Is Belief in God Reasonable?

Apr 3

In disorienting times, how can we focus our vision on the things that matter most and build our lives on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ?

Ben Stuart gives a powerful and thought-provoking message, showing us that our faith is not wish fulfillment or fairytales; it’s the most rational way to wrestle with life’s difficult questions. We pray this message will bring you hope and purpose in difficult times and help set your feet on solid ground!

Key Takeaway

It is completely rational to believe in God. Believing in God does not mean we have to check our rationality and minds at the door. When given genuine thought, the evidence makes sense to further a belief in God.

You have to put your feet down on something stable to gain perspective because everything is disorienting.

Is the story true? Does it fit into the world we live in?

Metaphysical Necessity

The law of cause and effect. Every effect has a cause. When you back up, there has to be an infinite cause. It's God. There is order to creation. Complexity doesn't start by accident.

Positions:

Nothing. It all came out of nothing, but it's very hard to hold this view because nothing can't do anything. And once you have something, it's no longer nothing.
Impersonal view. Impersonal things created everything. Again, this is a hard view to maintain because impersonal things don't have a will or volition, so how could the impersonal make or create the complexity we have? That leaves accident, chance, time, and a perfect mix of chemicals to make everything work out. That gives you an answer for unity, where everything comes from, but for diversity. Why are there different things? People, chairs, rocks, etc. The impersonal says everything is energy and matter, so you're no more special than a chair. If someone kills you, there's no moral meaning.
An infinite personal being made everything and that's why we're personal. He has a will and we have a will. He has desires and we have desires. He has aims and goals and we have the same. We are in His Image. We intrinsically have purpose and meaning.

The argument that believing in God is wishful thinking collapses in on itself. Maybe the belief that there's not a God is wishful thinking.

Why does water boil? All these molecules change, there's heat, it's set into motion, etc. But why does the water boil? Because I wanted a cup of tea. Scientific explanation doesn't negate the volition of one to set everything in motion. -John Lennox

Moral Necessity

If everything came out of impersonal things, yet we know we have meaning and purpose, but there is no meaning or purpose in the world- then, that's a cruel joke. You have no basis for morality. You only have a preference. "I don't prefer genocide. I don't think it is socially advantageous." The problem is, that we have a high sense of moral oughtness. We believe deeply in it.

"Where did these values come from? I worked all the way back to a place I didn't want to be and that's where everything I think matters in life came from a guy named Jesus of Nazareth. And you do too." - Tom Holland, a historian

Because of Jesus, we believe human beings have rights. We believe we should care for the poor. It was the fact that Jesus became weak and died for us that we say weakness may have a purpose. It's not something to call out, it's something to protect and love because you're made in God's Image. He came for you. He took on your weakness to redeem those who are weak to make us what we are meant to be under God.

That idea of value even among the weak is a very Christian idea. You won't find it outside of the sphere of Jesus.

Why are people so mean?

In an impersonal creation, there's no right or wrong and there's no one to judge it. There is no reference point.
There is a god, but he created us mean and it's intrinsic to our nature. So there's a god, but he's the devil.
An infinite personal being made us and He's not evil, and when He made us, we weren't either. But with space and time, something broke. The brokenness we see in us is not essential to us. It's a parasite. Good is eternal, but evil sucks everything out of us. If you believe that, then there's hope! We once lived without evil, maybe we can live without it again. It defines moral oughtness.

There is something in you that longs for beauty, for peace, for things to be right. God put Himself into the story. His fingerprints are all over us, a bit of His heart beats in our own. Then He came in flesh through Jesus. God hates what broke, but He did everything to restore us.

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"You have to put your feet down on something stable to gain perspective because everything is disorienting."

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Ben Stuart

Discussion Questions

What are some of the beliefs and ideas in culture right now that cause so many people to feel disorientated right now?
Read 1 Peter 3:15. What is the instruction in this verse?
What are the 3 positions that one could assume for how we started in this world we live in?
How does the impersonal view translate to everyday life and values?
How does the infinite personal being view correlate with what the Bible tells us?
Can you explain the story about tea by John Lennox? What was his point?
Have you ever been in search and ended up where Tom Holland, the historian, did? What are the values that Christianity upholds in society?
How do you see the Gospel portrayed in the moral necessity and holistically Christian values? Hint: it has to do with weakness.
What are the explanations for each position on why people are mean? Where can hope be found?
Read Romans 8:16 and Ecclesiastes 3:11. How are our minds and spirits bent toward God?

Scripture References

Jesus Has Risen 1.After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2.There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3.His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4.The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5.The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6.He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7.Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8.So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9.Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10.Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” The Guards’ Report 11.While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12.When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13.telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14.If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15.So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. The Great Commission 16.Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17.When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18.Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20.and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

1.In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2.Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.3.And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4.God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5.God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

26.Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”27.So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.28.God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

18.The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19.since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20.For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

1.Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2.when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3.Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4.Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5.For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6.like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 7.Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Suffering for Doing Good 8.Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9.Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10.For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11.They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12.For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”3:12 Psalm 34:12-16 13.Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14.But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats3:14 Or fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”3:14 Isaiah 8:12 15.But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16.keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17.For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18.For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19.After being made alive,3:18,19 Or but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20.to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21.and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.3:21 Or but an appeal to God for a clear conscience It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22.who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

About the Contributor

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime. View more from the Contributor.