Arguments for the Creator Point to Inconsistent Worldviews
Both Christians and non-Christians see evidence for a Creator. How does this belief affect our lives?
The Nagging Feeling of a Creator
As a Christian, I doubted my belief in God. This doubt was born of
inexperience with the Christian community as well as inattentiveness to
the life of the mind. I set out to answer my doubts and found that there
were many arguments for belief in the existence of a Creator. One of
the main arguments that brought me back around to belief was the
argument from the Moral Law. According to a recent survey by LifeWay
Research, I’m not alone. The majority of 1,000 people surveyed appear to
believe that the existence of good and evil—from where we derive
morality—points towards the existence of God, as the standard of
goodness and as the moral lawgiver.
Beyond merely theorizing on the existence of good and evil, we live as
if there are good and bad things to do in a day, even if we profess to
deny the existence of good and evil. We strive to do what is good; at
the very least, what we perceive is “good for us.” We humans have a
nagging concept of goodness present in our lives, regardless of how we
describe it. From where does such an idea come? For a majority of those
surveyed by LifeWay Research, the idea of a standard of goodness derives
from the nature of a perfectly good Creator, “who defines morality.”
We must dispel any irrational fear that Christianity is opposed to scientific discovery.
For the non-religious, according to the survey, the existence of
morality is a less convincing argument, with 53 percent disagreeing with
the statement, “Since people have morality, I think there is a creator
who defines morality.” While that statistic is no surprise, the
surprising statistic is the 33 percent of the non-religious who agreed
with this statement. From the statistic, without reading too far into
the results of this general survey, we can take away that discussion on
the existence of good and evil, and discussion about how we know what is
good (what is the standard of goodness), are valuable apologetic tools.
The survey further discovered an age gap in the view of morality as a
positive argument for the existence of God. Three-quarters (75 percent)
of those aged 45 or higher while only 57 percent of those aged 44 and
younger agree that morality offers proof of a creator. Though there are
many considerations for the age gap, such as life experiences,
education, and generational culture, the statistic was also reminiscent
of a prediction by C.S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man. Lewis
predicted that as a society let go of its belief in objective morality,
our beliefs would be habituated, instead of reasoned. Younger
generations are exposed to more humanistic and atheistic philosophy than
ever before. The exposure, without the necessary caveat, or
instruction, that the philosophy is overtly atheist or humanistic, can
produce conflicting views in an individual concerning morality.
Therefore, the statistic from LifeWay Research demonstrates that the
Moral Law argument, which includes the case for objective moral truth,
should be addressed in at least junior high and high school age
students; and earlier, if possible.
Conflicting Views
The LifeWay Research survey also found conflicting views from the
atheists, agnostics, and non-religious surveyed when it came to the
evidence for a Creator from the natural world. This group was more
likely to believe that there is a Creator based on design of the
universe than they were likely to believe in the existence of a creator
based on the origins of human life. Without a more extensive and
detailed survey, only speculation as to the discrepancy can be made.
However, in the 20th century, as mentioned previously, our society was
exposed to much more atheistic philosophy; a philosophy which entails
that there is no ultimate meaning, purpose, or value to the universe
and, therefore, to human life. Humans, according to this philosophy, are
specks of dust in the enormity of a vast, indifferent universe. The
undermining of the ultimate value of human life has most likely
negatively influenced the view of the existence of human life as
evidence towards an intelligent, personal Creator.
Conversely, the 20th century ushered in so many new technologies,
affording our society an explosive century of scientific discovery.
These new discoveries and the depth of knowledge we have gained about
the detailed orderliness of our universe could be positively influencing
our view of the existence of an intelligent, designing Creator.
However, it would seem that atheistic philosophy would also negatively
influence our view of the universe as being designed and purposed by a
Creator (not considering origins of human life). Therefore, the
statistics seem to suggest an inconsistency in worldview.
Both of the statistics on the view of evidence from the natural world
demonstrate the need for an informed Christian view on the nature of
science and religion. We must dispel any irrational fear that
Christianity is opposed to scientific discovery and reclaim our
knowledge tradition in the exploration of God’s creation.
Evidence for the Existence of God
When I had doubt about my belief in God, considering the arguments for
His existence didn’t repel me towards atheism. Rather, I began to see,
for the first time, the vast riches of evidence available to me for the
existence of God. As the church experiences a renaissance of the life of
the mind, we must also consider that we should never need another
renaissance when it comes to apologetics. The discipline of apologetics
is a necessary aspect of the Christian life providing one part of a
solid foundation in which trust in God flourishes. The LifeWay Research
survey has touched on this very thought: apologetics, as was present in
the preaching and teaching of the earliest believers, impacts the life
of the believer as well as the life of the non-believer in God.
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