Michael Tolosa

Proof of a negative statement is difficult to pull off. For example, how would you prove the negative assertion “There is no gold in Alaska”? You would have to determine the limits of Alaska, its borders and depth and height, then dig up every cubic inch of Alaska. If there was one cubic inch you did not dig, there still might be gold there. On the other hand, how would you prove the positive assertion, “There is gold in Alaska”? Easy — you need find only one piece.

Similarly, what would you have to know in order to know for sure that there is no God? You would have to know everything. If there was one thing you did not know, that one thing might be God. We are so far from knowing everything that there is to be known, that the dogmatic assertion “There is no God” is not only not provable, it is also arrogant.

from C. S. Lewis’s Case for Christ by Art Lindsley

I don’t want to spend too much time writing about this, but I was thinking about this topic today and wanted to get my thoughts down…

I’m not really sure what they’re teaching in schools these days. Last I heard, scientists were backing off of the idea that the universe was created by a big bang. That, from out of nothing, an explosion occurred that created matter and the universe.

In case anyone still believes this, here is a very simple rebuttal of that theory…

Out of nothing, nothing comes.

If there were ever a moment in time, when absolutely nothing existed, nothing would have ever existed. There would be nothing existing today.

If, however, something does exist today (you, me, this blog), then you have two options… 1) either the universe itself is eternal, or 2) there is an eternal being who created the universe.

Scientists, themselves, have debunked the first theory (that the universe is eternal), given the rate of the universe’s spacial expansion. The universe is expanding, and if you count back enough years, you get the universe appearing at one moment in time (expanding ever since).

That moment of existence can be rationally explained by the Christian account of an eternal creator.

That moment cannot rationally be explained by a “big bang,” where the universe was created by nothing. If there was nothing, then there was nothing with which to create anything.

Self-creation is also a rational absurdity. For something to create itself, it would have to be before it was.

There is nothing irrational about the idea of an infinite being. It’s strange for us to think of the concept, but it doesn’t break any rules of logic or rationality to say there is an infinite being that created the universe.

Just because we don’t fully understand every possible thing in this universe (hence scientific advancements & increasing knowledge), we can’t simply say that an infinite being is not possible just because we don’t understand how it could be possible. It’s certainly rationally possible, if not fully understandable.

The Big Bang Theory (something coming from nothing) is a rational impossibility.

Science is a friend of Truth. The more we learn from science, the clearer our view of God as the Creator becomes. It’s exciting to know that, ultimately, this is the truth that science will one day reveal.

Satan doesn’t rule hell. Hell is not his kingdom, like Heaven is God’s. When a man or woman goes to hell, he or she will not be a slave of Satan. Satan will not be ruling there with an iron whip. Satan is just another fallen creature that will be sent to hell for punishment. Rather than the warden, Satan will be a cellmate to the damned. He’ll even be suffering worse than mankind.

Some say that hell is the total absence of God—that to be away from God’s presence is the greatest punishment. That is not true. The Bible does speak of “levels of hell,” if you will—that the damned will be punished according to their transgressions. If hell is simply the absence of God, then how can He be more totally absent from some than others? No, God is omnipresent—He is everywhere at once. Even in hell.

Hell is, in fact, the manifestation of God’s holy and just punishment. It is His wrath. Hell is the wages of sin. Hell is what happened to Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross. Actually, Jesus went through infinitely more than what a man or fallen angel will go through in hell, because Jesus bore the punishment of the multitudes of God’s elect. He didn’t just get punished for one man’s sin, He got punished for many. And that’s what allows the followers of Christ to enter Heaven. Christ has already paid for our sins. God, in His justice, cannot punish a sin twice. That is why it is a guarantee that, if Jesus Christ has died for your sins, you will definitely be allowed into Heaven. And the sign of having Christ’s sacrifice count as payment for your sin is your belief—or faith—in Christ’s sacrifice to be the one and only means of your salvation. To believe, even an ounce, in the merits of your own good works or your own good intentions is to not have complete faith in Christ. And that means you’ll have to bear the payment for your sins in hell. That’s not a scare tactic—it’s the truth.

So what is hell? It’s God’s punishment for our rebellion and treason. How can we be saved? By having faith in Christ’s sacrifice as the be-all, end-all of our salvation. When all is said and done—when we talk about salvation—what exactly are we being saved from? We’re being saved from God, Himself—and His wrath. Not the devil.