Classical Arguments for the Existence of God, Part I: The Cosmological & Teleological Arguments

Not too long ago, my family and I attended an event put on by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Toronto) along the shores of Lake Ontario. The event was a sun-viewing gathering, where representatives from the Society set up their high quality telescopes (with sun filters to shield us from the otherwise blinding light) for those who wanted to take a look at the sun directly through telescopes. The sight was awesome! There were two telescopes for us to look through – one which projected the sun closer to its true color, and another which gave the sun a deep red appearance.  

We are so used to seeing our sun shine in its brilliance during the day, or in its beautiful orange and red hues at sunset and sunrise, that seeing it magnified through a telescope gives you a totally different perspective. It appeared as a beautiful disc with a strange peacefulness about it. In the first telescope, you could see several dark sunspots (dark regions on the sun which are actually cooler than the rest of the sun) on the surface of the sun. In the second telescope, the highlight was the solar prominences that were clearly and remarkably visible, arcing and shooting out from the sun. 

On our way back to the car, my daughter noticed what appeared to be a family of swans gently and slowly “swimming” along the water. One was in the front (assumingly the mom), the two little swans were in the middle, and the largest swan (assumingly the father) was at the back. You could not help but think of the similarity between that apparent family of swans and a human family. My wife said “even in the animal world,” to which I sarcastically replied “and yet, it was all an accident” (calling to mind the naturalistic, atheistic argument that God does not exist). 

Reflecting on the heavens above, and the creation below, God’s existence – and His power and greatness - seems abundantly evident. Indeed, as we read in the Scriptures:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1, NIV).

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20, NIV).

Pointing to the existence of the universe as an argument for the existence of God is an approach known by theologians and philosophers as the cosmological argument for God’s existence. Pointing to the order and apparent design that exists in creation (like the interconnected parts of the human visual system working together to produce sight, or the information bearing characteristic of DNA) as evidence for the existence of God is an approach known as the teleological argument for God’s existence. The word “teleological” is related to the Greek word telos which can mean “end”, “purpose,” and “goal,” (see Philosophy Terms below under "References") and has the idea of something existing or functioning with a goal or end in view. The word teleology means "the doctrine of ends or rational purpose (Chafer, 149). The cosmological and teleological arguments are part of a wider set of arguments for the existence of God (another being the moral argument, which we’ll introduce on another occasion). When rightly and collectively understood, these arguments for God’s existence demonstrate that theism (the belief that God exists) is an entirely reasonable, sensible, and intellectually satisfying position to hold.

Consider the alternative. If God does not exist, then we are forced to accept that the universe either 1. Spontaneously and accidentally sprang into existence out of absolutely nothing (which is absurd), or 2. The universe simply has always existed on its own (a notion that is philosophically problematic and contradicted by the most widely accepted scientific understanding of the origin of the universe). Furthermore, if God does not exist, then the remarkable order and design that exists in nature is purely accidental accidental. The human visual system, with all its elements working together – from the eyeball, to the retina, to retinal blood vessels, to nerves, to the brain, etc. - to produce sight simply assembled itself and somehow “knew” how to interpret the outside world into images that we then can see an understand.  

The question becomes, which is more reasonable, an intelligent divine mind creating the universe with a plan, or everything simply existing or springing into existence accidentally, uncaused out of nothing, somehow knowing how to assemble itself with the aim of producing and supporting life? An analogy will help here. Imagine you are driving down the highway. Suddenly, you see a giant brick wall blocking your route. How reasonable is it to suggest that the brick wall simply appeared uncaused out of nothing to block your way? Or is it more reasonable to suggest that someone with a purpose decided to build a brick wall on the highway? Additionally, you certainly would not be content if someone told you that the brick wall was always there – without reason or explanation. Clearly, there needs to be a sufficient reason for the existence of the brick wall. Why is it there as opposed to not being there?  

We obviously do not live in a world where things pop into existence uncaused out of nothing, or cause themselves to exist. There is no reason then to suggest that the universe as a whole can pull off such a feat! As one theologian has said, to say that anything brought itself into existence is to say that it acted before it even existed - surely an absurd notion (Chafer, 144)!

And to argue that the universe simply always existed is to not give due importance to the principle known as sufficient reason. There needs to be a sufficient reason as to why the universe exists. As the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz has said, nothing is simpler than something (Leibniz, 213). In other words, it is far easier for nothing to exist than for something to exist. Thus, the existence of the universe requires an explanation! Why do we have a universe rather than nothing at all? Leibnitz asked the question “Why is there something rather than nothing” (Leibniz, 213)?

But when we consider what the universe actually is, something profound becomes evident: For a universe such as ours to exist, a causal agent is required that possesses many of the properties that we have traditionally ascribed to God (Craig, 60). What do I mean by this? The universe is all time, all space, all matter, and all energy. Therefore, the cause and basis of the universe must be eternal, not confined to space (omnipresent), immaterial, and powerful beyond measure (omnipotent). The cause of the universe must transcend the universe. It cannot be locked into it, or contained by it, since it created it. If I build a computer, I am not trapped or contained in the computer, subject to its location and properties. Since the universe represents all time, space, matter, and energy, the cause of the universe cannot be limited or contained by these things. As the Bible says concerning God:

The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1 Kings 8:27, NIV).

Quite simply, God is the best explanation for the existence of the universe. He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and an immaterial spirit-being! 

There is much more to say, including why we believe that the cause of the universe must also be a personal agent. We will consider this another time, as well as take a deeper look into the teleological argument. But for now, I want to close with a personal application. There is an abundance of evidence in creation that God exists. The cosmological (God is the best explanation for the existence of the universe) and teleological (God is the best explanation for the order and appearance of design that we observe in creation) arguments, when rightly understood, prove to be powerful and compelling arguments for God’s existence. If God exists, then we are not alone in this universe. We have a loving, intelligent, rational, and relational Creator that we can come to know, delight in, learn more about, and enjoy forever. 

The Bible tells us that it is through Jesus Christ, and for Jesus Christ that all things have been made (Colossians 1:16). This means that Jesus is central to all of creation. Creation is for Him. This means that we - corporately and personally - find our true purpose in Jesus Christ. I am concerned that we as a society do not take the time to ponder and marvel at creation as perhaps we ought to. We live busy lives. We have many responsibilities. And in some cases, the trends of the day may captivate our attention more than the wonders of creation all around us. Let us take time to enjoy God’s creation – a starry sky, a beautiful sunset, the wonder and workability of the human body, the animal life around us. And as we do, may it be a reminder to us that everything was created through Jesus Christ, and for Jesus Christ – including us! Jesus died in the cross to pay the penalty for our sins against God - the penalty we deserved to suffer - so that through faith in Jesus, we could be forgiven of our sins and brought back to God. Heaven is a free gift, not something we earn by good deeds! As the scriptures says, ..."the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23, NIV). We are not alone, but have a loving Creator who entered time and space in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem us back to Himself. Let us wonder at His creation, bask in His love, and enjoy His salvation through faith in Jesus! Soli Deo gloria.

References

​Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology, vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976.

Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. Colorado

Springs: David C. Cook, 2010.

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhem. The Philosophical Works of Leibnitz. New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1890.

Philosophy Terms, https://philosophyterms.com/telos/