Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

• Romans 1:20

And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

• Job 28:28

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

• Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

• Proverbs 9:10

“The Teleological Argument:  The argument that the universe exhibits design and purpose: the acorn becomes the oak, the stars move in predictable courses, everything seems to be acting out some purpose or plan. An argument of this kind is called a ‘teleological’ argument because a teleological explanation is one that explains something in terms of its theme or goal. …
“The Cosmological Argument:  The argument that the universes being here at all means that someone must have created it dash it cannot just have come into existence all by itself, out of nothing dash is the ‘cosmological’ argument. …
“The Ontological Argument: The third great argument for the existence of God is called the ‘ontological’ argument dash the word ‘ontology’ applies to any discussion to do with the nature of being. The inventor of this argument seems to have been St. Anselm (1033 – 1109) who was for 16 years Archbishop of Canterbury. Imagine, he says, the greatest, most perfect being possible.  If the being you think of has every desirable attribute except that of existence, it is not the greatest or most perfect possible, because obviously a being that exists is both greater and more perfect than one that does not.”

• Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

The book’s author inserted these three arguments in the middle of medieval philosophy.  I guess that he sensed an elephant in the room, and he must address the existence of God.  After all, from this point on, there would be many Christian philosophers and the existence of God with many might be an important factor.  But after giving these three arguments, along with their weakness, but no positives, he states, “The consensus among philosophers now is that the existence of God cannot be proved. This is not, of course, to say that he does not exist, but only that his existence is not something that can be rationally demonstrated.”

When we are standing before the Great White Throne, demanding a do-over because God did not make Himself known sufficiently from a purely intellectual and rational level, I think God will point to Romans 1:20.  Then again, there is no evidence that once their fate is sealed that they even get a chance to say anything.

If God cannot be realized by a purely rational argument, then what do apologists do?  There are a variety of Apologetic methods, but they all use intellectual arguments so that people will be assured that there is a God.  Then, the evangelist can talk to them about how Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life.

But if “philosophers” have proven that God cannot be proved, why bother?

We need Apologetics these days, and they do a wonderful job.  But they may not get very far with “some” philosophers.

I think all three arguments are excellent arguments, but I start from a standpoint of knowing that God exists and that He has made Himself known to me.

I pray for such people that refuse to have faith until they are absolutely certain.  My heart goes out to them because if you are absolutely certain, faith has nothing to do with it.  I have heard that the opposite of faith is not disbelief, but certainty.

But the author’s friends who say that the existence of God cannot be proven is probably not every philosopher on earth.  Statistics lie.  Stats can be misleading.  And demons are certain that there is a God, but they are not saved.

We must trust in a living God who loves us.  The three arguments above say nothing of that at all.  The arguments speak of the existence of the world or the existence of an idea of how the world was formed.  None speak of a living God interacting with the world for our good.

As evangelists have said, the most important eighteen inches in your life is the eighteen inches from the head to the heart.  You can be absolutely convinced that you have proven that there is a God rationally and intelligently.  But if you do not trust and believe in God in your heart, you are just as lost as those philosophers who think you cannot prove that God exists.

We need to know in our minds that God exists, but we must trust God with our lives, for ultimately our lives depend on that trust.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.