The Three Pillars of Faith
By Richard Wines
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 14:1 NAS). How do I know God exists? This is an important question. If I’m to influence the world and overcome doubt, my reason for believing needs to be stronger than a warm feeling in my heart. The Bible says that only fools deny God, but at the same time many intellectuals that I admire are atheists. How do respond to their attacks?
Proof of God can be broken down into three pillars of faith. These are universal, truth in nature, truth revealed to man by God, and truth known to those who believe.
Universal Truth in Nature
“For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made” (Romans 1:20 NAS). The beauty of a flower, the human mind, a distant galaxy, and a strain of DNA all had to come from somewhere. God’s presence is everywhere; all I have to do is look.
How could something come from nothing? Where did life, and ultimately intelligent life come from? I have an easy answer, but the unbeliever must grapple with ineffective theories and the scientific inadequacies. While evolution is the cornerstone of atheistic philosophy, it has major problems such as entropy (second law of thermodynamics) and an incomplete fossil record. As science advances, so does understanding nature’s complexity, and as complexity increases, the likelihood that life evolved decreases.
Philosophy can be used as a powerful proof of God, to the dismay of those who use the Nietzsche and others to prove the exact opposite. Three arguments include the truth that man is inherently bad and in need of saving, that man has eternity in his heart, and that man has a void that can only be filled by God. Philosophies without God have given us the Nazi’s, Marxism, abortion, and euthanasia.
Art, music, and beauty prove that there is more to life than mere function. These would be useless in a world of only natural cause and effect.
Direct Revelation to the World
Outside of nature, God has directly revealed Himself. This revelation, primarily in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, proves His existence. “All scripture is God breathed” (1 Timothy 3:16). This means that God literally had a hand in every word. There is power in the Bible and God often speaks through it. Throughout history, many have come to know God through the Bible.
Is Jesus Christ God? He said He was. A study of Jesus reveals that He said He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He can’t be just a good person, He is God. His death, burial, and resurrection are all corroborated by an overwhelming amount of evidence. The resurrection is the cornerstone to the Christian faith, and any detailed study will find the facts supporting it to be compelling. The way of salvation, through grace and not through works, goes against human nature, making it unlikely to be developed by man.
Truth to Believers
There are plenty of people that are smarter than me on both sides of the debate, but ultimately I don’t have to win an argument. I know God—He lives in me. As a Christian, I have the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16 NAS). This is our strongest defense against doubt. Unbelievers can only be led to God through the Holy Spirit. His presence and His purpose will not be denied by atheistic thought.
Other areas where God shows himself as true to believers are through answered prayer, transformed lives, and worship.
The three pillars of truth provide a foundation not easily shaken by skeptics or doubt. When I struggle with my faith I return to these simple proofs and am comforted. Books such as “The Case for Christ,” and “The Case for Faith,” by Lee Strobel, are a good starting point for seekers, while anything by Phillip Johnson or Michael Behe will give advanced apologetic insight into the intelligent design vs. evolution debate.
