Clues

Is there a God?

Many people feel the answer is obvious – either they have experienced him and they feel they know him, or they think there isn’t any evidence and so they conclude there’s no God.

But for many of us, the answer isn’t so clear.

If this is you, this section should interest you.

Perhaps ….

Perhaps God has left clues so we can find him if we choose to look.

Perhaps we can see his footprint in the universe, his fingerprints in us humans.

Perhaps God is playing hard to get for a reason?

Clues – it’s up to you

The good thing about clues is that they don’t force anything on you. You can read about them, think about them, and decide for yourself.

So I’ve put together a bunch of information and ideas under eight main topics :

Clues summary

A summary of all the evidence and arguments:

• How is it possible to know the truth about God? – how do we know everything we know, and how can we know about God?
• Why believe? – a summary of the reasons why it is reasonable to believe in God
• Why would you want to believe in God? – there are actually some very compelling life-related reasons why we might want to believe in God.
• Is there a God? – 6 pages setting out the main reasons why it is reasonable to believe in God, and links to pages which look at some of the evidence in greater detail.
• 10 things we can all believe? – a starting point for those who doubt.
• Why would anyone believe ….. or disbelieve? – what psychologists, believers and unbelievers say.

The universe and God

If we get out of our city or town, away from lights, and go outside at night, it is hard not to be impressed by the night sky. For millennia, people have looked at the night sky and wondered ….. Scientists have discovered a lot about the universe we live in. What can we learn about God from cosmology?

• How did the universe start? – explore the how and why of the big bang
• Was the universe designed for us? – fundamental universal laws are finely tuned for life.
• Science and the design of the universe – the scientific facts and references on universal “fine-tuning”.
• Does mathematics prove God? – Mathematics is a fascinating subject (for some), but what does it tell us about the universe and God?

Life on earth

The earth is just one of many planets in the universe, but its distance from the sun, its chemical composition, the process of natural selection and the DNA composition of life all make it possible for complex life to evolve. Does this tell us anything about the existence of God? Does evolution make it impossible to believe in God?

• A rare earth? – Is the earth very finely-tuned for life? Does this indicate that God designed it? Or is there life on millions of planets in our Galaxy or the universe as a whole?
• DNA, genes and human history – a quick review of how DNA works, and its implications for belief in God.
• Evolution and its critics – critics attack evolution but do their criticisms have substance?
• Evolution and God – does the science of evolution conflict with belief in God?
• Adam and Eve – if Adam and Eve weren’t historical characters, what does this say for the rest of the Bible?

The human race

After more than 2.5 billion years, life has evolved to produce the human race, the most intelligent and adept of all species. Is there any clue to God in the human race?

• Are our brains like computers? – a quick look at our amazing brains.
• The mystery of consciousness – what is consciousness and how does our brain make us conscious?
• Do humans have free will? – do we really have freedom to make choices, or is everything determined by our brain chemistry?
• How do we know right and wrong? – we all believe some things are truly right or wrong, but why are they?
• Reason leads us to God – if brains are nothing more than matter, how can they do complex reasoning?
• Are people more than animals? – is human life worth more tha animal life?.
• Like a bird on the wire? – the human longing for freedom, truth, justice and love.
• The social and personal benefits of christianity – does christianity offer social or personal benefits to its followers and to society? .

Human experience of God

Some people say God has spoken to them, healed them, appeared in a vision or guided them. How does such belief stand up today, when we understand medicine, the human body and the human mind much better than in times past?

• Healing miracles and God – some examples of apparent healing miracles that have been investigated.
• How can we test alleged healing miracles? – a few criteria we may use.

Truth and evidence

It isn’t easy to be certain about anything. What would constitute good evidence for God, and how can we stay open to whatever the truth may be?

• Truth, proof and certainty – can we know the truth about God?
• Is faith the opposite of reason? – are believers irrational, or are their critics wrong?
• Is there no evidence for God? – what is evidence & does God have any on his side?
• The conflict between science and religion – are science and religion on a collision course?
• God of the gaps – 4 thoughts – is there really a problem with arguing for God from limits in science?
• The psychology of religious belief. Why do people believe or disbelieve in God? Are our beliefs all based on reason, or emotion, or both?

Reasons to disbelieve in God

Atheists point to the evil and suffering in the world, especially that caused by religion, and argue that this shows there’s no God at all.

• Atheist arguments – a brief look at a dozen arguments often used to show that there’s no God.
• Does religion cause terrorism? – the latest evidence from experts.
• Does religion cause wars? – historians look at 2 millennia of wars and their causes.
• How can god allow evil? – some questions to assist in assessing this difficult question.
• God and evil – a more detailed look at the problem of evil and how it makes it difficult to believe in God.

Road tests

Road tests of the two conflicting views of life – theism and atheism – to see how they compare and how well they work out in real life.

• Two stories: choose your own adventure – two very different stories about the world compete for our attention and our allegience.
• Does religion poison everything? – a summary of the good, the bad and the ugly about belief and unbelief.
• Belief vs unbelief – a much more detailed examination of the track records of belief and unbelief, with a detailed reference list.

Philosophical arguments

An examination of the classical philosophical arguments about God.

• The cosmological argument – two versions of the argument that the existence of the universe points to the existence of God, and the common objections to this argument.
• The teleological argument – the best version I have come across of the argument that the ‘fine-tuning’ of the universe points to the existence of a designer, and the main objections to this argument.
• An alternative fine-tuning argument – Cosmologist Luke Barnes has developed a modified form of the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God.
• The moral argument – two versions of the argument that our recognition of moral values implies that God exists, and the main objections to this argument.
• Does God hide himself from us? – if God loves us, he wouldn’t stay hidden from us, would he?

The probability of God test

A set of 10 questions that use mathematical probability to test how strong your belief or disbelief is.