Does God Exist Debate

1. 1
Special Talk
“Does God Exist?”
November 12, 2003

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Outline
Four good reasons to suggest God exists
(per Dr. William Lane Craig’s debates*)
1. Philosophy: Universe’s Existence
2. Science: Fine-Tuning for Life
3. Ethics: Moral Values
4. History: Jesus’ Resurrection
* William Lane Craig & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, God? A Debate
Between a Christian and an Atheist (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004)

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1) Philosophy:
Universe’s Existence

4. 4
The universe began to exist
 Otherwise, number of past events is infinite,
but infinity is just a concept, not a reality.
 natural #’s – odd #’s = ?
= 
 natural #’s – #’s greater than 2 = ?
= 3
 David Hilbert (famous mathematician):
“The infinite is nowhere to be found in reality.
It neither exists in nature nor provides a
legitimate basis for rational thought. […]
The role that remains for the infinite to play is
solely that of an idea.”
 The universe is not infinite

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Also, 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
 Universe is moving toward a state of
maximum disorder (entropy, S)
D Suniv > 0 ; Suniv  
 If the universe always existed, the
entropy of the universe would be infinite
by now
 We’d have “heat death” of the universe
 But we still have order & heat, therefore,
universe is not an infinite # of years old

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Big Bang gives evidence
 1992 COBE satellite (Cosmic
Background Explorer satellite) for
background radiation
 “Almost everyone now believes that the
universe, and time itself, had a
beginning at the Big Bang.”
[Stephen Hawking, Cambridge Univ.]
 There was a definite beginning to the
universe billions of years ago (per
Genesis 1)

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Conclusion from Philosophy
1) Universe’s Existence
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.
 This “cause” must be:
Uncaused, changeless, timeless,
immaterial, and personal

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2) Science:
Fine-tuning
for Intelligent Life

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Universal Physical Constants

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Just how precise?
 For example, (from Stephen Hawking’s
calculations)…
Expansion of the Universe
 If larger, no galaxy formation
 If smaller, universe collapses before
star formation
 In fact, it’s precise to a factor of
1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000

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Even more precise for…
 Force of Gravity [Dr. P.C.W. Davies]
 If larger, stars would be too hot and
would burn up quickly & unevenly
 If smaller, stars would be too cool
and nuclear fusion would not ignite
(no heavy element production)
 In fact, it is precise to a factor of
1 in 10100
[that’s 100 zeros]

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Very, very, very precise!
 Over 50 such universal physical
constants are likewise fine-tuned !
 Universe seems to be intentionally
designed & created for human life

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Random Chance for Life?
 Big Bang says universe is 15 billion
years old (15,000,000,000 years)
 Agnostic biophysicist Dr. Harold
Morowitz wondered…
 Suppose you break all chemical bonds
in a simple bacteria and put resulting
atoms under ideal chemical conditions…
 Question: How long would it take for it
to reassemble?

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Answer: 10100,000,000,000
years!
 Written out completely, that would be:
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,…(on and on)
= a thousand sets of Encyclopedia Britannicas
filled with zeros!!
(compare w/ 15,000,000,000 yrs of universe)
 Not enough time for random chance

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Conclusion from Science:
2) Fine-tuning for Intelligent Life
 Fine-tuning necessary for the universe
suggests an Intelligent Designer
 Random chance is an inadequate
explanation for intelligent life

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3) Ethics:
Objective Moral Values

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Objective Moral Values…
 Are valid & binding whether anybody
believes in them or not
 e.g., Torturing babies for fun is wrong
 Are agreed by everyone
 e.g., U.N.’s “Universal Declaration of
Human Rights”--30 moral affirmations
voted unanimously by all U.N. nations
 One might not agree, but reveals a
moral handicap (like color-blindness)

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Who sets the absolute standard?
 Individuals?
 Then, must accept Jeffrey Dahmer
 Society?
 Then, must accept Nazi Germany
 Human race?
 Then, guilty of “species-ism”
 “If there is no absolute moral standard,
then one cannot say in a final sense that
anything is right or wrong.” [Francis Schaeffer]

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No God, no objective moral values
 Nietzsche’s “God is dead” philosophy (1800’s)
 He predicted 1900’s would be bloodiest in
history & that universal madness result
 In Europe,
deaths due
to war
(in millions):
3.3 Million
5.2 Million 5.5 Million
28.0 Million
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1600's 1700's 1800's 1900-70

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Conclusion from Ethics:
3) Objective Moral Values
 If God does not exist, objective moral
values do not exist.
 Objective moral values do exist.
 Therefore, God exists.
 C.S. Lewis: Existence of a Moral Law
presupposes a “Moral Law Giver” (God)

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4) History:
Jesus’ Life, Death, &
Resurrection

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Well-established facts
 Facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth
scholars agree to
 Honorable burial by Joseph of Arimathea
 Empty tomb found on Sunday
 Post-mortem appearances (not
hallucinations)
 Disciples’ belief in His resurrection
Q. What’s the best explanation for this?

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Best explanation is…
 “God raised Jesus from the dead”
 Explanatory scope
 Explanatory power
 Plausible
 Not ad hoc or contrived
 In accord with accepted beliefs
 Better than rival theories

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Conclusion from History:
4) Jesus’ Resurrection
 There are established facts concerning Jesus:
 Honorable burial, discovery of His empty tomb,
post-mortem appearances, origin of His
disciples' belief in His resurrection.
 The hypothesis "God raised Jesus from the
dead" is the best explanation of these facts.
 The hypothesis "God raised Jesus from the
dead" entails that God exists.
 Therefore, God exists.

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Summary
4 good reasons to believe that God exists (+20 more)
 Universe began to exist
 A changeless, immaterial, personal Cause
 Fine-tuning required for life
 An Intelligent Designer
 Presence of objective moral values
 A Moral Law Giver
 Fact of Jesus’ resurrection
 God who can raise the dead
[Actually, tougher to prove that God does NOT exist]

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References & Resources
 William Lane Craig & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
God? A Debate Between a Christian and an
Atheist (New York: Oxford University Press,
2004)
 WilliamLaneCraig.com
 LeaderU.com
 Reasons.org