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-6-
God Hath Spoken
The Philosophical Arguments
In Romans Chapter 1 and verse 18, we read: "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." The words "hold the truth in unrighteousness" means to suppress the truth, to hold it down.
"The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them [i.e. it is revealed in them, or shown to them]; for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
Let us stop here for a moment. We will return to this passage when we look at natural revelation, and how God reveals himself in nature. But notice that the invisible things of God have been clearly seen from the very beginning of the creation; and that they are understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. This is the reason God can condemn the heathen. "Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." God darkened it on account of their sin.
Notice what He says here: "when they knew God." In the Greek it is the phrase "gnontes ton theon" (gnontes ton qeon) and it means "all men know that He is." There is no such thing as an atheist. Now a man may say he is an atheist, but the reason he says it is because he does not want to accept the responsibilities of worship, and obedience, and the accountability a person necessarily has when once he admits God is.
When I was a lad about three or four years of age, and a thunderstorm awakened me at night, I would put my pillow over my head, and because I could not see the lightning or hear the thunder quite so loudly, I would entertain the thought that I was safe. But was I?
Spurgeon writes of a little boy who used to go to school many miles from home. On his way home in the evening, he had to walk through a cemetery, so he would whistle loudly just to prove he was not afraid.
If an atheist acknowledges there is a God, it is apparent he is responsible to worship and to obey Him. This he does not want to do; nevertheless, he knows God exists, for Scripture tells us that "when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful." They were not glad for that knowledge.
In the days of Noah, when the flood waters covered the entire world, Noah was saved with his wife, his three sons and their wives. All others perished. Fossils attest to the great Deluge. On account of the Flood, several consequences become apparent. First, all mankind are descendants from Shem, Ham or Japheth. Scripture says "...of them was the whole earth overspread" (Gen. 9:l9). At that time, all men knew the truth of God. All others perished. Note that this was before Hinduism, and before Buddhism. It was before Islam, and before any other of the present religions of the world. These religions are merely corruptions of the truth of God.
The people of the earth were not thankful for the knowledge God gave them of Himself, but chose to rebel against the authority of the Creator. They "became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:21-22), for as verse 23 says, they "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God [i.e. the God who is not subject to decay] into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts and creeping things."
Whether one considers the spirit worship of the American Indians, the gods of the cannibal, or the atheism of the Marxist pagans in Russia, there was a time when men knew the truth of God. This is the reason why all the religions of the world have grains of truth, and their legends often typify Bible history.
Norse mythology verifies the fact that in ancient times the Scandinavians had knowledge of Cain and Abel; and in Roman legend, Romulus rose up and killed his brother Remus. The Tree of Life that was in the midst of Eden was changed in the legends of Rome to become nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods which kept them immortal so long as they continued to eat and to drink it. Among the Greeks, it was Prometheus who made men as figures out of clay; and among New Zealanders, the god Khnum made men out of clay.
People the world over reveal the truth that their ancestors corrupted knowledge they once understood. They "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God" because they were not thankful for the knowledge God had given them. They did not glorify Him as God, but worshipped idols they made with their own hands.
There is a story of a boy who lived in the jungles of Brazil who used to make idols for the tribal witch doctor. One day as a boy of 11 or 12 years of age, he was fashioning an idol when truth dawned upon his soul: "If my hands make this god, then who made my hands?" In the process of time, the Lord caused him to embrace the Gospel. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" and they made their gods like unto "four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves," i.e. to commit immorality (Rom. 1:22-24). Sin is a judgment of God. Now notice that this was "when they knew God."
There are six basic arguments in philosophy that argue the existence of God.