Can one prove scientifically that God exists?
Well, for the scientific method, one cannot truly “prove” anything with certainty, in other words it is conceivable that I will drop my shirt in the hamper tonight and it will float into space, but that is not likely in my opinion. Mr. Newton sufficiently answered, for me, my questions about gravity.
Thusly, under the scientific method, when a theory holds up under all available tests, then at that point, the tested theory becomes a scientific law, e.g. Law of Gravity, First Law of Thermodynamics, & Second Law of Thermodynamics, etc.
And it is by the scientific method that Mr. Clayton tests the philosophical existence of Creator. Mr. Clayton is very transparent. The science is commonly accepted and his tests are valid. The only remaining question is, ‘Are his conclusions consistent with both the science and the data from the tests?’
If Mr. Clayton’s conclusions are consistent with these, then acceptance is the only rational response to his conclusions.
You are going to be hard pressed to flow through the material in succeeding and sequential order. But, if you have trouble following the online information you can get copies of his videos and books. He will lend them to anyone who writes him.
I have seen Mr. Clayton at seminars and he will confound open-minded atheists. He will convince any who are seeking truth.
(PART 5, FOR ‘WHAT D.S. MARTIN BELIEVES’)
Ah! There you are. I was afraid I might have lost you at the bottom of that last posting.
I am glad that you’ve made it up here to find my conclusion of the remarks about Romans 1:19-20.
- 19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
Well, here is another reason for my belief that there exists an uncaused “first cause” who is a personal and “intelligent” entity and who we know, generally, as God.
It is not a mystery, that throughout all human record and across cultures, God is seen in human religion and ritual.
If God appeared only in a handful of cultures, and “his” philosophical origins could be traced to an aeon and locale, then I might be troubled by the possibility of MAN creating god.
But, as it is clearly known, the knowledge of God is universal in the human psyche, if not hard coded in our DNA.
Paul makes this argument by stating about mankind, “God has put this knowledge in their hearts.”
Paul states also that we “can clearly see his invisible qualities…” What qualities might one see if he looks at the earth and sky?
- One might see ‘Order and Harmony’ rather than ‘chaos and discord.’ Is there any debate here? (Environmentalists and ecologists, rightly in my opinion, see Humankind as being outside the bounds of nature. People then are unique in creation. The movie The Matrix used the character “Agent Smith” to elucidate this philosophy about humanity being a “virus” or cancer. Obviously, I don’t fully agree with Agent Smith. However, I need only place this caveat in Agent Smith’s argument; Sinful or fallen Humans are like a virus or cancer.)
- One might see ‘beauty and majesty’ rather than ‘vulgarity and unsightliness.’ Again, is there debate on this point? (The vulgarity and unsightliness in creation is the direct result of Agent Smith’s metaphor for Humankind, only slightly modified by me.)
- One might see mystery and nuance.
- One might see awesome power.
If I were to consider for just a few more moments, what “invisible qualities” Paul might expect for me to see, while I am looking high and low, I might…, just maybe…, be able to see God’s personality and character.
And, in those few moments of further contemplation, I think, I would perceive a great deal of reverence, both for and from the God who has built our cosmos.
TO BE CONTINUED…
God bless,
DSM
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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 31st, 2006 at 11:42 pm and is filed under Bible, God, Knowledge, Life, Mankind, Reason, Religion, Truth, faith, theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Greetings:
My name is Mike and I am a friend of Scott W. My wife and I attend worship with Scott and Wendy. I am very impressed by your wed site and your approach to understanding theology.
I did want to offer you some thoughts for constructing a more concise explaination for the source of your faith. There may have been more than I found. I’m not very savy about the internet. But all I read was your discussion of how the created world is the basis for belief in a Supreme Being.
When asked about my faith I begin in the same place.
1. The creation: Rom. 1:20, Ps. 139:14 (I would add nothing to what you already noted.)
2. The Bible: God’s revealed will to man is a source of faith because of the following attributes.
a. It’s endurance: Matt. 24:35
b. It’s ageless wisdom for guiding our lives: Ps. 119: 97-105 (I find its precepts just as relevant today as ever.)
c. It’s “super-human” (divine) wisdom: Isa. 55:8-9, I Cor. 1:25
The more I study the Book the more I am convinced that it could not have originated in the mind of man.
3. The testimony of changed lives: Acts 9:21 Very few people find Christ on thier own. Most are led to faith by the influence of others.
a. Those like me who were raised by parents who are believers begin with what I have come to call an “ancestoral faith”. I believed for a time simply because my parents believed and I trusted them. But at some point this faith must become personal or it will fail under testing.
b. Others, who come to faith later in life have another kind of “borrowed faith” that comes from the one that leads them to Christ. Most people initially respond to the gospel because they trust the person teaching them and have observed in them the life changing power of faith.
There is no greater “visual aid” we can use in teaching the lost, than a personal demonstration of a godly life.
4. The personal experience of providence: (Jas. 1:6) This “faith booster” only kicks in after the first two (or three )foundations of faith are in place. (I am convinced that God works in the lives of the lost to move them toward repentance {see Acts 17:27, I Chron. 28:9 Ezek. 33:11} but few recognize it as such until they look back through the hindsight of faith.
But for the faithful Christian tuned to accept and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14) the direction and discipline can be major building blocks of faith.
I hope these will give you some food for thought and I look forward to reading more in your web log.
Mike H