Why Believe in God? Video, Slides and Notes

Here are the video, slides and notes from my teaching in Bucharest last Sunday. The teaching is in English with Romanian translation. The text in the video is Romanian but you can click on the slides below to see the English as you watch the teaching. The notes are below the slides in two sizes- A4 (Europe) and Letter (United States). You can also watch the video on YouTube if you prefer. Why Believe in God?

18. De ce să crezi în Dumnezeu? from William Anderson on Vimeo.

18. Why Believe in God? from William Anderson

This is the 19th study in the “Growing Deep in the Gospel” series and is the third one dealing with defending the gospel. In this study we answered the question “Why Believe in God?” by looking at five arguments that show why belief in God is the most reasonable conclusion. Those arguments included the cosmological, teleological, moral law, prophecy, and heart-wired.

18. Why Believe in God Notes (A4) from William Anderson

18. Why Believe in God Notes (Letter sized) from William Anderson

A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

J. Warner Wallace, an atheist who used his homicide detective skills and knowledge to investigate the claims of the four gospel accounts shares His story of how he became a Christian.

If God is Good Why is There Evil and Suffering?

The fact of evil and suffering is probably the most used objection given for not believing in God. While for some this may indeed be a real concern it has been my experience in talking to people is that many are using this as an excuse for not believing in God because they don't want to believe in God. Others project evil onto God because then they don't want to deal with their own evil. Whether they realize it or not the reasons they do these things is because they are rebellion against their creator and their hearts are hard. 

But there are good answers to the question of evil and suffering if one's heart is open to God. Ultimately the reason, which may seem strange, is because God is love. Here are two excellent short videos that explain if God is good why there is evil and suffering. 

Related Links

Does Evil and Suffering Disprove God's Existence? - Charlie Campbell

The Problem of Evil - William Lane Craig

Programming for Life (video)

What are the odds of life happening by chance? Check out this 44 minute video to find out.

Does Archaeology Support the Bible? | TrueLife

Have you ever wondered what archaeological evidence exists for the Old and New Testament? In this video, the highly esteemed archaeology expert , Dr. Randall Price, will take you on a truly biblical adventure filled with rare artifacts, incredible stories and memorable perspective. For more info: TrueLife

Why Believe? Why Unbelief?

Why should I believe in God?...the Bible?...Jesus? What are the reasons why people don't believe?

1. Why Should Seekers Consider the Gospel?
2. Sexual Immorality and Five Other Reasons People Reject Christianity
3. Why Do Famous Atheist Believe that God Does Not Exist?
4. All Truth is God's Truth
5. Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God?
6. YouTube Playlist of Debates and Documentaries

Lecture on the Resurrection of Jesus (Video)

Dr. Peter Williams' lecture Things Which Ought To Be Better Known About The Resurrection Of  Jesus. (1 hr 40 min) Peter speaks on the resurrection for an hour after which a few men share their thoughts about Peter's lecture then Peter finishes by answering questions.

Peter does an excellent job of showing evidence for the truth of the resurrection from non-Christian historical sources as well as evidence from the scriptures themselves. His lecture is very enlightening and well worth the time to watch.

The Evidence for Jesus's Resurrection

William Lane Craig lectures on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The introduction is 6 minutes long then Craig spends 35 minutes on the resurrection and finishes by answering questions from the audience for 52 minutes.

The Great Debate Imagined - Craig vs Dawkins

Why does Richard Dawkins refuse to debate William Lane Craig? Watch the video and you will see why. Craig is considered by many to be the best Christian debater in the world and I would have to agree from all the debates that I have watched. I have read quotes by other atheists who are embarrassed by Dawkins refusal to debate him. Since Dawkins won't debate him Craig used Clint Eastwood's "The Empty Chair" motif to answer Dawkins well-known refutations of his cosmological, moral, teleological, and ontological arguments for God's existence. (42:46)

If you prefer to watch the debate broken up by the subjects covered here are the links:

1. Eastwooding Richard Dawkins' Cosmological Argument Objections
2. Eastwooding Richard Dawkins' Ontological Argument Objections
3. Eastwooding Richard Dawkins' Teleological Argument Objections
4. Eastwooding Richard Dawkins' Moral Argument Objections

Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God?

This is my teaching from September 30, 2012  which is titled "Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God?". It is in English with Romanian translation and is the 18th teaching of an ongoing series I am doing called "Growing Deep in the Gospel".

Also viewable on Vimeo or  YouTube 

For those who speak English it would be good to watch the slides along with the video as I do not read the Bible verses in English.

17. Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God? from William Anderson

17. De ce refuză oamenii să creadă în Dumnezeu? from William Anderson

17. De ce refuză oamenii să creadă în Dumnezeu? notite from William Anderson

17. Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God? Notes (A4) from William Anderson

17. Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God? Notes (Letter Sized) from William Anderson

Why Should Seekers Consider the Gospel?

Those seeking God and the truth should consider the gospel and make every effort to understand it because the gospel alone is "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16). Being good will not save you, going to church will not save you, your parents can not save you, being smart will not save you, nothing in this world can save you, only the gospel can save you.

Realize the problem of belief in the gospel is not an intellectual problem but a heart problem. We are in rebellion against our creator and prefer the darkness to the light. We want to be our own gods so we can seek life, happiness and satisfaction on our own terms rather than find them in God. We suppress the truth because we love sin (Romans 1:18-25). This is true for me and this is true for you.

When Jesus was on the earth He said many amazing things, loved many people and did many miracles, including raising people from the dead. Yet, in spite of everything He said or did, many people who had seen or heard what He had done shouted, "Crucify him!" when Pilot gave the crowd a chance to let Him go. They chose to let a murderer go free rather than Jesus. This just proves that if your heart is hard nothing on this earth will convince you of the gospel.

One time last summer, while sharing the gospel in a park here in Bucharest, I asked a 20 year old guy who had a 14 year old girlfriend, "If God is real, would you want him in your life?" He thought for a while and then finally said, "That is a tough question to answer". I told him it wasn't hard to answer but that he didn't want to admit to himself that he didn't want God in his life because he loved sin more. He looked shocked when I said that but after thinking about it for several seconds he said, "You are right."

If you come to God in arrogance and anger saying, "Prove yourself to me to my satisfaction or I won't believe in you!" you will never find Him. The Bible tells us God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (see James 4:4-10). In order to find God and the truth you need come before Him in humility and ask Him, "If you are real please open my heart up to you and give me understanding of the gospel." Humility is the secret to finding God.

A basic definition of the gospel is that it is the good news of what God has done through His Son Jesus Christ to restore His reign and rule over all creation and bring reconciliation to all those who repent and place their trust in Jesus. But there is a lot more to really understanding the gospel in its fullness. 


I have written a 34 page booklet that you might find helpful as you begin your quest to understand the gospel. It looks at the gospel in detail and includes lots of Bible verses as well. You can download a pdf of it here: Letter Size (US) or A4 (Europe).

I became a follower of Jesus through some friends who showed me Jesus by their love and by giving me a Bible and helping me to understand it. It is in the Bible where you will find the complete message of the gospel. I would suggest getting the New Believer's BibleNew Living Translation as it is a good and very understandable translation. To begin, read the four gospel accounts and then read the book of Romans as it is the book richest in gospel truths. The New Believer's Bible also has lots of notes to help you better understand what you are reading.

If you have doubts or are struggling or have questions about believing in God or believing that the Bible is really God's word you should check out the websites below. They have articles, audio and video explaining every possible question you could ever think of. In addition, some of the sites have audio and video debates between Christians and atheists on a wide variety of subjects. You can even look on YouTube to find them as well.

     Always Be Ready

     Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

     Ravi Zacharias International Ministries *

     Reasonable Faith

     Stand to Reason

Remember you will never find God on your own. You need Him to reveal Himself to you. So go to Him in humility and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. You have everything to gain if you do and everything to lose if you don't.

Someday you will stand before Jesus and give an account of your life. If there is any sin at all you will be sentenced to hell where you will experience the wrath of God forever. You say you don't believe in hell. Well, Jesus does! He said, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched…" (Mark 9:43)

If you have turned from sin back to God and placed you faith in Jesus and all that He did for you then you will not have to stand before Him in judgment because He already suffered your punishment for you. Instead, you will spend all of eternity in God's presence as a part of His family on the new earth after God restores all things.

Sound too good to be true, but it is. Take a hold of the gospel so it can take a hold of you!


* For an example check out this 4 1/2 minute video by Dr. Ravi Zacharias:
       How Can a Good God Allow Evil? Does Life Have Meaning?

Check out this related article: Sexual Immorality and Five Other Reasons People Reject Christianity

Here is a link to a post with the video, slides and handouts of a teaching I did titled Why Do People Refuse to Believe in God?

The NT is too Embarrassing to be False

Check out the apologetics video from CrossExamined.org

If God is All-Powerful, Why Does Evil Exist?

Here is second of two videos from Stand to Reason which is an apologetics ministry. You can also find their video on YouTube.

Why is Jesus the Only Way?

Here is one of two videos from Stand to Reason which is an apologetics ministry. You can also find their video on YouTube.