Is there any way to prove that God exists? Believing that there is an eternal, infinite God who performs miracles is a worldview called theism. Here is one particular way to show that this God is real: it’s called “undeniability.”
But First: What’s A Worldview?
A worldview is:
- How every person takes in the data of life over a broad range of topics
- Processes that data
- Makes decisions and then acts on those decisions.
Everyone has a worldview, whether they know it or not.
As we’ve summarized in another article, every worldview has firmly held convictions concerning:
- God’s existence and character (God)
- Where we came from (Origin)
- What it means to be human (Humanity)
- Morality (Ought)
- Life’s meaning (Meaning)
- Where we are going (End)
Seven Worldviews on God
The seven worldviews are distinguished by their belief in the existence and attributes of God.
- Atheism: no god(s)
- Polytheism: many finite gods
- Finite Godism: a single finite god (who has a limit or end) who is not identified with the world
- Pan-en-theism: a single finite god who is identified with the world
- Pantheism: an infinite god (without boundaries or limits) who is identified with the world
- Deism: an infinite God who is not identified with the world but doesn’t perform miracles
- Theism: an infinite God who is not identified with the world and does perform miracles
Two Tests That Prove Theism is the Correct Worldview
In his book, Christian Apologetics, Dr. Norman Geisler provides two ways to show that theism is true and the other six are wrong:
- Undeniability: the correct worldview will be “undeniably true”
- Unaffirmability: false worldviews have contradictions and mistakes within their core principles
We’ll go into undeniability in this article, and in another article, we’ll discuss the second way to prove God.
Disclaimer on Philosophy
We are not saying you need philosophical arguments to prove God. Christians know this truth through the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5) who:
- Convicts us (John 16:8)
- Convinces us to accept Christ (John 6:44)
- Converts our hearts (Eph. 2:1)
- Indwells us (Rom. 8:15-16)
But there are times when a different worldview challenges us, and we need to help establish Christianity’s truthfulness compared to that other view. For non-Christians, proving our faith’s truthfulness may require that we meet them on shared beliefs intellectually to remove any unfounded objections and provide reasons to believe.
Undeniability Proves Theism is True
Now let’s talk about undeniability. Only theism is “undeniably” true. What do we mean by that?
1. Start with Undeniable Truth: “I Exist.”
To prove theism is correct, we need to start with a point of reference that everyone can agree such as a truth beyond a doubt. For example, “I exist.”
It is impossible to deny my own existence. Why? Because I have to exist to say, “I do not exist.” So in that sense, it is “undeniable” that I exist.
And from that simple absolute certainty, we can prove that the theistic God of the Bible must exist.
Be aware here! We are only proving the theistic worldview, not specifically Christianity. Christianity includes specific claims about what this God has done and who Jesus is. It’s also only fully known and received through the Holy Spirit’s work and the Bible (special revelation).
2. Principle of Causality: Talk About Your Parents
Our first undeniable fact is that “I exist.”
The next question is, “Do I have to exist?
- No.
- My existence is not necessary. In other words, it is possible that I could not exist.
That fact leads to certain undeniable conclusions:
- I was “caused” or “created” to exist by someone else.
- My existence depends on others, namely my parents.
- That means I am dependent or “contingent” on my parents.
- Since my parents created me, I haven’t existed forever and will someday go out of existence (meaning I am “finite” and not infinite).
The obvious question is, “If your parents caused you, who or what caused your parents?
The answer is simple: their parents or your grandparents created them and so on backward in a “cause-effect” string with each parent (cause) creating their child (effect).
This idea of the “cause-and-effect” is known as the Principle of Causality. Said simply,
- “Every contingent effect has a cause.”
- In other words, if something comes into existence (contingency), it was caused to exist by another.
- And this principle is also undeniably true.
You Can’t Keep Going Back (with “Finite” Causes)
Now we have reached a critical part of the argument! Could this backward series of “cause and effect” go on for an infinite number of “causes?” no!
Why?
First, because we live in a “finite” universe, that means it is limited.
It has limits and boundaries of
- space-time
- matter
- energy
In contrast, an infinite series would be limitless without beginning or end and couldn’t exist in our finite universe! That would be like trying to fit an actual college football stadium into a snow globe.
The second reason we can’t go back infinitely is that an infinite series, by definition, has no beginning and no end.
- It is impossible for an endless series of “causes-and-effects” going backward ever to reach a beginning cause. Why?
- Because by definition, there is no beginning or ending point in an infinite series.
- This problem of never reaching the beginning of an infinite series going backward is called an “infinite regress.” This is a well-known philosophical error that states that you can’t keep going backward forever. Unfortunately, atheism and religions claiming the universe is infinitely old make this mistake.
So do you see the problem we are facing?
- We are finite, created beings needing some point of origin.
- But if the series attempting to lead us back to our first Creator is infinite, we can never get there.
So how do we resolve this dilemma?
4. It is Undeniable! There Must Be a First Uncaused Creator (Theistic God)!
The answer is obvious, our backward-directed string of “cause-and-effects” needs to stop somewhere. And there is only one logical place.
The whole series of causes had to begin with a First Uncaused Creator.
- “First” because the series of “cause-and-effect” started somewhere (since it is undeniable that I exist now)
- “Uncaused” since there cannot be an infinite regress of causes (there has to be some Being that was not caused by another)
- “Creator” since someone had to create the first person in the series that eventually led to my existence
Therefore, there must be a First Uncaused Creator who was not created and must be eternal (beyond time).
Is This the God of the Bible?
By definition, this First Uncaused Creator is eternal: he cannot be “self-caused” or “caused by another.”
- He must be beyond all time-space, material, and energy constraints of our finite universe
- Since he has existed forever, he is unlimited or infinite
- Accordingly, all his attributes are limitless, including being all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-perfect
All of these characteristics are the same as the theistic God described in the Bible.
Therefore the Argument for a Theistic God is Undeniably True
If you followed the reasoning, you saw that every statement in the argument is utterly trustworthy and cannot be denied. A theistic God exists!
God exists and is identical to the God described in the Christian Scriptures, and he is the ultimate reason for my current existence.
And for those who continue looking into Christianity’s claims: we hope that they discover that this God is the very same God who sent Jesus and invites us into a personal relationship with himself.
References
- Geisler, N. L. (2013). Christian Apologetics 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
- _________ (2012) The Big Book of Christian Apologetics: An A to Z Guide. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
- _________ , & Watkins, W. D. (1989). Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
