The Existence of God

Proof: definitive evidence that shows the truth of something, beyond doubt. If you have proved something, you know it.

Faith: believing in the truth of something, even if it is not beyond doubt or cannot be proved. If you have faith in something, you believe it.

Atheist: someone who believes that there is a God who created and cares about the world

Agnostic: someone who claims that it is not possible to know either way whether there is a God or not

Proving Gods Existence 

In Favour:

• God is an unlimited being and is not physical therefore he cannot be experience with senses like other objects can
• Many Theists believe that God is transcendent (not part of the physical universe) and therefore he cannot be found
• God is an unlimited being with no limit in time space or power. We humans who are finite beings cannot understand the nature of an unlimited being

Against:

• It may be hard to prove God but it also hard to disprove God
• Religion is based on faith rather than knowledge. If we knew God existed rather than believed he did then we would not worship him for the right reasons

The Design Argument

Put forward by William Paley, the design argument suggests that when we look at man-made objects such an old fashioned watch, we see evidence of design. These man-made objects have purpose, beauty and intricacy. When we look at nature, for instance the eye, we also see evidence of design. Nature has a purpose, is beautiful and also intricate. The evidence of design suggests that the natural objects, similar to the man-made objects, must have an intelligent designer who put the natural objects together in a certain way for a reason. This designer must be God, and therefore God exists.

Against:

• If everything was made by an intelligent designer, then why do natural objects go wrong so often. For instance eyes going blind. It also seems evil, such as sharks eating dolphins. This shows that there is no designer or the designer is evil
• Evolution
• The designer doesn’t have to be God

In Favour:

• Natural objects show beauty and intricacy similar to man-made objects, suggesting that nature has an intelligent designer who put nature together in this certain way.

First Cause Argument

All known events and objects have a cause. The universe therefore must have a cause. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes, because there would be no satisfactory explanation for why the universe exists. There must be an uncaused first cause of the universe. This uncaused First cause must be God, which proves his existence.

Against:

• If everything has a cause, then why doesn’t God have a cause?
• Even if there was a first uncaused cause, it doesn’t specifically mean it had to be God. Perhaps it was the Big Bang.
• Maybe the universe didn’t have a cause and was always there

In Favour:

• Everything we know has a cause, and therefore the universe itself must have had an uncaused first cause which is God

Religious Experience

A religious experience is when an individual experiences the divine. This gives the individual a reason to believe God exists.

In Favour:

• The fact that so many people have had a religious experience suggests that there must be a loving God to give the experiences
• It has happened to many down to earth people

Against:

• Many Theists believe in God as transcendent (out of the Physical world we live in), which suggests that Religious Experiences from God is unlikely.
• God is meant to be all-loving, so why does he only reveal himself to some people and not everyone?
• Those who have religious experiences tend to be those with a religious upbringing.

Arguments against the existence of God

• Why do we need to invent a God to make sense of what we do not know?
• Evolution suggests that there is no specific design in the Universe.
• Problem of Evil
• If God exists, why doesn’t he tell us about himself. Why do so many people believe in different Gods wand follow different rules. If God was perfect, then surely everyone should be able to know him and follow just one set of truths