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Episode 31: How Do I Know God Really Exists
63 Plays4 years ago
Key Idea: It takes more faith to believe that no one took nothing and made everything than to believe in the existence of God.
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This podcast is produced and edited by Angie Elkins Media, Inc.
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Transcript
Introduction to Root Like Faith
00:00:08
Speaker
Hi, I'm Ruth Schwenk and I'm so thrilled you're listening in with us at Root Like Faith. It is our deepest desire to encourage and equip men and women to be rooted in God's word, transformed by the love of Jesus and moved by his mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more important.
Exploring Tough Questions about Christianity
00:00:25
Speaker
Well today we are wrapping up our series on tough questions people ask about Christianity. And in particular today we're discussing the question, how do I know God really exists? I think if we're all being 100% honest, we probably have asked that question ourselves. So I'm pretty excited to talk about this today. Let's go.
The Existence of God: A Crucial Inquiry
00:00:53
Speaker
On today's episode of Root Like Faith, we are going to get to the heart of it all. I mean, really, all of these other questions we've asked over the last few weeks kind of hinge on this one question. How do I really know that God exists? And this is a tough one. Maybe you've wrestled with God's existence at some point, or I would guess you probably have a friend who has. Inevitably, I think this is a question, don't you agree, honey, that we face over and over again in our lifetime?
00:01:23
Speaker
Absolutely. I think, you know, everybody's wrestled with that. And I think at different times, even as a follower of Jesus, you know, there's those moments of doubt that creep in or we're wrestling, we wish that God was more present or more obvious to us. And so I think it is just a, again, just a really, really sincere question that people ask, whether you're a Christian or not.
Doubt and Faith: Embracing Questions
00:01:43
Speaker
And as we've said before, I mean, doubt in and of itself is not a bad thing. It either leads to despair, which is bad,
00:01:48
Speaker
or it leads to greater devotion. And so I think with each of these questions that we're wrestling with or helping somebody else wrestle with, it's just such a reminder that God can use those questions to really further our faith or deepen our faith, continue to root us in Christ. And so it's good to have questions. Right. I was just about to say, it's not bad to ask the questions because I think sometimes we can feel shame
God's Revelation through Creation
00:02:10
Speaker
about that. Yeah, guilty for...
00:02:11
Speaker
So today we're going to be talking specifically about those different proofs or pointers To the existence of God and it it reminds me of a scripture that I we've read here before but I want to read it I want to start out with this scripture because I think it really sets the stage for this topic that we're talking about today and that is Romans chapter 1 verses 18 through 25, so let's start there
00:02:38
Speaker
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen
00:02:59
Speaker
being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being in birds and animals and reptiles.
00:03:24
Speaker
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised.
00:03:39
Speaker
And that scripture, I mean, when it says, God made it plain to them, that's the phrase that just keeps sticking out to me and why I wanted to read that because, you know, we're talking about the existence of God today, and I feel like that phrase sums it up. God has made it plain to us.
00:03:58
Speaker
Yeah, I love that passage because it is such a reminder from Scripture, of course, that there are things about the created world that are very plain, that point to the reality of a God behind the cosmos.
Understanding God's Revelation: General vs. Special
00:04:13
Speaker
maybe just really quickly, I think when we're talking about how God reveals Himself, oftentimes, you know, systematic theology books or theologians will distinguish between general revelation and special revelation. And all they mean by that is that God has revealed Himself in a general way to all of humanity. That's a general revelation. It's what you just read, Romans 1, where Paul's making that argument that God has revealed Himself. He said something about who He is in the cosmos that everybody can know, no matter where they live,
00:04:43
Speaker
No matter who they are, there's something about creation itself that is pointing to the reality of a creator. There's enough there that could motivate somebody by his grace to begin seeking out who this God is. That's general revelation. Yeah, to say there's no way that this could just happen. Right. And then special revelation simply means that God reveals himself though in a unique or special way. We would say that God has revealed himself
00:05:10
Speaker
a general way, but he's also revealed himself in a special way in the scriptures, throughout history, and most fully in the person of Jesus. And so, we just want to say up front that reason alone isn't enough to come to belief in God, that it's always God's grace that is drawing us to Him, that He's pursuing us, and He graciously reveals something about who He is through creation,
The Role of Grace in Faith
00:05:34
Speaker
And then in a very gracious way reveals who He is in Scripture and throughout humanity, of course, in the person of Jesus who comes among us to show us most fully what God the Father is like. And so it's always an act of God's grace to give us faith and to bring us to a place of saving faith in Jesus. And so it is a tough question that people ask. It's a sincere question.
00:05:57
Speaker
And yet what you just read is that there are ways that God has made Himself known to us, that He graciously wants us to come to faith in Him, to believe in Him, to walk with Him, to experience life that comes from living in a relationship with Him. Yeah, and it reminds me of when I didn't grow up in a Christian home and
00:06:14
Speaker
But, you know, I just I always I just had this this hope that there was something more, you know, and I was searching for that. And I feel like, you know, God had made it plain to me that there was something more, that there was a creator. And it took me a while to figure that out, to figure out who that was, you know, to figure out that was God. But I think that that's an example, like real life example in my own life, just knowing that there had to be more.
00:06:43
Speaker
Yeah, I just love hearing stories. I always love when you share that story because it's just so powerful. The guy was pursuing you and showing you something about who he was long before you called yourself a Christian, long before you knew who Jesus was. Yeah, and I think I've shared on here before that I would literally even write prayers out. I was not even following
00:07:03
Speaker
Christ. I don't know. It was just like. I love that. God is good. Yeah. He was calling me. So. Yeah. Well, it's so interesting to me too. And you hear other, I mean, just, you know, God never reveals himself in the same way. I mean, he, I mean, he reveals himself in similar ways, but, but how God shows himself is so unique to each of us. He knows exactly what we need. And you know, you just think about, I mean, different stories. I mean, I know people that have come to faith because they had a vision.
00:07:27
Speaker
They had a dream, you know, that you hear stories on the mission field. I've met people. I've met a guy that Jesus appeared to him when he was in prison. I was working at the church one day and this guy who was a former Muslim had come to faith in Jesus because while he was in prison,
00:07:45
Speaker
Jesus appeared to him in a vision and a dream. That's the only time I've ever heard that. And yet you hear stories like that from missionaries and you know people that they read a verse and it's that verse that the Holy Spirit just uses in a powerful way to bring that person to saving faith in Jesus.
00:08:03
Speaker
And so there has to be something built in us, right, that we know that there's more. Yeah, that there is more. And again, God graciously pursues us and He's revealing Himself to us in different ways through His Word, you know, through Crea- I mean, there's all sorts of different ways. I just love that, you know, there's so many different ways that God is after us. He's chasing us. He's saying, where are you? Here am I? Where are you? And so, now,
Cosmological Argument for God's Existence
00:08:28
Speaker
I think with all that said, there are certain arguments that have been used, and I hate to use that word because we've said before that nobody gets argued into the kingdom, but there are certain pointers or proofs that have been used throughout church history.
00:08:43
Speaker
Let me just read a couple of those that might be helpful. We'll put these in the show notes. So, you know, one of those is called the cosmological arguments. And that just, you know, again, it comes from the word cosmos. It's the idea that every known thing in the universe has a cause. So you just think about everything that exists. It came from something. It had to have a cause. And so therefore the universe itself must also have a cause. And the cause of such a great universe can only be God.
00:09:10
Speaker
You know, that's the cosmological argument. For a long time, people thought that the universe was eternal. That was disproved in 1929, considered the greatest scientific discovery. And the scientists discovered that now the universe actually had a beginning. And it seems like the universe is losing energy. And so people reason back or deduce from that that there was a beginning to the universe. It's not eternal. There had to be a cause. Why is there a universe to begin with?
00:09:39
Speaker
nothing at all, those kinds of things. That's the cosmological argument.
Teleological Argument: Order and Design
00:09:43
Speaker
Then there's what's called the teleological argument. It basically focuses on the harmony order and design in the universe and argues that its design gives evidence of an intelligent purpose or goal. So you just think about somebody who is honestly wrestling with, does God exist? I mean, one of the ways
00:10:00
Speaker
that one of the ways that we can look at that is we just look at the incredible design that exists. I mean, take anything that exists. I mean, the eyeball alone is extraordinary. I mean, you know, DNA or the tree, I mean, when you begin to look at the incredible intelligence and purpose
00:10:19
Speaker
and harmony that exists in different created things, they point to an intelligent desire. Right, and that reminds me of, you know, we live in Michigan and it is the most glorious time of the entire year right now. It's the fall.
00:10:34
Speaker
It's incredible. And it's not like I'm new to this area. I grew up in this area and I still am in complete awe at the trees, the changing leaves. It's just, it's unbelievable. And I just feel like, how can you not, I mean, how can God not exist? This doesn't just happen. You're kind of getting into another, which we're not going to talk about today, but just the role of beauty.
00:10:58
Speaker
in the evidence of God based on beauty. I mean, why does a song move us? Why does a good story, what is it about those desires that exist within us that get stirred when we hear a song or a good story or we see the colors beginning to change? I mean, beauty in and of itself
00:11:16
Speaker
something that is proof of a beautiful one. Yeah and stay tuned because we have actually a really good episode with a special guest coming up and you'll want to listen to that it's all about beauty.
00:11:32
Speaker
Yeah, so those are two sort of historical arguments for the existence of God. And then one more is the moral argument.
Moral Argument: Divine Lawgiver
00:11:39
Speaker
And I think that this one oftentimes, again, God uses all sorts of different ways to reveal himself to us. And what works for one person might not work for another person. But the moral argument, I think, is just a really fascinating one, especially for the time that we're living in, where there's so much moral outrage in our culture. But the moral argument is simply this idea that it argues from man's sense of right or wrong.
00:12:01
Speaker
And you just think about that, like, you know, our daughter babysits for lots of other kids and it's fun watching, you know, siblings play and you see one sibling take a truck until they're not playing, they're fighting. But, you know, you see that so early on. They've been completely wronged. You took my matchbox truck and.
00:12:20
Speaker
You know, and so you see, I mean, that's C.S. Lewis's argument, right? In mere Christianity, that's one of the reasons he came to faith in God was this, he was trying to reconcile like, how can there not be a God and yet how can there be this sense of right and wrong that exists in the human heart? And you see that in young kids and we see it in our own hearts. And so that's the moral argument. Like we have this sense of right and wrong, like we know better.
00:12:44
Speaker
And again, I think that that's what's so fascinating about the culture we're living in. I mean, there's just so much moral outrage that exists today, rightfully so. I mean, when you look at racial injustice, when you look at the taking of life, the unborn, when you look at human trafficking, I mean, there's so much darkness and brokenness that's happening. And so you see so many people fighting for what's right. There's this moral outrage against racism. There's moral outrage against
00:13:11
Speaker
abortion, there's moral outrage against trafficking as there should be. And yet, how do you explain that if there is no God? Right. Why are you so upset about that? Why are you so upset? And so it's like even those that are fighting for those things, there are many who are fighting for those things who don't believe in God's existence. And yet they can't get away from what is on the inside of them. It's what you read in Romans 1 that we know better, that on the inside, the Old Testament says that God has placed eternity in our hearts.
00:13:40
Speaker
and that we have this conscience that exists within us, Romans chapter two. And so we know better. There is this sense of right and wrong that exists within us. And the reason that exists is because there really is a objective moral lawgiver. There really is a God who is the one who says what is right and wrong. There's a God who is just, who is pure, who is holy, who is loving.
00:14:07
Speaker
And he has placed that within our hearts and we know it. And what you started out with, I think it's so good, what you see oftentimes within our culture is a suppression of that truth, a suppression of that reality. And yet if we're honest, we can't get away from that reality. So that's the moral argument. And I think that argument in particular
00:14:29
Speaker
can be a really compelling one, especially living in the times that we're living in. Yeah, I think that when you brought up suppressing, I think that's the issue. It's not necessarily that there isn't enough proof for us to believe in God. It's that we suppress the proof that is right in front of us.
00:14:46
Speaker
Yeah, well, I know I mean that we have you know, just Literally touched the surface of this and all of these topics, you know There have been entire books that have been written on this but so there's so much more that could be said But you know, one of the things I thought this would be a good way to end one of the things I love which I know we've written about this in I can't remember what book it was but one of the things I love is
00:15:08
Speaker
is that when you begin the Bible, when you open up the Scriptures, the very first question that's recorded for us in the Bible is not, you know, humanity asking God, where are you? But it's God asking us, where are you? And I just love that. I think that's such a great reminder that, again, that God
00:15:28
Speaker
desires for us to know Him and to come into a saving relationship with Him through Jesus, through what Jesus has done for us on the cross. And God is pursuing us by His grace, and He gives us grace. He gives us grace to respond in faith, to trust in Jesus. And so God, He wants to show Himself to us.
00:15:50
Speaker
And he is actively pursuing us in a variety of ways. And so for those of us that are listening that maybe have family members or friends, I mean, God is pursuing them. He's chasing after them. He's pursuing them through the Holy Spirit. I mean, the Holy Spirit, the scripture say, is the one that convicts us of our sin. And so God is on mission in the world. And so I love that first question that it's not humanity saying, God, where are you? Do you exist? Right.
00:16:16
Speaker
It's God saying to us, where are you? Where are you at in relation to me? And so I just want to end with that. I think that's such a good reminder that in so many ways, God is saying, listen, look at all that I've done. Look at the many ways that I have revealed myself to you. And so where are you? Will you come to me? Will you trust in me? Will you place your faith in what I have done for you?
00:16:39
Speaker
in my son Jesus. And so I think there's so much that God has done for us. There's so many different ways that he has revealed himself to us. And so there is that element of faith, not blind faith, but faith based on the evidence. And there is so much evidence that points to the existence of God.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. So he's saying, where are you? Will you believe in him? Will you trust him? And I just love that. I think we could probably sum this all up with the simple statement that it takes more faith to believe that no one took nothing and made everything than to believe in the existence of God. So does God exist? Yes, the evidence is all around.
00:17:21
Speaker
If you haven't had a chance to listen to our previous tough questions about Christianity, listen, you have to. Over the last few weeks, we have answered so many questions. A couple of those are, how could a loving God send people to hell? And another one, should faith play a part in politics? And there's a lot more than that. So we would love for you to listen to our series. I've loved it.
00:17:43
Speaker
Are our topics, our episodes gonna get a little bit lighter down the road? These have been challenging. We're gonna take a break from the tough questions for a little bit, but we are actually planning another series of tough questions because we know, I mean, I was even thinking as we have been recording these, a lot of times within the tough question is another tough question.
Resources for Deepening Faith
00:18:05
Speaker
Do you know what I mean? Yeah, for sure. There's so many more.
00:18:07
Speaker
some of those sub points are like, oh wow, that could be a whole tough question in and of itself. So we do love doing this. And so we are going to keep doing these tough questions series, but we're going to take a break for now, but make sure that you listen to our past episodes and get ready for some series in the future. I think one of the other things we're going to do too, maybe you mentioned this already, forgive me if you said this, I listen to every word you say, but it's possible.
00:18:32
Speaker
It's possible that I may have missed this. You probably missed it, honey. But we are going to provide some great resources for people that just like they get geeked out about all this stuff. And they're like, I want to read more. I want to learn more about that. There's just so much more than what we even could talk about. So we are going to list some different resources. Like I just love this area. And I'm not an expert by any means. But this area has always been one of my favorite areas to read in, in apologetics. You guys. And so church history, that kind of stuff. Church history. Wait, honey. I have to tell them this.
00:19:02
Speaker
He has, he- I should have just let you close. I should have just let you land the plane. Right. Okay. Well, and I love to learn and I love reading books and I, you know, I love to learn and grow and, but he takes it to like a completely different level. He sits down with these books like on church history that are like thousands of pages. No, that's not true. And you're not just studying them because you have to like, you're like, ooh, like it's like exciting to you.
00:19:28
Speaker
Well, there's no college football happening right now. No, honey, but actually it is what I do appreciate about that. I'll bring this to a good. This is a good thing, honey. What I appreciate about it is that I get all the Cliff notes. That's true. There is so much I have learned because then so not only does he read it, he has to tell me then everything that he finds very interesting, which is good because I get somebody that cares.
00:19:52
Speaker
So if you're listening and you like that, just let me know. Just DM me on Instagram and just tell me that this matters, that I'm not alone. That would warm my soul. But anyway, where I was going with that was that we'll add some of those resources, some of the books that I found helpful over the years. And so we'll include those in the show notes.
00:20:12
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And especially with these tough questions, we will make sure that we have resources listed in the show notes for you to further reference, because like even today's topic, we could have talked about so much more. Like what I love about resources, too, like I'm just thinking about one of the gentlemen that we met early on when we moved to Ann Arbor, who I bought, you know, Tim Keller has a great book called The Reason For God. And I went over to Barnes and Noble and bought a copy of that, wrote him a note.
00:20:42
Speaker
and took it over to him to where he
Books as Tools for Faith Exploration
00:20:45
Speaker
works. And so resources like that too, like, you know, it's intimidating sometimes, you know, as you're getting questions like this and you're trying to remember, okay, wait a minute, what is it that I believe again? And sometimes it's just really helpful to go, you know what, I have a great book that I want to recommend to you. And so we'll include those. And some of those just are great books to give to a friend that's sincerely trying to answer some of these difficult questions.
00:21:08
Speaker
Yeah, because it can be really hard and not that you're going to remember everything from those books. No, that's for sure. I don't know. But you can have a highlighter and it just really helps. I think I think we all need to be informed and understanding of all of these issues because like you were sharing towards the beginning of this episode, remember, I mean, in the clubhouse of when we lived in that apartment building.
Being Prepared to Discuss Faith
00:21:29
Speaker
and you all of a sudden found yourself in a conversation with these people who were asking about the existence of God. Like you just never know when God, that's not an accident. You never know when God is going to open the door for you to share your faith. And so I think it's always helpful to have yourself equipped and prepared to answer the best you can, the questions that will come along.
00:21:56
Speaker
Wow, what a great conversation
Faith in a Creator vs. a Creator-less Universe
00:21:58
Speaker
today. As you know, if you've been joining us every week, each week we walk away with a key idea. Now this is our main takeaway summing up what we've talked about. So today's key idea is, it takes more faith to believe that no one took nothing and made everything than to believe in the existence of God.
00:22:18
Speaker
We will also be sure to put that key idea in the show notes as well as anything else we referenced at rootlikefaith.com forward slash podcast. And you can find us on Instagram and please remember to DM Pat if you like reading thousands and thousands of pages about church history. He won't feel alone.
00:22:38
Speaker
So find us on Instagram at Patrick W. Schwank and at Ruth Schwank or on Facebook. And as if we don't say it enough already, we're thrilled you're joining us and we welcome you into our family here at Root Like Faith. If you enjoyed the show today, would you be so kind to leave us a review or rating? That really is a big help to us as we spread the word about Root Like Faith and we are so, so grateful for your help.