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How do you know God exists?

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 12:50 pm
by steve7150
I appeal to the much ridiculed irreducible complexity. There have been 50 billion people created and each have roughly 37 trillion cells. These cells have varying levels of complexity but they perform real functions and are complex. To think this situation could have evolved mindlessly is way beyond any credulity IMO.
Plus this complexity is just the tip of the iceberg as we have similar questions about the universe about all other living things and other things.

This may not sound very spiritual but this reasoning and logic works for me as i never have had a shred of doubt that God exists. Fortunately Jesus and the bible fills in the many other questions about God, although i do still have questions. I actually learned about Jesus when i looked up at the night sky 13 years ago and said to God out loud that i know he exists, but i wanted to know why we are here. A few weeks later my wife's friend preached the gospel to us and it made enough sense to me to pursue it.

Since then i have had three signs that had to have been from God but i never felt i had to have validation although it is very exciting.

Anyway, how do you know God exists?

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:50 am
by dseusy
I need Him to exist. Without perfect love, life is pointless and not worth living- too much pain for no good reason- and the prospect of eternity without true love is beyond scary. Who wants to be let down forever?

So I want God... then I come across His commands and I fear Him. Then I study more and His Word builds my faith. Then His love drives out my fear and a relationship develops. Now that we are buddies, it would be silly for me to doubt His existence. But I am a bit silly.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:42 pm
by steve7150
I need Him to exist. Without perfect love, life is pointless and not worth living- too much pain for no good reason- and the prospect of eternity without true love is beyond scary. Who wants to be let down forever?










Yes i also need and want God too and that's a good desire. But a desire isn't really evidence is it? Did you ever think about how you know God is present beyond your need for Him?

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 4:23 pm
by mattrose
Sifting through the dozens of 'arguments' for God's existence... I ended up putting 10 together that I think would make the strongest cumulative case.

#1 The First Cause Argument
Anything that begins to exist has a cause. Most people now agree that the universe at some point in the past began to exist. Therefore, the universe must have had a cause. We can rightfully label that cause the Creator.

#2 The Design Argument
Any careful observer recognizes that the universe displays a high degree of apparent order/design. This could be explained either by chance or by actual intelligence behind the design. But it is so statistically improbable that chance can account for the order/design we observe that intelligence becomes a superior explanation. That intelligent designer can be labeled as God.

#3 The Moral Argument
Throughout history human beings have shared a common sense of right and wrong. The atheistic view cannot adequately explain the source of our shared morality, let alone its existence to begin with. Theism can and does explain it. The source is God.

#4 The God-Shaped-Hole Argument
Our sense of need generally corresponds to known realities (hunger exists… so does food). A vast number of people (including many famous atheists) testify that without God they feel they are missing something they desperately need. A God-shaped-hole suggests there is a God.

#5 The Beauty Argument
The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach… A Beautiful sunset… The first breath of a newborn baby… When we recognize utter beauty in this world it points beyond itself to a cosmic artist: God.

#6 The Soul/Spirit Argument
The existence of our personalities... The many reports of spirits/ghosts and/or out of body experiences. Such facts/reports serve as evidence of the immaterial realm. If such a realm exists, the existence of God becomes likely.

#7 The Miracles Argument
Throughout history, there have been numerous reports of miracles. Even if some miracle reports are false, it is unlikely that they are all illegitimate. Miracles, by definition, point to the existence of a deity.

#8 The Common Consent Argument
Almost all people in every era have believed in some form of deity. It is unlikely that the vast majority of people throughout history have been completely wrong about the existence of a higher power. Therefore, God is likely to exist.

#9 The Experience/Testimony Argument
Many people throughout human history claim to have had an experience with the divine. One could argue that it is highly improbable that all such people have been utterly mistaken. It is far more likely an explanation that a divine being exists and has been experienced.

#10 The Jesus Argument
Jesus Christ claimed to be God. He demonstrated his trustworthiness through his life & teachings and his claims were verified through miracles and his resurrection from the dead. Given these realities, it is far more likely that Jesus was who he claimed to be than any other option (the other options include that Jesus is just a legend… that he was a lunatic… or that he was a liar). If Jesus is who He claimed to be then there is a God: Jesus.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 4:25 pm
by mattrose
To personally answer your question... I'd say 1, 2, 3, 9 & 10 have collectively been my main reasons for believing in God (1, 2, 3 & 10 as arguments... 9 more practical experience).

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:02 pm
by Paidion
If one is looking for absolute proof, that is another matter. I cannot even prove that you exist.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 5:42 am
by steve7150
If one is looking for absolute proof, that is another matter. I cannot even prove that you exist.











That's fine because my wife has the same difficulty about me. Re God and proof, since God is invisible and we can't hear him speak audibly , my question is about
the quality of the evidence that personally persuades each of us to believe in a God of the universe and a God who loves each of us individually.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 5:58 am
by steve7150
Sifting through the dozens of 'arguments' for God's existence... I ended up putting 10 together that I think would make the strongest cumulative case.

#1 The First Cause Argument
Anything that begins to exist has a cause. Most people now agree that the universe at some point in the past began to exist. Therefore, the universe must have had a cause. We can rightfully label that cause the Creator.

#2 The Design Argument
Any careful observer recognizes that the universe displays a high degree of apparent order/design. This could be explained either by chance or by actual intelligence behind the design. But it is so statistically improbable that chance can account for the order/design we observe that intelligence becomes a superior explanation. That intelligent designer can be labeled as God.







I think the above arguments are air tight. To me the atheists answers to these arguments are incomprehensible. The rest of the arguments are more greyish as they all have possible responses. For example the beauty argument can be balanced out by the evil argument. The Jesus argument is a lot more difficult IMO unless you take the Gary Habermas approach and simply try to prove the resurrection.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 2:04 pm
by Paidion
Steve 7150 wrote:That's fine because my wife has the same difficulty about me. Re God and proof, since God is invisible and we can't hear him speak audibly , my question is aboutthe quality of the evidence that personally persuades each of us to believe in a God of the universe and a God who loves each of us individually.
Okay. The evidence of the existence of God for me personally, is my experience. When I submitted to Christ as my Lord, I FELT the LOVE of God permeate me. Right to this day, I experience that flow of LOVE whenever I submit in a fuller measure. I have never experienced that flow of LOVE from any other source or in any other circumstance.

This testimony will not convince anyone who has not experienced it. When I have testified of this, I have been asked, "How do you know it was GOD who gave you this experience?" or "How can having a feeling of love prove to you that there is a God? Feelings come and go. Maybe there was another reason you had that feeling."

I cannot answer these questions in a way which would convince anyone that this flow of LOVE which I experienced had its source in God. Yet I know it does. If I had never experienced Him in this way, I would not hold the certainty of His existence as, in fact, I do.

Re: How do you know God exists?

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 8:24 am
by steve7150
Okay. The evidence of the existence of God for me personally, is my experience. When I submitted to Christ as my Lord, I FELT the LOVE of God permeate me. Right to this day, I experience that flow of LOVE whenever I submit in a fuller measure. I have never experienced that flow of LOVE from any other source or in any other circumstance.











I expected a more analytical answer from you but your experience is very real and convincing to you therefore it's as valid as any other reason.That is how you know God exists.