Evidence of God's Existence

Jeff and I recently had great conversation with an atheist on Facebook discussing whether or not the atheistic worldview can account for non-material things like the Laws of Logic. This atheist repeatedly asked me for, or at least remarked that there was no evidence for God. My response was that I do not need to show him any evidence and that he simply needed to look around him, because according to Romans Chapter 1, God has made Himself evident to everyone through creation.

I recently shot this video of my beautiful 3 week old daughter, Evie, smiling in her sleep, which she often does, and would like to show several things from it that prove God exists.



1) When I watch this video, my heart overflows with great joy and love for this beautiful little person that God knit together in my wife's womb and blessed us with. Now, I admit that those feelings are completely subjective to me, however, others may watch it and also have feelings of love, joy, or excitement. Someone may even have some twisted evil thoughts of hate or disgust. I can deduce a few things from this:

• Why does a video like this incite such feelings? As a Christian, the answer is easy: God is Love, and I feel love, because I was created in His image! The atheistic worldview, however, has no objective source of love or joy. After all, this worldview claims that we are all simply matter in motion, or bags of biological goo. Everything is material, and nothing non-material exists.
• That being said, are love and joy, or even hate material? Have you ever woke up in the morning and had a hot cup of love? Have you ever tripped on a dirty pile of pride? Again, as a Christian, this does not create any issues for me, because I submit that non-material things, such as love, joy, hate, or even God do indeed exist! The atheistic worldview, however, cannot account for any of these "feelings" without borrowing from the Christian worldview.
• If I knew someone watched this video and had hate in their heart, I would be upset, as would most people. Again, why is this? As a Christian, I can be upset because of something called morality, which was created and is sustained by God, and which I know in my heart of hearts because God has again created me in His image. If we are all just matter in motion though, 1) morals are non-material and cannot be accounted for by the atheistic worldview, and 2) why does it matter if someone feels hate or joy? There is no objective ultimate truth then, and everything is just random, so who's to say whether or not my morals should be the same as yours?

2) Even at only 3 weeks old, some thought in her precious little head made her smile. And, no I do not believe it was just gas, as she smiles all the time, especially when she's sleeping and dreaming, all without passing gas. She is also already smiling at me as a reaction to something I said or did. Here is what I can deduce from this thought:

• There is a chemical reaction going on her brain to make her smile. As a Christian, I can make sense of this because I can say there is more than just a chemical reaction involved. There is also a non-material thought of happiness that triggers the chemical reaction. The atheistic worldview would have to claim that there is only a chemical reaction going on. The only problem with this though, is that all of our minds then only work due to material chemical reactions. How then are we to determine whose chemical reaction is right and whose is wrong? I heard my friend and Christian Apologist, Sye TenBruggencate, give a great illustration in a recent debate. It goes like this: if I were to take a 2 liter of Coke and a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper, shake both of them up and then watch the chemical reaction that would result, how do we determine which chemical reaction is truth, or in this case with my daughter, how do we determine which chemical reaction is happy and which is sad? The point is that you can't! And if non-material things like happiness and sadness can't exist in the atheistic worldview, then why does it even matter, unless you are borrowing from the Christian worldview?

Although these few thoughts I've brought up are not exhaustive, they do show that apart from the Bible and a Christian Worldview, a person, specifically an atheist, cannot account for even some of the simplest emotions we take for granted every day, like love!

Atheism 101: How to Dialogue With an Atheist

Seriously though, Atheism is a very real threat on the Gospel. It is growing trend that doesn't take much effort to find someone who claims to be an Atheist, and to dialogue with them. There is a tremendous push in mainstream media of acceptance for Atheism, and therefore, it seems that Atheists are very open, and almost look for opportunities to tell you why there is no God!

I have posted a conversation I had with an Atheist on Facebook. What's amazing to me (Praise God) is that I had created a poll on Facebook on the Deity of Christ hoping to get in some conversations with some Mormons, and as you will see as you read, I "randomly" (everything happens for a reason) had an Atheist respond within minutes of me publishing it! I hope and pray that this conversation is helpful to you in your efforts to defend the Faith against Atheism! Please note that I earnestly tried to show this young lady, whom I will call Izzy, that I genuinely love and have concern for her, before I started dissecting her worldview. And speaking of worldviews, please also note how important it is to understand not only the Christian Worldview, but Non-Christian as well. Please let me know if you have any questions at luke@defendthefaith.org.

God Bless!


Re: Deity of Jesus Christ
Between Izzy and You

Luke Pierson August 25 at 8:39am
Izzy,I'd love to dialogue more with you about this! If you want, email me at luke@defendthefaith.org.

Thanks,

Luke Pierson

Izzy August 25 at 8:42am Report
can't we just talk about this on facebook

Luke Pierson August 25 at 8:44am
Sure, it's easier through email, but yeah, I'm cool with that.

IzzyAugust 25 at 8:45am Report
good

Luke Pierson August 25 at 8:50am
Just curious, but I just made the poll, and you answered pretty quickly. I was wondering who you are friends with that answered the poll first. You don't have to tell me if you are not comfortable with that...I was just curious.

Thanks

Izzy August 25 at 8:51am Report
i just looked at the newest polls

Luke Pierson August 25 at 8:55am
Ok, cool, right on. I know this is way off subject, but it's amazing how fast these things spread! And again, just curious, but where are you from? I live in Phoenix.

Thanks

Izzy August 25 at 8:56am Report
chicago

Luke Pierson August 25 at 8:58am
Right on. I'm from Chicago, well technically NW Indiana (Merrillville, Crown Point). I love Chicago......my favorite city in the world! Anyways, so why do you say there is no God?

Izzy August 25 at 8:58am Report
because there is no evidence

Luke Pierson August 25 at 9:24am
Well, I would say there is evidence of God everywhere you look. Romans 1:18-20 says:

18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19. because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

The point of the passage is this: in your heart you know God, but you try to suppress the truth by denying His existence. Let me ask you this: am I correct in assuming that you are an Atheist? If not, please explain to me your beliefs so I do not incorrectly assume something.

Thanks

Izzy August 25 at 9:44am Report
i have been a lot more sure of myself since i stopped believing in god two years ago and yes i am an atheist

Luke Pierson August 25 at 9:54am
Ok, cool, so, do you then believe that we are all just matter in motion, that there is nothing immaterial? Also, just curious, what made you stop believing in God?

Izzy August 25 at 10:00am Report
mostly just the lack of evidence and prayer not doing anything

Izzy August 25 at 10:07am Report
not to mention the fact that god seems kinda like a dictator

Luke Pierson August 25 at 10:13am
Ok, so here is my question to you then, if we are all just matter in motion, and there is nothing immaterial, than how do we have Laws of Logic? For example, next time you go to sit in your chair, you expect to not fall down, right? Or next time you go to start your car, you expect it to not to blow up, correct? How do we get these Laws of Logic without a Divine Creator?

IzzyAugust 25 at 10:24am Report
because matter has properties for instance people make chairs out of matter that is solid

Luke Pierson August 25 at 10:39am
Right, I get that matter has properties, but what about the immaterial, like Laws of Logic. If everything is material, there should then be nothing that exists outside that realm. Let me give you another example. How do you know what is right and wrong? I'm sure there is someone or something that you love, right? Where does that sense of love, or right or wrong come from? It's not material, so how, in your worldview, do you explain that?

Izzy August 25 at 10:41am Report
millions of years ago the ancestors of humans evolved to be social to protect each other from predators

Luke Pierson August 25 at 10:47am
Although, I completely disagree with that statement, as I would say the earth is roughly 6,000 plus years old, I would say to you, that the sense of right and wrong, and love, and other invisible laws had to come from somewhere. You still are not seeing my point though. In your worldview, everything is material, nothing is immaterial. You are stealing from my Christian Worldview by saying that you accept the Laws of Logic, and you love somebody, and you know what is right and wrong, even though those ideals are not material. You cannot justify the two in your worldview, they contradict one another.

Izzy August 25 at 10:48am Report
i never said immaterial things didn't exist i just said god didn't

Luke Pierson August 25 at 10:57am
Ok, but if you were really an Atheist, then you would believe that nothing immaterial exists, because you would say that everything is simply matter in motion. This is where you are stealing from my worldview, and just like the verses in Romans say that I presented to you, you know in your heart who God is, but you choose to suppress that truth by denying His existence. You want to say that there is no God, but at the same time, you want to accept His precepts. You choose to say that you love someone, that same sense of love that He has given us, but at the same time you refuse to acknowledge that He exists. Think about it this way, if we are all just matter in motion, then why does it matter if people murder or steal? If I was to come and steal your car, or murder your loved ones, you would want justice, right? Why is that? If there is no God, and we are simply matter banging into one another, then why does it matter what I want to do? Who are you to say what is right and what is wrong?

Luke Pierson September 10 at 11:02pm
Izzy, I hope and pray that you have not responded to my last message simply because you have not had time. I also earnestly ask you to please hear me on this: God loves you and has inwardly revealed Himself to you. You know He exists, but are trying to suppress that knowledge of Him. The great news, is that through faith in Jesus Christ, that He came to Earth as God in the flesh, that He lived a sinless life, and that He was murdered on a cross, was buried, and rose again three days later, you can make right your relationship with the Holy God. Right now you are separated from God because of sin, the sin of Unbelief. You could live a perfect life from here on out, but without faith in Christ, it will all be in vain! I sincerely pray that you truly consider this, and that you would stop suppressing the Truth that God has burned on your conscience!God Bless!

Luke