“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction of those desires exists”

The opening line is from a C.S. Lewis quote I really like which basically uses a form of Evidentialism to conclude that since creatures have desires, like hunger, we have food for it. Thirst is quenched with drink, and loneliness is subdued by companionship. So what of the desire that can not be met with human needs? What if there is a hole in the human emotions and feelings that can not be squelched by any physical remedy? C.S. Lewis would articulate that if there is a desire in someone that is not being met in this world, it would stand to reason that that desire may be from another world. In other words, God has put a desire in us to be fulfilled only by Him. With this in mind, that is where we will start this week’s blog on: Evidential Apologetics.

Evidential Apologetics, sometimes called Evidentialism, is the study and sharing of Scripture through the examples or evidence; whether in nature or in ourselves. One of my favorite verses that easily demonstrates this is Romans 1:20 “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:“. Clearly setting forth an idea that all of Creation can be used to cross examine itself to show the existence of God. Which, by then confirming a divine Creator we can then go into more evidence that shows His desire to have humanity come to Him. Let’s take a look at another familiar passage to get a better picture. If you turn to Psalms 19:1-4 and read this: “The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,“. So again, there is plenty of evidence of an Creator. And since there’s a Creator and He is showing evidence of himself, than He wants to be known of man.

Looking now to what that evidence is let’s take a look at some simple points for arguments sake. One, is the first eight verses of 1 Corinthians in which the Apostle Paul lays out the reasons, and witnesses that confirmed Christ died and rose again. Which was a promise that was fulfilled from Genesis 3:15! The second example is found in Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.“. You can see how Paul again is laying out the evidence that nature can show us that there is a Creator and a God. We also have the evidence found in science that touch on the laws of nature found in quantum mechanics, biology, astronomy, and chemistry. All of which point to a Creator/God position over the Earth. Now let’s look back again at the thought propsed by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.

“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction of those desires exists”. That quote has a lot of thought in it. But is that heavy thinking found in Scripture? YES! Yes it is! As Blaise Pascal put it, “…the God-shaped vaccuum” is there and here are some verses to see the evidence of it. Verses like Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Man has a desire for eternity, but there is no evidence of eternity here on earth; so where did that come from? Here’s another. Back to Romans 1:18-20 we see there is evidence found in creation, but in our sinful state we suppressed that obvious longing and wanting to know the truth of God. You can also look at the account in Genesis 2:8 where God was walking in the garden to fellowship with Adam and Eve and because of their sin they wouldn’t face God. Ever since the creation of mankind God has wanted a relationship with the creation that bears his likeness. Sin has separated that and left a void, or hole, in man’s hearts that cannot be filled by earthly things. Again showing evidence that there is a desire not being filled by things on earth so there must be a heavenly answer to that emptiness. All these are evidences of a Creator, which points to a creation, and in turns points to a creation needing a Savior.

So can Evidential Apologetics solve all the answers? No it can not. All this form of apologetics can do is lay out, like a court case, the evidence, examples, and the facts from scripture. There is still a verdict that must be made. Another C.S. Lewis quote I’ve come love over the years is this: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” That is so true! We have evidence of God found in creation, found in the Bible (through fulfilled prophecies and promises. Which is another future blog), and even found inside ourselves in emptiness and longing. So what are we going to do about the evidence? What will we do when the evidence demands an answer? We cannot as human beings deny the existence of God. We also cannot live as if this knowledge doesn’t effect us. We have to make a decision. As Joshua told the children of Israel “…Choose you this day whom ye will serve…” we have a choice to make; and in the study of Evidential Apologetics it is a compelling opportunity to grow in Christ, but also to then boldly proclaim these evidences, or truths, to the world!

So before using Evidential Apologetics on your friend, settle it in you mind and heart and may these words challenge you as you read them:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.