CHAPTER II — God Is (2)
CHAPTER II --- God Is (2) II. GOD IS (2)
By W. B. West, Jr.
Introduction. It a great pleasure to be met by this large audience. One of the main joys of these annual lectureships is the opportunity to see preaching brethren whom we know and about whom we have heard and read, and to visit with old friends from many places. The board of trustees, the administration and the faculty of Abilene Christian College are to be commended and thanked for this privilege and for the opportunity of exchange of thoughts on the great themes of the Christian faith. The teleological and anthropological arguments, the character of God as seen in Jesus, and the meaning of God to those who have believed in Him will be presented this morning as evidences for belief in the existence of God. My text is found in the seventeenth chapter of Acts and the twenty-eighth verse which reads: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.’'
I. THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
The word teleological has its parentage in the Greek language, being derived from telos which is defined as “end or purpose” and logos as “the reason for.” The teleological argument is closely related to cosmological—the original meaning of the noun kosmos being “order.” The verb is kosmeo and means “to arrange,” and it is akin to the Sanskrit root, mand, ornarc, meaning “adorned or ornamented.” A kosmos cannot be conceived without a telos. The world and all that is in it must be for some end or purpose.
Evidences of a purposeful universe are so numerous and clear in all the realms of nature and life that time will permit the naming and discussion of only a small number. Let us mention the order and purpose in the heavenly bodies. The mathematical astronomers say that the more carefully they investigate the movements of the heavenly bodies, the more certainly do they know that they show order and obey law. Sir James Jeans, the great physicist, said: “The Universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.’' Centuries before modern science, Socrates expatiated on the orderly movements of the heavenly bodies, on the blessed gift of sunlight, and on the silence of the nocturnal hours designed as if to invite repose. Concerning the reason for all this, Samuel Rogers said: The very law which moulds a tear And bids it trickle from its source,
That law preserves the earth a sphere And guides the planets in their course. As revealed in the first chapter of Genesis, all creation shows marks of design—light and darkness, day and night, the collecting of the waters and dry land, seed time and harvest, the sun, moon, and stars, the animal kingdom, and man. Everything in the universe is adapted to a purpose. Let us think of the realm of the living, where design, end in view, aim to be had, order, method, and system are clearly evident.
It is singularly characteristic of some animals that they are adapted for life on dry land, others for life in the air, still others for salt water, brackish water, and fresh water. Some fish never leave the unlighted abysses of the ocean, others leap in the sunlit foam of tropical seas. A common animal like the mole is adapted to the ground beneath the surface of the earth, where it lives much of its life. Its barrel-like body, its pointed snout, its shovel-like hands, its athletic breast muscles, its well-protected eyes, and its rapid digestion attest the adaptation of the mole to life under the ground. The chicken is well adapted for its purpose in the universe. More than two thousand years ago Plato studied the development of the chick within the egg; and his observations are good for today. A homely story is told of the visitor to London, who could not be persuaded to leave the shop window in Regent Street where chick incubators were for sale, with the young chicks often scrambling out of the egg shells. He said to his companions: “That’s a thing to have seen, after that there ain’t no use telling me that there is no God.”
I wish that there were time to tell of all the wonderful revelations of the telescope and the microscope, to say nothing of the most obvious observations of the eye, all of which would testify to their teleology. It is difficult not to use Paley’s illustration of the watch, which is as good now as ever, to prove that there must be a Designer for every design, but time forbids. In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians Paul says that members of the human body have different functions. This will be the final illustration of the teleological argument for the existence of God, using the human eye as an example of the marvelous adjustment of means to ends.
There are many marvelous things that could be said about the eye, but only a few will be mentioned. The eye is adapted to perceive objects at different distances, varying from inches to miles. In telescopes this would be accomplished either by putting in another lens, or by some focussing arrangement. We do not know exactly how the eye can see objects at different distances, but we do know that it can and does do it with amazing correctness. A landscape of a number of miles is brought within the space of half an inch in diameter. At least the larger ones of the multitude of objects it contains are all preserved, and can each be distinguished in its shape, color, size, and position. And what is even more amazing is that the same eye that can do this can read a book at the distance of a few inches.
Again, the eye can see objects in different directions, for it is constructed to turn right or left, up or down, without moving the head. To keep it moist and clean, both of which are essential to its utility, a special fluid is supplied constantly, the superfluous moisture passing through a hole in the bone to the nose, where it is evaporated. This valuable instrument is in duplicate, the two eyes being so arranged that while each one can see separately if the other should get injured, they can usually see together with perfect harmony. Our admiration for the eye is still further increased when we know that it was formed before birth. It has been called a prospective organ being of no use at the time that it was made. This shows design more plainly than anything else. In view of all this and much more that could be said, the eye is an optical instrument of ingenuity. The conclusion is that it must have been made by someone and that someone must have known and designed its use.
Whence all the order and intelligent purpose in the universe which we have been discussing? No one in this audience would agree with the atheist who says: The world rolls round forever like a mill;
It grinds out death and life and good and ill;
It has no purpose, heart, or mind, or will.
We would not say that intelligent order in the universe is here by chance. The best thinkers of the ages have ascribed our teleological world to Supreme Intelligence, to a loving Planner and Designer. The Greek philosopher ascribed the movement and order of the world by analogy to nous or mind. Socrates not only developed the proof for the purpose of the world but gave it a definite theistic reference. The best scien-
tists today as Jeans, Eddington, Compton, and Millikan see God behind our world. The Bible, produced by the Holy Spirit, through the greatest minds of the ages, abundantly testifies that all creation has purpose and that behind this creation and purpose is the Great Creator and Designer of the universe, who is none other than God.
II. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL OR MORAL ARGUMENT
The older theologians and philosophers called our next witness to the reality of God, “the anthropological,” and recent thinkers have used the term “moral,” and with Immanuel Kant, they feel that it is the strongest of all philosophical arguments for the being of God. I have chosen to use both terms, that is, the anthropological or moral argument. Anthropological is from two Greek words, anthropos, meaning man and logos signifying the reason for. Moral is the word which indicates man’s basic differentiation from all other creatures. It must also be recognized that man is an intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical being.
Man is here in the universe and has been for thousands of years. From his history we know that he is fundamentally moral, although at times he has been immoral. The fact that he has ever acted immorally is an indication that he is a free moral being—not agent. One of his chief assets and characteristics is that he is a creature of choice. Although his history has not always been upward, but rather up and down, he has made great progress through the centuries. Man has always had what Immanuel Kant called “the categorical imperative.” He has had a conscience which has either accused or excused him, as the Holy Spirit expressed through Paul. Why is man here, why his conscience and urge to do right? In Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:7, we read:
“And God said, let us make man in our image, after our like-ness : and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." “And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
It is evident that such an intellectual, moral and emotional being as man is not here by chance but by the creative work of an Intellectual, Moral, and Emotional Being who is the Cause of the effect and that He is none other than God. There is no other way to account for man and his attributes.
We come now to the fact that there is moral law and order in history. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). “Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him” (Isaiah 3:10-11). The enduring qualities of the civilizations of the past have been the moral ones. The peoples who have survived have been those who have recognized the value of right. Again and again the Hebrew prophets observed moral order in history and urged their people to do right. The central message of the Book of Revelation is that the church of God will triumph over the Roman Empire, because the people of God are observing the moral law and order. Long ago a wise man said: “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Turn back the pages of history with me and this moral law is verified on every page from the ancient Hebrews to the twentieth century people of God and from the ancient Assyrians to the Modern Germans and Japanese. On the pages of history no truth is more evident. In this frame of reference the question is frequently asked: “Why is there so much evil in the world if this is a moral universe?” The universe could not be otherwise and be moral. It is in the freedom of choice between right and wrong and the triumph of right that gives the universe moral character. It is frequently stated that in the case of individuals and of nations the wicked prosper and the righteous do not. In this evaluation we forget often that prosperity is only in part material and the stern reality of terrible judgment days here and of the final great assize when all accounts will be settled equitably in the light of the inexorable fact that “righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people.” An infidel once wrote Horace Greeley that his crops were more fruitful than those of his Christian neighbor, asking for an explanation, if it pays to be a Christian. Mr. Greeley replied in one terse sentence: “God does not settle all his accounts in October.”
There is difference of opinion among students of history and current events and even with students of the Bible as to whether the world is getting better. I am not prepared to say, and I doubt that it is possible for us to judge adequately and correctly from our small vantage point. It seems clear there is a definite moral order and purpose working in history. Even wicked men and nations have been used to these ends. The atheist claims that he cannot believe in a moral order because there is so much to mar the good and beautiful in the world. To my right on this campus is a beautiful science building in the process of construction. Suppose someone should go into it today and say: “Well, I thought that this is the beautiful new science building for Abilene Christian College. I do not believe it, for it is rough and ugly and the building is not finished. It seems to me that there should be an architect for this building.” We would say that the observer has no wise sense of judgment. He foolishly forgets that the building is in the process of construction. So in this world where man is the intelligent and moral inhabitant, moral purposes are in the process, constructing a Divine order that is designed to permeate the world.
Whence this moral nature in man? Whence this moral universe in which we live ? They certainly did not come from man nor any material source. Something greater than man has hold on mankind. This something is a unifying force of a moral character in and beyond the world. He was here before the mountains were brought forth and will be here when this passing world is done. Even from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God—who has placed in man a moral nature and the universe a moral purpose, assuring thy children of thy providential purpose that “all things work together for good to those that love thee.”
III. JESUS CHRIST, THE REVELATION OF GOD
Last night and thus far this morning we have considered the historical and philosophical evidences for the reality of God. Inasmuch as the Bible assumes the existence of God, it would be expected that the major part of two addresses on the subject “God Is” would be given to such approaches. We come now to the witness of Jesus, and Christian experience, omitting a discussion of the fact that the character of the Bible is impeachable evidence for the being of God inasmuch as three addresses are to be given during this Lectureship on its character. Due to the fact that Brother Nichol is to speak Wednesday evening on “Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” I shall discuss very briefly the character of Jesus as indicating the fact of God, feeling certain that I shall not transgress on the subject assigned Brother Nichol.
More than nineteen hundred years ago there lived in Palestine a man by the name of Jesus who was only thirty- three years old when he died, and whose ministry extended approximately three years. lie was unknown outside his small country which was about the size of the state of Vermont, but he has made such a change in the history of the world that all lines bend around His manger cradle. His universality is of such a nature that He breaks the lines of all races, nations, countries, and continents so that when men think of Him, they do not think of a Caucasian or a Mongolian, an American or a Frenchman, but of One who belongs to all races, nations, countries, and continents, for He is greater than all, a part of and friend to all. He wrote no books, yet His teaching has set in motion more pens, typewriters, and presses than all the philosophers and teachers of the world combined. Renan said of Him: “He has marched down the centuries with the tread of a conqueror.” Of all the men who have ever lived, none have had such qualities of character as Jesus. He was the most unselfish person, spending His life always in the service of others. His was the only life in absolute accord with what He taught and He was the only person who ever lived whose life was sinless. His question to his critics on one occasion: “Who can convict one of sin?” has never been answered in the affirmative. The verdict of Pilate: “I find no fault in him” has not been reversed through nineteen centuries of history.
How do we understand such a character as Jesus? No other person has achieved what He did. He is the unique character of all history with whom no man can compare. We can understand Him only as the only person who came out of eternity into time to show men how they ought to live and to die unselfishly and sacrificially that they might be saved from sin and have the abundant life. It has been said that God never sat for a photograph. Jesus stated that “No man hath seen God at any time.” To Philip, who once asked him: “Show us the Father,” He replied: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Speaking of Jesus, Paul said, “In him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Jesus represented Himself always as the revelation of God, His Father. “My Father and I are one” and “I came in my Father’s name” “not to do mine own will but the will of Him that sent me.” These statements of Jesus indicate consciousness that He and His father were one, To the Colossians Paul wrote that Jesus was “the image of the invisible God.” As children of God we are all sons of God, but Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, who had all the characteristics of His Father, being “the effulgence of his glory and the very image of his substance.” Thus and thus only can we understand Jesus whose person, life and influence point unquestionably to the existence of God.
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Most clearly is the reality of the character of God seen through Jesus in the statement of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:19 “that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” The sinful world had alienated itself from God. As the supreme expression of the great love of God, Jesus went to the cross. There with nails through hands that had always helped others, Jesus hung with all the weight of His body suspended upon the nails with each move of his body tearing wider the wounds, and adding to the torture. Cicero said that no death was so horrible as that of the cross and that no Roman citizen should die upon one. One of the early church fathers informs us that the crucifying mob turned up their noses at Jesus. He looked upon them out of the great compassion of his soul and asked His father to forgive them. Finally Jesus said: “It is finished” and commended his spirit into the hands of his Father. What was finished? The last mile of the road of reconciliation and atonement between God and man was completed. The cross through the centuries, like a beacon light, has pointed men more than anything else to the reality and character of God.
IV. THE TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE TO THE REALITY OF GOD
One of the most convincing assurances of the reality of God from the beginning of man’s existence to the present has been his experience of God. Nothing is so valuable for knowledge as Christian experience. The experiences of Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, John, Paul, and countless Christians through the ages have led them to say: “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” It is impossible to persuade Christian men and women who have talked with God in prayer that there is no God. To those who have had great spiritual experiences of worship, who have seen God in the lives of others, who have felt His overshadowing Providence in their lives and who have felt God near in the experiences of loved ones or themselves, the existence of God is a reality. It is true that there are some whose hearts are so hardened and whose lives are so sinful that they never come to know God. Of them Paul wrote in Romans 1:18-23 :
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they know God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in the imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”
Some are so egotistical that they never find God. An atheist said to a Christian: “How do you know that there is a God ? Have you seen Him?” “No.” “Have you felt or tasted Him?” “No.” Well, there is no God.” The Christian replied: “Have you seen your brain?” “No.” “Have you felt or tasted your brain?” “No.” “Well, then, you have no brain.” The dark cloud that hangs over every atheist is that what he has not seen and not experienced may be God and that where he is not God may be. The testimony of those who have thought correctly, honestly, and nobly and who have lived most abundantly in the experiences of life is:
“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou are there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalms 139:7-10.)
Even more dear to their hearts is the assurance “that in him we live, move, and have our being and that He is not far from any one of us.” From Him we came, by Him we live, and to Him we go in, and beyond the experience we call death.