1.The Authority of the Bible
When asked to prove that God exists, the Christian will point to
the Bible and say it is the best proof of God’s existence. The
problem with this is that if we ask a Hindu, a Taoist, a Sikh or a
Jew the same question they too will point to their respective holy
books as proof of the existence of their gods. Why should we
believe the Bible but not the holy books of all the other
religions? Using the Bible to prove God’s existence is only valid
if we already accept that it alone contains God’s words. However,
we have no evidence that this is so. In fact, as we will
demonstrate later, there is strong evidence that the Bible is a
highly unreliable document.
2. The Existence of the Universe
In their attempts to prove God’s existence Christians will
sometimes say that the universe didn’t just happen, someone must
have made it and therefore there must be a creator God. There is a
major flaw in this argument. When it starts to rain we do not ask,
“Who is making it rain?” because we know that rainis not caused by
someone but by something — natural phenomena like heat,
evaporation, precipitation, etc. When we see smooth stones in a
river we do not ask, “Who polished those stones?” because we know
that their smooth surface was not caused by someone but by
something — natural causes like the abrasive action of water and
sand.
All of these things have a cause or causes but this need not be
a being. It is the same with the universe — it was not brought into
being by a god but by natural phenomena like nuclear fission,
gravity, inertia, etc. However, even if we insist that a divine
being is needed to explain how the universe came into existence,
what proof is there that it was the Christian God? Perhaps the
Hindu God, the God of Islam or one of the gods worshipped by tribal
religions created it. After all, Christianity is not the only
religion to claim that there is a creator god or gods.
3. The Argument from Design
In response to the above refutation the Christian will maintain
that the universe not only exists but that its existence shows
perfect design. Here is, a Christian might say, an order and
balance in the universe which point to its having been designed by
a higher intelligence and that this higher intelligence is God. But
as before there are some problems with this argument. Firstly, how
does the Christian know that it was his God who is behind creation?
Perhaps it was the gods of non-Christian religions who designed and
created the universe. Secondly, how does the Christian know that
only one God designed everything? In fact, as the universe is so
intricate and complex we could expect itto need the intelligence of
several, perhaps dozens, of gods to design it. So if anything the
argument from design could be used to prove that there are many
gods, not one as Christians claim.
Next, we would have to ask whether the universe is really
perfectly designed? We must ask this question because it is only
natural to expect a perfect God to design a perfect universe. Let
us look first at inanimate phenomena to see whether they show
perfect design. Rain gives us pure water to drink but sometimes it
rains too much and people lose their lives, their homes and their
means of livelihood in floods. At other times it doesn’t rain at
all and millions die because of drought and famine. Is this perfect
design? The mountains give us joy as we see them reaching up into
the sky. But landslides and volcanic eruptions have caused havoc
and death for centuries. Is this perfect design? The gentle breezes
cool us but storms and tornadoes repeatedly cause death and
destruction. Is this perfect design? ese and other natural
calamities prove that inanimate phenomena do not exhibit perfect
design and therefore that they were not created by a perfect
God.
Now let us look at animate phenomena. At a superficial glance
nature seems to be beautiful and harmonious; all creatures are
provided for and each has its task to perform. However, nature is
utterly ruthless as any biologist or careful observer will confirm.
To live, each creature has to feed on other creatures and struggle
to avoid being eaten by other creatures. In nature there is no room
for pity, love or mercy. If a loving God really designed
everything, why did such a cruel design result? But the animal
kingdom is not only imperfect in the ethical sense; it is also
imperfect in that it often goes wrong. Every year millions of
babies are born with physical or mental disabilities, are
stillbornor die soon after birth. Why would a perfect creator God
design such terrible things? So if there is design in the universe,
much of it is either cruel or faulty. This indicates that the
universe was not created by a perfect all-loving God.
4. The First Cause Argument
Christians will sometimes say that everything has a cause, that
there must be a first cause and that God is the first cause. This
old argument contains its own refutation because if everything has
a first cause then the first cause must also have a cause. There is
another problem with the first cause argument. Logically, there is
no good reason to assume that everything had a single first cause.
Perhaps six, ten or three hundred causes occurring simultaneously
caused everything. And as before, even if we accept the necessity
of a first cause, what proof is there that it was the Christian
God? None.
It still does not refute the existence of God.. or a God or Gods or
whatever Supreme Being. It still also does not refute the existence
of a Christian God. It merely suggests a possibility that perhaps
there are more than one God.
