Bible -- Theology; Theology, Doctrinal -- Popular works
bb) _This universal belief comes from within man._
All the evidence points to the conclusive fact that this universal
faith in the existence of God is innate in man, and comes from
rational intuition.
(3) The weight and force of this argument.
The fact that all men everywhere believe in the existence of a
supreme Being or beings to whom they are morally responsible, is a
strong argument in favor of its truth. So universal an effect must
have a cause as universal, otherwise we have an effect without any
assignable cause. Certain is it that this argument makes the burden
of proof to rest upon those who deny the existence of God.
b) The Argument from Cause: Cosmological.
When we see a thing we naturally ask for the cause of that thing.
We see this world in which we live, and ask how it came to be. Is
it self-originating, or is the cause of its being outside of itself?
Is its cause finite or infinite?
That it could not come into being of itself seems obvious; no more
than nails, brick, mortar, wood, paints, colors, form into a house
or building of themselves; no more than the type composing a book
came into order of itself. When Liebig was asked if he believed
that the grass and flowers which he saw around him grew by mere
chemical forces, he replied: "No; no more than I could believe that
the books on botany describing them could grow by mere chemical
forces." No theory of an "eternal series" can account for this
created universe. No matter how long a chain you may have, you
must have a staple somewhere from which it depends. An endless
perpendicular chain is an impossibility. "Every house is builded
by some man," says the Bible; so this world in which we live was
built by a designing mind of infinite power and wisdom.
So is it when we consider man. Man exists; but he owes his existence
to some cause. Is this cause within or without himself, finite or
infinite? Trace our origin back, if you will, to our first parent,
Adam; then you must ask, How did he come into being? The doctrine
of the eternity of man cannot be supported. Fossil remains extend
back but 6,000 years. Man is an effect; he has not always existed.
Geology proves this. That the first Cause must have been an intelligent
Being is proven by the fact that we are intelligent beings ourselves.
c) The Argument from Design: Teleological.
A watch proves not only a maker, an artificer, but also a designer;
a watch is made for a purpose. This is evident in its structure.
A thoughtful, designing mind was back of the watch. So is it with
the world in which we live. These "ends" in nature are not to he
attributed to "natural results," or "natural selection," results
which are produced without intelligence, nor are they "the survival
of the fittest," instances in which "accident and fortuity have
done the work of mind." No, they are the results of a superintending
and originating intelligence and will.
d) The Argument from Being: Ontological.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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