Is it rational to believe in God or do we need take a blind leap in the dark? I believe it is quite rational. While we know that God exists through the testimony of the Scriptures as well as the Spirit within us, we can also know that God exists through the existence and design of the universe.
First, the very existence of the universe testifies to the existence of God. In my philosophy course, I tell my students that if rocks exist, then God exists.
How so? Things like rocks, trees, people and planets are all dependent things. That is, they do not exist of their own accord but depend on other things for their existence.
This includes the universe! It exists, but not of its own accord. And while we can explain one dependent thing in the universe by another dependent thing (for example, a child by its parents), if we want an ultimate explanation of reality, we need to appeal to something that is outside of the universes and is the source of all things.
Consider an analogy. If you want to hang a chandelier, you need more than a chain. You need a ceiling as well. While one link in the chain supports another link, unless the chain is hanging from the ceiling, the chandelier will fall. In the same way, God is the source and support for the universe and everything in it.
Second, the order of the universe testifies to the existence of God. In his 1802 book entitled Natural Theology, William Paley asks us to imagine walking across a field and coming across a watch. Even if you’d never seen a watch before and even if you didn’t know how they worked, Paley claims that you could reasonably conclude that the watch was produced and designed by an intelligent being. Why? Because it has features that indicate design such as complexity, order, and function.
In the same way, since natural objects possess complexity, order and function, this indicates that they are produced by an intelligent being as well.
Consider DNA. It is the blueprint for life. Scientists speak of it as a language akin to the language found in a book. It seems more reasonable to believe that this language was produced by an intelligent Creator then a blind, physical process.
Or consider the universe as a whole. Physicists say that it is finely tuned to a precise degree for life to exist. This did not just happen. No, it is more reasonable to believe that it was finely tuned by God.
So, the existence and design of the universe point to God as the Creator. This is a claim that Bible supports. According to Psalm 19:1-2 and Romans 1:19-20, creation testifies to God’s existence and attributes. And in Acts 14:14-18, Paul and Barnabas claim that the weather and seasons that make growing food possible points to God’s provision.
In other words, the Bible claims that God’s existence is apparent in the things that he has made. Thus, our belief in God is quite reasonable. The evidence is all around us.
