With the advance of secular culture in Western society and the growing prevalence of religious ‘nones’ or those who identify as agnostic, atheist, or ‘spiritual but not religious’, the need to contend for the faith has become ever more necessary in the West. This endeavour is known as apologetics. Peter reminds us that we must always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15) and Paul says that we must take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Bible, however, offers very little by way of an argument for the existence of God. It merely presupposes that God exists and that he has revealed himself in his holy and infallible word. There are, however, several arguments for the existence of God in natural theology and apologetics. These are the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, the transcendental argument, and the moral argument. All of these arguments have their respective strengths and weaknesses, but cumulatively they strongly suggest that there is a divine being behind the universe who orders all things according to his providence. We shall consider each argument in turn, before giving attention to a slightly different approach advocated by the analytic philosopher Alvin Plantinga.
The ontological argument has been advanced by some of the
most notable philosophers in history such as Anslem, Descartes, Leibniz, and
Alvin Plantinga. It is best stated by Anselm of Canterbury, the originator of
the argument. Anslem defines God as a being than which no greater can be
conceived or, as we would say, a being who is maximally excellent. Since
existence is an attribute of perfection, God necessarily exists. The first
critic of Anslem’s argument was Gaunilo who suggested that the ontological
argument could be used to prove the existence of anything such as a perfect
island. Imagine creating a perfect island just by thinking of it. Of course,
the difference between God and a perfect island is that God is infinite,
eternal, and unchanging or maximally excellent; whereas an island will always
in some sense be limited and finite. God is in a category altogether different
from created things and so cannot be reduced to non-existence. There is
something about God which makes his existence necessary. It is important to
remember that Anselm’s argument took the form of a prayer under the basic
rubric of ‘faith seeking understanding’. When Moses encountered God, he
declared himself to be the great I AM. His existence was a necessary attribute
of perfection.
The cosmological argument claims that the existence of God
can be demonstrated by an appeal to causation. It is therefore sometimes known
as the argument from first cause. Since everything in existence requires an
adequate cause, the universe itself must have a cause. This cause is God.
Nothing comes from nothing. There must be a sufficient explanation for
existence. The Big Bang theory suggests that the universe has a cause and came
into being out of nothing. This is exactly what we would expect from a God who
created the universe ex nihilo. Not everyone has agreed with this argument,
however. Hume called into question the very notion of causation; while Kant
pointed out that if God made the universe, God himself requires a cause, and
thus we are led to an endless chain of causation. Christians have responded by
defending the principal of causation against Hume and have pointed out that God
himself is defined as the uncaused Cause – he is a category of being altogether
different from that which exists in a chain of causation. Notable advocates of
this argument include Thomas Aquinas, Leibniz, and William Lane Craig.
The teleological argument aims to prove God’s existence from
the presence of design or purpose in creation. William Paley is perhaps the
most well-known advocate. Since the world shows signs of intelligence, order,
harmony, and purpose, this implies the existence of an intelligent and
purposeful being who made such a world – a designer. Kant regarded this as one
of the best arguments for the existence of God, but he pointed out that it
falls short of proving the existence of the Christian God. It merely
proves the existences of a powerful architect who fashioned the cosmos, perhaps
out of pre-existing materials. Others have suggested that the Darwinian theory
of evolution disproves the teleological argument since the fossil record shows
that the complexity of life evolved over long periods of time from simple
lifeforms to complex. Although the argument from design does not prove the
existence of a distinctively Christian God, it is nonetheless a powerful indication
that a designer like God might exist. Far from undermining the existence of
God, it could be argued that evolution is a divine process within creation –
this is the line taken by theistic evolutionists who have no problem accepting
Darwin’s arguments for the evolution of life. Evolution only adds to the
complexity of a teleological argument for God’s existence.
The transcendental argument developed by Cornelius Van Til
and his disciples (John Frame and Greg Bahnsen) aims to prove God’s existence
by presenting God as the necessary presupposition for rational discourse.
Logic, morals, science, philosophy, and art presuppose the existence of a God
who gives meaning to each of these domains. The atheist has no way to account
for these domains without borrowing capital from Christian theism. The problem
with this argument, however, is its circularity – presupposing God to
demonstrate the existence of God. Those who adopt a presuppositional method are
often critical of traditional theistic arguments for the existence of God and
see the transcendental argument as the only valid approach to apologetics. They
respond to accusations of circularity by suggesting that all arguments about
fundamental realities are circular. It is unfortunate that this form of
argument has been widely adopted in Reformed circles, when historically the
Reformed have adopted better approaches to apologetics. Notable critics of the
Van Tillian presuppositional argument include R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and
Arthur Lindsley.
The moral argument attempts to prove the existence of God
from the presence of a moral order within creation. If God does not exist,
objective morals do not exist. Since objective moral do exist, God exists as
divine lawgiver and judge. Alternatively, the argument can be formed in
relation to conscience. Our conscience reveals an innate sense of right and
wrong whose source cannot be found in nature alone, it must therefore originate
with a divine Lawgiver who transcends nature. A common objection to the moral
argument is the Euthyphro dilemma, named after a dialogue by Plato. Is
something good because God wills it? Or does God will something because it is
good? The first implies that moral commands are arbitrary. The later implies
that there is some standard to which even God is beholden. By way of response
to this objection, it must be said that God himself is our highest good and the
standard of goodness itself. It should also be pointed out that moral arguments
for the existence of God are not saying that atheists and agnostics are
personally immoral, it merely points out that they have no objective basis from
which to evaluate moral values and duties. Notable advocates include Immanuel Kant,
C. S. Lewis, and William Lane Craig.
Some philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga have argued that
belief in God is properly basic and does not require theistic proofs. Drawing
upon Calvin’s doctrine of the sensus divinitatis (sense of deity) or semen
religionis (seed of religion), these philosophers have argued that everyone
has an innate sense of the existence of God – however distorted by the noetic
effects of sin. Calvin explains this doctrine in the following words:
The final goal of the blessed
life, moreover, rests in the knowledge of God. Lest anyone, then, be excluded
from access to happiness, he not only sowed in men’s mind that seed of
religion [semen religionis] … but revealed himself and daily
discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe. As a consequence,
men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see him. Indeed, his
essence is incomprehensible; hence, his divineness far escapes all human
perception. But upon his individual works he has engraved unmistakable marks of
his glory, so clear and prominent that even unlettered and stupid folk cannot
plead the excuse of ignorance … in the creation of the universe he brought for
those insignia whereby he shows his glory to us, whenever and wherever we case
our gaze … wherever you case your eyes, there is no spot in the universe
wherein you cannot discern at lease some sparks of his glory.[1]
For Calvin, believing in God is as natural as breathing. It
is something intuitive in response to God revelation in conscience and nature.
We cannot help believing in God as we see some sparks of his glory in the
things that have been made.
While the Scriptures do not present arguments for God’s
existence in so many words, they nonetheless insist that God has revealed
himself in the works of creation, providence, and redemption. Paul argues that ‘his
invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that
have been made’ (Romans 1:20). While this revelation is not sufficient to bring
about salvation, it nonetheless renders men and women without excuse before God
on the day of judgement. The psalmist also informs us that God has revealed
something of His glory in creation: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and
the sky above proclaims his handiwork’ (Psalm 19:1). The beautiful design of
the heavens reveals something of the matchless glory of God and his handiwork
as the creator of all things visible and invisible. We call this revelation of
God in creation natural revelation. Whereas his revelation in redemptive
history and Scripture is known as special revelation. Psalm 19 draws
attention to both aspects of revelation. It begins with God’s revelation in
nature (vv. 1–6) but progresses to his revelation in Scripture (Psalm 19:7–9). Deus
dixit. God has spoken. The Scriptures are a record of his speech to lost
mankind. Unlike general revelation, special revelation is able to bring
knowledge of salvation: ‘The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul’
(Psalm 19:7). Our God is a speaking God. And supremely he has spoken by Christ,
his Son. ‘Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by
the prophets, but in the last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world’
(Hebrews 1:1–2). Jesus Christ is the climactic revelation of God to lost
mankind. The greatest argument for the existence of God is the person and work
of Christ – his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the
right hand of God.
Recommended Reading
Craig, William Lane and J. P. Moreland (eds), The
Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (2012).
Craig, William Lane and J. P. Moreland, Philosophical
Foundations for a Christian Worldview (2017).
Craig, William Lane, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and
Apologetics (2008).
Craig, William Lane, The Kalam Cosmological Argument
(1979).
Craig, William Lane, The Son Rises: The Historical
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (1981).
Moreland, J. P. Scaling the Secular City: A Defence of
Christianity (1987).
Plantinga, Alvin, Knowledge and Christian Belief
(2015).
Plantinga, Alvin, Warranted Christian Belief (2000).
Sproul, R. C., John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsley, Classical
Apologetics: A Rational Defence of the Christian Faith and a Critique of
Presuppositional Apologetics (1984).
Swinburne, Richard, Is There a God? (2010).
Swinburne, Richard, The Existence of God (2004).
Swinburne, Richard, The Resurrection of God Incarnate
(2003).
Wright, N. T., The Resurrection of the Son of God (2003).
[1]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Philadelphia, 1960), 1. 5.
1. Emphasis my own.