The Proof of the Existence of God
There are many arguments that try to prove the existence of God. In
this essay I will look at the ontological argument, the cosmological
argument, empirical arguments such as the avoidance of error and the
argument from design. There are many criticisms of each of these that
would say the existence of God can’t be proven that are perhaps
stronger than those saying it can be. The definition of God for which
is being argued is the Christian God who has the qualities of being
perfect and who created the universe.
The ontological argument follows that God id perfect and no greater
being is imaginable. If God did not exist, he would not be the
greatest being imaginable. He is the greatest thing imaginable.
Therefore he does exist. From this argument, God’s existence is viewed
as necessary (Ayer. A.J. 1973). His existence is seen as simply
another property of his being. Just like omnipotence and omnipresent
are properties. One example that has been used to explain this is a
triangle. A triangle has certain properties such as all of the angles
add up to 180o and even if we have never thought about it before we
clearly recognise these properties ‘whether we want to or not’
(Cottingham. J. 1986). A triangle’s real meaning is independent of our
mind just as God’s existence is. We can’t separate the property of all
angles adding up to 180o from a triangle and we can’t separate the
property of existence from God.
But this argument raises the question of whether or not existence can
been defined as a property. A property of something should give more
information about what is being described such as sayi...
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...God and that we should not and
cannot try to prove his existence because of this (AR V11 180; CSM 11
127, as cited in J. Cottingham, 1986). Belief is a question of faith.
For those who believe in God do not feel it necessary to prove his
existence as their faith is enough for them. To a person who’s belief
is so certain and so strong, God’s existence cannot be denied even
without proof. But on the other hand, God’s existence can not be
proved in terms of objective arguments and scientific facts. In answer
to the question, God’s existence cannot be proved, but neither can his
non existence.
References
Ayer. A.J. (1973) The Central Questions of Philosophy: The Claims of
Theology: Chapter 10
Cottingham. J. (1986) Descartes: Blackwell Publishing
Cottingham. J. (2005) Western Philosophy: Blackwell Publishing
The question of God’s existence has been debated through the history of man, with every philosopher from Socrates to Immanuel Kant weighing in on the debate. So great has this topic become that numerous proofs have been invented and utilized to prove or disprove God’s existence. Yet no answer still has been reached, leaving me to wonder if any answer at all is possible. So I will try in this paper to see if it is possible to philosophically prove God’s existence.
begin with. This we call God, so we call God the prime mover i.e. the
One of the most argued topics throughout human history is whether or not God exists. It is argued frequently because there are several different reasonings and sub arguments in this main argument. People who believe God exists argue how God acts and whether there is one or several. People who do not believe God exists argue how the universe became into existence or if it has just always existed. In this paper, I will describe Craig's argument for the existence of God and defend Craig's argument.
The Existence of God Being Proved A Priori The existence of God can be proved a priori by a logical deduction from the concept of God, when we think about the idea of God we realise that real existence is an essential part of how we conceive the idea of God. God therefore necessarily exists so that it is impossible for him to not exist. I belive to be necessary to examine Anselm's version of the ontological argument, in order to answer the above question, namely whether God's existence can be proved a priori. Anselm states that a non believing fool (in the Psalms) can coceive the idea that God is 'a being than which none greater can be thought' because he understands it.
This paper will examine the argument put forward by William Paley in 1802, in his Natural Theology. Paley offers an argument from design that purports to show a clear and distinct reason why one should hold a belief in God, due to the inherent features of the world. It is attempted in this paper to firstly: show that the argument should be rejected on the grounds of lacking a rationally flowing set of premises and conclusions; and secondly: that the criticisms made by David Hume concerning the argument hold more weight than is generally granted by other philosophers, and should have convinced one even before the advent of Darwinian theory. Added to this, it will be considered as to whether or not Darwin actually did destroy teleological arguments forever.
that the same can be said for the universe as a whole. It seems to
different status". He uses the example of how if one man were to talk about
exist in a universe. One of these is the Violence of the Big Bang, any
Truth, what is truth? This question itself has a thousand answers, no person can ever be sure of what truth is rather, truth can be justified, it can checked for reliability with strong evidences and logic. If the evidence proves to be accurate then it can be established that a certain answer is the truth. However, have we ever tried to think about what intrigues us to seek the truth? To think about a question and set foot firmly on the path of knowledge. Definitely it has! That was the very cause itself which is why this world has witnessed some of the greatest philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates etc. along with the school of thought. The ability to think and reason is one of the greatest ability humans have, it is what distinguishes us from the animals. It is what gives us free will, the ability to control our own outcomes. However, it is that ability to ‘think’ itself which has caused men to rebel with the myths and statements established about the unseen and natural forces since the beginning of time. It gave rise to questions such as: Do aliens exist? Is there a world of the unseen? Life after Death and the most popular question since the beginning of times, Does God exists? And the answer is ‘yes’. Here is how I will justify my stance.
enough to put an end to a person, as are the effects of fire and ice
The Design Argument For The Existence Of God This argument is also called the teleological argument, it argues that the universe did not come around by mere chance, but some one or something designed it. This thing was God. This argument is a prosteriori because the observation of the natural world is taken into the mind to conclude that there is a designer. The belief that the universe was designed by God was triggered by things like the four seasons; summer, spring, autumn and winter, that change through the year.
The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument is an a priori argument. The arguments attempt to prove God's existence from the meaning of the word God. The ontological argument was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselm's classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes.
However, in America 2+2=4, in India 2+2=4, and on the moon 2+2=4. 2+2=4 no matter where you are in space and time, and it is a simple concept that even a small child with no linguistic skill can understand. This small truth transcends all religious and ideological differences.
Instinctually, humans know that there is a greater power in the universe. However, there are a few who doubt such instinct, citing that logically we cannot prove such an existence. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, wrote of five proofs for the existence of God. The Summa Theologica deals with pure concepts; these proofs rely on the world of experience - what one can see around themselves. In these proofs, God will logically be proven to exist through reason, despite the refutes against them.
God can be defined as a being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions (1). There are many people that do not believe in any religion. People who do not believe in a religion have no reason for believing in a God. People who do not believe in a God and argue against the existence of God are proving something that is completely false. There is a God for numerous reasons.