There IS a God

MANY great scientists of modern times have openly stated their belief in the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator, among them the late Dr. Albert Einstein. A Cressey Morrison, former President of the New York Academy of Sciences, in his book, “Man Does Not Stand Alone,” said, “By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering Intelligence.”

We cannot establish the existence of God through the medium of our five senses; that is, we can neither see, feel, smell, taste, nor touch him. While God is invisible to our natural eyes, we can, nevertheless, discern him in the visible things he has created. The Apostle Paul wrote, “The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.”—Rom. 1:20

We discern God by our reasoning faculties. The more we ponder over the significance of the marvelous things of the material world with which we are surrounded, the more unwise it seems to deny the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator.—Ps. 53:1

We sometimes speak of what someone has made as being a “creation.” Actually, however, man’s ability to “create” is limited to the use of materials already in existence. Strictly speaking, man does not create a house; rather, he builds a house, using materials which have already been created.

But even the building of a house calls for plans, specifications, measurements, and the use of proper materials. A foundation has to be laid and firmly secured. The super-structure must be properly built upon the foundation. The house needs a roof, and the various rooms must be built according to plans and specifications.

A house does not just happen to come into existence. Every house, or any other building, evidences the work of an intelligent designer and builder. So the earth itself—the home, or “house” provided by God for man—also reveals the existence of a Designer and Builder. God asked Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the cornerstone thereof?”—Job 38:4-6

Wisdom Displayed

What great wisdom is displayed in the creation of the earth! Think of the ingenious circulatory system by which the land surfaces of the earth are watered to make possible the growth of vegetation and food, as well as the endless variety of trees and flowers, and all so intricately designed and so exquisitely beautiful. Concerning this watering system the Creator said to Job:

“Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?”—Job 38:25-29

Man can make an artificial flower, but he cannot give it life. We can admire the blade of grass and the mighty trees of the forest, but we cannot create them, nor do we understand what makes them live. We may plant an acorn in the ground and discern that later it has grown into a sturdy oak. We can marvel about this, but cannot explain how it happened. Some may say that it is simply nature, but the wise will say it is an evidence of the existence of nature’s God.

The human mind seems still more hopelessly inadequate when it peers into the heavens and there also sees displayed the marvelous works of a mighty Creator. The Prophet David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.”—Ps. 19:1,2

The astronomer’s telescope reveals the tremendous reaches of the universe, and its countless millions of stars and planets. We know that all these are governed by fixed laws, and reason tells us that these laws could only have been established by divine intelligence. If our reason leads us to such a conclusion, then we will reverence our great Creator, and will want to learn all we can about him, so that we can know him intimately, strive to do his bidding, and copy his ways.

Revealed in Animal Life

Joyce Kilmer wrote a poem in which he says, “Only God can make a tree,” and this thought is even more conclusive when we think of the almost countless varieties of trees which God has made. This same faith-strengthening reasoning can be carried over into the animal kingdom. Only a supreme, intelligent Creator could produce the myriad varieties of animals, birds, and fish, and provide the appropriate food and surroundings enabling them to continue their existence.

The peacock is noted for its gorgeous plumage, while the ostrich is rather plain in appearance, although its feathers are much in demand. By comparison with the ostrich, the peacock moves about rather slowly, but the ostrich is able to run at great speed. What determined these differences? Reason tells us that here is displayed the planning and work of an intelligent Creator.

And speaking of the ostrich, the King James Version of Job 39:13-17 reads, “Gayest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear; because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.”

While we cannot be sure just what bird is being described, the point remains that here is an exception in God’s grand design of creation. In most cases the birds and lower animals exercise great care over their young; the birds sit on the eggs from which their offspring are hatched. But with the ostrich mentioned in the Book of Job it was different. Here the mother ostrich simply buries her eggs in the sand, and then leaves them. The warmth they need for incubation is in the sun-baked sand. But the eggs are hidden from most danger, and unlike most birds the mother is not on hand to afford protection for her young.

Did this maternal indifference just happen to be? Oh, that is just a matter of instinct, some may answer. But why should there be such a variety of instincts in the animal creation? Besides, what is instinct? The dictionary says that instinct is the hereditary factor that enables fowl, animals, and fish to survive.

Reason tells us that instinct is a creation of God. This is particularly apparent when we consider the widely variant instincts with which the animal creations have been endowed. What causes young salmon, after spending four years in the ocean, to seek and travel up the identical river where they were born, there to spawn and die? From whence came the instinct which causes some birds to migrate from north to south, and from south to north, with the changing seasons? How do they know that it will be warm in the south, and that they would freeze or starve to death in the north?

Innumerable pages would be required to call attention to all the fascinating varieties of instincts displayed throughout the animate creative works of God. To say that such a variety came about by mere chance is to stifle reason and to distort the good judgment with which we have been endowed by the Creator.

And herein is another proof of the existence and work of the Creator. The animals of the lower creations do not understand why they act as they do, but man has been given the ability to understand, if he will, and choose his ways. He may go south or remain north in the winter as he reasons and decides which move to make. Thus man is set apart from the other animate creations, and this also we see as an evidence of the existence of a wise and loving Creator. Job 32:8 reads, “There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”

God Revealed in Man

All animate and inanimate things of which man has knowledge proclaim to a reasoning mind that there is a God. The intricacies of the life principle are quite beyond the ability of the human mind fully to understand. This is true in the earthly realm from the lowest form of shellfish right on up to man, the highest order of animate life on earth. This is particularly true of man, whose body, animated by the breath of life, is one of the marvels of the universe.

And one of the amazing things about humans is their ability to reason upon available facts and to reach logical conclusions. We are living in the day of electronic computers. Data is fed into these computers for the purpose of obtaining certain information, and in a relatively short space of time they produce the answers sought. It is claimed by authorities that an electronic computer capable of reaching all the conclusions potentially possible to the human brain would need to be as large as the Empire State Building in New York City. And this electronic marvel can process data only in response to facts fed into it by an intelligent human.

And yet how small is the human brain! Besides, even though a computer can be constructed by human wisdom to do the mechanical reckoning heretofore done by the brain, it lacks feeling of any kind. If a computer informs its owner that he has prospered in business, it registers no joy; if he is bankrupt, it displays no sorrow.

But in man’s little brain there is the potential mathematical ability of the most complicated electronic computer ever built—and a thousand times over—plus a sympathetic understanding of the implications in the conclusions at which it is capable of arriving. Could such a capability just happen to function? The obvious answer is no—that here is irrefutable proof of the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator.

In God’s Image

Besides, by noting the reasoning characteristics of man, as translated into human behavior, we learn something about the Creator, for the Bible tells us that man was created in the image of God. All creation reveals the intelligence of the Creator, and his ability to reason—and in Isaiah 1:18 he invites us to reason together with him. Man’s puny mind, while not able to understand a great deal about God’s creation is, nevertheless, able to reason upon the basis of his limited knowledge, and to reach the conclusion that there is a God.

Man today is fallen and imperfect. David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Ps. 51:5) Many humans are degraded and debauched. However, there are many noble specimens of humanity all around us, and in these we see the qualities of sympathy, justice, and love. Since man was created in the image of God, we therefore conclude that the Creator is sympathetic, just, and loving.

Man has also been given the ability to conceive the idea of a great God and Creator over all. This not only sets man apart from all the lower forms of animal life, but is an additional proof that he is a created being, and not an accident of an unguided evolutionary process. From the dawn of biblical history man has been a worshiping creature, and among the truly wise of the human race, it is no less so today. Prof. Pasteur, the noted bacteriologist, testified that he prayed while he worked. Yes, there IS a God.

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