A
Conversation Among Philosophers
Part
3
God
(2)
In
a hypothetical time, Saint Augustine, Baruch Spinoza, Bertrand Russell, and
Voltaire discuss Gods existence and the reasoning behind their answers.
Augustine: I often question
why God lets evil into the world. As a young man I was a Manichaean. This means
I believed God was not supremely powerful. I thought that there was a constant
battle between good and evil and sometimes evil prevailed. Now in my later
years I have rejected that idea all together.
Bertrand Russell: Then how
do you explain moral evil? Why does god allow bad things to happen if he is
powerful?
Augustine: I have now accepted
the Free Will Defense. It only makes sense that there is moral evil in the
world because God gave us the ability to freely choose our actions. Sometimes
those decisions have evil intent.
Voltaire: At one time in my
life I questioned why God allowed bad things to happen. After the Lisbon
Earthquake I wasn’t even sure God existed. However, I am a deist. There is
visible evidence that God does exist and there is design in nature. But let me
be clear, organized religion is a waste. It is a shame and I believe it
separates us further from God.
Baruch Spinoza: Speaking of
nature, I believe God and nature are one in the same. God is the world.
Everything fits together in a complex whole, but ultimately everything that
exists is a part of God. I know it seems odd, but God is all around us.
Everything is God.
Bertrand Russell: God doesn’t
exist in my opinion. Its clear that people are drawn to religion because they
are afraid of death. If they believe that an almighty being will save their
souls then they will not suffer an eternity of darkness. What they fail to see
is that religion produces more misery than happiness. I realized God didn’t exist
when I learned of the First Cause Argument. God can’t exist if everything has
to have a cause. Therefore God doesn’t exist.
Russell was also happy to add: "though I can't prove that God exists... nor that Zeus and Thor do not." He didn't think much of the free will defense, either.
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