One of the most common rationales of those who don’t believe in God is that they are waiting for proof of God’s existence. Unfortunately for them, that proof may never come. Well, at least not in the way they are expecting. In today’s world science rules. If God can’t be proven scientifically, many people say, then God must not exist. The problem with that viewpoint is the scientific method itself. Now, the scientific method is a very important and beneficial thing. But it has limitations. The scientific method can only prove observable things that are repeatable through experimentation. For instance, one can prove via the scientific method that gunpowder is flammable. However, one could not prove via the scientific method that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. And you would be laughed out of town if you were to suggest that this didn’t happen simply because you could not prove it scientifically. One also could not prove via the scientific method that love exists, but you would be foolhardy to believe that it doesn’t simply because you cannot prove it. A person has to believe in these things by matter of deduction, by looking at the evidence. So it is with God. You won’t be able to prove His existence by the scientific method, but if you look at the evidence in an unbiased manner, you would have to conclude that God does in fact exist.

What if I were to tell you that one of the most intelligent, respected people in modern history came to a belief in God because of the evidence? Would you believe me? Well it did happen. There was this atheist physicist who had worked out a model of how the universe functioned. His model was so correct that to this day, with all the vast knowledge we have about the universe, his model (or slight variations of it) has yet to be disproved. You’ve probably heard of this physicist. His name is Albert Einstein, and his model is the General Theory of Relativity. You see, when he began to consider the implications of his theory, he realized that the universe had to have had a beginning. And if it had a beginning, it had to have had someone or something that began it. Einstein, not wanting to accept the idea that God exists, tried to tinker with his theory, but his tinkering never quite worked out. He eventually was forced to conclude that there was, in fact, some unknown (to him) power that created the universe.

In the decades since Einstein discovered the General Theory of Relativity, science has confirmed that there was a beginning to the universe (called the Big Bang). All other models, including the steady state and oscillating universe models, do not fit scientific observation. In other words, the universe has not always existed. There was a point in time when it began, when it was created. And that means there is a Creator.

This warrants a brief discussion on cause and effect. Everything that we see follows this rule – there is a cause for every effect. If we see a baseball flying through the air, we can assume that someone hit or threw the baseball. The throwing or hitting is the cause, and the flying through the air is the effect. There are also effects where we might not be aware of the cause, such as a tornado. We see the tornado, and if we are uneducated about weather phenomena, we probably won’t know what caused the tornado. But we can rightly assume that there is some cause. Everything we see has a cause and effect relationship. When you consider this you have to come to the conclusion that there must have been a first cause, the beginning. From our discussion above you might consider that the beginning of the universe was the first cause. However, the beginning, or creation, of the universe, while being a cause is not the first cause. There must be something that caused the universe. And that something must be beyond our comprehension. That something is God. You might be wondering who, then, created God. Paul E. Little, in his book "Know Why You Believe" says it this way. "God by definition is eternal and uncreated. Were God a created being, He would not and could not be God. R.C. Sproul, author and lecturer, explains, ‘Being eternal, God is not an effect. Since He is not an effect He does not require a cause. He is uncaused. It is important to note the difference between an uncaused, self-existent eternal being and an effect that causes itself through self-creation!’"

Another piece of evidence for the existence of God is the order and design of the universe, the solar system, and life itself. The universe is incredibly complex. In fact, according to astrophysicist Hugh Ross, "Approximately two dozen parameters of the universe have been identified that must be carefully fixed in order for any kind of conceivable life (not just life as we know it) to exist at any time in the history of the universe." See his article "Astronomical Evidences for the God of the Bible" for the specifics. In fact, the extraordinary order and design of the universe has led many a scientist to the conclusion that the universe can only be designed, not a work of chance. And the solar system is no less unordered. In "Astronomical Evidences for the God of the Bible", Dr. Ross gives 28 characteristics of the solar system which cannot be changed in order for life to exist, and indicates that there are about a dozen more. In fact, he states that the 28 he lists, "in themselves lead safely to the conclusion that much fewer than a trillionth of a trillionth of a percent of all stars will have a planet capable of sustaining advanced life. Considering that the observable universe contains less than a trillion galaxies, each averaging a hundred billion stars, we can see that not even one planet would be expected, by natural processes alone, to possess the necessary conditions to sustain life." Not one! Not a single planet in our vast universe should, by chance alone, be able to sustain advanced life. But, of course, we do know of one. And that leads to the conclusion that it was put there by design, not by chance.

And as if the design and order of the universe weren’t enough, we come to the incredible complexity of life itself. Thousands of years ago man thought the human body was biologically complex. And through the centuries, as we learned more and more about the human body, organs, and even the intricately complex processes and structures of the cell, the evidence of design seems more concrete than ever. In fact, Charles Darwin, the "father" of evolution, in his book "Origins of Species" even states, "To suppose that the eye, with so many parts all working together . . . could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." And that was written in the 1800’s! Just think about how much more knowledge we have about the human body now; about how the systems of the body interact and are interdependent; about the incredibly complex systems within each and every cell. The design is so clear, in fact, that in order not to see a designer you have to have already held the opinion that there is none.

Have you ever been lied to? Have you ever been attacked, physically or verbally? Have you ever had somebody talk about you behind your back? Have you ever had someone steal something from you? Did you feel bad about it? Why? The most common response is to say something like, "That’s not fair" or "It’s not right to do that" or "It’s wrong". In each one of these statements there is some behavioral code that the other person is assumed to know about and accept. There seems to be inside each of us some moral code of right and wrong. And it doesn’t just reflect the prevailing law of the land. There are many things that we judge as wrong that are perfectly legal. It might not be against the law to do it, but, we maintain, it’s just not right. Now, morals may differ slightly from culture to culture, and civilization to civilization, but without a doubt there is some set of morals in every culture and civilization. In fact, it is in every person. But why do we have this morality built into us? As Paul E. Little says, "Yes, there is Somebody behind the universe. He has put a moral law within us and He is intensely interested in right conduct – in fair play, unselfishness, courage, good faith, honesty, and truthfulness."

One of the facts of our existence is that we cannot see the future. We are marching down the dimension of time, and while we can say with certainty what has happened yesterday, we cannot be certain of tomorrow. Oh, we can make educated guesses about tomorrow based on our experience of how things work, and we may even guess correctly. But try to guess what is going to happen next week, or next month, or next year. Try to guess what will happen in four hundred years. And don’t make a generalized guess like "civilization will be more advanced." Try to make specific predictions about specific events and specific countries (ones that don’t even exist yet). It’s impossible. It cannot be done, because we exist in time.

But what if I told you that it has been done? What if I told you that centuries ago, there were specific predictions made about not just one thing, but about many things hundreds of years in the future (which is now our known past and can be verified)? If I could show you that these predictions were 100% accurate, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to listen to how the people who made them said they got them? Well, in the Bible there are hundreds of specific predictions, made hundreds of years before the events, by people who claimed to be prophets of God. These predictions, incredibly, have come true. And the prophets say that God gave these prophecies to them. For more information on these prophecies, see our pages "How Can I Know that the Bible is True" and "How Can You Know That the God of the Bible is Really God?" Since we know that we cannot predict with any certainty the events of tomorrow, but that there have been these incredible prophecies that have come true, we can only come to the conclusion that something other than us is at work here. It must be God.

The evidence for God’s existence is there. The only way you can miss it is if you want to. Would you like to know if God exists? Grantley Morris has written a most insightful prayer. If you don’t believe in God, but are open minded enough to admit to the possibility that He exists, and would truly like to know if He does, try saying this prayer:

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