How do people know that God exists?

Answer 1

There is no real way to "know" that God exists.

For those people who are religious, their faith can be so strong that in their hearts they "know" that God exists.

But this is not the same as knowing that 2+2=4. Just because God exists for them does not mean that God exists for everyone or at all.

Unfortunately there is no real answer to this question but I would recommend that you read up on some of the arguments from both Theist and Atheist points of view and derive your own opinion.

• Answer 2

The universe has definite design, order, and arrangement which cannot be sufficiently explained outside a theistic worldview. (This is how Abraham, without benefit of teachers, came to reject the chaotic world-view of idolatry and the possibility of Atheism). For example, theoretical physicist and popular science writer Paul Davies (whose early writings were not especially sympathetic to theism) states concerning the fundamental structure of the universe, "the impression of design is overwhelming" (Davies, 1988, p. 203). From the complexities of the human eye to the order and arrangement of cosmology, the voice of God is heard. God's existence is the best explanation for such design. God is the designer.

• The laws of the universe seem to have been set in such a way that stars, planets and life can exist. Many constants of nature appear to be finely tuned for this, and the odds against this happening by chance are astronomical. Professor Russel Stannard (a particle physicist) states: "The universe has been bent over backwards in order that intelligent life should exist...must have known we were coming."
• The glaring lack of transitional fossils has been noted by the evolutionists themselves, such as this statement from the famous paleontologist and evolutionist George G. Simpson; quote: "The regular lack of transitional fossils is not confined to primates alone, but is an almost universal phenomenon."
  "To the unprejudiced, the fossil record of plants is in favor of special creation" (Corner, E.J.H., Contemporary Botanical Thought).
  
• "Nine-tenths of the talk of evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not founded on observation and wholly unsupported by facts. This museum is full of proofs of the utter falsity of their views. In all this great museum, there is not a particle of evidence of the transmutation of species" (Dr. Etheridge, Paleontologist of the British Museum).
  "To postulate that the development and survival of the fittest is entirely a consequence of chance mutations seems to me a hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts. It amazes me that this is swallowed so uncritically and readily, and for such a long time, by so many scientists without murmur of protest" (Sir Ernest Chain, Nobel Prize winner).
  
• The fact that you need DNA to make DNA. No genetic code can be demonstrated to have arisen by chance, together with the ability to read that code and carry out its instructions. Information does not arise spontaneously; and there is an incredible amount of information in even the tiniest cell.
  "A living cell is so awesomely complex that its interdependent components stagger the imagination and defy evolutionary explanations" (Michael Denton, author).
  "The astounding structural complexity of a cell" (U.S. National Library of Medicine).
  Concerning a single structure within a cell: "Without the motor protein, the microtubules don't slide and the cilium simply stands rigid. Without nexin, the tubules will slide against each other until they completely move past each other and the cilium disintegrates. Without the tubulin, there are no microtubules and no motion. The cilium is irreducibly complex. Like a mousetrap, it has all the properties of design and none of the properties of natural selection" (Michael Behe, prof. of biophysics).

Answer 2

God does exist and he loves each one of His people. Here are some things that amaze me. I know they must have been created and planned by God.

1. The universe. Humans have the bing bang theory to explain why the universe was created. But why, by who, from what? What came before the universe, nothing? God created the Universe, it was His plan. Think about the enormous amount of coincidences that must have had to occur over billions of years for the world to be how it is today if God did not have a plan.

2. The beauty of the Earth. The earth is a masterpiece in its self. There are millions of unique and beautiful species that were created by God. The fact that our planet has the perfect conditions for human life could not be a coincidence. The moon is the perfect distance from the earth to create waves, the sun is the perfect distance from the earth for a mild climate, compared with our neighbors Venus (avg temp 480 C) and Mars(avg temp -67F) earth looks like a vacation. The earth has an atmosphere which protects us from the suns radiation. How could it be that some string of coincidences created this beautiful and perfect earth. It makes sense that it was planned by God.

3. The human mind. The human mind is ca marvel of engineering that we humans do not completely understand ourselves. The brain is constantly and simultaneously, processing sights, sounds,smells, tastes, information, risks, making conscious decisions, memorizing, forgetting, making connections, forging relationships, regulating bodily processes, and observing. How can something that only weighs about 3 pounds be doing so much at once. God gave humans the gift of reason and intelligence.

4. Miracles. God makes things happen that are miracles every day. God keeps people safe everyday, whether it is on the commute to work, or on an airplane flight. Without God, the world would go crazy because coincidence and chance have no feeling and they don't care about the people they are affecting like God does. God loves each one of his people; he created them.

5. Love. God gives love. He gave people the ability to experience love and give love as well. Humans love; its what we do. The power of love brings the world together. Does science need love. No. But the world, no matter how much we rely on science, still needs love. God loves all of his people, and wants them to join Him. He always gives an extended hand of hope in times of trouble because He cares for each person. Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of His followers; that is love.

Answer 3

There is no way of 'knowing' that gods exist. Faith that there is one or more gods is based on religious belief. Religious belief is the acceptance of the existence of gods in the absence of proof.

Answer 4

There are tens of proofs for God's existence. These have been recorded for centuries and are easy to look up. However, this subject ultimately becomes one of personal belief, since our possession of free-will mandates that it be possible to put forth arguments (fallacious or not) against every one of the proofs.Link: Is there evidence against Evolution

• 1) Teleological Argument: The universe has definite design, order, and arrangement which cannot be sufficiently explained outside a theistic worldview. (This is how Abraham, without benefit of teachers, came to reject the chaotic world-view of idolatry and the possibility of atheism). For example, theoretical physicist and popular science writer Paul Davies (whose early writings were not especially sympathetic to theism) states concerning the fundamental structure of the universe, "the impression of design is overwhelming" (Davies, 1988, p. 203). From the complexities of the human eye to the order and arrangement of cosmology, the voice of God is heard. God's existence is the best explanation for such design. God is the designer.

Link: God's wisdom seen in His creations

• 2) Anthropic Principle: The laws of the universe seem to have been set in such a way that stars, planets and life can exist. Many constants of nature appear to be finely tuned for this, and the odds against this happening by chance are astronomical. Professor Russel Stannard (a particle physicist) states: "The universe has been bent over backwards in order that intelligent life should exist...must have known we were coming."
  

• 3) Sensus divinitatus: The innate sense of the divine exists within all people. People and cultures of all time have, by instinct, sensed a need to believe in and worship something greater than themselves. No ancient society ever existed that did not believe in a supernatural power.
  

Link: Ancient belief

• 4) Tradition: There are historical events which cannot be explained without God. Many people have had personal experiences that turn them toward theism, but there are also events such as the Giving of the Torah to over two million people at Mount Sinai, which are underpinnings for the belief in God.
  

Link: Archaeology

• 5) Pascal's Wager: Belief in God is the most rational choice due to the consequences of being wrong. If one were to believe in God and be wrong, there would be no consequences. However, if one were to deny God and be wrong, the consequences are eternally tragic. Therefore, the most rational choice is not agnosticism or atheism, but belief in God.
  

• 6) Logic. Why is there reality rather than nothing? Aside from God's creating it, there are only five options:
  

a) The universe is eternal and everything has always existed.
- Even atheists have abandoned this possibility, especially because it would violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

b) Nothing exists and all is an illusion. There is no reality; there is only nothing.
- This possibility, it should be obvious, is completely self-defeating. In order to even make such a proposition, the subject has to exist in some sense. If all is an illusion, where did the illusion come from? Even the solipsist, who does not believe in the existence of other minds, has to explain the genesis of his own mind.

c) The universe created itself. This is the idea that the universe and all that is in it did not have its origin in something outside itself, but from within.
- Like with the previous two, this makes a logical absurdity. It would be like creating a square triangle. It's impossible. A triangle by definition cannot be square. So creation cannot create itself as it would have to pre-date itself in order to create.

d) Chance created the universe. The odds of winning the lottery are not very good; but given eons of time, everyone will win. While the odds of the universe spontaneously appearing are minuscule, could it happen, given enough time?

- This option is a dishonest sleight of hand that, like "survival of the fittest," amounts to nothing, because it implies that "chance" itself has quantitative causal power.
The word "chance" refers to possibilities. It does not have the power to cause those possibilities. It is nonsense to speak of chance being an agent of creation, since chance is not a force. "What are the odds of the universe being created by chance? Impossible. Chance is no thing. It is not an entity. It has no being, no power, no force. It can effect nothing because it has no causal power within it. It is a word which describes mathematical possibilities which, by a curious flip of the fallacy of ambiguity, slips into the discussion as if it were a entity with real power, the power of creativity." (R.C. Sproul, Not a Chance. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999.)

e) The universe is created by nothing. Simply put, nothing created the universe.
- The problem here is that it is either a repetition of option "a" (the universe is eternal) or fails due to the irrationality of "d." In our current universe, the law of cause and effect cannot be denied by sane people. While we often don't know what the cause of some effect is, this does not mean that there was no cause. When we go to the doctor looking for an explanation for the cause of our neck pain, we don't accept the answer "There is no cause. It came from nothing."

Link: Hebrew prophecies fulfilled

Answer 5

People do not know that gods exist. The very essence of religious faith is a strong belief in gods in the absence of proof. If you ask for proof that gods exist then your personal belief is vulnerable and your religious convictions are on shaky ground. There is no proof in arguments, religious principles, instincts, traditions, innate sense, or logic. All are based on faith and are merely a way to justify religious belief where no justification is needed.

Answer 6

Belief in God's existence is often based on faith or personal experiences of feeling God's presence or seeing God's influence in their lives. Religious texts and teachings provide guidance and evidence for believers, while philosophical arguments and scientific discoveries are used by some as further support for the existence of God. Ultimately, the belief in God's existence is a personal choice and can vary greatly among individuals.