Does God Exist?

The existence of God has been a hotly contested topic for centuries. Scholars especially philosophers have varying opinions on the presence of a supreme being. Nevertheless, every culture across the world has its gods. For instance, ancient Greeks had their pantheon. Likewise, Christianity and Islam believe in a superior being. The belief in god or gods occurs naturally in the world. It seems that it is common for all human experience to look at something transcendent on which people build their lives. Most importantly, people or societies have different religious beliefs upon which they make meaning to life (Hick). However, the essay will tackle the question of God's existence from a philosophical point of view by bringing both the supporting and opposing views.

The first philosophical argument for the existence of God is referred to as the Ontological argument. The theory or argument seeks to illustrate God's presence using the laws of reason. The ontological argument can be traced back to St. Anselm who was theologian, philosopher, and archbishop of Canterbury in the 11th century (Hick 34). The argument holds that when human beings grasp the notion or concept of God, they can see that non-existence is impossible. Therefore, the ontological argument illustrates an all-powerful and perfect being that could not fail to exist. According to Anselm, God possesses all the perfection that can be conceived by man (Nagasawa). However, Anselm further argued that is the Supreme Being existed only in mind; then it would be merely perfect. But because the being is something that would contradict our definition of God, then an all-perfect being must have existed, implying that God exists. The ontological argument was supported by Rene Descartes in his "Fifth Meditation" (Hick 49). According to Descartes, the existence of God is self-evident based on reason and basic mathematical truth. Descartes also supported his argument by stipulating that the nonexistence of a perfect being would be like the imagination of a triangle whose edges don't mathematically translate to 180 degrees (Hick 52). Therefore, Descartes has a strong belief in the existence of God and so did Anselm in his ontological premise.

The second proof that God exists is cosmologic or the first cause argument. The argument supports its premise on the existence of the universe. According to the cosmologic argument, the universe came into being in a distant past and that nothing can be in existence without having a beginning or something that brings it into existence (Nagasawa). Therefore, something far beyond the universe created or caused the universe to exist. In other words, the argument illustrates the presence of a creator who has neither beginning nor end and transcends time. Philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Thomas Aquinas supported the cosmological line of reasoning (Nagasawa 67). In summation, the first cause argument stipulates that there is a cause to every event.

Another line of argument for the existence of God is based on the teleological argument that claims that because the universe is ordered, God must be in existence. Also called the argument from design, it illustrates that the universe could have been different and had distinct physical laws (Hicks). On the contrary, everything in the universe was planned and executed in an orderly fashion. Everything observes the laws of physics. For instance, the planets and the stars follow a particular arrangement. If God did not exist, the universe could have started with a weaker or powerful big bang. Furthermore, God created the world to support life and beings like us implying that he had the best interest of humankind (Nagasawa 77).

On the other hand, there are opposing philosophical views that deny the existence of God. Firstly, the presence of evil offsets the belief that there is a God. According to this argument, if the presence of powerful being existed, then there would be no evil because it could prevent evil things from occurring (Hick). Besides, the inexistence of God is because he is not all loving since he left evil to invade humanity or the nature of human beings. Another justification for evil is because God does not exist since he is not universal for evil happens everywhere. However, Aquinas refuted the argument of evil by stipulating that the inconveniences in nature cause evil. Evil is not real and is rational implying that if it did not exist, life would be very smooth and there would be no judgment on wrongdoing (Hick 88). The philosopher David Hume questioned Aquinas' arguments and was against the cosmologic argument. According to Hume, there must be an explanation for the existence of any creature found in the world. Furthermore, he claimed that since man cannot give an exact account of all organisms found on earth, then there cannot be a belief on a nonexistent being (Nagasawa). On the other hand, since pain and injustices exist on earth, it translates to the inexistence of God. Since natural disasters, inequality, and suffering are prevalent, why doesn't God use his power to stop suffering? The answer is because he does not exist according to the pain and injustices arguments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the existence of God is a much-contested issue in the philosophical world. There are both arguments for and against the existence of God. Based on the discussions, I support the existence of God. There must be an explanation of the existence of the universe and any other creature on earth. Therefore, God exists.

Works Cited

Hick, John. The Many-Faced Argument. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2009. Print.

Nagasawa, Yujin. The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2011. Print.