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DOES GOD EXIST?

 

By Eric V. Snow

 

Can we prove God to exist by human reason alone, and without faith? Let's consider the following argument, stated first in a short form.  Then let’s explain it in detail and then cover two standard objections to it.

 

1. Either the universe has always existed, or God has.

 

2. But, as shown by the second law of thermodynamics, the universe hasn't always existed.

 

3. Therefore, God exists.

 

1. The point here is that something has always existed because self-creation

is impossible. Something can never come from nothing. A vacuum can't spon­taneously create matter by itself. Why? This is because the law of cause and effect is based on the fact that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Causation involves the expression over a period of time of the law of non­-contradiction in entities. Hence, a basketball when dropped on the floor of necessity must act differently from a bowing ball dropped on the same floor, all other things being equal. Hence, if something doesn't exist (i.e., a vacuum exists), it can't do or be anything on its own, except remain empty because it has no identity or essence. This is why the "steady state" theory of the universe's origin devised by the astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle was absurd: It said hydrogen atoms were popping out of nothing! How can a nothing do anything?!  Since self-creation is impossible, then something had to always exist. So now--was it the material universe?  Or was it some other unseen, unsensed Entity outside the material world?

 

2. The second law of thermodynamics maintains that-the total amount of useful energy in a closed system must always decline. "Useful energy" is energy that does work while flowing from a place of higher concentration to that of a lower concentration. "A closed system' is a place where no new energy is flowing in or out of it.

 

The universe, physically, is a closed system because no new matter or energy is being added to it. The first law of thermodynamics confirms this, since it says no matter or energy is being created or destroyed. Hence, eventually all the stars would have burned out if the universe had always existed. A state of "heat death" would have long ago existed, in which the levels of energy throughout each part of the universe would be uniform. A state of maximum entropy (i.e., useless, non-working energy) would have been reached. But since the stars have not burned out, the universe had a beginning.

 

In this regard, the universe is like a car with a full tank of gas, but which has a stuck gas cap. If the car had always been constantly driven (i.e., had always existed), it would have long ago run out of fuel. But the fact it still has gas (i.e., useful energy) left in it proves the car hasn't been constantly driven from the infinite past. The stuck gas cap makes-the-car in this example a "closed system" because no more energy can be added to make the car move.  "Heat-death' occurs when the car runs out of gas, as it inevitably must, since no more can-be added to-it.  Likewise, the universe then is like a wind-up toy or watch that has been slowly unwinding down:  At some point “something” must have wound it up.

 

OBJECTIONS:

 

1. "Who created God then?" The point of the first premise was to show something had to have always existed. At that point, we didn't know what it was—or who it was. But if the universe hasn't always existed, then something else--God--has.

 

2. "The second law of thermodynamics doesn't apply to every part of the universe, or else won't apply to it in the future." This statement is pure prejudice, be­cause there is no scientific evidence anywhere that the second law of thermo­dynamics doesn't apply. And this law won't change in the future because the fundamental essence (nature) of the things that make up the physical universe aren't changing, so nature's laws wouldn't change in the future.  That is, unless God intervenes through miracles (i.e., “violates” nature’s laws).  So a skeptic can’t turn around and say there are places (or times) in the universe where nature’s laws don’t apply which no human has ever investigates or been to.  And to know whether the second law of thermodynamics is inapplicable somewhere in the universe, the doubter ironically would have to be “God,” i.e., know everything about everywhere else.  So to escape this argument for God’s existence, the skeptic then has to place his faith in an unknown, unseen, unsensed exception to the second law of thermodynamics.  It’s better then to place faith in the unseen Almighty God of the Bible instead!  Plainly, nature cannot always explain nature:  Something—or Someone--to which the second law of thermodynamics is inapplicable (i.e., in the spirit world) created the material universe.

 

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Why does God Allow Evil? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm

May Christians work on Saturdays? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Protestant Rhetoric vs Sabbath Refuted.htm

Should Christians obey the Old Testament law? /doctrinalhtml/Does the New Covenant Abolish the OT Law.htm

Do you have an immortal soul? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Here and Hereafter.htm

Does the ministry have authority? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is There an Ordained Ministry vs Edwards.html

Is the United States the Beast? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Are We the Beast vs Collins.htm

Should you give 10% of your income to your church? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does the Argument from Silence Abolish the Old Testament Law of Tithing 0205 Mokarow rebuttal.htm

Is Jesus God? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is Jesus God.htm

Will there be a third resurrection? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Will There Be a Third Resurrection.htm

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