Throughout all of human history, scientists and philosophers, such as Aristotle, Plato, and Charles Darwin, have asked questions that could not be answered during the time in which they were asked. How did life begin? Do humans have a purpose in life? Although these were called the Big Questions, they can be summed up into one Big Question. Does the God of the Bible exist or not exist? Some scientists and philosophers have discovered the existence and nonexistence of God through the origin of life. Some find evidence not even through scientific theories and experiments. However, some scientists claim that God and the Bible are the only possible explanations to the origin and purpose in life. Through technology today, scientists have discovered evidence to prove both the existence and nonexistence of the Christian God.

Some scientists, otherwise known as materialists, claim that the existence of the Christian God is impossible due to the Bible itself and the world today. They claim that “According to Christianity, their God exists and he is perfect. Thus, an imperfect god cannot exist. So, if we can prove that their God is not perfect, then by default, we can prove that he does not exist.” (Schik, “Can Science Prove That God Does Not Exist”) To support this, the definition of perfection is to not need to rely on anything, and that anything that is perfect cannot create anything imperfect. Materialists explain that if God were perfect, then why would he need to create anything? Also, God supposedly created the concept of free will, which proved to be imperfect. If the God of the Bible created something that is imperfect, then materialists say that God is imperfect. So, according to the Bible, God cannot exist. Secondly, materialists claim that God cannot be scientifically proven to exist. Therefore, He cannot exist. If a god were needed for a scientific discovery to make sense, it would not prove Christianity to be true. There could be a time in the future that scientists might discover new information that requires the idea of a god for it to make sense. However, it would not prove the existence of the Christian God beyond all doubts because it would still be provisional as science always is. (Cline, “Scientifically, God Does Not Exist”) A very popular way to tell if something ca not be true was discovered by Parmenides. “Parmenides realized over 2,500 years ago that anything that involves a logical contradiction cannot exist.” (Cline). Furthermore, materialists claim that no one can prove the nonexistence of God because there is no factual evidence that shows the nonexistence of God. Likewise, there is no physical evidence for God’s existence, so science must assume that an entity, such as the Christian God, cannot exist. According to Parmenides, anything that has a logical contradiction cannot exist (Cline). Materialists explain that since there is an argument over the existence of God, then it is a logical contradiction which means that God cannot exist. Also, materialists like Theodore Schik have said that “The possibility for needing a ‘god’ hypothesis applies equally as well to Zeus and Odin as it does to the Christian god; it applies equally well to evil or disinterested gods as it does to good gods.” (“Can Science Prove That God Does Not Exist?) Schik is saying that even though Christianity is the largest religion in the world, that does not mean that the possibibity of other religions to be just as true as Christianity. So, due to evidence shown in the Bible and the lack of physical evidence in the world, materialists doubt the existence of the God of the Bible.
Other scientists, known as creationists or evangelists, claim that the Earth is too unique not to have an intelligent designer. To prove this, evangelists, like Stephen Meyer, point out that there are nearly forty key factors that are vital to sustaining the universe and the life in it. If one of those factors were even slightly changed, the universe, as well as all of the life in it, would be destroyed. (Tackett, “True U”) Also, evangelists explain that the Christian God is good and merciful as well as perfect and just. To contradict this, materialists question why God would create all of the evil in the world. The Christians can explain this. The definition of darkness is the absence of life. Therefore, darkness cannot be measured. Nothing can be darker than dark since it is the absence of life. Darkness cannot exist. The same goes for coldness. Cold is the absence of heat and therefore cannot be measured. Nothing can be colder than cold since there is not heat in cold, thus, cold cannot exist. Christians explain that evil is a word to describe the absence of God. They say that evil cannot exist because it is like the absence of light and heat and cannot be measured. No one can be more evil because evil cannot exist. (Marshman, “World Race”) Following this, materialists would wonder why God would not simply destroy all of the evil in the world. Evangelists would remind them that if God were to destroy all of the evil, that he would destroy the obvious evils; war, sickness, death, and immorality. God would also have to destroy the less obvious evils as well; jealousy, lust, lying, swearing, blaspheming, and hate. All of these traits are dominant in human nature today. Evangelists explain that God would have to destroy all of life, including human civilization and the Western Culture, to get rid of the evil in the world. According to Christianity, God loves humans too much to destroy them, so He leaves life as it is.

Materialists claim that the creation of the universe is perfectly possible without God in the equation. One of the most famous scientists to promote this was Charles Robert Darwin. In his book, The Origin of Species, Darwin explains his theory.

“We have reason to believe, as stated in the first chapter, that a change in the conditions of life, by specially action on the reproductive system, causes or increases variability; and in the foregoing case the conditions of life are supposed to have undergone a change, and this would manifestly be favorable to natural selection, by giving a better chance of profitable variations occurring; and unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing.” (Darwin, “The Origin of Species”)

A perfect example of Natural Selection is through the species of finches Darwin discovered in the Galapagos Islands. Some finches were smaller with shorter beaks while others were larger with longer beaks and some were a mixture of both. During the cold season of winter, the finches with shorter beaks were not able to gain access to their food because of their short beaks, so the short-beaked finches died off. Natural Selection saw the short-beaked trait as useless for the survival of finches; therefore, it cut it out of the genes. Such can happen with any species, which explains to materialists how the first complex organism evolved from a single-celled organism, like humans. Secondly, some materialists tried to go their own way, not fully following Darwin’s theory of the origin of species by the means of Natural Selection. One of the explanations concocted from a materialist was the Piano Accordion Theory. This theory focused on how the universe sustains itself and why it is expanding. It suggests that as the universe expands, the gravitational pull of all of the mass in the universe will eventually cause the universe to start shrinking, and when the universe shrinks enough, then the gravitational pull of the mass will force the universe to expand. Another Godless theory to the origin of the universe is the Universe Machine Theory. It suggests that a universe making machine created several universes until it created one that could sustain complex life; our universe. Materialists have also found evidence in which the Bible contradicts itself. In the entire New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth never confirmed that Genesis 1 actually happened.

(jesusbelievesinevolution.com) Therefore, if Genesis 1 is never confirmed to be true, then science must assume that the entire book is false. This is how materialists can claim that the God of the Bible does not exist; by finding other beginnings to the universe and disproving the Bible itself.

Creationists, or evangelists, claim that God is the only logical explanation to how life came to be, which proves that He exists. The first piece of evidence the creationists have provided is that the Earth is younger than materialists say it is, but that proof is only relevant if the Bible is true. The rio-carbon dating system that scientists use to find the age of fossils cannot be reliable when salt water is added into the equation. According to Genesis 6, God sent a flood that covered up the entire planet, most of the water coming from the salty oceans. Creationists also claim that God is the only possible explanation to the creation of life because it is the only theory that cannot be disproved. The biggest Godless explanation to the creation of the universe also has the most holes that Creationists have claimed to find. In Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species, Creationists say that it disproves itself. “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” (Darwin) What Darwin is saying is that the only way to prove that his theory is false, is to find an irreducible complex organ or organism. Creationists say that they have found that; the flagella cell motor. If one part of the motor was taken away, it could not work. Therefore, the organ could not have evolved from Natural Selection. Also, Darwin never describes the first organism in his book; he only describes how it could have been created. Creationists have proven that Darwin’s theory of the first cell’s creation to be false. According to Charles R. Darwin, the amino acids to form the first proteins scrambled together to form a protein and started making the first cell from there. However, Creationists have reminded others that the only way for a protein could be created is if DNA gives the amino acids the instructions on how to make it. If Darwin was right about his theory of the origin of species by means of Natural Selection, then at the time of the first protein, DNA was too complicated to have existed yet. No DNA means no instructions which leads to no proteins. Creationists then claim that Darwin is wrong. In addition, Evangelists also say that Genesis did happen and it is very easy to prove. Somewhere high in the Andes Mountains in Chile, the remains of whalebones were discovered. Evangelists say that the only possible way that whalebones could be on top of a mountain range was if the sea level was once higher than the mountain range. The whale could not be carried up the mountain not only because of the terrain of the mountain itself, but by the fact that the amount of people that it would take to carry a whale (which weigh about fifteen tons on average) would not be able to even touch the whale if they were to try and carry it. Creationists think that they have provided evidence that can prove the Bible is true as well as their God, by the beginning of the Earth and proving the books reliability.

Throughout history, scientists and philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Charles Darwin, have asked questions that could not be answered when they were first asked. How did life begin? Do humans have a purpose in life? Although these were called the Big Questions, they can be summed into one Big Question. Does the God of the Bible exist? According to materialists, He does not and they have found evidence in the world, the Beginning and the Bible to support their cause. The Creationists claim that they have found evidence to support their cause in the same areas. Even though science has developed and new technology has been designed that could possibly answer this question, the search continues. The answer may be waiting after life.



Work Cited
Behe, Michael, Perf. Unlocking the Mystery of Life. Dir. Lad Allen. Illustra Media, 2009. DVD-ROM
Blog. The Bible Proves That God Does Not Exist. Freethoughtsblog.com. n.p., 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Mar 2012. http://freethoughtsblog.com/ulstefanell;/2011/11/04/the-bible-proves-that-god-does-not-exist/.
Meyer, Stephen, and Paul Nelson, perf. Darwin’s Dilemma. Dir. Lad Allen. N.d. Illustra Media, 2009. DVD-ROM
Cline, Austin. “Scientifically, God Does Not Exist.” <Atheism.about.com/od/argumentsagainstgod/a/GodScience.html>
Schik, Theodore. “Can Science Prove That God Does Not Exist?” Free Inquiry Magazine13 Feb. 2004: n.pag. Web. 23 Mar 2012 http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/schick_21_1.html
Tackett, Del, writ. True U. perf. Stephen Meyer. Focus on the Family, n.d. 2 Discs. DVD-ROM.
Marshman, Joshua. World Race, 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 April 12 2012. http://joshuamarshman.theworldrace.org/?filename=interesting-read-albert-einsteins-proof-that-god-exists.
Darwin, Charles Robert. The Origin of Species. Vol. XI. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/11/.
Jesusbelievesinevolution.com/ V.p, N.d. Web. 12 April 2012. <jesusbelievesinevolution.com/against_creationism/>