Thursday, September 19, 2019

God’s Existence and the importance of the resurrection to Christianity

Prominent figures like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens have all argued that God does not exist. However, there is historical proof for God’s existence. Using different theories, this paper will show that God, the creator of the universe exists. The proof that God exists is also seen in the fact that we have a savior, Jesus Christ. Our compassionate God sent his son Jesus to die for all the world’s sin. The sting of sin is death, but thanks to God Christ took away this sting by dying on the cross. Jesus made atonement for sin. It is through Christ that we live. Paul wrote triumphantly in 1 Corinthians 15:55, â€Å"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?† Similarly, Christians rejoice because we have victory over death. To begin, proof of God’s existence is seen in the group of cosmological arguments. The cosmological arguments are a set of arguments that demonstrate the existence of a sufficient reason or first cause of the existence of the cosmos, or the universe as a whole. There are three different types of cosmological arguments, the Kalam, Thomist and and Leibnizian cosmological arguments. Proponents of the cosmological argument include Plato, Aristotle, and John Locke. Contemporary defenders include William Lane Craig, Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne. Aristotle believed the universe existed since eternity and Christian philosopher John Philoponus (490–570 AD) seeked to refute this theory (Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology). This led to the the kalam cosmological argument. In A Defense of the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God, William Lane Craig outlines the kalam cosmological argument. Craig states, the universe had a beginning at some moment in the finite past and, since... ...ould be liars (verse 15). Jesus revealed himself to Mary Magdalene and other women. During Biblical times, women were seen as second class citizens. Nonetheless, Jesus honored women because they were the first to see him after his resurrection. Verse 17 states, no one would be free from sin if Christ had not been raised from the dead. All past believers are dead (verse 18) and Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth. Luckily, none of the above is true. Because Jesus died on the cross and was raised to life three days later. Believers are forgiven from their sin and are given a new life. As Christians, our belief is not in vain because the resurrections is an actual event. Christ is not dead and our faith is not useless. Opponents of God’s existence argue if an all-knowing and good god exists, why is there such an abundance of evil in the world.

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