Special Talk

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Special Talk

• Does God Exist?
• November 12, 2003

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Outline

• Four good reasons to suggest God exists
  (per Dr. William Lane Craigs debates)
• Philosophy Universes Existence
• Science Fine-Tuning for Life
• Ethics Moral Values
• History Jesus Resurrection
• William Lane Craig Walter Sinnott-Armstrong,
  God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist
  (New York Oxford University Press, 2004)

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1) Philosophy

• Universes Existence

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The universe began to exist

• Otherwise, number of past events is infinite, but
  infinity is just a concept, not a reality.
• natural s odd s ?
• natural s s greater than 2 ?
• 3
• David Hilbert (famous mathematician) The
  infinite is nowhere to be found in reality. It
  neither exists in nature nor provides a
  legitimate basis for rational thought. The
  role that remains for the infinite to play is
  solely that of an idea.
• ? The universe is not infinite

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Also, 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

• Universe is moving toward a state of maximum
  disorder (entropy, S) D Suniv 0 Suniv ?
• If the universe always existed, the entropy of
  the universe would be infinite by now
• Wed have heat death of the universe
• But we still have order heat, therefore,
  universe is not an infinite of years old

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Big Bang gives evidence

• 1992 COBE satellite (Cosmic Background Explorer
  satellite) for background radiation
• Almost everyone now believes that the universe,
  and time itself, had a beginning at the Big
  Bang. Stephen Hawking, Cambridge Univ.
• ? There was a definite beginning to the universe
  billions of years ago (per Genesis 1)

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Conclusion from Philosophy

• 1) Universes Existence
• Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
• The universe began to exist.
• Therefore, the universe has a cause.
• This cause must be Uncaused, changeless,
  timeless, immaterial, and personal

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2) Science

• Fine-tuning for Intelligent Life

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Universal Physical Constants
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Just how precise?

• For example, (from Stephen Hawkings
  calculations) Expansion of the Universe
• If larger, no galaxy formation
• If smaller, universe collapses before star
  formation
• ? In fact, its precise to a factor of 1 in
  100,000,000,000,000,000

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Even more precise for

• Force of Gravity Dr. P.C.W. Davies
• If larger, stars would be too hot and would burn
  up quickly unevenly
• If smaller, stars would be too cool and nuclear
  fusion would not ignite (no heavy element
  production)
• ? In fact, it is precise to a factor of 1 in
  10100 thats 100 zeros

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Very, very, very precise!

• Over 50 such universal physical constants are
  likewise fine-tuned !
• ? Universe seems to be intentionally designed
  created for human life

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Random Chance for Life?

• Big Bang says universe is 15 billion years old
  (15,000,000,000 years)
• Agnostic biophysicist Dr. Harold Morowitz
  wondered
• Suppose you break all chemical bonds in a simple
  bacteria and put resulting atoms under ideal
  chemical conditions
• Question How long would it take for it to
  reassemble?

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Answer 10100,000,000,000 years!

• Written out completely, that would be
• 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
  ,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
  00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
  ,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
  00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
  ,000,000,000,000,000,000,(on and on)
• a thousand sets of Encyclopedia Britannicas
  filled with zeros!! (compare w/
  15,000,000,000 yrs of universe)
• ? Not enough time for random chance

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Conclusion from Science

• 2) Fine-tuning for Intelligent Life
• Fine-tuning necessary for the universe suggests
  an Intelligent Designer
• Random chance is an inadequate explanation for
  intelligent life

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3) Ethics

• Objective Moral Values

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Objective Moral Values

• Are valid binding whether anybody believes in
  them or not
• e.g., Torturing babies for fun is wrong
• Are agreed by everyone
• e.g., U.N.s Universal Declaration of Human
  Rights--30 moral affirmations voted unanimously
  by all U.N. nations
• One might not agree, but reveals a moral handicap
  (like color-blindness)

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Who sets the absolute standard?

• Individuals?
• Then, must accept Jeffrey Dahmer
• Society?
• Then, must accept Nazi Germany
• Human race?
• Then, guilty of species-ism
• If there is no absolute moral standard, then one
  cannot say in a final sense that anything is
  right or wrong. Francis Schaeffer

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No God, no objective moral values

• Nietzsches God is dead philosophy (1800s)
• He predicted 1900s would be bloodiest in history
  that universal madness result
• In Europe,deaths due to war(in millions)

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Conclusion from Ethics

• 3) Objective Moral Values
• If God does not exist, objective moral values do
  not exist.
• Objective moral values do exist.
• Therefore, God exists.
• C.S. Lewis Existence of a Moral Law presupposes
  a Moral Law Giver (God)

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4) History

• Jesus Life, Death, Resurrection

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Well-established facts

• Facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth scholars agree
  to
• Honorable burial by Joseph of Arimathea
• Empty tomb found on Sunday
• Post-mortem appearances (not hallucinations)
• Disciples belief in His resurrection
• Q. Whats the best explanation for this?

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Best explanation is

• God raised Jesus from the dead
• Explanatory scope
• Explanatory power
• Plausible
• Not ad hoc or contrived
• In accord with accepted beliefs
• Better than rival theories

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Conclusion from History

• 4) Jesus Resurrection
• There are established facts concerning Jesus
• Honorable burial, discovery of His empty tomb,
  post-mortem appearances, origin of His disciples'
  belief in His resurrection.
• The hypothesis "God raised Jesus from the dead"
  is the best explanation of these facts.
• The hypothesis "God raised Jesus from the dead"
  entails that God exists.
• Therefore, God exists.

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Summary

• 4 good reasons to believe that God exists (20
  more)
• Universe began to exist ? A changeless,
  immaterial, personal Cause
• Fine-tuning required for life? An Intelligent
  Designer
• Presence of objective moral values ? A Moral Law
  Giver
• Fact of Jesus resurrection? God who can raise
  the dead
• Actually, tougher to prove that God does NOT
  exist

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References Resources

• William Lane Craig Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
  God? A Debate Between a Christian and an
  Atheist (New York Oxford University Press,
  2004)
• WilliamLaneCraig.com
• LeaderU.com
• Reasons.org