Does God Exist
Does God exist? It’s
the question that has plagued us all since the beginning of time. At one time
or another, everyone has asked that very question. Whether we realize it or
not, one’s own individual answer to that question is the very basis to their
philosophy, which in turn makes it a major determining factor in the way that
we live and behave in day to day life. In the next pages I will be comparing
and contrasting the different theories and “proofs” of whether God does exist
and then give my thoughts on the matter.
One of the first proofs is called The
Design Argument. The basis behind the theory is that everywhere around us, it’s
evident that everything was designed because everything works so perfectly in
unison. Supporters of the Design Argument say, as stated in Philosophy the Basics, “Just as by looking
at a watch we can tell that it was designed by a watchmaker, so, they argue we
can tell by looking at the eye that it was designed by some sort of Divine
Watchmaker. It is as if God has deliberately left evidence of his or her
existence all around us in the world.” (Warburton, 11). This argument is
particularly faulty in my eyes because even if it’s plausible that the world
was “designed,” it doesn’t mean that God created it. Which God was it? Maybe it
wasn’t even a God that created or designed the universe, but just someone or
group of people who possess a higher knowledge than we humans. Also, there are
plenty of other theories that could just as well explain how things came to be,
like The Fine Tuning Argument, which is based on the belief that the chances of
all the elements of our universe synchronously working as one is unfathomably
small. Therefore, advocates of this theory say that our world must have been
created by a higher power. However the same use of an inaccurate analogy can be
cited, just as the case of The Design Argument. Just because the chances are
slim, doesn’t mean we’re something other worldly special. This is best
showcased in another quote from Philosophy
the Basics:
Imagine that you have bought a
ticket for a national lottery. There are, perhaps, many millions of tickets,
but only one will win. It is statistically highly unlikely that you will win.
But you might. If you do, however, this doesn’t demonstrate more than your good
luck: it doesn’t follow from the fact that, from amongst all those millions of
losing tickets, your winning ticket was chosen that this must have been the
result of something more than a random selection. (Warburton,
15)
These two “proofs” that God exists
are the two that sound most feasible in my eyes, however, I don’t believe that
any of the explanations we as humans have conceived are the whole truth. This
brings me to my “proof.” Faith.
I myself am a Christian, born and
raised in church, and thus probably why I don’t believe in the church. A few
years ago I came to the conclusion that our modern church isn’t what God would
want. It’s more of a social stigma pressuring you to go to church rather than a
personal wanting to be closer to and to worship whatever God you choose.
Religion should be a personal experience. Nevertheless, faith is the
cornerstone to any relationship whether it be religious or not. For this
reason, I truly believe that we will never know undoubtedly whether God is real
or whether he created the universe we live in today. God probably isn’t
withholding information from us for no reason, I think we are simply incapable
of comprehending his existence or any of the reasons/explanations for it. The
fact of his existence is beyond our grasp of the world and so are the physics
behind it. This all leads back to the free will argument and the problem of
evil, which is where many people have trouble believing that an all good, all
powerful, and all knowing God exists.
Free will is one of the greatest
privileges we have as humans. Even though society limits what is acceptable to
do or say, we are always free to think what we like. This is very important,
the fact that we can dream, aspire, create, and reflect on our lives and
experiences. It’s crucial to the personal and societal growth of mankind. If we
couldn’t do these things, we wouldn’t be able to learn from past experiences,
create new inventions, or possess the drive to do bigger and better things. Just
as Eve had the choice to eat or not to eat the apple, we have the choice to
follow, embrace, and be faithful to God. He isn’t going to force you to follow
his word, he wants you to be faithful instead of jumping on the bandwagon along
with everyone else. Unfortunately though, the free will we were granted comes
with a price, known as the problem of evil that I mentioned before.
The problem of evil is a deal
breaker for many people. This is understandable because one would think that an
omnipotent God would never allow the terrible evils that go on in our world
today. I believe the reason the problem of evil causes such a road block is
that it’s simply a touchy subject when you begin to break down why the
suffering is or isn’t justified. Many theorists tackle this problem by
explaining that God’s view isn’t skewed by time. He sees everything as a whole
and if some suffering is needed for the progression of mankind, then no one’s
pain or loss is in vain. This can see where this statement could hold some
truth but I believe it leaves out the crucial aspect of the human influence. I
don’t believe it was in God’s plan all along for children to starve or for
innocent people to suffer terrible pains caused by evil people, but it’s quite
obvious that our society is in an unstable state as it is right now. It is our
power of choice and free will to make bad decisions that led us here. One might
ask how long our economy and government will be able to hold up at the current
pace. It’s no surprise to hear people all around hinting that a fundamental
reform may be the only way to repair the damage done to our government, caused
by the questionable decisions made by our predecessors. This rebuild and change
would surely cause suffering of many people, but in the long term could bring
great prosperity to society in the aftermath.
This sounds entirely narcissistic,
as if suffering is okay as long as it’s not you or your loved ones who are
suffering. But, if you believe that God created us in his image, giving us the
life to live, then one must also believe that God knows what’s best for you.
When you think of it in these terms, suffering nor death should bother someone
who believes in heaven, because if they follow God’s word and try their best to
live an honest life, then the rest will be handled by God. You’ll live
peacefully in heaven with no sorrow or pain. In respect to the entire time
mankind has been on earth, my life is just a tiny speck. If my even more
incredibly small time possibly spent suffering can help better my country,
state, or even the world, then I have to believe it was worth it in the end. I
would say many people disagree, that no one should have to suffer or go through
pain and then all would be well in our perfect utopia. This, I believe, is
impossible. The idea of a perfect society completely contradicts the existence
of our free will, which brings me to the other side of the problem of evil.
Senseless suffering is unfair and no
one should wish pain upon any other human being, but we’ve all come to realize
that there will always be someone who wants to cause someone else pain for
whatever reason. It’s part of the free will contract. If there was no bad, no
pain or suffering, there would be no good, justice, or happiness either. Evil
and good are both needed to counteract one another so that we may appreciate
the good when it comes and respect the evil and suffering for what it is and
what it represents. Even though there are thousands of people going hungry or
dying for someone else’s actions all around the world, many Americans sit
comfortably in their La-Z-Boy, watching TV, complaining about cold coffee, all
the while blaming God for all the terrible deeds that he lets happen. I believe
the blame is to be placed upon us as a society. We are given free will and the
power to change the world yet we choose act selfishly. This selfishness is what
brings societies to their knees, and many times God is a scapegoat for bad
times, when our decisions driven by greed are the real culprit.
All of this is the effect of our
ability to act freely. I for one much prefer having the free will to at least
think for myself, rather than living a boring, routine life. We have to be
grateful of whatever freedoms we have and use them properly. Faith is an
essential part in this grand scheme because faith in God empowers people to act
honestly and help people around them. Faith helps us understand the evil in the
world. It is the product of our own decisions and is ultimately inevitable. In
the end, no human is perfect, but it’s our duty to do the best we can to
improve ourselves and in turn better our own societies. This is the reason we
were given free will and also the reason evil and suffering still exists. It’s
easy to blame someone else, your parents, your government, God, but at some
point we have to acknowledge that the things happening today are the
consequences of our own actions of yesterday.
Bibliography
1.
Warburton, Nigel. “God.” Philosophy the Basics. 5th
ed. New York, New York: Routledge,
2013.
Print.
"Does God exist? It’s the question that has plagued us all since the beginning of time."
ReplyDeleteI find it an intriguing question but I've never felt "plagued" by it. Nor do most people, I'd say: neither the unreflective believers nor the skeptics. Maybe people like Augustine were plagued by the conflicting pulls of piety and pleasure, or people like Pascal by the fear of missing out on heaven or being condemned to hell. But aren't they the exception? Don't most people just fall in with whatever local tradition of belief they encounter first, and then give it not too many second thoughts?