A Logical Proof of God
February 27, 2011 2 Comments
Much has been said and written concerning the existence of God. Theist and atheist alike have spent countless hours debating this topic, desperately attempting to prove their case with enough solid evidence to convince the other, and the world. I believe that lost in the crossfire is a simple answer that will once and for all prove the existence of God.
Before I elaborate, it is important to define the word “God” as it will be used in this essay. I do not speak just of the existence of any higher being. Three key characteristics make up God:
Omnipotence—God is all-powerful
Omniscience—God is all-knowing
Omnibenevolence—God is all-good
Furthermore, I intend to logically prove not only the existence of God in the aforementioned sense, but the existence of the God of the Bible.
The foundation of this proof can be laid using the follow argument:
1. If the Bible is true, God exists.
2. The Bible is true.
3. Therefore, God exists.
Of course, the conclusion only holds true if all of its premises are true. So let’s examine each of the stated premises.
Premise 1: If the Bible is true, God exists.
I don’t believe anyone with any knowledge of the Bible would contest this premise. The Bible clearly asserts that God, in His omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence, does indeed exist. Any further discussion on this premise would only prove to be tiresome and non-enlightening, considering the overwhelming consensus of its truthfulness. I’ll give one example:
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God …
Premise 2: The Bible is true.
This is where dissenters might look to for a flaw in the argument and so, I will go into greater detail in providing credence to this premise. By laying out a separate argument specific to this premise, a proof of its truthfulness can be provided:
A. If God says the Bible is true, the Bible is true.
B. God said the Bible is true.
C. Therefore the Bible is true.
Again, examination of each of these premises is necessary in order to thoroughly eliminate any doubt of its credibility.
Premise A: If God says the Bible is true, the Bible is true.
Again, a lengthy explanation is not needed here. Remember that God, by definition, is omniscient and omnibenevolent. By being all-knowing, He surely knows whether or not the Bible is true. As an all-good being, God cannot lie about this, or anything else. So, what God states concerning anything is necessarily the Truth.
Premise B: God said the Bible is true.
God’s own words appear in the Bible making those parts inherently true based on the explanation of premise A. Furthermore, many examples can be found of God saying in His own word that the Bible is His Word. Again, God, by definition, cannot lie. Here is one of many examples of God stating the Truth of the Bible:
Every word of God is pure …
Conclusion (C): The Bible is true.
We’ve just proven that premises A and B are true and therefore premise C, the Bible is True, logically follows.
Note that the verse from Proverbs not only supports premise B, but also denies the potential (though silly) contention that being all-good may not necessarily mean He cannot lie. We’ve proven the Bible to be true, so this statement of the purity of God’s Word is necessarily true.
Conclusion (3): God Exists.
By proving that (1) if the Bible is true, God exists, and (2) the Bible is true, we can conclude with confidence the (3) God (as defined by the Bible) exists.
What I’ve provided here is a simple, logical proof to answer the question that has sparked debates for centuries. I hope that with this the issue can finally be put to rest.
Although it was necessary to spell out this proof in some detail, the main point was first eloquently stated by Stephen Colbert on The Daily Show:
It’s God’s logic, as written in the Bible, every word of which is true, and we know every word is true because the Bible says that the Bible is true and, if you remember from earlier in this sentence, every word of the Bible is true.
