A BRICKMAKER Defense for God’s Existence

Recently, several people have approached me and asked if there are good, simple ways to defend the existence of God. Some have said, “You cannot see God, so how do I know for sure that he’s there?” This seems to be one of the most pressing issues that I have seen as of late.

In my book Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics , I offered a five-point acronym to defend God’s existence; the acronym was called BRICK (BVG theorem, right conditions, information, compassion and ethics, and the Kalam cosmological argument). [1] The book was published in 2019. Since then, I have come across numerous other reasons to believe in God’s existence. With a few adaptations, we can expand BRICK to a BRICKMAKER defense. Let’s take a look at ten good reasons for believing in God’s existence.

B = Beginnings and the BVG Theorem

Evidence continues to suggest that the universe had an absolute starting point. Granted, you will likely see numerous articles on various news outlets that purport that some new theory has overridden the Big Bang Theory. However, the data does not correspond to these theories. Cosmologists Arvind Borg, Alexander Vilenkin, and Alan Guth discovered a mathematical theorem indicating that all physical universes, including the theoretical multiverse and any other universes, would require a starting point. Therefore, at some point, you must have something beyond the universe (immaterial), with massive amounts of power (omnipotent), and incredible wisdom (omniscient), and beyond space and time (omnipresent) to bring about all that exists. Immaterial, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient—that sounds a lot like God to me.

R = Right Conditions and Design

Space does not permit me to offer a full defense of this case, because there is just too much information to present. Nonetheless, in the end, we only have two options for why anything exists: either blind chance or divine design. Keep in mind that blind chance only works if the odds are less than 1 in 1010. Anything more than that and the probabilities break down into absurdities. The odds that the universe came into existence with the right mixture of the four fundamental forces (strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, gravity, and electromagnetism) are 1 in 10122, give or take. The odds that life emerged with the right conditions are a whopping 1 in 1040,000! The odds of the first simplest living cell arising from blind chance are 1 in 10340,000. [2] Blind chance cannot stand as a viable option with these kinds of odds against it. Given the failure of blind chance, the better option, and in my mind the only answer, is divine design.

I = Information and the Laws of Physics

Often, skeptics, when faced with the previous odds listed, will appeal to the laws of physics. They often say things like, “The laws of physics brought this or that into being.” But they have no answer as to where the laws of physics originated. Let’s face it. The laws of physics likely did not exist before the beginning of the universe, at least for this universe. If there was a universe prior to this one, the laws of physics originated with that universe, and so on. Laws are embedded informational codes written into the fabric of the universe. Information like that does not emerge from nothingness. To say otherwise is insanity. It would be like saying that a bookstore exploded and all the letters arranged to form this article. Now, you and I both know that’s absurd. Yet the notion that these exquisite mathematical formulations and laws, some of which are beyond human understanding, just came into being of their own accord is beyond rationality. A person would need to have more faith in absurdities than to believe that God exists.

C = Consciousness

This is a new tweak to the classic BRICK acronym. Studies are increasingly showing that human consciousness is beyond the material realm. Research by neurologist Dr. Michael Egnor has further confirmed that people who were in a coma could answer questions by thinking about certain things, which were measured by activity in different sides of the brain. [3] The brain did not lead these answers, as the person was materially incapacitated. Rather, something beyond the brain interacted with it to produce electrical impulses in the brain. Consciousness is becoming increasingly difficult to explain by materialism. The better option is to accept that consciousness is a person’s soul, which itself leads to a conscious, eternal Mind that developed all things—that is, God.

K = Kalam Cosmological Argument

William Lane Craig reformatted and popularized an argument for the existence of God known as the kalam cosmological argument. It goes like this:

Anything that begins to exist has a cause.

The universe began to exist.

Therefore, the universe has a cause.

The argument coincides with the first piece of evidence listed in our acronym. Nonetheless, the kalam argument offers an easy and accessible way to show that if the universe had a beginning, then it had a cause. And if it had a cause, God is the best explanation for why it came into existence.

The last five components of the acronym are new, barring one that was tweaked from the C of the original BRICK acronym.

M = Miracles

The existence of God does not depend on the origin of the universe alone. Rather, if it can be shown that God has ever performed a miracle, then the evidence for God’s existence is conclusive. Craig Keener published a two-volume series called Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. [4] In it, he offers numerous accounts of miraculous healings, exorcisms, and even some people who were raised from the dead in Jesus’s name. Keener even reports something astounding concerning modern-day physicians. He notes, “In one 2004 national study of 1,100 physicians, . . . the majority of physicians (59 percent) pray for their patients, and roughly 46 percent encourage patients to pray at least partly for God to answer their prayers. What might be the largest surprise in the survey, however, is that 55 percent of physicians claimed to ‘have seen treatment results in their patients that they would consider miraculous.’” [5] Hundreds of modern cases and thousands of historical cases of the miraculous could be offered. Only one of them, however, needs to be true to prove that God exists. Miracles are yet another reason to accept that God indeed exists.

A = After-Death Experiences (or Near-Death Experiences)

Like the miraculous stories mentioned above, thousands of people have reported having near-death experiences, or better termed “after-death experiences.” When people die and come back, they often report having encounters with God, loved ones who have passed, a reality more real than this one, and feelings of overwhelming love and acceptance. If only one person reported having this experience, it would be suspect. But the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (or NDERF) started by Dr. Jeffrey Long, MD, has now listed over 5860 experiences of people across the world and from different religious perspectives.[6] Go check it out for yourself here. The experiences people have with God only further confirm God’s existence. Of special importance are those cases that hold objective evidence on this side of eternity, where people report having visual experiences of the operating room and/or hospital after their death.

K = Kindness, Morality, and Ethics

Morality cannot be justified outside of God’s existence. If objective morality exists, then a moral Lawgiver must exist. Objective morality exists. Therefore, God must exist. Without God, morality becomes a matter of personal opinion. Laws cannot be formed if everything is a matter of opinion. The Nazis could not be held guilty of killing 11 million people in the concentration camps if morality is only a matter of a societal framework. Inherently, we all know that objective morality exists. Such morals cannot be held coherently without God existing to ground those morals. Therefore, morality demands God’s existence.

E = Experiences of the Divine

Correlating with miracles and after-death experiences, people throughout history have had personal encounters with God. Christians maintain that the 66 books of the Bible were given as divine revelation from God, correlating with miraculous events, visions, and wonders. Yet beyond biblical revelation, people have experienced visions, divine interventions, dreams, and other phenomena that transformed their lives. One of the most powerful experiences in history was when Paul encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul transformed from a persecutor of the church to one of the most powerful evangelists of Christ in all of history. No one can discount the impact this experience had. However, numerous other people throughout history have experienced God in such ways that their lives have never been the same. These events cannot be explained away.

One further note: Some wonder why we cannot see God. Understanding, however, that humans are vastly limited in what their senses can detect, over 95% of the universe cannot be detected by human senses. We cannot see quarks, bosons, atoms, electrons, infrared rays, microwave radiation, ultraviolet radiation, gamma radiation, dark matter, or dark energy. However, good reasons suggest that these things exist. You believe in microwave radiation every time you warm up your food in a microwave. And you must believe in ultraviolet radiation because you put on sunscreen lotion when stepping out into the summer sun for long periods of time. If God exists, then we are talking about a Being who emanates power beyond what the highest form of radiation in the universe is. A gamma-ray burst from a magnetar star would literally vaporize Earth with power stronger than what the Sun could produce in 10 billion years. Yet that power is eclipsed only by the power of a Creator. Friends, the reason you cannot see God in this body is not for his protection. Rather, you cannot see God for your own protection.

R = Resurrection of Jesus

Last, but certainly not least, the resurrection of Jesus is confirmation of God’s existence. Additionally, it also serves as evidence for the truths of Christianity. The Old Testament prophesies of a future Messianic King who would be a Suffering Servant, an eternal Priest, and anointed with the Holy Spirit of God. This Messiah would serve as the Light of the World. The Gospels offer the biography of the very one who fulfilled these prophecies. And the New Testament continues the story through the impartation of the Holy Spirit and the mission of the church united. The resurrection of Jesus serves as a linchpin for Christianity, but it also validates the existence of God through concrete data. Jesus (Yeshua) claimed to be the Son of Man who would come on the clouds of glory at the right hand of the Power on High. Jesus connects himself with the kebar enash (one like a Son of Man) in Daniel 7. He also said numerous times that he would die but would rise on the third day. Jesus’s resurrection confirms that all he said about himself was true. And if true, the resurrection validates the existence of God. How do we know the resurrection is true? This leads us to another acronym: RISEN.

R = Records. We have numerous records, biblically and from non-biblical sources, that confirm that Jesus was seen alive by his disciples after his crucifixion on a Roman cross.

I = Irritating Details. Several embarrassing or irritating details concerning the church are found in the resurrection story. Such as women serving as the first witnesses, the cowardice of the disciples, and the inability of the disciples to give Jesus a proper burial.

S = Sightings. Jesus was seen alive by hundreds, if not thousands, of people after his resurrection. Mass hallucinations do not happen, as hallucinations are individual events.

E = Early Proclamation. The NT creeds and evidence for early oral traditions in the Gospels serve as evidence that the church proclaimed Jesus’s death, deity, and resurrection from the opening moments of church history. The resurrection was not a legend. It was reality.

N = Newfound Faith. Everyone who encountered the risen Jesus was transformed by their experience and willingly died for what they knew to be true. Sure, some like Thomas doubted at first because of the incomprehensible nature of the event. But even they succumbed to the transformative truth that Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed!

Conclusion

Much more data could be offered to defend God’s existence. The ten points of BRICKMAKER can, however, offer an easily accessible method to defend the existence of God to those who want further information.

References:

[1] Brian G. Chilton, Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics, Kindle, Unit 2, Chapter 5.

[2] Michel-Yves Bollore and Olivier Bonnaisses, God: The Science, the Evidence (Palomar, 2025), 254, at: https://www.amazon.com/God-Science-Evidence-Michel-Yves-Bollore/dp/9998782406/

[3] See Michael Egnor, The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Books, 2025).

[4] Craig S. Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011),

[5] Keener, 721.

[6] These stories can be read for free at https://nderf.org/archives/NDERF_NDEs.html.

Recommended Resources:

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist’ [ FOUR unique curriculum levels for 2nd grade through to adult ] by Frank Turek

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek ( Book , 10-Part DVD Set , STUDENT Study Guide , TEACHER Study Guide )

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl (Book)

Macro Evolution? I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be a Darwinist ( DVD Set ), ( MP3 Set ) and ( mp4 Download Set ) by Dr. Frank Turek

Brian G. Chilton earned his Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University (with high distinction). He is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast and the founder of Bellator Christi. Brian received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and plans to purse philosophical studies in the near future. He is also enrolled in Clinical Pastoral Education to better learn how to empower those around him. Brian is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Brian has served in ministry for over 20 years and currently serves as a clinical hospice chaplain as well as a pastor.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4gLTZVI