HXTSTSI PROOF FOR THE, SKEPTTC by Ralph Epperson
1976
peffinission is hereby grarfied to copy this information and distribute it as
you see fit
NBOUT TI.IE NUTI{OR am the author of four published books and nine booklets, and have written and produced eleven videos. Two of my books have been pubtished in five foreign countries, and have been selling all of these works all over the United States for 13 years. For those of you who wish to know more about what written, you may view my two websites at:
RALPHEPPERSON. COM www. SENATORJE SSEJAMES com WWW.
or you may write me for end of this booklet.
catalog. My mailing address will be shown at the
If you wish to correspond through the internet, my screen
name is:
[email protected] am not theologian, nor "religious" person, but do believe in creator God, the God of the Bible. However, what you are about to read was written by Ralph Epperson, the questioner. Like you, too had questions about the existence of God, and one night, while was thinking about this question that has caused countless people to wonder, wrote this booklet as my way of dealing with the issue.
am graduate of the University of Arizona, but must confess that went there with little or no belief in God. And not one of my professors there encouraged me to deal with this question. So, what you are about to read came many years after my graduation, and is the result of my own reflection on this timeless and crucial question.
believe what you are about to read skeptic that
will convince even the most diehard
GOD EXISTS: THERE lS nO OTI{ER OPTIODT Page
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"Yes, Virginia, there is
Santa Claus!"
That was the famous reply of Mr. Francis P. Church of the New York suN newspaper on september 2L, t897 to young reader who had written by the name of Virginia O'Hanlon who had asked him to respond to her question:
"Is there a Santa Claus?"
Mr. Church was not telling
the truth.
There is no Santa Claus, at least as man has depicted the mythical figure, someone who lives at the North Pole and "makes lots of toys for all of the good little girls and boys. But, today other Virginias are asking
similar question of the world:
"Is there a God?" One does not need a newspaper writer to lie about the answer to that question: all of the Virginias everywhere can know with scientific certainty that the truthful answer to that question would be:
"Yes, Virginia, there is
God!"
There is indeed "First Cause," Master Creator, God, in the universe. All of the Virginias of the world can know that with certainty! There is simple three question series that leads the answerer to the inevitable conclusion that GOD DOES INDEED EXIST!
By his, or her, own answers to these three questions, the skeptic can know with absolute certainty, using science, logic, reason and the Laws of Mathematics that GOD DOES EXIST! Any reasonable, thinking person, even though they have previously denied the presence of Divinity in the past, will be forced to conclude, through the use of their own mind, that God exists!
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So, if Mr. church was asked the question "Is there God?" today by all of the little Virginias of the world, he would not have to lie when he
answered:
"Yes, Virginia, there is
God!"
do not claim that the following series of three questions is original with me, but do know that had never seen them before they occurred to me one night about twelve years ago when was thinking about the existence of God.
With these questions, and the answers of the skeptic, it is now easier to prove that God exists than it is to lie and say that there is Santa Claus!
By the w&y, would like to caution those who may want to try this series of questions on their non-believing friends. In many instances, some doubters will still refuse to believe what their mind tells them to be true. After they supply the answers to these three questions, their mind will demand the conclusion that GOD DOES EXIST!
However, some will continue to deny that truth. There is something innate in certain people that will not allow them to accept the truth even when their mind demands that they accept the new conclusion, and reject their long-held beliefs. But if the skeptic will keep an open mind while answering these three questions, he, or she, will have to conclude that there is indeed God in the universe by the time they are finished. So, do not be retructant to try it with your skeptical friends! Just be prepared to experience the inability to understand the fact that some people will not believe what their mind tells them is true.
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QUESTTOn DOES THE UNIVERSE EXIST? There are only three possible answers to this question:
1.
2. 3.
The universe exists; The universe does not exist; or The answerer is not sure.
These are the only possibilities.
Shown this way, the question is:
UNIVERSE: DOES
EXIST
DOES NOT
EXIST
NOT SURE
There are philosophers of the past who have reasoned, quite incorrectly, that the external world does not exist, that only mind and ideas existed. And others have answered this question with uncerlainty: it was not possible to know whether or not the universe exists. contend that both of these answers are illogical, unreasonable, and without scientific validity! The universe exists!
And mind capable of asking the question has to exist before it can ask the question! aLTthcentury philosopher, wrote: "I think, therefore I am. " The universe exists because the human mind can think about whether or not Descartes
it exists!
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logical, reasonable or scientific reason to believe that the universe does not exist, or that thinkers on the answers to this question should see no
have any doubt.
The answer to QUESTION
has ro be:
THE UNIVERSE EXISTS! Therefore,
DOES
ttt
IINIVERSE
EXIST NOT SURE OPTION NOT AN OpTIOi\r)
DOES NOT (NOT AN
THE UNIVERSE EXISTS!
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QUESTTOn SINCE THE UNIVERSE EXISTS. DID IT HAVE BEGINNING; OR
HAS IT BEEN IN EXISTENCE
FOREVER;
OR
IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW? These are the only options to this question. Science proves that the universe had to have had it could not have existed forever.
beginning, because
verify this certainty is through One of the ways that the the study of THERMODYNAMICS, the science of Heat Transfer. THERMODYNAMICS has two basic laws that are deemed to be universal in their application. They are called laws because they are thought to be applicable throughout the universe. They work in the earth's solar system, and they work in the entire universe as well.
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This state is called
Heat Equilibrium.
The fact that the universe has not reached the stage known as Heat Equilibrium means that it is not infinitely old. Since there will be a heat equilibrium one day, the fact that it has not occurred yet teaches the observer that it cannot be of infinite age. If it was infinitely old, it would have burned out by now. Since it has not, it is not infinitely old.
Another way of illustrating this would be to use the example of candle burning in room. The observer could precisely measure both the candle to determine its precise height, and its exact rate of burn.
Let us say that the candle was exactly four inches tall and that it was burning at arate of ll4 inch an hour. It follows that the candle will burn itself out in sixteen hours. The only thing that cannot be determined is how long the candle has been burning. There is no way to determine this. The only thing that we can be certain of is that it has not been burning forever, because it has not burned out yet. We can know absolutely that it has not been burning forever, because it would have burned out by the time we started our observations if it had. Therefore, the observer can scientifically as well as logically say that:
1.
The candle is four inches high;
2.
The burning rate rs
tl4 inch per hour; and
3. It has not been burning forever. The one thing we cannot know is:
4. How long the candle has been burning.
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The universe is exactly like the candle. We can logically and scientifically say that we know the following about the universe:
1.
The universe is slowly burning itself-out (like the candle);
2.
We can determine how fast the universe is burning itself out;
3.
and
We can know that someday there witt be throughout the universe.
heat equilibrium
But since the universe is still both hot and cold (the point of
equilibrium has not yet been reached)
can know one more thing:
heat
Since the universe is slowly burning itself out, we can know for certain that it had beginning, or it wourd be in state of Heat Equilibrium at the present time.
So, the answer to QUESTION
is
THE UNIVERSE
BEGINNING!
Therefore, after the first two questions, we can now say:
UI\{IVERSE EXISTS
tt
NOT SURE DOES I\OT BXIST (NOT AN OPTTON (NOT AN OPTTON)
BEGINMNG
NOT SURE (NOT AN OPTTON
We are forced to conclude:
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EXISTED FOREVER (NOT AN OPTTON)
THE UNIVERSE EXISTS AND IT HAD BEGINNING! There is no other option!
QUESTIOn HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN? There are, once again, only three possible answers to this question.
1.
It was created by something larger than itself since the
First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy cannot be created, only changed.
The universe had to be created by something outside of itself, because of the same law. We also know that man could not have created it. (We have already discounted the possibility that the universe was "created" by man's mind in discussing the answers to question I);
2.
It was begun by chance (or accident); or
3.
The answerer is not sure.
Shown this way, the question is:
INIYERSE CREATED
NOT ST]RE
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ACCIDENT
Let us first examine the chances of Chance (accident) accounting for the initial creation of energy. Chance is not really Chance!
Mathematicians can accurately measure the probability of anything occurring once they know the nature of the things that chance will be acting upon. For example, quarter has two sides, and if tossed up into the air and allowed to land on the ground, it will land only one of two ways: either it will land on one side (called "heads, ") or
2.
on the other (called "tails.")
We can say, therefore, that the chances of quarter landing on "heads" is one in two (barring the unlikely and extremely low percentages of time that it could land on its side. But even this probability could be scientifically determined once scientists tossed the coin enough times. But, for the sake of argument, we will say that there are only two ways that the coin can land, either on one side or on the other.)
If we toss up two quarters, there are now four ways that the coins land:
1.
either they will both land on "heads;"
2.
they will both land on "tails;"
3.
the first will land on "heads," and the other will land on "tails;" or
4.
the first will land on "tails," and the
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on "heads."
can
There are two ways that these things can be measured: scientists can actually toss the coins into the air enough times and record their acfual observations, or mathematicians can calculate the probabilities involved by using the laws of mathematics without actually tossing the coins.
Let us now examine the number of times that ten consecutively numbered cards in deck of 10 can come up in random fashion (meaning by chance,) one being drawn out of the pack at time. There arc 3,628,000 different ways that those cards can be drawn out.
In other words, 4,'7,5,9,1, 8, 3,2, 10, and would be one such example. The chances of this sequence coming out of such a single random drawing would be one in 3,628,000.
If we increase the number of cards to 00 there would be 10( that the numbered cards could come out in any random drawing.
8) ways
Let me explain what that number, 10(158), represents for those not familiar with such things. The result of the multiplication of 10 times 10 is 100. When written as square, it is written as 10(2). followed by the number of zeroes When written as number, it is shown after the number, in this case, one followed by two zeroes, or 100. 10 times 10 times 10
is 1,000, written as 10(3), or
followed by three
zeroes (1,000).
10(158) would be the number
followed by 158 zeroes, or:
00, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 ,000 000 000 000 ,000 000 ,000,000,000 ,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,0 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 00,000,000,000,000,000, 0,000,000,
000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000,000,000,000
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What are the chances of any particular sequence of, say, all odd numbers occurring, in increasing numbers, and then all even numbers, in decreasing numbers, coming out of randomly drawn series of just 100 numbers?
The answer to that question can be determined by the laws of math-
ematics.
The answer is, once again, one chance in one followed by 158 zeroes.
The age of the universe has been estimated by some scientists at 30 billion (30,000,000,000) years. (This estimate of the universe's age is not scientifically sound, because true science proves that the earth is young. If you want that documentation that even the evolutionists admit that the earth and the universe is not over 8,000 years old, please send me stamped, selfaddressed envelope to my address shown at the end of this article, and will send you that information. So, am using the figures admitted to by these evolution based scientists as they present their theories. But, just think how much worse it would be when you factor in an earth or universe of only 8,000 years of age!) There would be 10(18) seconds in those 30 billion years (1 followed by 18 zeroes, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 seconds.)
(Notice how much smaller that figure is compared to 10 (158). Astrophysicists estimate that there are no more than 10(80) infinitesimal "particles" in the universe. Assuming that each particle could participate in thousand billion (10(12) different events everlr second (an impossibly high figure, by the way,) then the greatest number of events that could ever happen (or trials that could be made) in all of the universe throughout its entire history is only 10(110).
This number is arrived at by multiplying the number of particles in the universe, 10(80), by the number of seconds in the universe, 10(18), times the thousand
billion trials, 10(12).
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Most mathematicians believe that this figure is much lower, about 10(50).
probability of less than one chance in 10(110), therefore, can not occur by chance. Its probability becomes zeto, at least in
Any event with
our known universe.
Thus, the sequence of the ascending and then descending numbers of 100 components has zero probability of happening by chance. Some scientists have measured the chance of replicating (defined as repetition of an experiment under controlled conditions so that a specific result may be observed) molecule occurring by chance at 10(450).
Frank Salisbury has calculated the probabiltty of typical DNA chain arising by chance to be 10(600). (DNA is the basic building block of life, and it has a zero probability of occurring by chance!)
Mike Stubbs has calculated the chance of insulin, an important protein
hormone secreted by the pancreas, developing by chance at 3 10(158). He states that even if there was machine which could sort the amino acids that make up insulin into groups of 512 at a rate of one billion per second, it would take 10(52) years to produce 10(68) combinations only one of which would be insulin.
In other words, you could expect to get the insulin combination only once in 10(52) years. Yet there are only 10(18) seconds in a 30 billion year universe! Other scientists have made some calculations of the probability of life originating by chance. Sir Fred Hoyle, one of the leading scientists of this age, (he was one of the two scientists discussed in that London newspaper article at the beginning of this booklet) has computed the number of chances necessary for even the simplest life imaginable to have evolved by chance to be one chance in
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10(40,000). (That is roughly comparable to the probability of rolling double sixes, L2, on two dice, 50,000 times in row!)
Dr. Harold Morowitz, professor of Molecular Chemistry at Yale University, has concluded that the odds of life creating itself by chance are one in 10 followed by one billion zeroes! Yet any chance with less than one chance in 10 followed by 110 zeroes has NO CHANCE!
Lastly, Edward Conklin,
biologist, has stated that:
"The probability of life originating from accident [or chancel is comparable to the probability of an unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in print shop. In other words, the universe originating by chance
HAS NO CHANCE! If
the universe did not originate by chance, what then are the other
alternatives?
Either the universe was started by something or someone capable of creating universe (a master designer) or no one is sure how it got started.
First, we'll examine the thought that the universe was created by designer. Presume that you are someone who has lived by yourself in forest all of your life and you suddenly decide to take long walk into the neighboring desert. As far as you know, there are no other human beings anywhere because you have never seen anyone else.
As you are walking, you look down and spot shiny object in the sand. You pick it up, and examine it carefully. You do not know what the object is because you have never seen one before. (It is wrist watch, but it is an
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unknown object as far as your experience extends.)There are only two ways that this shiny object could have gotten there:
1.
either it was made by something or someone,
2.
or else it got there by accident or chance.
If it got there by chance, it's origins would have to be no different than any other object in your view: for instance, the rocks or bushes nearby. You examine the unknown object and notice that parts of it are moving, and if you examined it long enough, you would discover that every time one little moving part got to the unknown symbol I2," it was either totally dark or the sun was directly overhead.
Your mind starts to tell you that this is no ordinary object. It seems to have some function, one not associated with random happening. Your mind has got to start thinking that it could not have come together there by chance. You start to conclude that it was actually created by someone or something, with an actual purpose in mind. You look around the area and find no other objects of similar nature. If the object did not get there by chance, it had to have been created by something or someone more powerful than chance. But you see no one in any direction, nor anything capable of making such an object.
Yet, your mind tells you that it was actually created; it could not have gotten there by chance! What are your conclusions? Even though you can not identify who or what made this shiny object, your mind tells you that it was not created by accident.
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It had to have been created! There is no other option! The universe is far more complex than that watch. Yet we are being asked by some to believe that it got there by accident, by some random happening known as chance! The human mind screams at the observer:
"The universe is too complex to have been assembled by chance! It had to have been the result of conscience design of a designer!
Perhaps another example of the human mind's unwillingness to logically conclude that there was designer in the universe occurred few years ago when scientists looked at some pictures of parts of the planet Mars. These pictures had been taken by "flyby" space mission, and appeared to show "monkey" face on the surface of the planet.
The almost immediate response by some in the scientific community was that the face had to have been created. It seemed to show that some form of intelligent mind had physically created the face. These scientists w'ere jubilant! They had found what appeared to be evidence of intelligent life on another planet!
Yet, it appeared that those who wanted to believe that the face had been created by some sort of conscious design, had excluded the possibility that the face could have been created by chance. Anyone would have had to conclude that there was at least possibility that the face could have been created by wind, erosion, or just simply by chance.
live in Tucson, Arizona, to the south of 9,000 foot high mountain called Mr. Lemmon. The road that takes you up to the summit winds right past what we locals call "Punch and Judy," two rock formations that look like the two famous hand puppets. We know that these formations were not made
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by anyone, they were created by wind or water erosion. They were created by chance! (Oftentimes, when come to this place in disbussion with use this story to illustrate just how this thing works.
skeptic,
Lets just say that one day when was visiting the "Punch and Judy" stone objects, UFO landed and two little green men got out asked me: "Who made these two puppet forms?rr
And would answer: "I did. The two aliens would get back into their UFO, one saying to the other: "Let's get out of here. There is no intelligent life on this planet!")
But the scientists who examined the face on Mars were quick to point out that the face had been made by an intelligent form of life. The possibility that the face had been created by chance was almost dismissed as having no chance! The face had to have been created!
Many of these same scientists look at the universe, with all of its precise laws, and claim to see no evidence of design, nor any designer! Yetthese same scientists had determined withprecise accuracy justhow far away from Mars their probe had to be so that it would not crash into the planet itself. They had to know precisely just how far it would have to be so that it would not fly by into an trajectory that would not allow it to orbit. These scientists were making their projections based upon scientific laws, in universe that is structured on such scientific laws.
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Yet, they reason that the universe was not created! As we have examined, there is absolutely no chance that the universe was created by chance! But, many scientists are quick to believe that-it had to be created by chance, because they refuse to believe in designer! universe that could not have occurred by chance, had been created
by chance
"monkey" face that could have been created by chance had been created solely by intelligent life!
It doesn't make
sense, unless you think
like a scientist!
The human mind screams at the observer:
"The universe is too complex to have been assembled by chance! It had to have been the result of conscious design of
America's founding fathers said that the fact that man had human rights was "self-evident truth." They recognized that certain things were selfevident! That meant that they understood that they were not debatable. They were true simply because they were simply true! They wrote the following into America's Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain ." unalienable rights "self-evident truth" is not debatable. There are no other options! It is true simply because it is simply true! That is the way it is! The fact that the universe was created by evident truth.
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26
Master Designer is
"self-
The human mind is compelled to conclude that there is cause! That thought is "self-evident truth!" Unless you think like
creator,
scientist!
Now where does that leave the skeptic? We can now review the answers to the three questions:
OUESTION
1=
DOES THE UNIVERSE EXIST? Answer to question
OUESTION
l:
The universe exists!
2=
DID THE UNIVERSE HAVE BEGINNING?
Answer to question
2:
The universe had
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beginning!
first
OUESTION
3:
WAS THE UNIVERSE CREATED BY SOMETHING LARGER THAN MAN AND THE UNIVERSET
Answer to question
3: Yes, the universe had to be created by
master designer, man and the universe.
than
The answers to the three questions can now be put together:
''IN THE BEGINNING.
CREATOR CREATED THE UNIVERSE.''
The human mind has just scientifically, logically and rationally
concluded that:
''IN THE BEGINNING.
CREATOR CREATED THE UNIVERSE.''
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The first ten words of the Bible are found in Genesis 1:1. They read: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. That is a self-evident truih! There is no debate.
It is the only way that it could have happened! There is no other option! Notice that the first 10 words in the Bible are nearly identical with the conclusion reached by the answerer's answers to the three questions:
"In the beginning,
Creator created the universe.
The two statements are self-evident truths! There is
God!
There is no other option! The answer to Virginia's question:
"Is there
God?"
must be:
"Yes, Virginia, there is
God!"
There is no other option!
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There were three courses of action detailed in Mr. Epperson's article. These were:
1. 2. 3.
Send me the documentation that"Charles Darwin himself did not believe in Evolution Send the documentation that the earth and the universe are both young, and not billions of years old
Go to Ralph Epperson's website
Should anyone be interested in corresponding with Mr. Epperson or in obtaining free catalog of his books or other materials, he may be reached through:
PUBLIUS PRESS 3100 South Philamena Place Tucson, Arizona 85730 the united States of America or through the internet at
[email protected]
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GST} EXESTSI TFIERE IS NO OTHER OPTION!
The Humanists, those who believe in the Humanist retrigion, tell us thatthey find "insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of supernatural fmeaning God.]" They also proudly boast that "the time has passed for theism [a belief in God.]"
John Dewey, "the father of progressive edueation." America's leading f;gure in public education, and believer in tkre Humanist religion, wrote: "llhere is ao God, and there is no soul." This booktret wiltr prove to you that John Dewey and the I{urnanists are dramattca.Ily wrong. This booklet asks the reader three questions, and by your own answers, YOU will prove it to yourself! So John Dewey and the Humanists are wrong! You can know
with
scientific certainty that there is God, and that there is no other option but knowledge tnrat FIe is real belief in God can now be based upon science, logic and reason! This booklet will prove that this statement is true even to the rnost skeptical atheist!
PRIGET $8"O0
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