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 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.
The Ontological Argument, which argues from a definition of God’s being to his existence, is the first type of argument we are going to examine. Since this argument was founded by Saint Anslem, we will be examining his writings. Saint Anslem starts by defining God as an all-perfect being, or rather as a being containing all conceivable perfections. Now if in addition of possessing all conceivable perfections t...
Just because there is not evidence does not mean that is evidence he does not exist. I do not believe that people believe in god, just because they do believe that god exist, but because it gives them something that others cannot. It brings people together and gives people hope in the worst of times, and it can fill voids in peoples lives that are rather impossible to fill. It also gives them a reason to live, and live moral ones at that. However, this is also a problem in the discussion of th...
Anselm further adds that if this idea could exist not only in his undestanding but also in reality then that would be greater. Futhermore we cannot conceive of God as not existing, becasue that would be less greater than a being which necessarily exists. In addition to this anselm states that God cannot be thought of as non-existent because we cannot conceive of him a beginning or an end. Gaunilo however criticises and objects to Anselms argument that the existece of God can be proved a priori.
To defend the lord’s existence, he begins by presenting the argument that God is “something that than which nothing greater can be though” (432). This is apparent as God trumps all things that exist in this world as He is the creator therefore, the greatest of all. Certainly, if He is greater than what can be thought, then for the same reason He must
After settling that God exists in his first few passages, Descartes adds that God is the perfect being. Due to the fact that he understands what a perfect being is, than God must be a sovereign being. Similar to his triangle theory that it is not a necessity to imagine a triangle. It is not a necessity to imagine a perfect being rather a thought that has run through our mind. The triangle as imagined and conceived has three sides and a hundred and eighty degree angles as always. It is imperative that these characteristics are always attributed to the triangle, likewise the attributes of a perfect being are placed on God.
what is normal and usual; that it is not usual to be able to describe
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.
A wonderful description of the nature of God’s existence that includes the absolute possession of characteristics that have to be uniquely God was said, “First, God must exist necessarily, which means that God’s existence differs from ours by not being dependent on anything or anyone else, or such as to be taken from him or lost in any way. God has always existed, will always exist and could not do otherwise than to exist. Also, whatever attributes God possesses, he possesses necessarily” (Wood, J., 2010, p. 191).
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.
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.
The existence of God is quite controversial issue. God has different names in the world, and a lot of people, strongly believe in his existence. While, on the other hand, there are also people who don’t believe in his existence. In their discussion entitled “Does God Exist?” William Lane Craig, who is the supporter of the idea of existence of God, debates with Austin Dacey, who is an atheist, on the idea of existence of God. They provide the strong arguments and their debates are quite interesting, and innovative (not similar to those arguments, we usually read about in book). These are the fresh views on the question of existence and non-existence of God.
This paper's purpose is to prove the existence of God. There are ten main reasons that are presented in this paper that show the actuality of God. It also shows counter-arguments to the competing positions (the presence of evil). It also gives anticipatory responses to possible objections to the thesis.
In this essay I discuss why there is proof that there is a supernatural being known as God, who has created everything we know and experience.
...roofs of God’s existence are basically the same in that they are all, essentially, examples of cause and effect. This cause and effect does not neccesarily prove there is a God but it does lead one to wonder what may be the highest cause, and for this there is no proof.