It is no secret that the question or arguments for God’s existence arises in the minds of most individuals, but how does the one who believes so emphatically in the existence of God, respond to the one who insistently believes there is no God? In the article entitled, “On Being an Atheist,” the writer H.J. McCloskey makes his claims for atheism by disparagingly pointing out what he deems as contentions with Theism. He believes it is more comfortable to be an atheist than to believe in a God. It is quite possible for many to read this article and be agreeably overwhelmed by the many points McCloskey makes, however, for the minds and hearts who are strongly opposed to such remarks against theism, a response is necessary and even imperative to …show more content…
express a stand for God’s existence and the unlikeliness of his nonexistence. The Response The Burden of Proof One of the first points McCloskey makes in trying to highlight the absurdity of theism is the inadequacy of “proofs” that most theist hold in their belief in God. These “proofs” are identified as the cosmological proof, the teleological proof, and the argument from design. McCloskey makes an astounding claim that theist presume design and purpose to be evidence of God’s existence. However, many theists would likely agree with Foreman who points out in his presentation “Approaching the Existence of God,” that proof is not the goal nor the reason why one would believe in the existence of God. Instead of acquiring proof for God’s existence in these particular arguments, foreman suggest taking the best explanation approach. This approach does not provide certainty rather it provides “the best explanation for certain effect we see in the universe.” Ultimately, there may be several explanations for the existence of the universe and mankind, but how defeasible are those explanations and are they truly the best explanation? Although McCloskey wants definitive proof for God’s existence in order to justify such belief, one could easily argue the opposite and question why McCloskey desires proof for God’s existence when there is no definitive certainty of his nonexistence. With this in mind, McCloskey appears to be in contradiction with his argument of proof, and therefore it is not defeasible for the explanation of God. For the theist, God is the best explanation and due to the lack of defeasibility in the arguments of opposing believers like McCloskey, the existence of God still stands to be true. On the Cosmological Argument The cosmological proof, as McCloskey phrases it, is for the theist an argument that says because of the existence of the cosmos or the universe, it must be in direct correlation of the existence of God. In the “Philosophy of Religion,” Evans and Manis refers to the universe as being contingent of a necessary being who is an uncaused cause. However, McCloskey argued that the existence of the world as we know it does not justify the belief in God. He states that the causal argument only warrants a person to conclude that the existence of a cause is in proportion with the effect of the universe to be elucidated. With this observation, it would seem then, McCloskey was beginning to give the thought of the existence of God as being a possibility, instead he asserts that if there is such an existence, it is not an “all-powerful, all perfect, uncaused cause.” Furthermore, McCloskey suggest that this being could only be deemed as sufficient in power to make the kind of world we live in, but deficient in what theist qualify as the attributes of God in being omniscient, omnipotent, and morally good. In retrospect of McCloskey’s view, in the “Philosophy and Religion,” Evan and Manis admittedly highlights the limitations that the cosmological argument faces. However, as mentioned before, the idea is not for the burden proof, but instead the argument consistently shows that due to the cause of the universe there must be a God or the existence of a necessary being. The cosmological argument does not open the doors to all there is to possibly know about God and the many complexities of the universe or mankind and how it all came about. Rather, it just says an uncaused cause seems to be the more logical reason why the universe exists due to its contingency. On the Teleological Argument Some of the same objections that McCloskey holds for the cosmological argument have also found their way into the teleological argument. McCloskey finds his objections to theism to be conclusive so long as there are no “genuine indisputable examples of design and purpose” that would provide proof for God’s existence. However, his statement is a bit extreme and would place the theist in a dilemma of having to provide proof that cannot be indisputable even if they have a rationally convincing argument for God’s existence. For example, the argument of the orderly process of the universe that points to a designer may have many disputable arguments, however those arguments are not enough to deny it’s possibility. McCloskey embraces the theory of evolution and believes it substitutes the need for a designer. He suggests that if a person does not comprehend the process of evolution then one could easily object to it being the world’s designer. With this view in mind, McCloskey continues to be in contradiction and still does not hold a strong argument that proof of evolution exists. In the same manner that he requires indisputable examples for the existence of God, he would also need to hold himself to that same criteria. Ultimately, design is not spontaneous and McCloskey’s view of evolution falls more into the lines of spontaneity, and therefore could be deemed as disputable in being the cause of the universe. If the evolution process is in some way a possibility, it can only be successful in doing so if the laws of nature function the way they are designed to and therefore would point to a beneficial order. Still, the existence of God due to an argument such as the beneficial order would not satisfy McCloskey, simple because evil seems unorderly and imperfect. This would mean then, for McCloskey, that if God exist and is the designer of the universe, then this God is not a perfect designer. Yet, like the limitations of the cosmological argument, the teleological argument also bears limitations but its arguments still account for several assessments of God. McCloskey makes the claim that theist don’t understand evolutionary processes and therefore ignorantly deny it’s possibility. Similarly, he seemed to have struggled with understanding the idea of a perfect divine being in spite of evil and therefore also denies the existence of God as a possibility. On the Problem of Evil Ultimately, McCloskey is guilty of begging the question because he continues to arrive at the conclusion that God does not exist due to evil; however, he has failed at providing proof for that claim. For McCloskey, evil being in the world at the hands of a divine perfect God is irrational and is the logical form of the problem. Nevertheless, according to Evans and Manis presence of evil does not subjugate the idea of there being a God to the extent that a God would somehow not exist. Maybe no one truly understands why God allowed evil into the world but there are two theodicies that could possibly account for its existence as well as the existence of a perfect God – soul making theodicy and free will theodicy. According to his article, McCloskey wants a perfect unblemished world that would deserve the right to have a perfect God. But truly, what kind of world would that be? If for the theist God is a God that can be personally known, communed with, loved, served and honored, what happens to all of that if the world is perfect? What happens if we all become puppets or robots because we are controlled by a God that desires his inhabitant to uphold a perfect world? How do we grow and mature, how do we make free will choices; ultimately, why would we need to exist at all? In the book “Philosophy of Religion,” Plantinga makes an enlightening objection to McCloskey’s claim as it relates to freewill. He suggests that if a person truly possesses free choice, then in any given situation, what the person does is entirely decided by the person and not by God. Like Evans and Manis have said, McCloskey’s need for proof cannot and has not been provided and Plantinga’s objection nullifies the contradiction that if evil exist, then God can’t exist. On Atheism as Comforting McCloskey’s entire objection to theism is based on his claims that if evil exist and God exist then God is responsible for such evil; therefore, atheism would be more comforting than theism.
In the final pages of his article McCloskey refuses to accept the possibility that evil, which he never really defines, would be all around him and yet he would go on living knowing that God is ultimately responsible. He feels there is no true comfort in that. Instead he suggests, it is far easier and comforting to accept the evil in the world as a part of life and take on the responsibility of comforting one another. It appears then, that if atheism is more comforting for McCloskey that he would be more prone to agree with Paul Tullich who is mentioned in William Lane Craig’s article, “The Absurdity of Life Without God.” Tullich basically accepts that he will live, he will die and then he would cease to exist. However, Craig feels that if there is no God and there is no immortality then life itself is absurd and every individual would be without significance, value or purpose. Overall, McCloskey’s claims and objections lack convincing propositions and therefore have not proved the nonexistence of God. On the contrary, while there are many questions to be asked and answers that cannot be irrefutably given, the arguments of theism are sound and
justifiable.
In the article,"An Atheist Manifesto," by Sam Harris he discusses how God does not exisit because if he did exist there would not be any evil in this world. As I was reading this article I found it very intresting how Harris is so negative and believes that everything that happens is God's fault. "....at this very moment that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this?No,.." stated Harris. He should understand that God gave us a gift called "free will," and with that gift it comes with a price that we should live with the consequeces by the descisions we make as human beings. I liked this article because it showed me the other side of the coin
The controversial topic involving the existence of God has been the pinnacle of endless discourse surrounding the concept of religion in the field of philosophy. However, two arguments proclaim themselves to be the “better” way of justifying the existence of God: The Cosmological Argument and the Mystical Argument. While both arguments attempt to enforce strict modus operandi of solidified reasoning, neither prove to be a better way of explaining the existence of God. The downfall of both these arguments rests on commitment of fallacies and lack of sufficient evidence, as a result sabotaging their validity in the field of philosophy and faith.
In Wendell Berry’s “God, Science and Imagination,” Berry criticizes Steven Weinberg ’s essay “Without God.” Steven Weinberg’s essay talks about the non-existence of God. While Weinberg explains why God does not exist, Berry points out all of the flaws in Weinberg’s essay. Berry argues that Weinberg had no proof that God did not exist.
...nough to support the idea of God’s existence, I consider the debate to have no winner, because, the arguments of Dr. Dacey are also strong enough to prove his position. However, in these debates the double answer is not possible, because in reality the existence of God can be true of untrue, without anything in between. In my opinion, God exists, and I strongly believe in His existence. I consider the question “Does God Exist?” to be the issue of faith, and there cannot be true or false arguments, because all the people are willing to decide, whether they believe in existence of God, or not. It is the inner choice of everybody, and sooner or later we will all find out the truth.
The problem of reconciling an omnipotent, perfectly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of evil and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an invalid position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. In fact, the word “theodicy” consists of the Greek words “theos,” or God, and “dike,” or justice (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.
However, despite this when their belief is challenged, “They are able to show that it is not blind and unthinking”. Atheists don’t believe that any form of a God exists; they believe that everything (the world and its inhabitants etc) just appeared. The atheistic view says: “there is no explanation”.
Coherence is an essential part of the theist’s belief structure. The individual arguments when joined collectively hold just that, coherence. While individually they do not point to evidence together they do. This coherence forms a basis of truth, supporting each other in their claim and not contradicting them. In this manner they establish truth where facts are lacking. If we examine independently the arguments presented by McCloskey they too lack adequacy to establish the nonexistence of God.
Penn Jillette is a very well-known atheist and a research fellow at Cato Institute and has lectured at Oxford and MIT. He also authored an article entitled, “There is no God.” In this article, Jillette declares himself to be “beyond atheism.” He argues that everyone needs to take a step back and start with no belief in God. Then, we can all start to look for evidence of God. Even Jillette believes that whatever conclusion we end up with, it has to be “some leap of faith that helps one see life’s big picture, some rules to live by.” Jillette's conclusion is simply “This I believe: I believe there is no God.” The rest of the article he goes on to explain that this decision has informed every moment of his life. He concludes his article by stating that believing there is no God gives him more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, and beauty.
Theology is an intentionally reflective endeavor. Every day we reflect upon the real, vital, and true experience of the benevolent God that exists. We as humans tend to be social beings, and being so we communicate our beliefs with one another in order to validate ourselves. Furthermore atheism has many forms, three of the most popular atheistic beliefs include: scientific atheism, humanistic atheism and the most popular one being protest atheism. Scientific atheism is the idea that science is the answer for everything and god is not existent. The humanistic approach states that society is self-sufficient; therefore God is not needed for survival. Therefore how could he exist? The position that I will argue in this paper is the pessimistic idea of protest atheism.
“As of 1994 there were an estimated 240 million atheists around the world comprising slightly more than 4 percent of the world’s population, including those who profess atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion”(Michael). Disbelief in God might be considered arrogant, but as you can see the group we refer to as atheists includes not only simple-minded imbeciles, but also the great American diplomat, Thomas Jefferson. “Atheists are frequently asked what atheism has to offer as opposed to religion. To answer this question, I need to assume that there are no gods or supernatural entities to reward us with a peaceful eternity if we follow some established morality. If the reason for this assumption is proven false, then the question is meaningless, as atheism ceases to exist”(Goluboff). A strong one-sided statement that gives little attention the fact that we presently...
Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, a particular system of faith and worship or a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). From religion, many new groups, communities and further derived religions have formed. Closely related to religion and with endless controversies surrounding it’s classification as a religion is the concept of Atheism- which is defined as the disbelief or rejection of a deity. Descending from this is a social and political movement in favour of secularism known as New Atheism. Understanding the historical content concerning the emergence of atheism, this essay will then address how various aspects within the field inclusive the goals, structures and approaches have emerged and developed over time in comparison to the original atheist ideals.
I have shared in this paper there of the very common argument that were presented in this class that proofs God ‘s existence from different point of views and different aspects. I also believe that if any one reason right and think they can see God through creation of the universe and through scripture. However when it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible states that there are people who have perceived adequate proofs, yet repress the reality about God. Nevertheless, for those who hunger for the knowledge of God, It is written is scripture, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you. " I believe that every person must look at the evidences about God's existence, and be ready to how him and encounter his presence in one’s
Efforts to Disprove God are Pointless Who or what is the creator of the universe? Is there or has there been a creator at all? These are questions that everyone will stumble upon at some point in their life. Contemplation of these questions has resulted in a variety of different religious beliefs along with atheism. While some people reject the idea of a higher being, others accept it as their truth- like Christians.
In this essay, I will be defining atheism which is a non-religious philosophy. I chose this topic because even though Atheism is a rather simple concept to understand not many do and I wish to enlighten my peers. To completely understand atheism it is necessary to understand the differences between atheism and theism, atheism and agnosticism, and anti-theism and non-theism.
Intro Religion: the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. Atheism is usually defined incorrectly as a belief system. Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods - Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion. While there are some religions that are atheistic (certain sects of Buddhism, for example), that does not mean that atheism is a religion. Two commonly used retorts to the nonsense that atheism is a religion are: 1) If atheism is a religion, then bald is a hair color, and 2) If atheism is a religion, then health is a disease.