Does God Exist? 7 Questions Worth Asking

Does God exist?

It is arguably the biggest question we can ask. If God exists, then our lives have a purpose beyond what we can see, morality has a deeper foundation, death may not be the end, and the universe itself may have been created intentionally. If God doesn't exist, then ultimately we are here because of natural processes in an indifferent universe, and we have to determine meaning for ourselves.

For some people, belief in God seems obvious. For others, it seems impossible to believe in something that cannot be seen or measured. Many people sit somewhere in between: “I don't know, but I'm willing to look.”

That is where this article begins.

This isn't an attempt to claim that one argument can mathematically prove God's existence. Rather, it is an examination of seven lines of reasoning that have led philosophers, scientists and ordinary people throughout history to take belief in God seriously. None of them should necessarily be considered in isolation. But when you put them together, they raise a question that is difficult to simply dismiss: Is God really the best explanation for the reality we experience?

1. The Universe Had a Beginning

Everything we experience within the universe appears to depend upon something else. Stars depend upon physical laws, planets depend upon stars, living organisms depend upon environments, and we depend upon the universe itself.

But what about the universe?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Modern cosmology points towards a universe with a finite past. The universe, space and time as we know them appear to have had a beginning. That immediately raises a philosophical question: what caused the universe to exist?

Whatever ultimately caused the universe cannot simply be another physical object within it. If space, time and matter came into existence with the universe, then the ultimate explanation for the universe must lie beyond those things.

Christianity has long argued that this points towards a Creator who is not part of the physical universe and therefore isn't dependent upon it. The opening words of the Bible make the claim simply: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Of course, saying that the universe had a beginning doesn't automatically prove Christianity. There are still difficult questions about exactly how the universe began and what preceded it. But it does challenge the assumption that the universe simply exists without explanation.

If something began to exist, it is reasonable to ask what caused it.

And if the universe itself began to exist, why should we assume that it is the one thing that doesn't require an explanation?

2. The Universe Is Remarkably Fine-Tuned

The universe doesn't merely exist. It exists under a remarkably precise set of physical conditions that allow stars, planets, chemistry and eventually life to exist.

Physicists have identified numerous fundamental constants and conditions that appear to fall within very narrow ranges compatible with a life-permitting universe. Alter some of these significantly and the universe we know would not exist.

This is known as the fine-tuning problem, and it has generated considerable debate among scientists and philosophers.

There are several possible explanations. Perhaps we simply got incredibly lucky. Perhaps there is a multiverse containing vast numbers of universes with different physical properties, and we happen to inhabit one that permits life. Or perhaps the apparent order reflects intentional design.

None of these possibilities should simply be declared proven. The multiverse, for example, is itself the subject of considerable scientific and philosophical debate.

But the question remains: why does the universe have precisely the kind of structure that allows conscious life to emerge?

If the universe was intentionally created, its life-permitting characteristics make sense. If it wasn't, we still need to explain why the conditions are what they are.

Fine-tuning may not give us a simple mathematical proof of God, but it certainly makes the question of design worth taking seriously.

3. Objective Morality Points Beyond Human Opinion

There are some things most of us don't merely dislike; we believe they are genuinely wrong.

Torturing an innocent child for entertainment, for example, isn't something we normally describe as simply a matter of personal preference. We believe it is wrong regardless of whether the person committing the act believes it is right.

This raises an important question: where does objective morality come from?

Evolution can help explain why human beings developed certain behaviours. Cooperation, empathy and loyalty can all contribute to survival. But explaining why we developed moral instincts isn't necessarily the same as explaining why moral truths actually exist.

If morality is ultimately nothing more than a product of human evolution and social convention, then moral rules would appear to be human constructions. They could be useful, but it becomes difficult to say that something is objectively wrong in the same sense that we say two plus two equals four.

Christianity provides a different foundation. It argues that objective moral values exist because they are grounded in the nature and character of God. Good isn't simply whatever humanity happens to approve of; goodness ultimately comes from the Creator.

This doesn't mean Christians have perfect moral understanding. Christians disagree about many ethical questions, just like everyone else. But the Christian worldview offers an explanation for something most of us already experience: the conviction that some things really are right and some things really are wrong, even when nobody agrees.

4. Consciousness Is More Than Matter

You are made of physical matter. Your brain consists of billions of neurons, and science has made extraordinary progress in understanding how the brain works.

But there is still a profound question that science has not simply made disappear:

Why are you conscious?

You don't merely process information. You experience it. You experience colour, music, pain, love, beauty and memory. You can think about your own thoughts and reflect upon your own existence.

We can observe what happens inside the brain when someone sees a red object, hears music or experiences pain. But observing the physical processes doesn't necessarily answer the philosophical question of why those processes are accompanied by subjective experience in the first place.

This is often referred to as the hard problem of consciousness.

Perhaps consciousness will eventually receive a complete material explanation. It would be foolish to claim otherwise. But consciousness remains one of the deepest questions in philosophy.

Christianity begins with a reality in which consciousness isn't an accidental by-product of matter. It begins with a personal, intelligent God who creates conscious beings.

If reality ultimately comes from a mind, then the existence of minds within reality becomes considerably less surprising.

Again, this isn't a proof in isolation. But consciousness is another piece of the puzzle.

5. Human Reason Can Discover Truth About the Universe

One of the strangest things about human beings is that we can understand a universe that existed long before we did.

We can use mathematics to describe the movement of galaxies. We can discover physical laws that govern particles too small to see. We can look into distant space and reconstruct events that happened billions of years ago.

But why should our minds be capable of doing this?

If human reasoning is ultimately nothing more than a survival mechanism produced by blind evolutionary processes, then an interesting philosophical problem arises. Evolution selects traits that help organisms survive and reproduce; it doesn't necessarily select beliefs because they are objectively true.

Yet we rely on our reasoning to tell us what is true. We trust mathematics, logic and scientific observation precisely because we believe our minds are capable of discovering reality.

The Christian worldview offers a possible explanation: human beings are rational creatures made by a rational Creator, living within a rationally ordered universe.

That doesn't mean our reasoning is infallible. Clearly it isn't. We make mistakes constantly.

But the remarkable relationship between the human mind and the intelligibility of the universe is something worth considering.

Why is reality understandable?

And why are we capable of understanding it?

6. Human Beings Have a Deep Desire for Meaning

We don't simply want to survive. We want our lives to matter.

Throughout history, human beings have created art, music, literature and monuments. We've sacrificed ourselves for people we love and risked our lives for causes we believe are greater than ourselves. We ask questions about justice, purpose, death and what happens beyond this life.

Of course, you don't have to believe in God to live a meaningful life. People find meaning through family, relationships, creativity, helping others and countless other things.

But Christianity asks a deeper question: is meaning something we create, or is there an objective purpose behind our existence?

If there is no God, then ultimately the universe has no inherent purpose. We can create meaning for ourselves, but there is no objective reason why humanity should exist or why one person's life should have more ultimate significance than another's.

If God exists, the picture changes completely.

Your life isn't an accident. You aren't simply a collection of atoms that happened to become conscious for a few decades. You were created intentionally, and your value doesn't depend upon your success, appearance, wealth or achievements.

Christianity says that your deepest identity and purpose are found not in what you can obtain from the world, but in the One who created you.

That is a very different understanding of what it means to be human.

7. Jesus Gives the Question a Historical Dimension

The first six reasons point towards philosophical questions about the existence and nature of God. But Christianity makes a much more specific claim.

It says that God has revealed Himself within human history through Jesus Christ.

Jesus wasn't simply an abstract religious idea. He was a historical figure who lived in first-century Judea, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and left behind a movement that would transform the world.

But Christianity doesn't rest merely on the claim that Jesus existed.

It rests on the claim that Jesus rose from the dead.

The resurrection is therefore where the philosophical question about God becomes a historical investigation. If Jesus really rose from the dead, then Christianity isn't simply a collection of comforting beliefs. It would be evidence that God has acted within history.

That claim deserves investigation.

What did the earliest Christians actually believe? Why did they become convinced that Jesus had risen? What historical evidence exists for the crucifixion and the origins of the Christian movement? How should the alternative explanations be assessed?

There are serious debates around these questions, and Christians shouldn't be afraid of them.

In fact, they are precisely the questions that should be asked.

Because if Jesus really did rise from the dead, then the question “Does God exist?” has moved from abstract philosophy to something personal.

It means God may not simply exist.

He may have stepped into human history.

So, Does God Exist?

None of these seven arguments forces someone to believe.

There are alternative explanations for each one, and reasonable people continue to debate them. But that is precisely the point.

The existence of God isn't an intellectually empty question.

The universe exists. It appears to have a beginning. It operates according to consistent laws. It appears remarkably suited to life. We experience morality, consciousness, reason and a deep desire for meaning. And Christianity makes the historical claim that God has revealed Himself through Jesus.

You can look at those things and conclude that God doesn't exist.

You can look at them and remain uncertain.

Or you can look at them and conclude that God is the best explanation for the world you experience.

But perhaps the most important thing is to actually look.

If you've never seriously investigated Christianity, you don't need to begin by pretending you believe. Start with the questions. Read the arguments. Examine the evidence. Look at the historical claims about Jesus.

Follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Because if God exists, the answer changes everything.

And if Jesus really is who Christianity says He is, then discovering the truth isn't simply an intellectual exercise.

It's the beginning of a relationship with the One who created you.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” — Jeremiah 29:13

Keep Seeking

At Face of Faith, we don't believe people should be afraid to ask difficult questions about Christianity.

Faith doesn't require you to switch off your brain. Doubt doesn't have to be the end of the conversation. Sometimes doubt is simply the beginning of a genuine search for truth.

Seek. Question. Investigate.

And see where the search takes you.