Man upon earth has no more profound question than this: “Is there a God?” It is a question that must be answered. Its answer will dictate how life is lived. Is it to be lived with no thought of an afterlife, no thought of a God, no thought of reward or judgment? Are we to live as we best see fit? Are we to try to “put things together” as we see or is there a supreme being who guides our steps? What are the evidences for the existence of God? I submit the following for the thoughtful person.

1. The law of cause and effect. A person tosses a stone into a pond, creating ripples. The ripples are an effect, the cause is the stone. Our universe is one giant effect. What caused it? In logical form, the argument goes like this:

A. Everything that had a beginning had a cause.

B. The universe had a beginning.

C. Therefore the universe had a cause.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the study of matter and energy. The Second Law states, among other things, that the universe is running out of usable energy. With each passing moment, the amount of usable energy in the universe grows smaller. So what? How does this prove that the universe had a beginning? Because the First Law of Thermodynamics states that the total amount of energy in the universe is constant. In different words, the universe only has a limited amount of energy (similar to the gas in a gas tank). Now, if your car has only a limited amount of gas (the First Law), and whenever it’s running it continually consumes gas (the Second Law), would your car be running right now if you had started it up an infinitely long time ago? No. In the same way, the universe would be out of energy by now if it had been running from all eternity. But here we are — the lights are still on, so the universe must have begun sometime in the limited past.

There are those who believe that the universe is eternal (never having a beginning or and ending), however, it’s a scientific fact, the universe had a beginning. This evidence for the beginning of the universe is so overwhelmingly strong that scientists are now calling it the “Big Bang.” The universe suddenly appears into existence like a big bang, from nothing to something. The Bible states it this way: “In the beginning God created (caused) the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1).

Is there a God? Most certainly, and the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics are evidence of that. In my next article I’d like to look at the evidence of a creator from the fact that the universe is expanding. Just what you would expect if the universe just suddenly exploded into existence.

The clearest revealing of this cause (God) is in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus once said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Have you found rest for your soul from the troubles of this life? Are you seeking rest for your soul? Seek out the creator of heaven and earth in the person of Jesus Christ. The heart of God is expressed in the heart of the Bible, and this one verse summaries the entire Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life.”

Dan Butcher is the pastor of the Tooele Christian Fellowship, presently meeting at Conestoga Wood Specialties (600 N. Industrial Loop Road). He has a bachelor of arts degree from Southwestern Baptist College in Phoenix, Ariz., and a master of divinity degree from Western Seminary. He has pastored churches in Washington State and Utah for 29 years.