By: Mark Tabata (Evangelist)
Often, when I study with atheists and various kinds of unbelievers, I point out to them that the laws of science demonstrate to us that there must be a God.
While many do not like to accept this, the conclusions are truly inescapable.
Nevertheless, it has been my experience that some still refuse to accept the facts, desiring instead to cling to their desired view of how they want the universe to be.
After all, it is much easier to deny the conclusion that God exists from the evidence surrounding us than to give up wanting to live in a lifestyle which He has deemed sinful.
Allow me to provide an example.
The Laws of Thermodynamics (specifically, the First and Second Laws) demonstrate clearly that the universe had a beginning, and that the only rational Cause of said universe is the eternal God.
Writing about the so-called Steady State Theory (which was an attempt of some to try and claim that the universe is eternal), scholar John Blanchard writes of some of the scientific problems inherent in this approach to the universe.
Speaking specifically of the Laws of Thermodynamics, he tells us:
“Not everyone welcomed the Big Bang concept, some disliking the idea that the universe had a beginning because it strongly implied a supernatural creation. In 1948 Sir Fred Hoyle helped to formulate the ‘steady-state’ theory. This maintained that the universe was infinite and eternal and that the entire cosmic process was kept in balance as matter simply sprang into existence out of nothing at a regular rate to replace the matter which had ‘died’ through expansion. The biggest problem with this view is that it violates the First Law of Thermodynamics, sometimes known as the law of conservation of mass and energy. This fundamental law, which Isaac Asimov called ‘the most powerful and most fundamental generalization about the universe that scientists have ever been able to make’,24 states that matter and energy can neither be self-created nor destroyed…The First Law of Thermodynamics clearly supports the idea that an expanding universe must have had a beginning but could not have created itself. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that any isolated physical system becomes less ordered and more random over time, provides another piece for the cosmic jigsaw. Applied very simply and generally, it means that our entire universe is running down. As the rotation of the planets and their moons slows down, and as stars (and whole galaxies) burn themselves out, the matter in our universe is becoming more and more disorganized as its energy is dissipated. The logical consequence of this is that the universe cannot be eternal. If it were, the stars would have ceased to shine long ago and all the energy in our universe would have long since been evenly spread throughout space. At the same time, this suggests that if the universe is becoming less ordered, it must have been more ordered in the past, and have had a highly ordered beginning.” (John Blanchard, Does God Believe In Atheists? 5601-5620 (Kindle Edition); Carlisle, PA; EP Books USA)
So the Second Law demonstrates that the universe has not always been here.
Why?
Because if the universe had always existed, then all of the energy would have been been completely used up and expended by now.
Since this isn’t the case, we know that the universe had a beginning point.
Further, this Law demonstrates that the universe must have had a highly ordered beginning (not the result of a mindless explosion which would produce chaos and not cosmos).
The First Law, coupled with this, shows that the universe could not have been self-created.
Therefore, something beyond the universe created it.
The only Cause sufficient to create the universe would be God. Why is this the case?
As Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow have explained:
“What the kalam reveals is that the universe was made and that someone made it. Further, the kalam helps narrow the range of possible causes to a being that is nonphysical, spaceless, timeless, changeless, and powerful: • If matter began to exist at the moment of creation, then the matter’s cause must be nonphysical, or spiritual. • Since space itself came into existence at the big bang, space’s cause must be spaceless. • Since time began at the moment of the big bang, time’s cause must be timeless. • Since change is a product of time, time’s cause must also be changeless. • Given the immensity of energy and matter that comprises the universe, energy and matter’s cause must be unimaginably inably powerful.” (Sean McDowell & Jonathan Morrow, Is God Just A Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised By The new Atheists, 78-79 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kregel Publications)
The evidence is pretty conclusive from the laws of science that God exists. As one scientist has pointed out:
“Using the clock analogy again, the further back in time, the more wound up the clock. Far enough back in time, the clock was completely wound up. The universe therefore cannot be infinitely old. One can only conclude that the universe had a beginning, and that beginning had to have been caused by someone or something operating outside of the known laws of thermodynamics. Is this scientific proof for the existence of a creator God? I think so. Evolutionary theories of the universe cannot counteract the above arguments for the existence of God.” (John M. Cimbala, ‘Mechanical Engineering,’ in John F. Ashton, PhD, In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose To Believe In Creation, 3021-3026 (Kindle Edition); Green Forest, AR; Master Books)
Some honest hearted atheists and agnostics are willing to accept this evidence and acknowledge the existence of God; yet some continue to reject Him.
This demonstrates to us that atheism is not so much a question of intellectual evidence: it is about emotional prejudice.
The God of Creation has revealed Himself to us through nature (Romans 1:18-20), and in a special way (through Jesus Christ His Son, and through the Holy Scriptures-Jeremiah 10;23; Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). This Jesus loved us so much that He went to the Cross of Calvary to die in our place, paying the debt of our sins that we could not pay (1 Timothy 2:6). He was buried, and three days later, He arose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). One Day He is coming back, for the purpose of Judgment (Hebrews 9:27). He loves you and wants you to be saved from sin (Ezekiel 18:23; 2 Peter 3:9).
He tells believers what they need to do to be forgiven of their sins:
Acts 2:38-Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Why not today arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16)?
If you are an erring child of God, the Lord invites you to return to Him. Speaking to Christians, the Bible says:
1 John 1:9-If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If the churches of Christ can assist you in any way, please call upon us.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.