The existence of the world—the reality that surrounds us—may seem completely pointless and self-evident to some. For others, it remains a deep and unsettling mystery. While the existence of the universe may provoke a cascade of profound questions in some, others deem such questions meaningless and try to ignore them. Yet to ignore the question of the origin of existence may reveal intellectual apathy—or, in the case of radical atheists, a fear of facing the most obvious explanation: God.
Suppose that the search for the cause of the world could lead to God, and but one categorically rejects the very possibility of God’s existence. In this case, the simplest and most comfortable solution is to assume that the universe exists—because it always has—and thus requires no explanation. Or one might concede that the universe had a beginning, arising at some point from absolute nothingness.
However, materialists and atheists have no satisfying explanation for the origin of the cosmos. Such an intellectual stance amounts to a deliberate evasion of accepting God as the transcendent cause of the universe.
In truth, this approach to the enigma of existence represents a kind of intellectual surrender. From this perspective, the situation of atheists is indeed tragic: they live in a world that, according to their worldview, has no ultimate purpose, no inherent meaning, and no explanation.1 For those who categorically reject the existence of God, there are only two alternatives:
- The assumption is that the universe has always existed, thereby eliminating the need for any transcendent cause.
- The assumption is that the universe emerged from absolute nothingness.
However, the gap between absolute nothingness and something is insurmountable for science. By denying God, atheists are left with two options:
- Making the universe eternal, elevates it to a divine status (like God). In doing so, they essentially embrace pantheism—the belief that nature or the cosmos is divine. What an irony—they reject the existence of God yet deify His creation!
- The universe is not eternal and had its beginning somewhere, and at some point, it emerged from nothing. The universe emerged from absolute nothingness—from zero. Something from nothing is pure magic. What an irony—they reject the existence of God yet believe in magic!
If the existence of the world fills us with awe, it is only natural that we begin to ask the most profound and fundamental questions about the mystery of the world and our existence. And for believers—especially those who base their views on a biblical worldview—these questions point to God.
Intellectual shortcut?
Some critics might argue that believers are no better off than atheists by appealing to the existence of God as an easy answer. If some atheists claim that the universe is eternal and self-sufficient, Christians claim the same about God. Isn’t that a similar intellectual shortcut? Someone might say that such an intellectual stance is, of course, an avoidance of accepting reality as the cause of itself (the world as the cause of itself).
The universe had a beginning
The key distinction lies in the evidence. Science has shown that the universe had a beginning. “Albert Einstein was convinced not only that the universe was eternal but also that it was—as a whole—static. So, when in 1917 he applied the general theory of relativity to the entire spacetime, he was astonished to find that the equation he discovered suggested something quite the opposite: the universe must be either expanding or contracting. This seemed absurd to him, so he introduced what is known as the cosmological constant into his theory, which allowed him to explain the universe as eternal and unchanging.”2
However, the scientific theory that the universe is expanding was confirmed in the late 1920s by the renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble, who studied galaxies using the new 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson in California. He observed that the farther away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us. This principle became known as Hubble’s Law. This discovery led Einstein to admit that the universe is indeed expanding and that his cosmological constant was his greatest scientific blunder.
The scientifically-confirmed evidence that all the galaxies around us are moving away from each other—and thus that the universe is expanding and doing so rapidly—had profound implications. If the universe is expanding, it means it was once smaller and, before that, even smaller until we reach the point where we begin to consider the universe’s origin. This means the universe is not eternal.3
The beginning of the universe is known as the Big Bang. “In 1965, two scientists from Bell Labs in New Jersey accidentally discovered a microwave background noise filling the entire universe, which turned out to be the echo of the Big Bang. (…) When you turn on your television and start flipping through channels, about ten percent of the black-and-white static you see on the screen is caused by photons left over from the birth of the universe. That may be the best evidence for the truth of the Big Bang theory—you can see it on your television screen.”4 These scientific discoveries opened the door to investigations into how the universe began and whether a masterful mind like God could have given rise to its existence. And if not, then how did it all begin?5
The Ultimate Justification of the Universe
We, people who believe in God, do not shy away from this question; we embrace it with open arms. We do not run from the truth about the world, nor the truth about God as the explanation for the existence of the universe. On the contrary, with faith, we run toward the existence of God and are not ashamed to proclaim our belief. We are not afraid to seek—and to find—the answer to the cause of the world in God.
The existence of God explains the existence of the universe. While God Himself does not require any explanation, for He is the ultimate explanation and cause of the universe, the universe did not happen by accident. It required a Creator. Thus, the existence of everything points to a cause (the Creator) that itself has no cause: God.
The question of who created God is fundamentally flawed, for it misunderstands the nature of God. If God needed a creator, He would not be God. That would lead to an infinite regress of creator-designers. Instead, God is the ultimate, necessary being—the source of all things, life, and love.6
God is the One Who Is
Therefore, we do not need to seek an answer to the question of how God exists if we understand the nature of God. And the nature of God is His existence. In other words, His existence requires no explanation. God is existence itself.7
Still, the fact that our world does exist necessarily requires the existence of someone who is not subject to chance but must exist (cannot not exist) for our world to exist. That someone is a personal God. As a personal, almighty, and loving Creator, God Himself makes the existence of the universe understandable.
A Matter of Faith
Does the search for the cause and meaning of the world’s existence lead us to God? And if so, should we, as people who believe in God, attempt to rationally justify our faith? Should we concern ourselves with reasoned or argumentative defenses of belief in God? First and foremost, if our faith in God were based solely on rational and philosophical premises—or even scientific evidence—it would not be genuine faith in God. Our faith in God goes far beyond rational, scientific, or philosophical arguments.
However, this does not mean that true faith in God must be entirely independent of any rational or scientific support. Our faith in God is rooted in Jesus Christ—God who, in His love for fallen humanity, became a man and revealed, both in human history and on the pages of the Bible, the true character of God. And this eternal God, who is absolute love, is—through the person of Jesus Christ—the God with whom we have a living relationship. We experience the love of Jesus, His power, and His presence in our daily lives. At the same time, reason and sensory perception can support and strengthen our faith.
The Glory of God Revealed in the Cosmos
“Could God have used a process similar to the Big Bang when creating the universe? We don’t know. Our faith in God does not depend on the Big Bang.”8 However, the biblical account is quite close to what the scientific view describes—that the universe came into existence suddenly at a particular moment and has been expanding ever since.
“He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea; He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; He does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number.” Job 9:8–10
“Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.” Psalm 104:2
These poetic comparisons reflect both God’s majesty and the dynamic nature of the created universe.
Two Paradigms of Thought
In the context of the discussion on the cause of the universe and the existence of God, it is worth noting and recognizing that we are navigating the boundary between the world of biblical revelation and the world of rational and scientific argumentation—one whose roots trace back to Greek philosophy. Western philosophy and science, deeply rooted in Greek thought, place a strong emphasis on causality and explanation.9
However, the world of the Bible—Hebrew thought—starts from different assumptions. I am convinced that these two modes of thinking are not, from our Adventist perspective, inherently hostile or mutually exclusive. There are indeed aspects of Greek thought that conflict with biblical thinking. One example is the Greek (Platonic) dualism of a good and immortal soul versus an evil and mortal body. This idea contradicts the biblical understanding of the human being as a holistic unity of body, mind, and spirit.
Similarly, the Greek view of the material world as a form of degradation or something inferior to the spiritual realm also stands in contrast to the biblical worldview, which presents the creation of diverse beings as an overwhelmingly positive event: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Nonetheless, the Greek approach to seeking rational causes and explanations is not in conflict with biblical thinking—and certainly not mutually exclusive. As Abraham Heschel insightfully observed: “Hebrew thought operates with categories different from those of Plato or Aristotle. The distinctiveness of its teaching lies not merely in a different way of expressing ideas, but in a fundamentally different way of thinking.”10
Let us consider how the fundamental difference between Greek—scientific—thinking and the biblical account of creation reveals itself: “The Book of Genesis does not attempt to explain anything; the mystery of the world being called into existence is in no way made more understandable by the statement: ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’ The Bible and science are not addressing the same question. A scientific theory asks: What is the cause of the universe? It thus operates within the framework of causality, which assumes a relationship between cause and effect as part of a continuous process … .
“The Bible, on the other hand, introduces a relationship between the Creator and the universe as one between two essentially different and incomparable beings. It treats the act of creation more as an event than a process. Creation, therefore, is a concept that transcends causality … . The Bible does not so much explain the world in categories derived from nature as it points to that which made nature possible in the first place—namely, the act of God’s free will.”11
Biblical Cosmogony
So yes, it is true that the biblical authors do not engage in rational justifications of faith in God—at least not in the way rationality is commonly understood today. The Bible shows no interest in the question of whether God exists or why; if He does exist, we should believe in Him. Nowhere in the entire Bible is there formal proof of God’s existence, although it does contain arguments against pagan gods, such as those found in the Psalms: “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5
For the biblical authors, God’s existence is simply self-evident. This stems from a different way of thinking—one distinct from the scientific mode of thought that seeks causes and explanations for reality. However, this should not mean that we dismiss any efforts to ground faith in God through reasoning or argumentation. After all, the Bible does not condemn attempts to formulate arguments or proofs for God’s existence.12
The Apostle Paul himself appealed to human rational thinking and observation of the created world through the senses, stating: “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:19–21. Paul thus asserts that people have no excuse for not knowing God because everyone, through the senses (“are clearly seen”) and reason (“being understood”)—what today we might call through science and philosophical reflection—can perceive that God exists. This knowledge comes from the very reality that surrounds us.
Conclusions and Connections
God exists. He revealed Himself to humanity in the most perfect way by becoming a human—coming into this world and entering human history to show mankind and the entire inhabited universe who God truly is, to reveal the true character of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Through His substitutionary death on the cross of Calvary, Christ reopened for us the possibility of coming to God, of encounter, dialogue, relationship, and eternal life filled with happiness and love—a life that has meaning, purpose, and explanation. At the same time, God reveals Himself through the created reality around us, which, through reason and the senses, guides humanity toward Him. As Abraham Heschel observed: “We think with reason because we aspire to spirit. We think through reason because we are certain that there is some meaning. Reason withers when deprived of spirit and the truth about the wholeness of life.”13
We can be certain that, ultimately, both reason and revelation come from the same source. At the same time, it is essential to remember that our trust cannot be placed solely in reason itself—after all, our intelligence has its limitations and is not infallible. However, our faith goes far beyond rational reflection. It seems that without reason, faith becomes blind. The worship of reason is arrogance, but the rejection of reason is cowardice and reveals a lack of faith.14
How does all this connect with our Adventist biblical worldview? The key linking element is the Sabbath. How should this be understood? On the Sabbath, our biblical protological (the study of origins, as in the origins of our world) and eschatological (relating to the end of the world) perspectives come together. According to the message of the first angel in Revelation 14, the Sabbath is the seal of God and a remembrance of Creation. Thus, the eschatological role of the Sabbath is directly connected to its protological significance as a commemoration of the biblical truth that God “made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:7) and that the world and everything in it was created “in six days” (Exodus 20:11). Moreover, the Sabbath is a sign of the rest given by faith in Christ and the anticipation of rest during the millennium of peace in God’s kingdom after Christ’s second coming and the defeat of evil.
Therefore, in the prophetic context of the end times, the Sabbath emerges as a unifying element of a belief system and worldview that stands in opposition to the currently prevailing scientific worldview—namely, the theory of evolution and the worldview that rejects the existence of God.15
It is, therefore, critical that our faith be grounded not only in the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ, and not only in a relationship with the living God whose presence and love we experience in our lives but also that our faith rests on rational and scientific foundations. Both reason and scientific evidence lead us to God and confirm our faith. I plan to explore these topics in more detail in a future issue of the magazine.
Marcin Watras lives with his wife and two children in Katowice, Poland. He is interested in the philosophy of religion and trends in society.
Endnotes:
- Jim Holt, Krótka historia niczego, publishing house PWN 2014, p. 14
- Ibiden, pp. 36, 37
- Ariel A. Roth, Nauka odkrywa Boga, publishing house Znaki Czasu 2020, pp. 55, 56
- Jim Holt, Krótka historia niczego, publishing house PWN 2014, p. 38
- Ariel A. Roth, Nauka odkrywa Boga, publishing house Znaki Czasu 2020, p. 56
- Ibiden, p. 233
- Jim Holt, Krótka historia niczego, publishing house PWN 2014, p. 11
- Ariel A. Roth, Nauka odkrywa Boga, publishing house Znaki Czasu 2020, p. 58
- Abraham J. Heschel, Bóg szukający człowieka, publishing house Esprit 2015, p. 22
- Ibiden, p. 23
- Ibiden, pp. 23, 24
- Brian Davies, Wprowadzenie do filozofii religii, publishing house Prószyński i S-ka 1993, p. 27
- Abraham J. Heschel, Bóg szukający człowieka, publishing house Esprit 2015, p. 27
- Ibiden, pp. 28, 29
- Vanderlei Dorneles, Ostatnie imperium, publishing house Znaki Czasu 2018, p. 147