Terry Dashner……………………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

First impressions are important. Men and women alike place much emphasis on making a good first impression to a potential employer, a possible relationship, a business contact, and etc.

Consider difference between knowing a person on first impression and knowing a person through years of experience. Some people build their success on their ability to make a good first impression—the smile, face, curly hair, interesting mannerisms. Yet when they are known through many experiences, their inherent superficiality or mediocrity may become known. On contrary, a person whose first impression is very unassuming may show through years that he is a very remarkable human being.

Now let me carry this further. How well do you know your God? God does not prove Himself to exist on basis of a first impression or on basis of an apparently airtight logical argument. Through many experiences, Israel would really come to know Lord. Through many divine revelations, many divine providences, many divine miracles, many theophanies Israel would arrive at an immovable conviction of reality of God as living Lord.

As a matter of fact, Bible declares God to be a living God. What does this mean? Listen again to words of Professor Ramm, “The real issue in Old Testament was which of all competing gods was living Lord, The word living was used to indicate that God does make a difference. A god who is not living can make no difference; but a living God does make a difference. For this reason, logically ordered proof for God’s existence doesn’t exist in Old Testament.

Terry Dashner……………..Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

I’m going to lay it on line for you. I’m going to tell you what they say regarding existence of God. And then I’ll conclude my remarks by telling you what I say about arguments. So here I go.

I begin with ancient Greeks.

Aristotle gave us most systematic expression of reasons for believing in God. His philosophy, in turn, influenced doctrine of Roman Catholic Church and its greatest theologian—St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas, you might remember, gave us five proofs of God’s existence: Motion—things grow and develop by a hidden hand in nature (God); Causation—one thing causes another until you reach first cause of all things which is God; Possibility and necessity—things exist in a network of relationships. Everything is dependent on something, except God. Gradation of being—the universe is a pyramid of beings at different levels of perfection. From worms to man to angels to God there is a continuum of creatures. And number five is Governance of world—design in universe speaks of a rational, caring, and orderly God.

Thomas’ A Posteriori Proofs (proving God’s existence by external things) stood solid throughout Middle Ages and into Reformation, but 19th century turned things upside down. Philosophers like Hume and Kant tore into argument of design with a vengeance. Kant affirmed that most it could prove was that universe had an architect. To convert architect into God, a theologian would have to add ontological argument. Later on scientists began attacking it. Scientists claimed that design in universe is appearance but not reality and make their appeal to Darwin or evolution. They concede that hands and eyes of man are engineering marvels but emphatically claim that they are products of millions of years of evolution.