A REASON AND PURPOSE FOR EVERYTHING (PART 3)
Every effect can be traced back to a cause, they say, however, many stop short of accepting the irrevocable and absolute truth that man did not just appear, but that there is a meaningful, purposeful cause behind his existence, and if a cause then there must also be a reason and purpose. The problem with science, and evolutionary theory is that they purposely leave out the one element that makes everything make sense: God. Trying to understand how everything came into being without the God-factor, is like trying to understand patterns without mathematics. The fact that a cause cannot suddenly be, and have nothing behind it, nothing preceding it, no reason and purpose attached to it, leaves us with nothing else to conclude but that there must be something behind the cause which is behind the existence of whatever the proceeding subsequent cause, or agent, has brought about. Every fallen domino has a preceding domino behind it, and a proceeding domino/s in front of it. Everyone knows that there was a cause behind the fall of each and every domino, but how can anyone accept the illogicality of the claim that there was no cause behind the first domino’s fall? Water does not begin to ripple by itself. A ripple in the water does not bring itself into existence, its origin is the pebble thrown into the water. If there is a ripple there must also be an irresistible cause. Whether it is the first ripple, or the last ripple, all find their origin from the pebble and its initial impact. Sometimes ripples in the water are caused by the wind which is not seen. Yet, though the wind cannot be seen, its effects prove its existence which is duly evidenced by the water rippling. If there is an intelligent force behind the existence of something then there must, necessarily, also be a cause and a reason for the existence of everything, and therefore, a purpose. Reason, purpose, cause, and effect are all evidences of a pre-existent source. Man simply does not make something for no reason. There is nothing which man can do which does not have an underlying cause, motive, intention or reason behind it. Even if a man purposely set out to do something for no reason, he would fail, for his attempt to do anything for no reason would demonstrate his reason for doing it. This inarguably implies that everything that exists has a motivation, and therefore, an intelligence behind its existence. Everything is because of something else. Every cause has an effect which in turn becomes a cause. “The law of cause and effect states that every cause has an effect and every effect becomes the cause of something else. This law suggests that the universe is always in motion and progressed from a chain of events.”
“The Law of Cause and Effect, and the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God based upon that law, have implications in every area of human life. The Universe is here, and therefore must have an adequate antecedent cause.” There cannot be an effect without a cause, and, therefore, a reason. “Every Action has a reaction or consequence “…whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist, lecturer and poet said the Law of Cause and Effect is the ‘law of laws’. The most important lesson involving human conduct and interaction is seen in the Cosmic Law of Cause and Effect.” There cannot be anything which exists that does not have a preceding cause. And yet, to some of the most knowledgeable minds on this planet, this universal rule, while true in every way concerning everything in the universe, somehow does not apply at all to the universe itself! If one does not have cause, then one cannot have reason. Moreover, if one does not have cause one cannot have effect. Nothing can bring an effect into being except a cause. If there is evidence of any kind, there must necessarily be an agent. If all that a man makes is for a reason, logic would insist that there must also be a reason behind the creation, the existence of man. “The principle of sufficient reason has a variety of expressions, all of which are perhaps best summarized by the following: For every entity X, if X exists, then there is a sufficient explanation for why X exists. For every event E, if E occurs, then there is a sufficient explanation for why E occurs. For every proposition P, if P is true, then there is a sufficient explanation for why P is true.” How can one believe that everything in a room has a cause, and a reason, and, therefore, a source of intelligence behind its origin, except the man that is in the room! Everything in the room required an intelligence behind it that engendered, or triggered its eventual existence except man? All the furniture in the room has a maker, except the maker himself? How can anyone possibly side with the insane reasoning that though a beautifully crafted gold and diamond ring, or a watch, must have had an extremely skilled person behind its existence, and accurate functioning, etc., but not believe that the far more complex craftsman himself has a Maker? That the item which is made has a maker, a reason and a purpose, but that the maker himself suddenly appeared out of thin air, and that, for no reason, is at best an utterly implausible and nonsensical proposition.
“To illustrate the Law of Cause and Effect, one scientist, R.L. Wysong, referred to the following historical event. Some years ago, scientists were called to Great Britain to study orderly patterns of concentric rocks and holes—an archaeological find eventually designated as Stonehenge. As studies progressed, it became quite apparent that these patterns had been designed specifically for the purpose of allowing a variety of astronomical predictions. Many questions (for example, how ancient peoples were able to construct an astronomical observatory, how the data resulting from their studies were used, etc.) remain unsolved. But one thing we know with certainty—the cause of Stonehenge was intelligent design. Now, compare Stonehenge to the situation paralleling the origin of the Universe and of life itself. We study life, observe its functions, contemplate its complexity (which highly intelligent men cannot duplicate, even using the most advanced scientific methods and technology), and what are we to conclude? Who would believe that Stonehenge might have been produced by the erosion of a mountain, or by catastrophic natural forces working in conjunction with meteorites to produce rock formations and concentric holes? What scientist or philosopher ever would suggest such an idea? No one in his right mind could be convinced that Stonehenge ‘just happened’ by accident, yet atheists, agnostics, and skeptics expect us to believe that this highly ordered, well-designed Universe (and the complicated life that it contains) ‘just happened’. To accept such an idea is irrational because the conclusion is unreasonable, unwarranted, and unsupported by the facts at hand. The cause simply is not adequate to produce the effect.” So often, science uses ignorance to explain away what it simply cannot/will not see, or understand. Simply because one can adversely respond to a factual statement, does not for one moment give that response any validity or credibility except in the minds of those who are all too willing to believe it, either based on their ignorance, or because it would be far too inconvenient to believe anything else. To base a philosophy, or worldview upon ignorance, or endless speculation rather than fact is to be the king of fools.
Surely then if there is a reason and a purpose for Stonehenge, a road, a car, or a telephone directory which were all made by man, then there must also be a creator, a designer and design behind every single human being, and, therefore, a reason, purpose and plan for their existence. If there is a reason and purpose for everything then there is reason and purpose for man. If there is there is reason and purpose for everything, including man, there must, therefore, be a Creator/Designer of the universe in which man resides. The universe has a beginning, and its beginning began with the God Who preceded it. “In an infinite number of antecedent diversifying shuffles that actualize all possibilities, quantum laws and quantum effects themselves would be scrambled out of existence at some point, and so would sufficient mass to close an infinite number of antecedent cosmic epochs. From such antecedent universes, no Big Bounce could occur. The endless chain would be broken; and we would not be here; but here we are! Infinite reprocessing might unscramble entropy, but it would also terminate infinite reprocessing. The non-existence of our world is a very high price to pay for avoiding the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Furthermore, since every epoch in an infinite series has an infinite number of predecessors, every universe must be nonexistent! The very idea of oscillating universes is unintelligible!” If all things, including man, just appeared out of a big bang, then egocentricity and hedonism rules the day. But again we pose the question, where then does morality come from? How did it come into being? Morality is an attempt to bring lawfulness to the chaos of sin, but again, where did this sense of morality, this sense of a requirement for morality and lawfulness come from? If it was not inbuilt, then where did it come from? What is its origin? If it was inbuilt, who built it in? How does law and order come from that which has no purpose or reason for existence? If all is by the Hand of God, then there is reason and purpose for everything and everyone, and, therefore, consequences and ultimate Judgement. The making of a phone directory is to serve a purpose, and so, clearly, there is a reason for its existence and, naturally, a person, who obviously had motive and intention, behind the reason for producing it. Everything leads back to its originating Divine Source. Purpose cannot exist without a reason, likewise, there cannot be a reason for something without there also being a purpose for it. Everything serves its purpose. Moreover, there cannot be a reason for something without there also being a reason for the reason, a purpose for the purpose and a cause behind the cause. A reason for existence does not just appear, it does not simply begin to exist with no preceding cause, but is put in place, predetermined and preordained, by a higher source.
Reason and purpose irresistibly imply an underlying Intelligence. “Man possesses certain undeniable traits—the ability to reason, the ability to know, the ability to act rationally. But what is the origin of such critically important traits? The theory of evolution certainly has no adequate answer. ‘The cause cannot give what it does not have to give'.” A book, for instance, can contain less than its author was aware of at the time of his writing it, but not more. “If my mind or ability to know is received, then there must be a Mind or Knower who gave it to me. The intellectual does not arise from the non-intellectual; something cannot arise from nothing’.” The invention cannot be greater than its inventor. No matter how complex a machine, or super computer is, the complexity of human beings is far superior. No one can invent something which supersedes their own intelligence. As complex as computers are they all had to be made by man. They only know what they are programmed to know by feeding on the information/data they have been supplied with. Complexity of design surely suggests a designer, does it not? Computers did not just appear, or bring themselves into being. Does this logical rule cease to be an absolute truth when the complexity of design exists within a human being? If design suggests a designer, then complexity of design insists upon this undeniable truth. It is the loudest, clearest, voice proclaiming the existence of a designer. A well managed garden evidences the existence of a gardener, so what makes anyone subscribe to the lie, why are some so vehemently opposed to the reality, that though there is a reason and a purpose behind all events in one’s life, there could not correspondingly be something, or someone, that has designed, orchestrated and predetermined the reason and the purpose, indeed, the very existence of any being. If there is an intelligence behind the well maintained garden then surely there must be a superior intelligence behind the one who maintains it. Nothing exists without reason and purpose, cause and effect, therefore, life, and all who partake of it, has meaning. Man is not God. Man is not the root cause of all things. No one believes that anything they can see just suddenly appeared one day through its own power no less. No one believes that house across the road just appeared, or that cars just materialize, without anyone having studied and learned how to build the house or make the car. And yet, man with his vain and corroding sapience though holding to the obvious fact that someone built the house or made the car, simultaneously, and quite incredibly, credits no one at all with the making of the maker—the human being—behind the building and the vehicle!
There is a reason for every reason, a purpose for every purpose, and a cause for every cause, therefore, there must also be a reason for every purpose, a purpose for every reason, and a purpose, reason and cause behind every cause. Everything has something, or someone behind it, and, therefore, a reason and a purpose for its existence, and for its being done. If there were no reason and purpose everything would be without meaning. Consequently, life must involve more than just existing and then dying. How can there be a reason and purpose for everything made by a man, but no reason and purpose for the man? If there was no reason and purpose behind man, then there would be no sense to anything, and life itself would be a meaningless means of channelling us all toward its sole reason, purpose and end: death. What kind of monstrous paradox would a life be which had no other meaning to it, no other purpose for its existence, than death! There are those who believe that we have no reason for existence, based on the fact that no one will remember us in 200 years time, just as we do not remember those from 200 years ago. This is simply juvenile thinking, for everyone leaves a footprint on this earth. We are all preceded by parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on. Just because we cannot remember, or even know, of a person’s existence 200 years ago, does not come anywhere near proving there is no reason for life, creation or even the Creator Himself.
Looking at the world around us, at each other, and the universe at large we would be hard-pressed to convince ourselves in all honesty that none of this including ourselves is for any reason or purpose. There is reason and purpose for everything we do, therefore, reason and purpose for ourselves, and, therefore, there must be a reason and purpose behind the reason and purpose for our existence. How can any claim that there is no reason for anything when within the universe of everything there is nothing which has no purpose? If every effect is the result of a preceding cause, then there is purpose for the cause. The fact that there are things, animate and inanimate, shows there is purpose. Purpose is the underlying reason behind both cause and effect. Purpose always precedes reason, cause and effect. Because man sees the purpose only after the event, in no way suggests there was no one behind the purpose. There would be no purpose for any cause if it did not produce an effect. If there is reason and purpose in what we do, then there is obviously reason for our existence. There is reason and purpose in and for everything we do, from going to work to grocery shopping, from helping someone in even the smallest way to saving someone’s life. How then can there be reason and purpose for what we do, but no reason for why we are? If a reason exists at all then it must include everything and everyone. Many look upon the rat race and think there has to be more than this. There has to be more to life than work and scrambling for the next dollar, and they are absolutely right. Sadly, few ever get beyond the questions and embark on a serious search for the answers. Many are trapped within the scenery of their own worlds where they are virtual slaves, slaves of wanting more rather than working for what they need. Slaves at work, slaves of the system, slaving to meet the needs and desires of family and friends. Their lives are filled with meeting their immediate responsibilities and goals with no time to ponder the deeper things of life. Few have time to stop and think about life because they are so consumed with meeting their daily needs in this increasingly busy world. One man asks “What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? Life today is fast and full of opportunity. The complication is we think we have to do everything. The implication of this is we end up being pulled into endless distractions without pausing to really think. If you are too busy to think then you are too busy.” For many people, perhaps the majority, “Life is deeper than they care to swim”. Most end up preferring to just skim the surface as they barrel toward death. Many say they have no time to think, when in reality the problem lies in the fact they refuse to make the time.
Why must life include death? Why does death occur? Why must life end at all? Why is man a finite and mortal creature? Were we created only to give death an outlet of expression, or is there more to our finiteness, our mortality? Surely there must be a reason for death. Some would answer by saying ‘If it has a beginning it must also have an end’, but man fails to come up with any viable alternative that goes beyond this worthy, but simplistic answer. If man’s mortality is the effect, then what causes this “unrelenting threat of death”? What brought death into life’s world? How can there be a beginning and an end, but nothing in between that has any meaning? How can there be a reason and cause for the beginning, a reason and a cause for the end, but no reason, cause or purpose for anything in between? If something is, then there must be a reason for its existence. A reason comes before a beginning, therefore, there must also be a reason for death, and which preceded death. Someone’s heart stopped, someone was hit by a car, etc. Does only life’s end—death—have a reason, but life’s beginning does not? If the atheist is correct in his understanding that human beings are a meaningless, cosmic accident and that after death there is nothing but non-existence, then what possible reason and purpose would there be to life other than death and oblivion? But, again, why death? Why does life have to end? For that matter, why did life have to begin in the first place? If life had to be, then everything that happens has to be, or is death the only thing that is obliged to occur after life has begun? For death to occur there must be life and so both life and death have to be. Everyone accepts death, but why does death exist? Was death just created, can there not be life without death, or is death a consequence of something perhaps even darker than what natural man, and even many millions of religious people, think? What is the meaning, the reason, and, therefore, the purpose for death? If death is the effect then there must be a cause for it.
Contrary to what most believe, death is not natural, it is not a natural part of our existence, but a very unnatural one. Death is an alien invader upon life. Death could not exist without life. Death comes as a consequence. Death is a consequence, a constant and ever-present reminder of something far worse. The comparison between the following Scriptures brings home the stark reality of the unnaturalness of death: "And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good..." (Gen. 1:31). When God created man, He filled him full of life, not death, not life and death. Genesis 2:7 tells us that in the creation of Adam, God: "...breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living (lively, active) soul." There is nothing here, or anywhere else in the Scriptures, which would lead any man to rightly conclude that the breathing of life into Adam included death, either spiritual or physical. “Jesus wept” (Jn. 11:35). Why did Jesus cry? Though Christ’s silent tears were in relation to the people’s grief over the death of Lazarus, “…was there nothing in those tears beyond sorrow for human suffering and death? Could these effects move Him without suggesting the cause? Who can doubt that in His ear every feature of the scene proclaimed that stern law of the Kingdom, "…the wages of sin is death…" (Rom. 6:23), and that this element in His visible emotion underlay all the rest?” Physical death is by no means the worst death. Spiritual death— eternal separation from God—which precedes physical death is by far the worst of the two deaths. The creature that was among the very good creation of God, is now, by its very nature, separated from God because of sin, and lies in a state of spiritual cessation before its Maker.
As with all things, there is also a cause behind the effect of death, of death’s very existence. Life does not cause death, it is merely a precursor to it. Death is not found in life. Life was not finite when God gave it to Adam. Mortality was not part of the package of life which was given to man. So what actually is the cause for death’s existence? What opened the door to this malignant invader? I am not speaking in terms of the consumption of unhealthy foods, of smoking or excessive drinking, or being careless when crossing a busy road, or driving on it in a reckless manner, but of why death exists in the first place? What is the origin of death? Why is it part of our lives? Like all things, death has an origin, and it is clearly explained in the Word of God. The first mention of death, or dying, appears in Genesis 2:17. The Word of God says: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16,17). In God’s warning of certain death should man sin, we learn that prior to this, death did not exist. The warning that death would come, and that it would be the direct result of man’s disobedience toward God, proves conclusively that death was not part of life prior to sin. Clearly, the origin of death is sin: disobedience and rebellion against the Word of God. “The wages of sin is death…” (Rom. 6:23). “…every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:14,15). Here we see the inextricable link between sin, and death. All sin is rebellion against God. All sin is disobedience toward God.
Since there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the unfounded claims of some that man has always been a mortal creature, that he was created so, it cannot be that either physical, or spiritual, death existed before the sin which brought about the Fall of man. This, coupled with the plainly obvious fact that man was alive to God spiritually, receiving of His benefits and freely communing with Him, desiring Him and worshiping Him prior to the Fall, we are constrained by Scripture to acknowledge the fact that man's surely dying (see Gen. 2:16,17) was primarily a reference to his spiritual death should he eat of the tree. Physical death was most assuredly also a consequence of sin. Physical death would also take place because of sin, but not immediately. Moreover, the fact that the Lord's warning entailed the punishment that would come upon man should he disobey God, demonstrates that death, be it spiritual or physical, was not at all part of man’s experience prior to sin. How could the wages, or consequence, of sin be death if death preceded sin? If death was subsequent to life and not sin. God did not make man a mortal being. It was not God Who brought death into man's experience, but man's disobedience to God, his sin against God, which brought about the curse and penalty of death in both its forms. Sin introduced death; the sinner incurs death. Man’s rebellion against God cut him off from God and life forever. Man’s spiritual death is clearly seen in man’s sinful change of attitude concerning God, and is evidenced in his reaction when “…they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). Prior to sin man walked toward God, after he had sinned, man sought to hide himself from God. There is now an irreparable disconnect which exists between man and God. This is evident in God's warning of what would happen if man were to eat the forbidden fruit. In the beginning God made man free of both spiritual and physical death. Mankind likes to blame God for death and suffering, but it is mankind itself which is solely to blame, for death and suffering could only have come by sedition against God and His Word.
People need to come to terms with the fact that there are two sides to reason and purpose for existence: the human, or material side, and the spiritual side. The human side is always seen and cannot be denied, but the spiritual side, though not seen, but just as evidential, is somehow not even factored into the equation by many simply because it is not seen, and is, therefore, to the minds of the masses, subject to argumentation. Reason and purpose cannot exist without a spiritual side, therefore, there would be no reason and purpose whatsoever if there was no God. Like a coin, reason and purpose have two sides. There is no such thing as a one sided coin, so too, there cannot be a reason and purpose behind anything without someone being behind the reason and the purpose. If everything has a reason and a purpose what fool would declare that reason has no purpose and purpose has no reason? Does everything have a reason and a purpose except reason and purpose? Is there no motivation behind reason and purpose? Do reason and purpose only have the ability to motivate, but are themselves without motivation? Is there intelligence behind the building of the house, but no intelligence behind the existence of the builder? Is there reason and purpose only if and when we realise what they are? The fact that one side of the coin is heads, not only assures us that there must also be another side to the coin, but that that side can only be tails. So too, the fact that there is a human being assures us that there is a reason and a purpose for that human being. IF THERE IS A REASON AND A PURPOSE BEHIND WHAT THAT HUMAN BEING DOES, THEN IT STANDS TO REASON THAT THERE MUST SURELY BE A REASON AND PURPOSE FOR THAT HUMAN BEING’S EXISTENCE! If there is a pre-existent reason and purpose in all that we do, then surely there is a pre-existent reason and purpose for why we are. Therefore, reason and purpose did not begin with the existence of man, but existed long before man ever appeared on the scene. The fact that there is a human being assures us that there is a God behind the creation, for man is made in God’s Image (see Gen. 1:26), therefore, there is a reason and purpose for that human being. If there is no reason or purpose, if everything and everyone is a manifestation of sheer meaningless randomness, then there can be no God. However, if there is reason and purpose for everything and everyone, then we see conclusive and undeniable evidence that there is a God, a Designer, and, therefore, a design behind everything which everyone is predestined, and willingly conforms, to. A reason is identified by design and purpose. God is identified, or revealed by the fact that everything has a design and purpose in life. Now how can there be reason and design without a designer, premeditation and predetermination in everything that is. How can a coffee table exist without their first being a designer to design it, who pre-plans its existence by designing its shape, height, color, etc., and then sets out to specifically construct it to serve as a coffee table?
Believing that there is always a reason and a purpose behind everything is not only an admission that there is a Higher Being, but that the Higher Being is so powerful, so Almighty, that He is actually in control, Sovereignly in control, of all people and all things. This aspect of God is difficult to get one’s mind around, for most people are taught that God is just a bystander Who does not interfere with what goes on in the world, that He is watching us, but that’s all. People often say ‘If there is a God, why doesn’t He do something’. But God is always doing something. God is not a static Being, but the Dynamic God. If one traces the fact that the world has rhyme, rhythm, and, therefore, reason to it, and, additionally, that cause and effect is a universal law, we begin to see, as more and more scientists do every day, that there is most definitely design to it all, and if design there must of necessity be a Designer. If everything has been designed, then all has been designed, planned and perfectly executed by the Designer. This is clearly taught in the Scriptures, God says: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isa. 45:7). “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made…Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Jn. 1:3; Rev. 4:11 cf. Eph. 3:9; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2). “There is no God else beside Me; a Just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me…I am God, and THERE IS NONE ELSE; I am God, and THERE IS NONE LIKE ME…MY Counsel shall stand, and I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE” (Isa. 45:21; Psa. 71:19; Isa. 46:9,10 cf. 1 Chron. 17:20). God is the Sovereign God. In layman’s terms, He is the unstoppable God. God made everything, and so, there is a reason for everything, a premeditated plan for everything and everyone. The Lord Jesus said: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father” (Matt.10:29). “…that not one of them is taken in a snare, or killed with a stone, or shot flying, or sitting, but by the will of God: from whence it may be strongly concluded, that nothing comes by chance; that there is no such thing as contingency with respect to God…that all things are firmly ordained by the purpose of God, and are wisely ordered by His providence…”
Nothing is outside, or beyond the scope of God’s will, power and Sovereign control. “God is in control of everything that takes place in the universe. If He were not in control, the universe would be a madhouse. Throughout the Word of God, man's will is always subordinated to the will of God. Temporarily man's will appears to oppose God and is contrary to God's revelation in the Bible, but ultimately man's will works God's way. The Bible says that God ‘hardened’ Pharaoh's heart (see Ex. 9:12) to do exactly the opposite of what God appeared to want done. This is the way God works. God provides opposition to His Word in order to manifest Himself. Proverbs 21:1 says, ‘The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will’”. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?” (Dan. 4:35). “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Psa. 115:3). God doing what He wills, and there being nothing and no one that can stop Him, denotes an Almighty God, Who has a supreme and Sovereign will, a will which cannot be denied or interfered with in any way. God’s will is unchangeable, therefore, unchallengeable. “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it…” (Eccl. 3:14), therefore, nothing can be outside of God’s will. There is nothing which occurs which was not willed by God, hence, there can be nothing which can occur without a specific reason and purpose, and God’s being the ultimate source behind the reason and purpose. Simply because we have a very limited ability to understand what possible reason there could be for horrific events, such as the murder of a child, a hurricane, or war, does not in any way, or for one moment, suggest there is no reason for them. People are quick to pass judgement on God when things occur that to us have no logical sense behind them. Many ask, ‘If there is a God how could He have let this happen?’, but few are willing to stop and listen for the answer. Simply because a man cannot understand the reason and purpose for something occurring is no justifiable reason to conclude that because such a horror has occurred there can, therefore, be no God. What fool would say that because they do not understand Honors Abstract Algebra, previously known as Linear Algebra, considered by some to be the most difficult form of mathematics, then it cannot exist, or make any logical sense. What many fail to realise is the multitude of occurrences and horrors that God has prevented because it was not His will that they occur. How many times have you deserved something bad to happen to you, or even escaped death? Oh how things could be much, much worse, were it not for the restraining power of the will of the merciful and Almighty God.
At times an event can occur which most conclude was a bad event, only to later realise that had it not happened much good and beneficial consequences could not have eventuated. Conversely, many judge something to be a good thing, only to later realise that it actually led to that which was in no way beneficial. If there is an effect there is always a cause, and if a cause then there must be a reason and a purpose for it. The fact that reality, and the reason and purpose behind it, is not always clearly understood, or made sense of, or that it defies the logic of our, often, very limited ability to understand, does not for one moment deny its existence. The fact that objective reality exists and that we rarely if ever have any control over it, proves that there is a reason for its existence that is unmistakably real whether we do not understand it, or believe it. The reality of a God in a world where there is sin and a multitude of horrors do not clash, for God warned man what would happen, and did happen, should man sin against God. The resultant horrors of life on this earth are the responsibility of man, not God. Man is no innocent creature, but the one who has sown to the wind, and unleashed a whirlwind. All the horrors which befall man, including so-called natural disasters, are the direct result of sinful mankind. Had there never been sin, there would never have been death and all its associated agents such as sickness, pain, despair, hatred of the true God, and so on. This goes beyond any kind of gobbledegook thinking that seeks to explain away life’s horrors or unexplained events by a ‘God works in mysterious ways’ type thinking. It is a clearly logical line of thought based on the fact that God has created a world and filled it with living creatures for a reason and a purpose, and man is the one who has sinned against God and has been suffering the consequences ever since. There is a Grand Design in, and for, all things, and that grand design contains very small, but exact, necessary, details which make up the big picture.
Reason and purpose implies a designer, and a designer necessarily implies design, and a design denotes a premeditated plan, and, therefore, a predetermining planner. So we see that what lies behind the reason and the purpose for all things and all events that befall men, and every other creature, is the presiding and predetermining will of Almighty God. It simply could not be any other way. “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand” (Prov. 19:21). The counsel of God “…can never be frustrated by the devices of man's heart, though there are many, ‘There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord’ (Prov. 21:30 see also Psa. 33:10,11; Isa. 46:10; Acts 5:39). No human schemes whatever, formed with the greatest wisdom and prudence, can ever prevail against God, or set aside or hinder the execution of any design of His.” Such teaching comes not from the mind of man, but from the very mouth of God Himself “…I will do all My pleasure” (Isa. 46:10). The law of reap what you sow did not come out of nothing. This orderly, inescapable law of life did not suddenly, mysteriously, take shape of its own accord, but was put in place by God. Cause and effect could never have come from chaos, but only from a well-ordered Mind. Cause and effect are never without reason and purpose, hence, we can never put anything down to coincidence, or happenstance, to some random series of utterly meaningless events. How can there be an effect without a cause? Likewise, how can the cause for the effect be itself without a cause? Either everything is without a reason or cause, or there is a reason and cause behind everything. Either everything is random, acausal, without meaning, and, therefore, inconsequential, or there is a Sovereign, controlling God Who has reason and purpose for everything He wills. You cannot have consistent and reliable scientific laws and facts come out of inconsistent randominity, therefore, there cannot be anything which is without meaning. How can there not be a reason for the reason and purpose behind man’s existence? Not incidentally, there is no word for coincidence in the Hebrew language. “In Luke 10:31, Jesus said, ‘And by chance (coincidence) there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side’. The English word ‘chance’, or ‘coincidence’ is translated from the Greek word sugkurian, which is a combination of two words: ‘sun’ and ‘kurios’. ‘Sun’ means ‘together with’, and ‘kurious’ means ‘supreme in authority’. So a biblical definition of coincidence would be ‘what occurs together by God’s providential arrangement of circumstances’. What appears to us as random chance is in fact overseen by a Sovereign God who knows the number of hairs on every head (see Lk. 12:7).” “Luke 10:31 is the only verse in the New Testament in which the phrase, ‘by chance’, occurs. Our Lord seems to use it as with a touch of irony. It seemed so casual, as such opportunities always do to men who neglect them, and yet it was, in the purpose of God, the test-moment of each man’s character and life.” "'By chance’ rather, by coincidence, i.e. at the same time. The word ‘chance’ (τύχη) does not occur in Scripture. The nearest approach to it is the participle τυχὸν in 1 Cor. 15:37. ‘Chance’, to the sacred writers, as to the most thoughtful of the Greeks, is ‘the daughter of Forethought;’ it is ‘God’s unseen Providence’.” If there were such a thing as pure chance then this would suggest a universe which has no reason or purpose to its existence. No ruler over it, but mere random, meaningless, happenings.
If there is design and planning behind everyone and everything, then there can be no such thing as coincidence. Coincidence leaves many with the notion that there is no reason or meaning behind that which occurs. If mere coincidence exists then there can be no destiny, and, therefore, no predestination. Simply because two events do not appear to be connected, does not mean there is no will, cause or reason for them. Coincidence is a term used by those who have no explanation. “When there is an explanation for a coincidence, there are no coincidences.” “Nihilism comes from the Latin word ‘nihil’ meaning ‘nothing’ or ‘nothingness’.” Nihilism teaches that God does not exist, or is dead. It is the belief that life is without meaning, and is the backbone of coincidence. One cannot have coincidence and composition. One cannot have meaningless events if there is one who has composed the events. One cannot have significance if one believes in coincidence. ‘Coincidence’ reveals God. Nihilism abandons any thought that anything means anything except its own explanation of everything. Nihilism’s love of coincidence arms its argument that there is simply nothing to any seemingly connected events. Remarkable as some incidents are in connection with others, which denotes a pattern, a symmetry, Nihilism insists that it all means nothing at all. Like Nihilism, coincidence, too, denies that anything happens for any reason. Nothing is to be read into that which is labelled as mere coincidence. No further investigation is necessary according to those who have bureaucratically concluded something as mere coincidence. ‘Coincidence’ is the convenient escape hatch used by those who live in fear that there really is a God, and that ‘coincidental’ events do have connection and meaning. The very fact that people say there is no God, is evidence that there is indeed a God, for how could the concept of a Creator God, or gods, ever have entered the mind of man if God did not exist. Have you ever tried to think of something which does not exist? There is no use trying to imagine anything which does not exist, for attempting to do so would necessitate the use of things that do exist. So to deny the existence of God there would have to be a God to deny. One cannot deny that which does not exist. “Just because a human being has no knowledge of that which exists is no reason to deny the existence. There are many, many humans who do not know the Boeing 747 exists. Yet, the not knowing does not mean that it exists not. And the millions of humans who know it exists do not know how to fly that airplane. Yet, that does not mean that the knowledge to fly the airplane does not exist. There are millions of Americans that do not personally know millions of Chinese people, but that does not mean that they exist not. Few humans know calculus (the mathematical study of continuous change), but that does not mean that the knowledge of calculus does not exist.” “If we cannot see God, does it mean God does not exist?”
The key to the Satanic philosophy of Nihilism is that if there is no meaning, there is no reason. No meaning behind an event, means there is no reason for the event, and, therefore, no purpose to it, or to life itself. Apply this illogical, diabolical, thinking to the universe and you have no design and no plan, therefore, no Designer and no Planner, just simple, meaningless coincidence. Add to this the two-pronged claim of science which says everything has always been, or that everything finds its origin in nothing, and you have a Godless vacuum of a universe in which man exists. This is man’s dream world where he “Imagines there’s no Heaven…no Hell below us, above us only sky”. “Dictionaries usually define coincidence as two or more events coming together in a surprising, unexpected way without an obvious causal explanation. Embedded in the definition is a hint that there might be an explanation. This possibility of an explanation creates the opportunity for saying there are no coincidences’. If a cause can be defined, then there is no coincidence.” “Coincidence is one of the gods of this world, and of the religion of scientism. There are no coincidences in God's creation, just the wilfully blind who bow to that god of coincidence.” “In Isaiah 46:9–11, God states unequivocally that He is in charge of everything: ‘Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth My counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it’ (Isa. 46:9-11).” Clearly, we see from this that everything has a purpose, motive, intention, and, therefore, cause and reason behind it which all find their origin in Almighty God.
Everything has a reason, everything has a purpose. For hundreds of years man has believed that the appendix—“the small thin tube attached to the large intestine”—serves no purpose at all in our bodies, however, scientists—who are often found correcting themselves based on previously unknown, or ignored, information—have recently discovered that the appendix plays a significant role in our immune system. It may also serve “as a reservoir for beneficial gut bacteria”. Other so-called vestigial organs once thought to be useless and without reason, have also been proven to be quite the opposite. “History is littered with body parts that were called ‘useless’ simply because medical science had yet to understand them…” So much has been spoken in an authoritative manner, no less, by people who considered themselves experts in their field throughout the history of man, when what they were saying was in actual fact nothing but empty statements spoken in the name of ignorance! Deficient knowledge is the mother of misbelief. Having no answer for something does not mean there is no answer. Nothing can be properly understood unless all the facts are presented and adjudged in the correct manner. Not understanding something fully does not mean it does not exist, or that only part of it is true, or that it is in anyway limited by our lack of knowledge or willingness to properly understand. Simply because one cannot see the answer, or even if it is beyond human intelligence, cannot for one moment suggest there is no correct answer. Thankfully, reality does not hinge on our understanding of it, or lack thereof. Just because we cannot understand why something has happened, just because everything is not laid out for us in plain terms, does not give anyone the right to lay claim that even the least thing has no reason or purpose. Life isn’t always understandable. There will be mysteries in your life which you will never solve, but this does not mean that the things you cannot understand are for no reason, or that there is no logic behind them, and, therefore, no design and purpose for them. It just means you do not understand them. It is sometimes difficult to correctly understand a headline without reading the article.