Apologetic: How Do We Know God Is Real?

Topic:

The question of God’s reality is a stopping point in many life discussions. Why is there pain or evil leads to questions about whether or not God is real. Morality and moral issues or faith crises also lead to this question. In all of these debates, God is a gentleman. He has made his case in any number of ways and lets the evidence speak for itself. God is not a tyrant or a dictator that demands belief. God has shown grace and blessing to all his creation, as Lord, there will be a day when he holds his creation accountable for believing and trusting in him or rejecting him. What evidence suggests God is real?

Facts and Biblical Evidence:

• God’s power and nature are revealed in the beauty and complexity of creation. Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1; 97:6; Job 12:7-10
• Through Jesus, God has come to earth. John 14:6-10
• Faith is not a haphazard belief in something (i.e. God). Faith is the result of knowledge and belief that can be trusted. Hebrews 11:1
• The reliability of the Bible is evidence of God’s work across history.
• God worked in the lives of individuals and nations since the beginning of time. We can read stories in the Bible about this, but we hear similar stories of healing (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and transformation today from all around the world and people in our lives. God is still working.
• In every person there is a sense that there is something more and bigger than this universe or life. God has placed eternity on the hearts of man. Ecclesiastes 3:11
• Many people without faith in God point to relationships as the point of life. Genesis 1:26 reveals that God made us in his image with the capacity for relationship that exists within the Trinity.  
• Consider the ways God has worked in your or your students’ life in the past. Acts of God (coincidences) were things worked out better than they should have, answered prayers, transformation, overcoming sin, healing from hurt, worship, and other ways God has ministered to you or your students.

Biblical Foundation:

Psalm 14:1 states that “the fool says in his heart there is no God.” This is not a compelling argument to most non believers or a good conversation point for believers to make, but from this we can consider other accounts of doubt from the Bible such as the king of Egypt who wouldn’t let the Israelites leave until God revealed himself through the plagues. Jesus’ disciples such as Peter and Thomas had doubts that Jesus lovingly responded to and showed them who he was.

Where to Start:

Is there a larger issue such as evil or morality that led to this question. Usually God’s reality is questioned in light of something else. It may be that sin has changed the way God intended things to be, or human free will has led to pain. Address these issues in light of who God is and deal with the bigger question of God’s reality if necessary.

Where to Learn more:

http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html

http://askville.amazon.com/bible-god-real-proof/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=15467000

http://www.gotquestions.org/is-God-real.html

http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/features/thank-god-youre-wrong

http://familyshare.com/are-you-there-god-how-to-know-god-is-real

Apologetic: Creation

Topic:

In popular opinion many people consider evolution to be a mainline belief about the origin of everything. While this is the majority position, many people still affirm creation and have doubts about the big bang starting everything. This topic has been controversial for years, while the Christian view is less prominent than it was, Christians are having better conversations about creation and God’s role in it. Much of this has come from proponents of Intelligent Design a movement to present an intelligent designer as a possible origin of everything alongside evolution in biology classes across the country. The question at the center of this controversy can be boiled down to “Does God exist?” Those who support creation or Intelligent Design(usually, but not always) point to God as the source of everything. People who deny God’s existence have to look for another way to explain how everything came to be and they do this by supporting evolution.

Purpose:

The origin of life and everything in the world is a fundamental place to look for God. In looking at creation we find evidence of God and can strengthen our faith in him. A professor once said “If God could create everything out of nothing, the virgin birth and resurrection are no problem.” Starting with creation gives us a sense of the eternality, power, and sovereignty of God.

Biblical foundation:

The Bible can lead to two conclusions about creation. The majority position is that God created the world and everything in it in a Literal 7 days, meaning that each day described in Genesis is a 24 hour day just as we understand days now. Others come to the conclusion of theistic evolution based on the Day-Age Theory. This theory assumes that the days mentioned in Genesis were not literal days, but periods of time. God was the creator, but creation came to be through evolution during the “age” that was each “day” recorded in the Bible. Genesis 1, Genesis 2, and John 1:1-18 give us the clearest understanding what was going on at Creation. God is understood as the creator throughout Scripture. One of the most clear claims by God about his role as creator comes in response to Job challenging God after he has lost everything. God begins to answer Job by saying “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!” (Job 38:4-5).

Where to start:

In “debating” or discussing this topic respect and grace are important. This topic isn’t limited to the question of origin, but extends beyond religion and science to politics and culture. People can get heated quickly when their views are challenged, which can cause them to stop listening. People can see a car crash and have two different stories about how it happened. The same is true with evidence about creation or evolution. Looking at the same data, people can recognize what supports their view point. Ask probing questions and be willing to listen. Keep in mind that God is the one that transforms people. Your best argument will help plant seeds for faith, but won’t change or save anyone.

What others might say:

Since the implications of this topic (views about God) can bleed into so many areas of life, discussing creation and evolution can get personal and nasty. Recognize that we are all sinners. God’s grace and Spirit in us are changing us, those who don’t know God are still hardened toward God and truth.

Where to learn more:

This subject is debated by some of the smartest people alive. These links will help you understand this topic, but may be a little bit academic.

Intelligent Design: Arguments for a designer

Facts vs. Faith in the debate about Creation and Evolution

Bill Nye Vs. Ken Ham debate. One of the most popular debates on this subject.

Expelled is a documentary looking at how Intelligent Design education is suppressed in favor of evolution. It goes to some extremes, but provides some context for the debate. 

The College Students Back to School Guide to Intelligent Design. This short ebook answers criticism teachers often give of Intelligent Design.