Proof of God

The following proof is prompted from a series of lectures by R.C. Sproul out of the "Objections Answered" section of his website (http://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/objections-answered/the-existence-of-shoes/?). This is taken from two (2) approximately 20 minute lectures entitled: #5 The Existence of Shoes & #6 Something is Eternal. The proof, below, is NOT verbatim, and is highly compressed & restructured from the lectures, and I may have inadvertently omitted something critical to the logical progressions (if so, LET ME KNOW!!!).

It's worth taking the time to follow the above link and actually LISTEN to the lectures mentioned above.

It might be handy to read ( or re-read ) the "L.O.T.E.M." section prior to continuing.....

Like every other page on this website, I cannot emphasize enough the need for RATIONAL THOUGHT!!!

Rev. Sproul's lectures on this subject posit (with which I happen to agree) that we can PROVE the existence of God through reason.

[ Isaiah 1:18 - - Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool ]

A 'Proof' being what it is - - and because we are discussing only rational thought - - if the 'Proof' actually IS true - - if there are no logical errors - - we MUST ACCEPT the results as true - - and act accordingly.....

Following our 'Proof', because we do not, and cannot, 'see' God - - face-to-face - - our only option is to believe the truth and accept it by:

FAITH.

[ FAITH - - is the dawning of comprehension of the absolute INVIOLABILITY of the Law of the Excluded Middle ]

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The 'Proof' is as follows:

The skeptic confronts you on the subject of the existence (or non-existence) of 'god' and demands 'proof', if possible.....

You agree, on the following conditions - - that both parties agree to: adhere strictly to logic & the 3 Laws of Rational Thought.....

that both parties agree to: Dictionary definitions of words, and use of synonyms.....

* that both parties agree to: Ex nihilo, nihil fit - - Out of nothing, nothing (be)comes.....

that both parties agree: if 'something' exists, then that which exists is 'something'.....

The skeptic agrees.

You pull off your shoe - - wave it around - - and posit that this shoe 'proves', conclusively, the existence of God in the following manner:

There are only four (4) possible reasons for the apparent existence of said shoe.....

First: That it is illusion, only. And if it is illusion, it is not real - - thereby violating ALL THREE (3) Laws of Rational Thought. Furthermore, just who's 'illusion' is it, anyway? Yours? His? Or the both of you? Or is this 'illusion' just an illusion of some third, unseen party? "Illusion", by definition, means 'not real' (hallucination, delusion, etc...) - - so the shoe CANNOT be both real & not real at the same time. Therefore, the shoe is not an illusion.

Second: That the shoe has created itself. The shoe cannot both 'not-exist' & 'exist'. A non-existent shoe cannot unconsciously create itself Ex nihilo. A non-existent shoe cannot consciously create itself Ex nihilo. A non-existent shoe doesn't exist - - and has no consciousness - - or innate ability to 'create itself'. The shoe cannot create itself out of nothing. The shoe cannot be both A, & not A, simultaneously or serially and still be a shoe. This violates the 2nd Law of Rational Thought & 'Ex nihilo, nihil fit' - - therefore the shoe has NOT created itself.

[ Create: (verb) 1. Cause (something) to happen as a result of one's actions. 2. Bring (something) into existence. ]

[ synonyms: produce, generate, make, fabricate, fashion, build, construct, engender, cause ]

CREATION ITSELF IS THE "EFFECT" GENERATED BY A "CAUSE"

"CAUSES" ARE THOUGHTS, WORDS & DEEDS BY A CONSCIOUS, EXISTING, OR PRE-EXISTING ENTITY

NO THING is not able to 'create itself' out of nothing - - no thing is not able to 'create itself' out of ANYTHING!!

Every (non-God) thing that exists, exists as a creation of someone, or something OUTSIDE OF IT'S SELF!!

This leaves only the possibility of an eternal shoe, or a created shoe.

This also demands, logically, that ultimately either the shoe is, itself, self-existent & eternal - - or - - is composed & created out of components that were brought into being by a self-existent & eternal source.

Third: That the shoe has always existed - - self-existent & eternal. All known shoes are, or were, at some particular time, traceable directly to a human creator. ALL of the materials used in construction of said shoe are, or were, traceable to some particular animal, mineral and/or vegetable source - - all of which are composed exclusively of basic constituent particles and/or waves that have no consciousness or ability to bring themselves into existence Ex nihilo. Since NO THING can bring itself into existence Ex nihilo - - EVERY THING that exists is, therefore, created - - and the shoe is NOT self-existent & eternal.

Fourth: That the shoe has been created. BECAUSE the shoe is neither an 'Illusion', nor 'self-creating', nor self-existent & eternal - - the shoe MUST be 'created'. The 3rd Law of Rational Thought (Law of the Excluded Middle) requires all (rationally posed) questions to have one (1) TRUE answer, to the absolute exclusion of all other possibilities. We happily concede that while all shoes are man-made, ALL OF MANKIND (and EVERYTHING ELSE, for that matter) IS CREATOR-MADE.

The overarching point is - - That Man, and the constituent particles/waves of the shoes, and all of the Universe, and gravity, and time and every single thing that IS - - exists not as an illusion, nor as 'self-creating', nor as self-existent & eternal, rather that WE ARE CREATED!

And, by definition, all 'creation' REQUIRES a CREATOR!!! The Creator CANNOT be 'nothing', nor can the Creator be any part of some pre-existing & eternal creation. The 'Creator' can ONLY be Self-Existent & Eternal - - in and of itself.

The THOUGHT - - the WORD - - the DEED - - - - - the CAUSE - - - - leading to the EFFECT - - which is CREATION!!!

BECAUSE we are DEFINED by time & space & mass & momentum & energy and are NOT illusory, nor self-creating, nor self-existent & eternal - - rather, that WE ARE CREATED - - our CREATOR MUST EXIST OUTSIDE OF OUR BOUNDARIES!!!!! Transcending time & space - - able to create, NOT EX NIHILO, but out of the essence of HIS Being - - EXCLUSIVELY out of His thoughts, Word(s) & deeds.

HE is the Cause - - we are the EFFECT!!!

Infinitely Wise (Omniscient) - - not acting out of impulse, or capriciousness (or malice), or accident - - rather, acting with PURPOSE.

[ not to mention Omnipotent, Omnipresent, HOLY, Just, Loving, Long-suffering, Generous, etc..... ]

[ oh, and did I mention Self-Existent and Eternal?? ]

Is this, or is this not - - the very concept and definition of GOD?

[ either it is, or it isn't ]

[ Which makes US what, exactly??? ]

THE NON-CAPRICIOUS, PURPOSE DRIVEN CREATION OF AN ETERNAL & SELF-EXISTING BEING.

WE ARE HERE FOR A VERY, VERY SPECIFIC REASON!

One (1) reason, One (1) purpose - - to the absolute exclusion of all other possibilities..... [ L.O.T.E.M. ]

Do you know what it is? WE DO.

Would you like to know WHAT IT IS - - to the absolute exclusion of all other possibilities?

Would you like to know - - WHY YOU EXIST?

[ If you don't know the "WHY" - - you have nothing..... ]

As an interesting aside, see if you can find the hidden link, on this page, to the ACTUAL PHOTO-POSITIVE, PHOTOGRAPHIC

SELF-PORTRAIT OF GOD!!!

[ the original, ULTIMATE "Selfie" ] [ Talk about PROOF!!! ]

* Ex nihilo, nihil fit - - - The astrophysicist will argue that Quantum Mechanics requires virtual particle pairs to 'come into existence' on their own, out of nothing, as the physical scale of 'size' becomes smaller & smaller - - a.k.a. the "Quantum Froth".

There are (at least) two (2) problems with this.....

One: Quantum Mechanics doesn't posit that they come into existence 'out of nothing' - - rather that, because of the conservation of matter & energy, they simply "transform" from 'energy' to matter (and back, again) - apparently in 'virtual' pairs - essentially randomly..... [ of course, no mention of where all of this 'energy' came from, originally - - just sayin'..... ]

[ and, of course, we can't forget that pesky "Causality" issue - - There is no "Effect" without a "Cause" ]

[ and there is no "Cause" without, ultimately, a Self-Existent & Eternal Being ]

[ to attribute the Universe to "Chance" and "Self-existent & Eternal 'everything'" is to insist upon "Effect" WITHOUT "Cause" ]

[ conversely, to posit that every "effect" has an underlying "cause", which is, in and of itself, an "effect" of some other ]

[ underlying "cause", ad infinitum - - is to fall into the trap of Infinite Regressions ]

[ and who says this "Universe" that we see is the end-all and be-all of everything??? ]

[ and why don't we interact with the six (6) OTHER spatial dimensions that exist - - all around us, all the time??? ]

Two: String Theory proves, conclusively, that no physical entity can be smaller than the Planck Length - - which is many, MANY orders of magnitude larger than where these 'virtual particle pairs' could possibly begin to come into existence, Ex nihilo - - or otherwise.....

AT the 'Planck Length' - - ANY physical (or mathematical) attempt at reduction in size ALWAYS YIELDS an INCREASE IN SIZE - - both physically AND mathematically!!!!!

There is no 'infinitely small'. There is no dimensionless 'Singularity'. There is no 'Quantum Froth'. There is no 'self-creation' out of nothing.