I was wondering which of the many arguments for God (Cosmological, Teleological etc) people found most convincing, or is it the combination of many arguments?
Personally I find the Cosmological Argument the most convincing (although it is clearly flawed and I have remained an Atheist) due to the comparative lack of understanding about the origins of our Universe.
I suspect that this will turn into a discussion into the validity of the arguments, but discussions will be beneficial for both
believers and non-believers, so I would highly encourage people to critique the
arguments.
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I think most Christians don't really argue on this level because we have a personal relationship with Jesus. You come to know the love of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
You can talk about going to the park all you want; however, you don't really enjoy the park until you are in the park. The same is true with Christianity. St. Anselm use to say, "I believe in order to understand."
All the arguments for the existence of God are valid because the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been confirmed scientifically. The leap from the physical world (Creation) to God (the Creator) is valid because the resurrection of Jesus Christ was historically confirmed and is now a scientific fact.
God Bless...
I don't believe personal experience is the most convincing. However, most Christians know the love of God and this forms the basis for their ministries in the world. We have the eyewitness testimonies, corroboration of the evidence with third parties such as Luke, Mark and Paul, we have the explosion of the church due to the 500 witnesses of the resurrection who spread the gospel throughout the world.
The arguments for God's existence are simple;
1. Creation requires a Creator
2. A beginning requires a cause
3. Life requires Eternal life
4. Love requires eternal love
5. A changing world requires an unchanging foundation
6. Our existence requires a sustainer
7. Man is designed for a relationship
8. Objective morality requires an objective reality
9. Hope requires a future
10. Design requires a designer
11. Life requires a life giver
12. Minds require an eternal mind
13. There is something rather than nothing
14. Meaning requires a purpose
All of these proofs for the existence of God rest on the fact that the effect has to be in the cause. You don't get tomatoes from clouds. We get rain from clouds. The effect of rain is in the cause being the cloud. If you were an ant and could not see the cloud, you would assume when seeing the rain that the rain came from a source that was capable of producing rain. The effect is in the cause.
In order to deny this principle, you have to argue that morality, love, life, reality, knowledge, hope, meaning, existence are all myths. However, if you affirm this principle, you have to agree that God does exist and that morality, love, life, reality, knowledge, hope, meaning and existence all have real existence.
The only thing that can account for everything that we see in reality is a mind that forms the foundation of reality being the cause of reality.
When the DNA code was discovered, no Christian was surprise. DNA is an information system and information comes from a mind. We don't have any evidence that information comes from a non-mental entity. Even Darwinians believe that DNA has to be looked at like an information system (a few are now trying to back track because of the implications, but it doesn't change the fact that our bodies design is found in a information system).
As a result, it is more reasonable to believe that God does exist.
God Bless...
"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)
I believe the leap that Juanita is talking about is the experiential leap. The resurrection is a scientific fact; however, there is a leap of faith because faith is the foundation of all knowledge. The leap is merely a decision to believe. For instance, I can make a leap and decide to believe in the law of gravity. I also have the choice to deny the law of gravity. The law of gravity may have overwhelming evidence just like the resurrection does; however, it still requires that choice or leap where a person decides to put their faith in a theory no matter what it is.
God Bless...
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