1. INNATE

Believing in God it seems to be something built in the human mind and heart. Consequently, it is not surprising  to  find  that  all  human  societies  throughout  human  history,  with  very  few exceptions, have believed in the existence of God. If we look throughout the history of mankind, definitely we find that the majority of people have believed in God. Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle rationally concluded that God must exist.

In same line, psychologists have long held that belief in God was acquired by nurture. A senior researcher at the University of Oxford Centre for Anthropology and Mind, states: [if we threw a handful  of  children  on  an  island  and  they  raised  themselves,  they  would  believe  in  God]. In nutshell, each of us is born with an innate sense of belief in God and it develops naturally. Our minds  and  sense  are  designed  to  believe  in  God.  Contrary,  disbelieving  in  God  is  something which is unnatural to the human being.

2. THERE ARE NO ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES

In the  time  of  extreme  stress  or  fear,  all  people  seek  help  from  higher  power  and  search  for hope. They moreover pray supplications to God and they invoke God to save them at that hard moment. It  plainly  means  that  people  really affirms God’s presence and  believe  in  Him. This situation is described in one of God’s Book (Holy Quran).

[Have you  not  seen that  the  ships Sail across the  sea by  the  grace  of  God,  so that  He  shows you  some  of  His signs? Indeed,  there are  signs  for  every  man  of  patience  and gratitude. (31), “And when a wave covers them like shades (i.e. like clouds or the mountains of sea-water), they invoke Allah, making their invocations for Him only. But when He brings them safe to land, there are  among  them  those  that  stop  in  between  (Belief  and  disbelief).  But  none  denies Our  Signs except every perfidious ingrate.(32)] Quran (31:31-32)

Let us take Pharaoh (the king of Egypt during Prophet Moses‟ time 14th BC century) as a real example of this circumstance.  Pharaoh denied the existence of God publically. Pharaoh said to his  people “I  am  your  lord, I  am  the most  high”. But  when Pharaoh  was  drowning  in  The  Red Sea  and about  to die,  he  said  “I  believe  in God‟s  existence and  none  has  the  right to be worshipped except God).

[And  We  took  the  Children  of  Israel  across  the  sea,  and  Fir’aun  (Pharaoh)  with  his  hosts followed them in oppression and enmity, till when drowning overtook him, he said, “I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He (Allâh) in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims (those who submit to Allâh’s Will] Quran (10:90).

In  short  note, some  people  denying  the  existence  of  God  outwardly,  but  inwardly  they truly recognize the reality of God‟s existence and seek His refuge in severe stress.

 

3. CAUSALITY LAW

Before  commencing,  let  us  first  define  the  causality  law.  The  causality  law  is  the  relation between  an event (the  cause)  and  a  second  event  (the effect),  where  the  second  event  is understood  as  a  physical  consequence  of  the first.  It  is  clear  obvious  that  things  do  not  come into existence from nothing without cause and everything which comes into existence is caused to exist by something else. In addition, nothing can cause itself to come into existence. Anything that causes itself to come into existence has to exist before it exists. Can a thing just pop into existence with absolutely no cause? This also does not seem reasonable and it is impossible.

Suppose there is a picture hanged in a wall and there is a 6-year old child. Then, this child asks “Where did this picture come from?” I reply “It just popped there and it came from nothing”. Would this child accept this assumption? Or it would be quite strange?

The point is that if we see a painting, we know there is a painter. When we look at a building we know there is a builder. So when we view creation, shouldn’t we know there’s a Creator? Why it makes  different  when  it  comes  with  God.  The  world,  which  is  much  more  complex  than  a building, must also have been designed by a great Designer or Divine maker (God).

According to Cosmology the universe had a beginning some 14 billion years ago with a cosmic event commonly known as the ‘Big Bang’. The Big Bang Theory states that the universe was in a very high density state and then expanded. After the initial expansion (sudden explosion), the universe  cooled  sufficiently  to  allow  the  formation  of subatomic  particles, and  later  simple atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements  later  coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies. It seems that The Big Bang Theory may explain the origin of the universe, but it does  not  have  an  explanation for  the  sudden  explosion  and  it doesn’t explain  the origin of  the primordial dust cloud and. So where did that come from? Who, or what, created the primordial dust cloud?

Imagine you heard a loud bang, and you asked ‘where did that sound come from?’ Would you be satisfied with the answer that „it came from nothing and it just happened?’ Of course not. You would  say  ‘what  was  the  cause  of  that  loud  bang?’  In  the  same  way,  rationally  the  ‘Big  Bang’ must also have a cause (creator).

Now we can ask since the universe has a creator, who created that creator? Then we will ask, who created that creator? Then we will ask again, who created that creator? And so on and soon. But this can’t go on forever and must end with an uncreated creator.

We  can  conclude  that  this  creator  must  be  powerful  as  it caused the  whole  universe  into existence and it must be intelligent as it caused the ‘laws of science’ which govern the universe. Also,  this  creator  must  be  timeless,  spaceless  and  immaterial.  Finally,  since  it  is  uncaused  it must have always existed. All these attributes of the creator make up the basic concept of God. God is the uncreated first cause of the universe.

Let  me  recap  this  part  with  a  real  story  of  an  Arabian  man  (7th  Century)  who  denied  the existence of God. This man was sent by his people to run a negotiation with the God‟s prophet (Mohammad) regarding some issues. The man arrived at the prophet‟s city during prayer time. The Prophet was praying and reciting some verse of the Holy Books (Quran) and this man was astonishingly listening to that verses. The Prophet was reciting:

[Were  they  created  from  nothing?  or  were  they  the  creators?  (35)  Or  have  they  created  the heavens and the earth? No, but they are sure of nothing (36)]. (Quran 52:35-36)

When  this  man  heard  these  verses,  he said  (my  heart  is  about  to flutter,  my  heart  is  about  to fly). Upon these verses, this man acknowledged the existence of God and realized that there is a God.  Actually, there are three logical possibilities in these verses.

• Humans were  created  from  This  proposal  violates  basic  reason  which  is something cannot come from nothing and nothing cannot create something.
• Humans created    This  is  also  an  illogical  and  contradictory  proposition. To create oneself, one must already exist.
• Humans themselves  created  the  heavens  and  the    This  is  far  away  from  human capability and has no sense.

The only remaining possibility is that humans and the universe were created by a being which is

not itself created (God).

 

4. PERFECT ORDER AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Ancient Greek philosopher like Plato argued from design that there must be a designer. Let us first  talk  about  the order  and design from  science  perspective. Atheists believe in a “scientific” analysis of every claim and theological principle. So let us employ the same science to verify the correctness  of  the  Atheist  philosophy. In science,  there  is  a  vital  law  called  thermodynamics. Thermodynamic defines the fundamental physical quantities (temperature, energy, and entropy) and  describes  how  these  quantities  behave  under  various  circumstances. The  entropy  comes from  a  principle  of  thermodynamics  dealing  with  energy.  It  usually refers  to the  amount of disorder  always  increases  with  time  and  things  progress  naturally  from order to disorder. In other  word,  entropy  states, “without  a  control  or  super  power  in  any  process,  this  process proceeds into disorder and chaos”.

If we leave kids‟ room without housekeeping and cleaning, the room becomes messy and untidy unless a housemaid takes actions. Similarly, if we leave any kitchen for one week, this kitchen turns into disorder and chaotic profile unless a housemaid takes actions. A hot cup of coffee will cools off with time.

The  theories  of  the  Big  Bang  and  evolution  propose  the  exact  opposite which  is  resulted  in perfection. The concept that the universe exploded and then developed in balanced perfection through random events and natural selection is against the well-known science law i.e. entropy. In addition, it is little diverse from the idea that, by dropping millions bombs in a desert, one of these bombs will generate a perfect Mercedes Benz car!

This  universe  is  a  huge  complex  mathematical  equation  and  it  indicates  great  complexity  and perfect design.  The life displays an amazingly complex level of interdependency which logically leads  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  planned  in  such  intelligent  way. Let  us  examine  our  giant surroundings, our  solar system and  the  planet  Earth  are  finely-tuned  to  allow  life  to exist. Everything kept  in  perfect  balance  so  the  universe  hangs  together  and all  living-creations can live in it!

When we reflect upon the nature of our world, we see order everywhere from the water cycle to the movement of the earth around the sun. Undoubtedly, it is more reasonable to conclude that the  Big  Bang  and  evolution  were  controlled  events  and  no  more  validity  to  be  the  product  of random  chance. Plus, the  Big  Bang  theory  has  no  pure  explanation  for:  why  this  universe  is resulted  in finely-tuned order  to  allow  life to exist. Why  this  universe  was  not  resulted  in  just a plain order regardless of it is suitable for life or not…!

Many examples showing perfect design, here are a few (these examples are cited from Mr. Sue

Bohlin‟s article):

 

• Our Earth, for  instance,  is  perfectly  designed  for   It’s  the  “just  right”  size  for  the atmosphere  we  need.  Its  size  and  corresponding  gravity  hold  a  thin,  but  not  too  thin, layer of gases to protect us and allow us to breathe. If our planet were smaller it couldn’t support  an  atmosphere,  like  on  Mercury.  If  it  were  larger,  like  Jupiter,  the  atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, which is poison for us. Earth is the only planet we know of that contains an atmosphere that can support human, animal, and plant life. The Earth is also  placed  at  a  “just  right”  distance  from  the  sun  and  the  other  planets  in  our  solar system. If we were closer to the sun, we’d burn up. If we were farther away, we’d freeze. Because Earth’s orbit is nearly circular, this slightly elliptical shape means that we enjoy a  quite  narrow  range  of temperatures, which  is  important  to  life.  The  speed  of  Earth’s rotation on its axis, completing one turn every 24 hours, means that the sun warms the planet evenly. Compare our world to the moon, where there are incredible temperature variations  because  it  lacks  sufficient  atmosphere  or  water  to  retain  or  deflect  the  sun’s energy.
• Water itself is an important part of a “just right” world. Plants, animals and human beings are mostly  made  of  water,  and  we  need  it  to    One  of  the  things  that  makes  Earth unique  is  the  abundance  of  water  in  a  liquid  state.  Water  has  surface  tension. This means that water can move upward, against gravity, to bring liquid nutrients to the tops of  the  tallest  plants. Everything else  in  the  world freezes from  the  bottom up,  but  water freezes  from  the  top  down.  Everything  else  contracts  when  it  freezes,  but  water expands.  This  means  that  in  winter,  ponds  and  rivers  and  lakes  can  freeze  at  the surface, but allow fish and other  marine  creatures  to  live down below.  The fact that  we live on a “just right” planet in a “just right” universe is evidence that it all was created by a loving God.

Now when we see the order in the universe, isn’t it rational to say that  this universe has an organizer? When we look at the complexity of the universe; is it possible to say this happened by chance? So it would be rational to believe that this complex universe is a signature  of  the Creator. In another analogy, this ‘Creator’ is best explained by the existence of God.

God is the perfect being. As He is most perfect, He must have all perfections. As He is perfect he  must  exist. God not  only  created  our  universe,  but  sustains  it  today. God  said  in  his  Holy Book:

[Have  We not  made the earth  as  a  bed(6), And the  mountains as pegs  (stakes)?(7), And We have  created  you  in  pairs  (male  and  female, tall  and  short,  good  and  bad,  etc.)  (8),  And  We have  made  your  sleep  as  a  rest  (9),  And  We  have  made  the  night  as  a  covering (through  its darkness)(10), And We have made the day for seeking livelihood (11), And We have built above you seven strong skies(12), And We have made a shining lamp (sun) (13), And We have sent down from the rainy clouds abundant water(14), Thereby to produce grain and plant (15), And gardens thick with trees (16)] (Quran 78:6-16)

 

5. MORALITY VALUE

People  through  the  history  established  laws  and  regulations  which  are  designed  to  maintain social  order,  protect  the  rights,  ensure  availability  of  justice  and punish  people  who  commit crimes.  However,  the  history  has  lots  of  pain,  unfair  and  oppression.  We  obviously  observed many  cases  where  the  oppressors  and  the  oppressed  ones,  the  sinners  and  the  noble  ones were  not  reckoned  justly  and  fairly.  Certain  crimes and  evils  were  not  adequately  punished  in this  world  because  the  criminals  somehow  escaped  or  due  to  the  corruption  of  judge.  Lots  of punishments  and  recognitions did  not  occur  in  this  world. Countless of  criminals  were  not fully punished and countless of trustworthy-people were not recognized fairly. Is it logic thinking that these criminals and sinners will be just buried forever in the cemetery without any accountability?

History shows that any form of not-realization the existence of the God resulted in the corruption and  immorality  of the  people.  The  experience  of history  proves that  denial  of  the  reality  of  the God existence  and  denial of  the  second  life  is fatal  to  mankind.  As  a  result,  chaos,  corruption and disorder in the society will be expected. If there is no second life, our ends will be same, in that  we  just pass out of  existence,  what  meaning  does that  give  our  lives?  If  there  is  no  God, there is no value for morality and our lives do not have any ultimate meaning and significance purpose. If there is no God, everything is permitted.” Indeed, everything is permissible if God does not exist.

The rationale approach is like this: this life is a test and the ultimate justice for punishments and rewards will be established by God in the next life (Hereafter). The full justice is that a complete record of all actions and deeds is maintained so that even what forgotten should not be missed. This  belief  will  function  as  alarm  bells,  as  warnings  to  anyone  who  is  going  to  commit  sin  or mistake. It also encourages  people  to  come  to  their  senses  and  to  change  direction  to  better way. Believing  in  the  existence  of  God  reminds  us  that  good  and  evil  are  the  two  pans  of  the balance in which our deeds will be weighed, and no moral corruption will go unpunished.

In brief,  there is a God, All knowing, The Wise Being, The Fair Being, absolutely independent and far  above  any  partiality.  In  the  second  life,  everyone  has  to be  reckoned according  to  the performance of his / her deeds in this world.

 

6. THE MIRACLES

God sent messengers to guide mankind to the straight path and spread God’s message of compassion and mercy, as well as to call mankind to worship God alone. God’s Prophets were supported with miracles to authenticate God‟s message and to confirm that this person  (the messenger)  was  sent  from  God.  Ultimately,  miracles  served  to  prove  God’s  existence  and oneness.

A  miracle  is  defined  as  an  extraordinary  event  that  surpasses  all  known  human  or  natural powers and  is attributed to a  supernatural  cause  (God). This  miracle  usually happened  on  the hands of the prophets. For example:

• Prophet Jesus cured the blind and the leper, and gave life to the dead by the permission of God.
• Prophet Moses had a staff (stick) which was used to produce water from a rock, and this stick was transformed into a snake by the permission of God.
• Prophet Muhammad  was  given  The  Holy  Quran  as  an  everlasting  The Holy Quran,  which has  been  revealed  in  Arabic  language,  is a  miracle of  wisdom and  it  is  a complete true revelation. It is a miracle of purity of style and unique pattern. Despite of the  Arabs  (the  Prophet  Muhammad‟s  people)  were  proficiency  in  Arabic  language eloquence, poetry and rhetoric, they were unable to come up with a single verse which is similar  to  a  single  verse  in The  Holy  Quran. The  Holy  Quran  is  still  preserved  from perversion and remains unchallenged until the Day of Resurrection.

Such  actions  (miracles)  clearly  are  attributed  to  a  supernatural  being,  and  they  are  signs attesting to the truth which is the existence of God and the validity of God’s religion.