Part One: Introduction to a New Apologetic Series

 In his book Confessions, fourth-century theologian and Bishop of Hippo, Saint Augustine, wrote: “Man is one of your creatures, Lord, and his instinct is to praise you. . . . because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.”  Augustine captured a profound theological truth in this famous quote. God has placed an intuitive awareness of His existence in the hearts of all people (e.g. Eccl. 3:11-14), and as a result, all people intuitively recognize God exists—whether acknowledged or not.

This innate yearning for a relationship with the Divine is a worldwide phenomenon that has been documented countless times. Studies of ancient and recent civilizations confirm that belief in supernatural beings is an ingredient of all cultures. The same is true in America today.  Depending on the survey and how it’s worded, up to 90% of Americans believe in God.    The fact is, few people are true atheists. Atheism is an anomaly. People are not born atheists; most become atheists by exposure to a secular culture. Consequently, in terms of God’s existence, the issue Christian apologists and evangelists usually encounter is not whether God exists, but what He is like. Often our apologetic task is not to demonstrate that God exists, but to demonstrate He is the God revealed in the Bible.

This is not to say that there aren’t many functioning atheists—people who profess to believe in God but think, talk, and behave as if God doesn’t exist. More serious yet, and the primary reason apologetics in defense of God’s existence is important, the majority of America’s cultural pacesetters—the intellectual elite who control the media, entertainment industries, and run our universities—are atheists or functioning atheists. They clearly promote a human-centered and often immoral, godless worldview that has permeated virtually all sectors of modern culture. Since the 1960s, atheists have been remarkably triumphant in promoting their ideology, emphasizing that belief in God is irrational or irrelevant. Although relatively few in number compared to theists, atheists wield tremendous influence in secular society and need to be reckoned with.

There are many arguments for God’s existence.  Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics, dedicate a chapter to twenty such arguments. In the following blog posts in this new series, I have selected what I believe are the most effective, usable, and durable arguments for God’s existence. They include scientific, philosophical, and subjective evidence.

For a more in-depth look at atheism and how to respond to it,  see my revised and expanded edition of Defending Your Faith; Reliable Answers for a New Generation of Seekers and Skeptics (Kregel Publications, 2019).  ©