Arguing for the Existence of God: Reasons for His Presence

Photo by Mike B

Gary Lindberg is the author of The Vegetable Grows and the Lion Roars, but he is also the author of the phenomenal God’s Existence: Truth or Fiction?

In Gary Lindberg’s God’s Existence: Truth or Fiction?, he proposes a scientific basis for the existence of God, but for a lot of us believers, scientific understanding is an acquired ability.

So, where do we go about finding evidence for the existence of God so that we may know them and have answers when we are asked (without having to have to open up a science book or go to school again)?

And to those who might scoff at the idea of defending their faith, remember the words from 1 Peter 3:15:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

It is part of our duties as believers and Christians waiting for His return to spread the Word as far as we can—and doing so demands that we put our best foot forward.

First off, it is only the most militant of non-believers that demand you summon God before them—which is quite arrogant and should be ignored. If your interlocutor is doing this, you can simply exit the conversation because that person is engaging with you in bad faith. This means they are not really looking to talk with you but proselytize their beliefs; people like these are not open to changing their minds.

So, when you are talking to an honest and good-faith interlocutor, they will not demand from you God Himself or an actual miracle happening in front of them. Most of these conversations on evidence are typically on the solidity of one’s argumentation.

We should remember that there is no “conclusive” proof. What does this mean? Conclusive proof means that it is something that is universally accepted, something that cannot be questioned. No one has that. Living is not even something conclusive to everyone—some believe that life is simply a simulation or that they are a brain in a vat and everyone and everything else around them are not actual entities.

The only thing we need to do, as believers, is to provide firm and logical arguments. This is also beneficial in increasing your understanding of yourself and your faith. Here are two that have very solid foundations:

God is the Beginning of Goodness. Though some people might say that morality is something subjective, there still exists baseline statements that all people seem to understand: killing is bad, stealing is bad, cheating, provoking without cause, etc. All cultures and all peoples consider these, to one degree, things to be avoided. 

Feeding the poor, taking care of the elderly and the young, and loving your fellow humans—these virtues are all present everywhere.

Humans know what is good and what is bad, and humans agree with the good and abhor the bad. This is something universal.

Because this is the case, there must be a singular source for it since it is too consistent across the board. And this source should be one that has great knowledge of human psychology and society.

A mortal entity cannot have such knowledge, even if they are long-lived.

As such, this entity must be all-knowing. And if this entity is all-knowing, there is no difference between it and a god. Therefore, a godlike entity must exist. 

If there is no god who is the source of morality, then there can be no objective morality.

God is the Prime Factor. This line of argumentation was first posited by St. Thomas Aquinas, who wished to develop sound and logical reasoning for his faith. To this end, he wrote down Five Proofs of the existence of God.

The Five Proofs of St. Thomas Aquinas follow the same general structure of arguing, all things are in this condition, but these things cannot have begun in this condition; therefore, there must have been a “first” or “prime” factor that is the initial cause of all things to be in this condition.

From motion to causation, contingencies to gradience, and finality and beginning.

These are all conditions that have to have an outside entity facilitating their occurrence, an entity that is all-powerful and outside of space and time. This entity is akin to a god; as such, this godlike entity must exist.

If there is no god who is the prime factor in all these things, then there can be none of these things.

If you are someone who is more scientifically minded and wishes to explore arguments for God’s existence along those lines, I recommend Gary Lindberg’s God’s Existence: Truth or Fiction? And if you wish to know more about the man himself, you can read The Vegetable Grows and the Lion Roars, his personal accounts as a foreign volunteer.