One of the harder things to try and work out is what is the most basic of truths? At what point do you begin to try and develop a personal basis of theology? As Christians, do we go immediately to redemption or to Christ or where? Can you start with the doctrine of Scripture? You soon realize that almost all of our doctrine is intertwined with other aspects of truth. Trying to unravel them seems as hopeless as it was to comb my daughters hair when she was four 
One conclusion that we might make is that it is impossible to find a starting point. But I would beg to differ. A possible place to start (and by no means the only place, but only the one that I think seems to be most reasonable) is with God. Even before exploring anything else about God, our basic doctrine should begin with the truth that God is. He exists in realm of reality, not merely a figment of imagination or fantasy. There are those who would say that God is just a cultural necessity; a crutch on which the uneducated or emotionally unstable have developed.
But the very basis for our faith rests on the doctrine of God’s being. We grant that all people, in every land, culture, society and time have a deep and inner sense of God’s existence. To attribute this to some mass hysteria or evolutionary glitch in the human brain is to illicit belief in the unbelievable. While some people obviously deny the truthfulness of God’s existence (i.e. atheists), they are few in number. At best, people will only deny an awareness of God or any possible knowledge of Him (agnostics). However, is their any proof that God does indeed exist? Well, if you are looking for empirical, laboratory results then you would be disappointed. Yet we do not question the reality of existence at all, although it and a whole host of other truths are unable to be dissected in a lab dish.
What arguments are there for God’s existence? Let me list just a couple of “classic” arguments that might whet you whistle to seek out others.
The cosomological argument says that everything in the universe has a cause. Because of this, it stands to reason that the universe itself must have a cause and that cause must be God.
The teleological argument says that everything in the universe has a purpose and a design. Since it is so complex, it gives evidence for some type of intelligent arrangement. Therefore, there must be an intelligent being who is greater than the universe who made it as it is.
The ontological argument says that the idea of God is defined as a being greater than anything else. Since it is greater to exist than not to exist, God must exist.
There are other traditional arguments that might be used to “prove” God’s existence. All of them fail to completely provide the whole answer. While belief in God is rational, in the end it still comes down to acceptance of the truth or rejection. This doesn’t change His reality but it does change our perception of that reality. And to do that, only He can overcome our fallen nature that would rather deny than submit.
Tags: God, God's existence, reality, theolgoy
