The Case for God: Knowing God Exists

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The Case for God Knowing God Exists 

• Kedron E. Jones
• Apologetics Research Society

www.evidenceforchristianity.org
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A Brief History of Philosophy

• The question of Gods existence is a question of
  interest not only to religion but also to
  philosophy.

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A Brief History of Philosophy

• Questions about Metaphysics (What is the origin
  of the universe?).

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A Brief History of Philosophy

• Questions about Epistemology (i.e., How do we
  know what we know is true?).

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A Brief History of Philosophy

• Questions about Ethics (i.e., What is good and
  what is evil?).

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A Brief History of Philosophy

• Everyone has a philosophy of life called a
  worldview.

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What Is A Worldview?

• A Worldview is a lens through which we see the
  world.
• All Worldviews have axioms.

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1st Axiom of Atheism Metaphysics

• The Universe Exist

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1st Axiom of Atheism Metaphysics

• God makes sense of the origin of the universe

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1st Axiom of Atheism Metaphysics

• The Cosmological Argument
• Whatever begin to exist has a cause.
• 2. The universe begin to exist.
• 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

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2nd Axiom of Atheism Epistemology

• Science is the sole source of knowledge and the
  sole arbiter of truth.
• Science proves everything eventually, and your
  denying that is just funny and sad at the same
  time. http//forum.thatfatatheist.com/topic/891
  3172/1/

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2nd Axiom of Atheism Epistemology

• Ways of Knowing
• 1. Empirical Knowledge (e.g., Science)
• 2. Reason (e.g., Square Circles are
  contradictory)
• 3. Intuition (e.g., John, Mary Tom)
• 4. Authority (e.g., people, books, a supreme
  being, etc.).

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2nd Axiom of Atheism Epistemology

• What Science Cannot Prove
• 1. Logical Mathematical Truths
• 2. Metaphysical Truths
• 3. Ethical Beliefs
• 4. Aesthetic Judgments
• 5. Science Itself

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2nd Axiom of Atheism Epistemology

• Atheism Truth Claims
• Atheism cannot account for laws of logic.
• Atheism cannot account for the uniformity of
  nature.
• Ultimately, there is a tremendous amount of
  uncertainty!

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2nd Axiom of Atheism Epistemology

• God is the best explanation for truth claims

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• Ethics (i.e., What is good and what is evil?).
• Right and wrong are a matter of opinion, and as
  a result, at the end of the day, their intentions
  are the only thing that matters.
• http//www.fighunter.com/index.php?pagecomment_si
  nglec52473

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• ethics arises from the pressures of the
  community on the individual. Mandoes not always
  instinctively feel the desires which are useful
  to his herd. The herd, being anxious that the
  individual should act in its interests, has
  invented various devices for causing the
  individuals interest to be in harmony with that
  of the herd. One of theseis morality.

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• I appreciate that when somebody says Love thy
  neighbor as thyself, they think they are
  referring above and beyond themselves.
  Nevertheless, such reference is truly without
  foundation, Morality is just an aid to survival
  and reproductionany deeper meaning is illusory.

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• What is the Basis of Our Values?
• Social Convention?
• Personal Preference?
• Evolution?
• God?
• If God does not exist then all we are, are
  accidental by-products of nature.

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• God Makes Sense of Objective Moral Values in the
  World

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3rd Axiom of Atheism Ethics

• The Moral Argument
• If there is no God then objective moral values do
  not exist.
• Objective moral values do exist.
• Therefore, God exist.

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The Christian Axiom
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching
is useless and so is your faith 1 Corinthians
1514
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Historical Case for the Resurrection

• The Two Step Process
• Determine what is the evidence to be explained.
• Inferring which explanation of the evidence is
  the best explanation.

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Historical Case for the Resurrection

• The Evidence
• Jesus empty tomb.
• Jesus appearances alive after His death.
• The origin of the disciples belief in His
  resurrection.
• The best explanation of these facts is that God
  raised Jesus from the dead!

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Historical Case for the Resurrection

• Evidence 1 Empty Tomb
• The Disciples stole Jesus body (Matt. 2811-15).
  If true then they died for what they knew was
  untrue.
• Jewish/Roman authorities moved the body. Romans
  wanted to keep peace and the Jews wanted a guard
  (Matt. 27).
• Christ did not really die, he was mistakenly
  reported as dead.

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Historical Case for the Resurrection

• Evidence 2 Appearance of Jesus
• Jesus appeared to over 500 people during a 40 day
  period at different places.
• Jewish or Roman authorities could have simply
  paraded Jesus body around the city? That would
  have stopped the spread of the Christian message
  before it even started!

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Historical Case for the Resurrection

• Evidence 3 Belief in His resurrection
• Jews had no conception of a Messiah who, instead
  of triumphing over Israels enemies, would be
  shamefully executed as a criminal.
• Either people were lying, hallucinating or they
  were telling the truth.
• The most reasonable explanation is that they were
  telling the truth.

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Why It Makes a Difference that God Exist

• If God does not exist then life is ultimately
  meaningless.
• If God does not exist then we must ultimately
  live with no hope.
• If God does exist then not only does life have
  meaning and hope, but we can know Him personally.

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Questions Answers

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Answering the Fool

• Proverbs 264-5
• Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or
  you will be like him yourself.
• Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will
  be wise in his own eyes.

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Answering the Fool