exists because the Bible
says so is a circular argument. However if you start by
demonstrating that the Bible is trustworthy (e.g. by looking at
the way prophecy has been fulfilled, or at the way that the
Bible has transformed the lives of people who have believed it)
then what the Bible says about God can also be trusted.
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