Theology - Doctrine of God Part 1 - Defining Reality

On January 7, 1855, British minister Charles Spurgeon opened a sermon with this:

"The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. . . . No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. . . . But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. . . . Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity."

In pursuit of understanding Theology Proper - the Study of God - some basic truths become evident to the diligent student: 

• You come to know God must necessarily exist
• You come to know more about God
• You come to know God

Knowing God Exists

To know God must necessarily exist is something every serious student of Theology must mentally grasp.  The existence of God is not optional -- one viewpoint to help explain our reality and the cosmos.  Diligent study of Theology Proper will help you come to the realization it must be so.  If people are entirely intellectually honest,  they know God exists even if they don't publicly admit it. Their perception of Him may be twisted and perverted, but God has revealed Himself through His Creation:

Psalm 19 1-4: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  HCSB

While humanity throughout history may not fully know God, they are nevertheless without excuse. In his epistle to the church in Rome, Paul settles this issue:

Romans 1:19-20  ...since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.  For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. HCSB

Walking the path to Knowing God

To know "about" God is helpful to understand the scriptures and how to live a Christian life, yet even unbelievers and the demonic spirit realm knows "about" God:

James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.  HCSB

So the proper purpose of Theology would be to grow from knowing "about" God to actually “know God”.  To know God is to be in relationship with Him; yielding to Him and enjoying the blessings of salvation and grace.

… imagine the man/woman of your dreams... What if I tell you I 'know' that person exists? Upon having that information you naturally would want to 'know about' that person. I could tell you their name and all about their personality and things about their lives, but you receive no satisfaction until you actually meet and come to 'know' that person.

To summarize Spurgeon, to know God is the highest pursuit your mind can undertake. No subject is more worthy of your time and attention. No other knowledge will impact your eternal destiny more than that of our Creator and Redeemer.

Formal Proofs of the Existence of God

Let's begin our journey with a discussion about the existence of God.  Aside from historical proofs such as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, changed lives from personal experiences with God, and the tangible presence of evil to confirm the existence of a Holy God, there are also logical arguments that can establish reasonable proof of God's existence.  Here are five:

Ex nihilo nihil fit 

~ or, why does anything exist at all?   "Ex nihilo nihil fit." -- Out of nothing, nothing comes.  Ponder this a moment: if ever there was a time when there was nothing, then there would still be nothing and always have been nothing and always will be nothing.

Scientifically and logically either the universe must be eternal, or something else must be eternal, otherwise there can be “no thing”.  Something cannot create itself.  This violates the Law of Non Contradiction, which is the basis for all reasoning and logic.  The laws of physics confirm that something cannot “be” and “not be” at the same time without violating the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy.  Do not confuse this with Quantum Field Theories or “Zero Point Energy” about particles being created and destroyed -- these come out of the “Quantum Vacuum”, which is still a “thing” not “nothing”.

Formally, here is the syllogism:

 

1.  For anything to ever exist, something has previously existed

2.  Things exist

3.  Something (God) must have always existed

Leibniz' Contingency Argument 

~ or, the universe must have sufficient reason to exist.   

Formally, here is the syllogism:

1.  Everything that exists has an explanation for its existence

2.  If the universe has an explanation for its existence, that explanation must be God

    

    (if God does not exist, the universe has no explanation for its existence)

3.  The universe exists

4.  The universe has an explanation for its existence (from 1 & 3)

5.  The explanation for the existence of the universe is God (from 2 & 4)

Gottfried Leibniz originated this syllogism in 1714 and elaborates:

"There can be found no fact that is true or existent, or any true proposition without there being a sufficient reason for its being so and not otherwise, although we cannot know these reasons in most cases." "Why is there something rather than nothing? The sufficient reason...is found in a substance which...is a necessary being bearing the reason for its existence within itself."

Kalam Cosmological Argument

This argument was popularized from a book published by William Lane Craig entitled The Kalām Cosmological Argument (Barnes & Noble, New York 1979).  It references a medieval Islamic scholastic tradition to defend their faith against pantheist Greek philosophy.

Formally, here is the syllogism:

1 - Whatever begins to come into existence has a cause

2 - The universe began to exist 

3 - Therefore the universe has a Cause

Our universe must be from an “uncaused” source, which can only be a non-physical (trans: Spiritual), timeless, ageless, infinitely powerful, omniscient Person. It must be Person and not a mindless force because of the inherent design and intelligence applied to the creation, as seen in the Fine Tuning Argument.

Fine Tuning (Teleological) Argument

~ or, how is it that everything "looks" designed?

1 -  The universe is fine tuned for life due to physical necessity, chance or design

2 - The universe is not fine tuned for life due to physical necessity or chance

3 - Therefore, the fine tuning of the universe for life is due to design.

This argument requires some knowledge of Cosmology, but scientifically is accepted that the fine tuning of the universe cannot be “caused” due to physical necessity as many other cosmological constants could have been in place at the time the universe came into being. 

Chance is not an explanation either.  Atheists reach for this when trying to explain many things in nature that look obviously designed.  Intellectually honest people who have investigated the probabilities involved when explaining our universe by chance understand the probabilities exceed human comprehension.  It takes “blind faith” to believe chance is responsible for the incredibly complex and fined tuned nature of the universe.

Moral (Axiological) Argument

~ or, why is it everyone complains when something isn't "fair"?

1 - If God does not exist, then no objective moral values or duties exist

2 - Objective moral values and duties exist

3 - Therefore, God must exist

Many attempts to circumvent this argument have been tried throughout history.  However without a perfect, righteous and omnipotent Law Giver, any moral system will be based on preferences or arbitrary rules made by those with the most power.  This argument is obvious to any person who has claimed something is not "fair". 

So now we move from the first level of knowledge, that God exists, to probe the depths of what we can learn about God's characteristics. We have to address “how we know what we know”.

Reason and Epistemology

When we try to understand something and “know” it, we must establish some basic, non-negotiable terms of logic that helps us define reality.

• Law of Non-Contradiction - part of the scientific method and basis of all logic

• Law of Causality - for every effect there must be a cause.

• Assumption of the Reliability of Sense Perception – that while we realize the limitations of our senses, and know we can be fooled, ultimately our five senses confirm logical outcomes.

• Analogical Use of Language - holding of meaning when using language. Not all concepts can be fully contained in the limits of language, but the purpose of this exercise is to drive to meaning and not waste effort at grammar. Focus on the meaning not the language.

When someone denies the possibility of Deity and a Creator, they will be forced to deny one of those laws or assumptions of reason. There are only four possibilities to explain reality as we see it:

1. Reality is an illusion
2. Reality created itself
3. Reality has always 'been'
4. Reality was created by some other force/being that has always 'been'.

Option 1 - Reality is an Illusion

Some Eastern religions teach reality is an illusion, but practically speaking they do not “live” that reality, and conveniently ignore the assumption of the reliability of Sense Perception at various times.

Option 2 - Reality Created Itself

David Hume and others philosophers have tried to decouple cause and effect, but that is bad science, and logically contradictory. Also, again, it's not “real” in the sense Mr. Hume believed in cause and effect as he conducted his daily life.

The “Enlightenment” (self titled) of the 18^th century argued that the “God Hypothesis” is no longer necessary. Material things come into being from “spontaneous generation”. Scientists ridicule that today, yet they still hold that the universe exploded from nothing. And that “nothing + chance” has the power to create things.

The idea of chance “being” anything is a myth. Scientists here try to apply the Law of Causality to chance, when chance is merely a way to measure the outcome of forces at work with different possible outcomes. Chance does not “cause” a coin to flip, only to measure what the flips may result in over a number of different trials. Chance has no “being” except as an after effect of something else that is – it is purely contingent on something else.

Option 3 - Reality Has Always Been

Until about 30 years ago, this was the standard model of the universe. Carl Sagan's “The Cosmos” stated as a fact that “the universe is all there is, ever was, and ever will be”. Which is presumptuous at best since we have no evidence to support what will be forever. Now, with Big Bang Cosmology, the scientific community is across the horns of a dilemma, having an Uncaused Effect in the form of a universe that has “begun to exist”, but without acknowledging the source of that universe. See also Entropy / Second Law of Thermodynamics.

You cannot argue (as you can for the existence of an eternal God) that the universe has the “power of being” within itself, as there was a time where the universe did not exist. This returns us to Option 2 which violates the Law of Non-Contradiction.

Option 4 – Local Reality was Created by a Divine Eternal Being

It is not irrational to consider a Being that was not caused by anything. The Law of Causality states that every Effect must have a Cause, but there is no logical constraint to have an “uncaused Cause”. This Option is also rationally necessary. Something always had to exist to account for the existence of anything.

See further posts on the Doctrine of God

Theology - Doctrine of God Part 2 - God is Self Existent

Theology - Doctrine of God Part 3 - God is a Person

Theology - Doctrine of God Part 4 - God's Omnipresence

Theology - Doctrine of God Part 5 - God is Changeless

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Scripture citations are from:  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) © 2009 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville TN or New King James Version®. (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson