Skeptics of the Christian faith often claim belief in God is not a rational position. They
argue that in a postmodern world, science has provided the majority of answers to life’s most
difficult questions and belief in God is no longer reasonable. In fact, philosopher Graham Oppy,
in a 2006 article referring to Bertrand Russell’s famous 1927 speech wrote, “Russell implicitly
commits himself to the claim that if there are no good arguments for belief in God, then one not
ought to believe in God.”1 On face value, there would be nothing to disagree with, in Russell and
Oppy’s view. Nonetheless, there is good reason to conclude that belief in God is a rational
position. Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at Boston College, argues there is a
minimum of twenty arguments for the existence of God.2 Two of his strongest arguments are the
Kalam Argument and the Design Argument.
Prior to defending the above two arguments, it would be fitting to look at the definition of
the proposition and what it means to be rational in one’s beliefs, more specifically belief in God.
When speaking of God, it is effective to utilize a generic or more commonly called deist
perspective of God. This is the God of Einstein, “I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself
in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions
of human beings."3 To make the move to a personal God requires a more in depth inquiry for a
later time. In deciding what would be rational to believe, it would be sensible to stick to a basic
definition of rational, simply being based upon reason or logic. Thus a natural question will
appear, are there reasons to believe in a God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what
exists?
Graham Oppy, “Why I am Not a Christian (2006),” infidels.org (blog), 2006, accessed November 25, 2014,
http://infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/whynot.html.
2
Peter Kreeft, “Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God,” peterkreeft.com, from the Handbook of Christian
Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli, SJ (Intervarsity Press, 1994), accessed November 24, 2014,
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm.
3
Rich Deem, “Did Albert Einstein Believe in a Personal God?,” godandscience.org (blog) May 17, 2011, accessed
November 21, 2014, http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/einstein.html#n04 Cable reply to Rabbi Herbert S.
Goldstein's (Institutional Synagogue in New York) question to Einstein, "Do you believe in God?".
1
Kalam Cosmological Argument
Both Muslims and Christians have utilized the Kalam Cosmological Argument for the
existence of God for centuries. “The Arabic word kalam literally means ‘speech,’ but came to
denote a certain type of philosophical theology—a type containing demonstrations that the world
could not be infinitely old and must therefore have been created by God.”4 The argument is quite
ingenious and direct.
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause for its coming into being
A breakdown of each premise simply concludes that everything we know that has
existence has a cause. It would be irrational to conclude otherwise. In applying this argument to
the universe specifically, it’s easy to conclude with the help of Big Bang Cosmology that our
universe indeed had a beginning. Philosophers and atheists of past centuries could hide in the
hypothesis of the universe remaining in a steady state or having been always in existence. Today,
however, that bastion of atheistic safety has vanished. Simply put, the universe had a cause.
The central point of this argument is based on the idea of infinite regression. The fact that
the universe has space-time measurements, and it’s measurable, proves that the universe indeed
had a beginning. If the universe went back in time to actual infinity, it never could cross the
threshold of actual time today. Philosopher J.P. Moreland adds, “The second law of
thermodynamics also supports the fact that the universe is running out of its useful energy and
cannot be reversed. This leads to a natural and logical conclusion that the universe has been
Peter Kreeft, “Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God,” peterkreeft.com, from the Handbook of Christian
Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli, SJ (Intervarsity Press, 1994), accessed November 18, 2014,
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#6.
4
running out of energy for a finite period of time.”5 Therefore, the universe had a beginning and
hence a cause.
This cause must be outside of the universe and must possess attributes that the universe
does not. It must be timeless, spaceless, and have the power to create. This sounds much like the
attributes of God as described by the three major monotheistic faiths of the world. At a
minimum, this perfectly defines a deistic approach to the existence of God.
Design Argument
The Design Argument to prove the existence of God is another rational position. It is
rooted in the idea of finding order and design throughout the universe. Scientists have found
incredibly complex organisms, chemical functions, cosmological wonders, and many other
magnificent examples of design across multiple scientific disciplines. There is no escaping the
fact that from the smallest of molecules to the largest of galaxies, order and design reign
supreme.
The fact of complex order is rarely questioned; rather what is the cause of this obvious
design is often debated. There are two basic options, either it was caused by random chance from
chaos or an intelligent designer caused it. The materialist would argue that everything we see,
feel, and observe is simply a matter of chance over time. “And ‘chance’ is simply not credible.
For we can understand chance only against a background of order.”6 Random chance from chaos
is a very difficult position to uphold due to the unimaginable odds that every complex and
mutually interdependent system could have popped into existence from nothing. The proposition
of complexity coming from chaos is not rational. It seems to be a leap of faith on it’s own merit.
J.P. Moreland, Ph.D. “Arguments for the Existence of God,” CD, Biola University. Nov. 17, 2014
Peter Kreeft, “Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God,” peterkreeft.com, from the Handbook of Christian
Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli, SJ (Intervarsity Press, 1994), accessed November 23, 2014,
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#5.
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6
Conversely, the argument from design provides an answer to this obvious complexity.
Not only simple complexity, but also incredible complexities to such a scale as to judge
intelligent design a reasonable position. There has been prolific and scholarly writing on this
argument for centuries. “Proponents of the contemporary Intelligent Design movement have
developed increasingly complex arguments founded on Aquinas and Paley’s initial ideas.
Scholars such as William Dembski and Michael Behe describe various biological systems and
their complexity and then use this data to make a case for divine design. Others such as Stephen
Meyer look at information systems and probability arguments.”7
On the whole, it would be rational to conclude that the incredible order we see and
experience on a daily basis was indeed orderly designed by an intelligent mind. Again, at a
minimum, this perfectly defines a deistic approach to the existence of God. In fact, a brilliant and
early Christian philosopher concluded, “For his(God) invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the
things that have been made.”8
In summary, when one looks at the two basic arguments presented, it would be difficult
to hold that belief in God is irrational. In fact, there is ample evidence to provide reason that
belief in God is a rational position. From this foundation, one could investigate the other
eighteen arguments shaped by Dr. Peter Kreeft in the anticipation of continually expanding their
base of knowledge and insight in the belief of God’s existence.
7
Krista Bontrager, “Development of Design,” reasons.org (blog) May 1, 2012, accessed November 18, 2014,
http://www.reasons.org/articles/development-of-design.
8
The ESV Bible, Romans chapter 1 verse 20 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2001), accessed November 23, 2014,
http://biblehub.com/romans/1-20.htm.