Author : Wayne S. Walker
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” (Acts 17:26)
As we have noticed in previous articles, a study of evidences includes those things which pertain to our faith in the existence of the one true God as an immanent, transcendent, personal being. It is interesting that the Bible itself really makes no formal argument to prove God’s existence. It just begins with the fact of God and then assumes that those who will read it already have seen the evidence and believe that He does exist. However, as we take what we read in God’s word and then compare it to what we see around us in nature, we find bits and pieces of information that tend to confirm our conclusion that there must be a God.
The fact is that man exists and possesses a unique nature which sets him apart from all other life forms. It is impossible to deny that man has something that plants and animals do not. There are only two possible explanations. Either man, starting as a non-conscious, non-responsible, non-moral, and non-rational animal, somehow reached his present state solely by evolutional development, assimilating these characteristics from his environment and passing them on to his offspring through reproduction. Or, man is the product of divine creation. So, can we determine which is the actual case, and if so, how do we go about it? The truth is that all we have to do is to look at the evidence and see which is more reasonable. Some of the reasons why I believe in God relate to the mind of man.
Man has a sense of morals. We usually call it the conscience (John 8:9; Romans 2:14-15). Even though some might question this with all the immorality that is rampant in our world, the fact that history vindicates the right, that human society is based on a moral order, and that there are natural consequences of wrongdoing all prove the moral argument. Man everywhere draws a line between what he considers right and wrong. Even the most primitive societies have a set of standards of some kind, a code of living that must be adhered to by every member. In addition, on a personal level each individual has a sense of “ought” and that “little inner voice” to tell him whether he is following it or not.
C.S. Lewis called this “the law of human nature,” because there is no such thing as crime among cats, and dogs do not have any prisons for wrongdoers. Only man has the capacity to be shocked and blushed at that which he considers indecent or to feel guilty when he has done something wrong. So if you have ever come across something that you felt ashamed of, you displayed a quality that is unknown in animals.
Also, man is capable of rational thought. He has the ability to think, reason, learn, make choices, and then transmit knowledge by effective communication. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7; cf. Mark 2:6-7). The heart here is not the blood pump, but the mind, the seat of intellect. The French philosopher Rene Descartes said, “I think; therefore, I am.”
Animals possess only instinct and can be trained by rote repetition, but they can never be taught as humans can. Cows and horses do not establish schools for themselves. In spite of all the experiments with dolphins and gorillas, they have not been able to communicate above the level of instinct and rote. Only man has the capability of asking himself, “To be, or not to be; that is the question.” Our next article will contain more reasons why I believe in God.
