The Cornerstone Perspective Podcast

How Do I Know God Exists? Is He Really Real?

• The Cornerstone Perspective • Episode 1

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Ever asked yourself, "Is God really real?" You're not alone. That question has echoed through human consciousness since the beginning of time. The good news? Believing in God doesn't require blind faith—evidence exists all around us.

The scientific principle of cause and effect provides a compelling framework for understanding God's existence. Just as you wouldn't assume a cup of coffee materialized from nothing or that a light turned on without someone flipping a switch, we can apply this same logical principle to our universe. Both theology and science agree: our universe had a beginning. And anything that begins must have a cause outside itself—something beyond space, time, and matter.

What makes this evidence particularly striking is the extraordinary fine-tuning of our universe. The fundamental constants of nature—gravity's strength, electron charge, cosmic expansion rate—are calibrated with such precision that even minor variations would make life impossible. The mathematical probability of these precise conditions occurring randomly is effectively zero. This reality has convinced even committed skeptics like Dr. Antony Flew, who after decades defending atheism, concluded that the evidence points toward an intelligent creator.

Thomas Aquinas articulated this concept centuries ago, describing God as the "first mover"—the intelligent source directing all natural things toward their purpose. The Bible doesn't argue for God's existence; it simply declares it as fundamental reality: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." This isn't just poetic language—it's recognizing the cause-and-effect relationship between Creator and creation.

The universe's beauty, order, and capacity for life all point to an eternal, intelligent cause. Faith isn't a leap into darkness but a reasonable response to the evidence surrounding us. God has revealed Himself not just through scripture but through the intricate design of the natural world itself. Listen as we explore how science and faith converge on this most fundamental question of existence. Subscribe now and join the conversation about how faith and reason work together to reveal the God who really is real.

Reference:

Philosophy & Theology (Cause & Effect, First Cause Argument)

•Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 2, Article 3: The Five Ways.

Cosmology & The Beginning of the Universe

•Craig, William Lane. The Kalam Cosmological Argument.

Fine-Tuning Argument (Physics & Probability)

•Collins, Robin. “The Teleological Argument: An Exploration of the Fine-Tuning of the Universe.”

Modern Physics & the Big Bang

•Penrose, Roger. The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe.

Atheism to Theism Conversion (Antony Flew)

•Flew, Antony, with Roy Abraham Varghese. There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.

The Law of Cause & Effect (Philosophical Foundation)

•Aristotle. Physics. The Complete Works of Aristotle

Apologetics & Accessible Defense of God’s Existence

•Strobel, Lee. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God.

Mathematics & Probability Against Chance Universe

•Hoyle, Fred. “The Universe: Past and Present Reflections.” Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The Bible as Theological Witness

•The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1).

Speaker 1:

You're listening to the Cornerstone Perspective Podcast. Thank you for tuning in. Be sure to click that subscribe button and share with your friends. This is episode one. How do I know God exists? Is he really real? Chances are, if you're like me, you've absolutely asked yourself that question, or someone you know has asked you that question. The good news is, it's not just an act of blind faith to believe in the existence of God, but we can actually see the reality of his existence in the world all around us. How so? Let's consider the following.

Speaker 1:

Now, at some point in your life, you've probably heard of the law of cause and effect. It's a simple scientific law. Basically, every event, every change, has a cause. In other words, something makes it happen. So in answering the question about God's existence, let's ask a cause and effect question about our very existence and the existence of this universe that we exist in. That question is this, did the universe we live in begin at some point? And the answer to that question is simply yes. The Bible says in the beginning, God, while science says in the beginning the Big Bang. Either way, both agree, in both theological doctrine and scientific evidence, that the universe is not eternal, but at some point it began. So, since the universe itself had a beginning, it has to have a cause to its beginning and its cause must be something beyond it, beyond space, beyond time and matter. That means a cause outside of the universe entirely.

Speaker 1:

Now, what does that actually mean in real life? Well, picture this you walk into a room and you flip on a light switch. What happens? Well, the light turns on. Cause and effect. Your action made something happen. It's pretty simple, right? Well, the law of cause and effect says that for every light turning on, there's something behind it and beyond it that caused the light to turn on. You, a timer, a power surge, whatever it is. There is a cause. Here's another one you walk into a coffee shop and see a steaming cup of coffee on the counter.

Speaker 1:

Now, do you instantly assume that the coffee just magically appeared out of thin air, that from nothing it caused itself to exist? Of course not. You know that before the cup was there, someone ground the beans, boiled the water, poured it through a filter and served it. You don't get the effect without the cause. Now, on a much grander scale, it's the same truth with the universe.

Speaker 1:

When we look at the cosmos, this incredibly fine-tuned life-supporting system, it's the effect, and effects have causes outside of themselves. Modern physics tells us that the constants of nature the strength of gravity, the charge of an electron, the rate of cosmic expansion are so precisely set that if they were slightly different, life as we know it would not exist. The odds of this happening by random chance, it's simply mathematically and logically impossible. All effects have a cause outside of themselves, which is why even some scientists who don't believe in God have had to admit the scientific and natural evidence points to intentional, intelligent design. A well-known example is Dr Antony Flew. Flew was a scientist and for most of his career he defended atheism, writing influential works like his paper titled Theology and Falsification. Later in life, however, he publicly changed his position In his book titled there Is a God how the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. Flew explained that modern discoveries in science, the fine tuning of the universe and the laws of nature convinced him that the best explanation for our existence and the existence of our universe is some form of eternal, intentional and intelligent cause outside of this finite world that had a beginning. Finite meaning, it had a beginning. At some point It wasn't, and then something caused it to be. Does this mean God? Well, it was the great theologian Thomas Aquinas who wrote so masterfully about the existence of God and cause and effect in his Summa Theologica, where he gave us his famous five ways. He establishes in the five ways the fact of a quote first mover, that first mover being an intelligent source that directs all natural things to their purpose and to their end. Aquinas says this quote as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore, some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end, and this is the part I love the most. He says this and this being we call God.

Speaker 1:

Scripture doesn't open with an argument for God's existence. It actually just states it. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That's Genesis 1:1. From a biblical perspective, God's existence isn't a debate at all. Psalms 19 says this the heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. That's cause and effect right there.

Speaker 1:

Thousands of years before science articulates cause and effect. The Bible proclaimed it by declaring the existence of God and his handiwork. The cause an eternal, intelligent creator. The effect A universe filled with beauty, order and life. Logically, scientifically and mathematically speaking, a non-existent, finite world did not and could not cause itself to exist out of nothingness. That clearly didn't just happen. In fact, it's scientifically impossible. So here's the bottom line. Science doesn't just suggest that God might exist, and the Bible doesn't just say that he does. Both, however, point to the same truth, and that truth is this. Behind the intricately designed beauty and order of the universe that began, is an eternal, intelligent cause or being that is beyond it, beyond its space, beyond its time and beyond its matter and Aquinas said it best again when he said this and this being we call God. And faith!

Speaker 1:

Well, faith isn't so blind, after all. Faith is the natural response to a God who has already revealed himself, In scripture, yes, but also in the natural world all around us. He really is real. Hey, thank you for listening to the Cornerstone Perspective podcast. Remember to hit that subscribe button and share with your friends.