Why Should I Have Faith that the Universe was Created by God?

This article intends to answer the question of whether facts from science and reason support a belief that a super-intelligence (God) created the universe. The simple answer is that, upon inspection of all that humans have learned about our physical reality, it takes a lot more faith to believe in a material universe that created itself than to believe a super-intelligence created it.

Definition of Faith

Faith can be defined as a confident trust, reliance, or personal conviction in something or someone based on reason, evidence, or deeply held principles, even when certain aspects are beyond immediate observation or full comprehension. Stated simply: faith is trusting in what cannot be fully seen or proven but is firmly believed to be true.

Faith bridges what is understood and what is assumed. Faith converts our assumptions, knowledge, and hopes into actions. Faith aligns our actions into an overarching framework or worldview.

Faith, therefore, is not blind belief, but rather it is an essential aspect of any worldview, whether rooted in the Biblical account of creation or Materialism. Every worldview requires a level of trust in presuppositions that cannot be fully proven but are accepted as foundational truths.

The Big Question

“Where did the universe and all that it contains come from?”

This question has captivated human thought across cultures and centuries. It has inspired both scientific inquiry and theological reflection. It is not merely a scientific puzzle but a philosophical and existential pursuit that probes the nature of reality itself.

Which came first: Consciousness or Material?

• Did Mind create Matter?
• Or did Matter evolve into Mind?

The answers to these questions ultimately hinge on one of two competing worldviews.

1. The basic Biblical account, which posits that an eternal, purposeful Mind created the universe.
2. Materialism, which asserts that matter is the fundamental reality, evolving over time into life and consciousness.

These perspectives radically differ not only in their explanations but also in their implications for humanity’s place in the cosmos.

Any serious worldview must provide plausible accounts for the origins of matter, life, consciousness, and meaning.

Materialism

Materialism purports to be a serious worldview and so it attempts to provide accounts of all origins. Materialism is the belief that the only thing that is real is the material universe. It is a prevalent worldview at the time of this writing (2025).

The worldview of Materialism acknowledges the phenomena of conscious life, but rejects the existence of non-biological life—God, angels, the soul, etc. Materialism, by its very principles, rejects the spiritual and/or metaphysical realm. Materialism believes in complex, physical life-forms, but it disbelieves in God, angels, and demons and the possibility of human life after death.

From the origin of the universe until now, there are three major movements or leaps of progress. The three great leaps are:

1. “The Leap of Being”
   This is the leap from non-existence of matter to the existence of matter.

2. “The Leap of Life”
   This is the leap from non-living matter to living organisms.

3. “The Leap of Consciousness”
   This is the leap from organic life without a capacity for mental self-awareness, a sense of morals, or a responsibility of free will—to organic life that has a capacity for mental self-awareness, a sense of morals, and the responsibility of free will.

According to a materialistic worldview, these leaps can be summarized by the expressions:

• Leap 1:        “Matter, itself, is either eternal or it spontaneously popped into existence.”
• Leap 2:        “Later, matter combusted into simple and constantly evolving forms of life.”
• Leap 3:        “Eventually, after hundreds of millions of years, some of these ever-evolving
                       forms of life attained a mind that reasons and communicates abstract 
                       thoughts, assigns meaning, morals, and values through language.”

The Biblical Account of Creation

The Biblical worldview rejects Materialism’s assertions about these leaps.

The Bible begins with the supposition: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). According to the Biblical worldview, the eternal God created matter, life, and consciousness.

From the Genesis account:

• God created and formed the material universe (Gensis 1:1-10)
  This is the Leap of Being.
• God created life (Genesis 1:11-25).
  This is the Leap of Life.
• God created human life (Genesis 1:26-30, 2:7).
  This is the Leap of Consciousness.

But while the events of Creation are narrated in Genesis, they are philosophically explained in the Prologue of John’s Gospel Account, specifically in John 1:1-4.

In terms of creation, John 1:3-4 provides a clear answer for each one of materialisms “great leaps.”

But before John’s prologue addresses these leaps, John establishes that God is eternal:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
(John 1:1-2)

The Greek term translated here as “Word” is “Logos.” Logos can mean “thought,” “language,” “speech,” “order,” “reason,” “logic.” Logos can also be translated as “Mind.”

John 1:1-2 establishes that Mind is eternal and that it existed before matter.

With these facts made clear, John’s subsequent statements address each of Materialism’s three leaps in order:

1. “The Leap of Being”
   The Word created all the matter in the universe. Material did not exist until the Word created it.
   “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:3)
2. “The Leap of Life”
   The Word is the living source of life.
   “In Him was life” (v John 1:4a).
3. “The Leap of Consciousness”
   The Word created man with the ability to reason, speak, love, and choose. Man was also created in a moral universe, and the moral standards are determined and revealed to us by God.
   “And the life was the Light of men”
   (John 1:4b)

The Bible claims an eternal Supreme Mind (God—the Word/Logos) created all matter, all life, and all rational beings. Humans, who are rational beings, were made in God’s image. This is why humans can reason, communicate abstract thoughts, values, etc. It is also why humans are able to act according to their own free will and bear the responsibility of their choices.

Furthermore, the Bible’s claims are in alignment with theories that claim and/or discoveries that demonstrate the following:

A). The universe had a beginning (as Genesis 1:1, John 1:3 assert).

B). At the root core of cellular matter is a massive store of intelligence “programming” directing all organic processes, compelling any objective observer to conclude this was designed by a “super-programmer” (the “Logos” of John 1:1-3).

C) A level of fine-tuning of tolerances for life that compel an objective observer to conclude the necessity of an inventor/designer (the “Logos” of John 1:1-3).

All of these rational conclusions and discoveries are evidence in support of the Biblical account of creation.

Founding Paradoxes of Christianity and Materialism

Every worldview, including Biblical Christianity, requires faith in something that is unexplainable or paradoxical in human terms. This is called the Founding Paradox.

The Two Founding Paradoxes of Christianity are:

1. The Trinity—God is Three and He is One. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and God is One.
2. The Dual-Nature of Jesus—Jesus is fully God (eternal, all-powerful, etc.), and Jesus is fully human (mortal, finite, frail).

But when it comes to the origin of the universe, the Biblical worldview requires only one leap instead of Materialism’s three leaps. The Biblical “leap” is expressed in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1—“In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1) and “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The Biblical “leap” is a belief that the eternal transcendent God created everything.

Materialism’s leaps require no less than three beliefs. These leaps are:

• Matter is either eternal or it somehow suddenly appeared (the Big Bang)
• Matter somehow became living
• Life evolved into consciousness with moral meaning.

That is one reason why no matter what Materialism may say or how “scientific” it purports to be, it requires greater faith to accept as true than Biblical Christianity.

The worldview of Materialism says mind emerged from matter. The Biblical worldview claims that a Mind (Logos) created matter, life, and other minds.

To date, physicists, astronomers, and scientists of other fields who adhere to the worldview of Materialism have been unable to conclusively demonstrate how the universe and all that exists came into being from matter. (And they never will be able to prove this claim because it is false.) Their materialistic theories greatly minimize and usually exclude the role of a divine Creator.

Materialistic theories require tremendous and paradoxical faith in matter and their own presuppositions.

The Materialistic worldview paradoxically asserts that “the only thing that matters is matter.”

If correct, then why are truth and truth claims (which are only ideas and inherently immaterial) important?

Materialism itself is system of truth claims and only an immaterial idea.

The following statements expose the wide paradox of Materialism:

• “There is no ‘element’ of truth in Materialism.”
  (Truth is immaterial. There are no “truth” atoms in the universe.)
  
• “The problem with Materialism isn’t the ‘material,’ it’s the ‘-ism.’”
  (Materialism claims that only matter is real. But this claim is not material—therefore it cannot be real/true).
  

Materialism and Moral Meaning

Furthermore, if Materialism were true: Why would morals matter?

There is no physical element or compound for morality. The material particles do not care if someone is “good” or “bad.” The material universe is no more pleased if someone altruistically saves the lives of thousands of people any more than it is not offended if someone sadistically murders millions of innocent people. According to Materialism, “good” and “evil” are not real. They are simply made-up or imagined constructions that people project onto the world to suit their personal likes and dislikes.

There is a superficial convenience to living in a world where one can do no wrong, because then we are free to do whatever we please to whomever we please without feeling guilty about ourselves.

But there are two major catches to living in an amoral universe.

First, this is not true. We are made in God’s moral image, and no quantity of self-delusions, denial, or suppression of the truth can alter that fact. Denying God and the reality He created is foolish and inevitably leads to self-debasement and self-depravity to the point where nothing makes sense—including meaning and morals (Romans 1:21-32).

Second, even if it were true that there was no moral meaning and that we could do no wrong, it would equally mean that we could do no right or good.

Deep down, we all live and must live as though there is real meaning in the world. It is essential to human life to believe that our lives and choices have significance.

Our insistence that our choices have meaning within the universe is because God created a moral universe and fashioned us in His moral image. John’s expression—in Him was life and the life was the Light of men—speaks to humanity’s ingrained insistence for meaning and truth in the moral universe God has created.

According to the Bible, human lives and choices find their ultimate meaning in Jesus, as John 1:4 says: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

The Bible affirms that humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), instilling inherent value and purpose in every person. It provides a moral framework rooted in God’s character, as reflected in His commandments and teachings, which guide humanity toward love, justice, and righteousness (Micah 6:8). The pursuit of meaning and morality is fulfilled in Jesus, who not only embodies the truth but offers a reconciled relationship with God, the source of all purpose (John 14:6).

The Biblical worldview fits man’s need for meaning and purpose. The Bible contrasts Materialism, which has no basis to ground moral meaning or human significance in anything but the whims of individual desires.

In the face of such a purposeless and empty universe, it takes great faith to believe that our choices, our actions, and our lives have any real meaning at all. In such a universe, life becomes a struggle to overcome a sense of powerlessness, apathy, and moral uncertainty.

Conclusion

The comparison between the Biblical and Materialistic worldviews reveals that both require faith in foundational assumptions about the universe. Materialism relies on the belief that matter is eternal or spontaneously appeared, that life emerged from non-life, and that consciousness evolved without external guidance. In contrast, the Biblical worldview posits a single leap of faith: that an eternal, purposeful Creator brought the universe into existence.

A Divine Creator not only explains the origins of matter, life, and consciousness, but also provides a framework for meaning, morality, and human significance. The faith required for Materialism appears greater because it lacks a cohesive explanation for the intelligence and moral structure evident in the universe, whereas the Biblical perspective offers a clear and logical foundation.

Ultimately, the question of whether mind created matter or matter evolved into mind is one of faith. While Materialism represents a significant intellectual effort to understand reality, its explanations often fall short in addressing humanity’s deep need for meaning, morality, and purpose. We invite everyone, regardless of their worldview and its presuppositions, to consider the Biblical explanation for the origin of the universe, not as a rejection of reason or science, but as a perspective that harmonizes with both and provides a foundation for a sustainable system of beliefs that promotes life and human flourishing.