David Brannon

11-3-10

Does God Exist?

Does God Exist? Alex Brannon

God exists. However, to accurately analyze and make an acceptable case for His existence, one finds the need to examine the question from the eyes of a skeptic. Throughout my presentation, I will endeavor to present the most commonly recurring objections to the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God Almighty. Following these objections, I will submit postulates, both personal and researched, in an attempt to debunk said objections. Regardless of the amount of evidence for or against the existence of God, Humanity will not come to a unanimous decision until He is literally and undeniably manifested in front of them and is visible to the five human senses. As Simon Blackburn says in Think, if someone says God exists, it is not like saying abominable snowmen exist (where it is an empirical question whether they do) or prime numbers between 20 and 30 exist (a mathematical question). It is more like expressing joy, or expressing fear (or, more sinister, expressing hatred against outsiders or infidels). Because of this, what is said is immune from criticism as true or false. At best, we might scrutinize the states of mind involved, and try to see whether they are admirable or not. Blackburn recognizes that trying to prove Gods existence to the masses is futile. Christianity is a religion based around the concept of faith. Biblically, faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you cant see. The secular definition provided by Websters is:

David Brannon

11-3-10

Does God Exist?

firm belief in something for which there is no truth. In the process of properly deciding for oneself, one must cast aside previous influences (parents opinions, what they were raised to believe) and examine all accessible evidence for and against Gods existence. Then, basing his or her decision on the evidence, one chooses either to believe that God does exist or that He does not. One begins with rationality. As Edward Craig says in Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, Rationality is what youve got if you have some capacity to reason: to work out, given certain truths, what else is likely to be true if they are; perhaps also how likely. The physical and scientific evidence can take you only so far, and the very nature of Christianity demands that you fill in the rest with faith derived from things both seen and unseen. Before one can really decide on the existence of God, once must craft a solid definition for God. This is necessary in order to logically defend ones final decision on this matter. In Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective, Norman Geisler provides a list of the five separate ways that most people view the concept of God. The first way, Theism, holds to a God who is both beyond and in the world. The second way, Deism, believes God is beyond but not in the world. The third way, Pantheism, believes God is in the world but not beyond it; in fact, God is the world. The fourth way, Panentheism, contends that God is in the universe the way a soul is in a body. The fifth way, Finite Godism, believes that God is beyond the universe but is not in supreme control of it. As I present and contest objections to the question of Gods existence, I will be contending from a monotheistic point of view. That is, God is all powerful in ways beyond the world and its inhabitants, but is also present in the world and its inhabitants all the way down to the level of personal relationships with every human being.

David Brannon

11-3-10

Does God Exist?

In making this decision, one must go beyond simply proving that something is not false. One must also assemble a sufficient amount of data logically suggesting and affirming a positive or negative answer to the question, Does God Exist? A perfect example of this can be seen in The Confessions of St. Augustine. Augustine details his conversion to Christianity and the decisions he had to make, both faith-based and logic-based, that led him to accept the existence of God. St. Augustine first submits his belief in the existence of absolute truth. This concept has no fallacies. If someone tells you that there is no such thing as absolute truth, simply look them in the eye and ask if they are absolutely sure that absolute truth cannot exist. Logically, absolute truth must exist as a necessity. Based on this, Augustine states that there are some necessary and unchangeable truths. 2+2=4 is one such example. That simple statement cannot be refuted, due to its inherent unchanging nature as a mathematical statement. From this, Augustine points out that, although his human mind can comprehend 2+2=4, his mind is finite and can be changed. So, even though his human mind can observe the unchangeable, it cannot be the base or point-of-origin for the unchangeable. Therefore, there must exist an infinite and unchangeable mind in which all absolute truths are based. Only a God-being could claim such a mind. One criticism to St. Augustines logic chain asks why an unchanging idea cannot be created in a changing, finite mind. As I explained previously, our minds are completely capable of wrapping themselves around a pre-conceived absolute truth but wholly incapable of birthing one. Whoever first said 2+2=4 was not the creator of mathematical law, they were simply the first to realize it. Unchangeable laws (such as mathematical ones) can only be altered through an act classified as a miracle. Miracles are the sole province of a God-being. In order to define miracles, look to David Humes An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

David Brannon

11-3-10

Does God Exist?

In the section Of Miracles Hume defines a miracle as any event which contradicts the laws of nature. God is the only being outside of nature because he created it. Therefore, he is the only being outside of the laws of nature. When looking for objections to the existence of God, one must first filter through the numerous ignorant and short-sighted insistences that God is a false concept created by the human mind and find the deeper, more logically-grounded submissions against Gods existence. Most of the following arguments against the existence of God are taken from Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective. The first of these is the argument from the fact of evil. It states, (1) if God is all-good then He will destroy evil. (2) If God is all-powerful, then he has the ability to destroy evil. (3) Evil still exists. (4) Hence, there is no such God. When confronting a monotheistic Christian, this argument is the most commonly utilized. However it presents a sort of conundrum. When God created humanity, they were like the rest of creation in that they were created perfect. However, God gave human beings a gift called free-will. The Bible specifically says that we were created to glorify God. God understandably had no desire to be blindly worshipped by a bunch of unthinking automatons. So he granted us the ability to choose. God wanted to woo humanity. We refer to it as his love story. Our love for him is not forced, it is freely given. Adam and Eve chose evil, and allowing the presence of evil in His creation. God cannot do things that are, by definition, impossible. Creating beings that have no choice but to be good and also giving them free will is impossible by definition. The other primary argument is based around the nature of God. The philosopher JeanPaul Sarte contends that if God is not caused by another, and if everything is caused, then God

David Brannon

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Does God Exist?

must be self-caused. A self-caused being is, by definition, impossible. However this argument falls apart with one well-reasoned statement: God is not self-caused, He is uncaused. If one holds to the argument that everything in the universe is caused, then one must also accept that there is at least one uncaused agent. There must be a point-of-origin for the universe. I know Ive spent five pages presenting scientific reason to trust in the existence of God, but once again Christianity is based on faith. God Himself emphasizes the importance of faith, as do all of his prophets in the Bible. As strange as it sounds, science will never be enough. Theres a reason people think of Christians as religious madmen. Were madly in love with a Father who made us, bled for us, and gave us a do-over. Thats enough for us.

David Brannon

11-3-10

Does God Exist?

Bibliography
L., Norman, and Paul D. Introduction to philosophy: a Christian perspective . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1987. Print.

Blackburn, Simon. Think: a compelling introduction to philosophy . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, USA, 1999. Print.

Craig, Edward. Philosophy: a very short introduction . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. Print.

Warner, Rex. The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York, USA: Penguin Books, 1963. Print.

Hume, David. An enquiry concerning human understanding ; A letter from a gentleman to his friend in Edinburgh ; An abstract of a tratise of human nature . Hackett, 1997. Print.