Philosophy - God's Existence - Essay Example

Does God Exist? The existence/non-existence of God is undisputedly one of the earliest and most enduring philosophical arguments to engage human thought. It rouses passion on both sides of the divide and theists and atheists have amassed a formidable array of reasons to support their respective stands. Theism continues to be relevant in the contemporary world as it impinges on our understanding of the nature and purpose of human existence. If God exists, man is a special creation who has been designed for a divine purpose, towards which he has a moral duty.

If God is non-existent, man has perfect freedom of choice. In either case, belief in the existence/non-existence of God is the prime motivating force behind the manner in which we choose to lead our lives. Arguments for the existence of God are generally categorized into the ontological, cosmological and teleological. Saint Anselm uses abstract reasoning as proof of God’s existence. He conceives of God as a perfect being, “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived” (Anselm para1).

This concept of God is understood even by the non-believer. Therefore, God exists in the understanding and cannot be conceived not to exist. Since the concept of God in understood and exists, God exists in reality. Saint Thomas Aquinas bases his argument on cosmology, which propounds that the existence of the world is contingent and must have a cause. Aquinas argues that motion, which is undisputed, predicates the existence of a mover. In this context, God is the “First Mover put in motion by no other” (Aquinas 58).

Likewise, it is undeniable that everything has a cause and God here is the “First Efficient Cause” (58). Everything that exists has a necessity caused by another. God emerges as a necessary being, having his own inherent necessity and causing all other necessities. The acceptance of comparative degrees of quality: more and less, mandates the existence of “something which is uttermost” (59). This perfection is God. As all nature is designed to function towards the achievement of a particular purpose, it follows that this purpose has been ordained by an “intelligent being” (60), that is, God.

Coming to the teleological argument, William Paley uses the analogy of a watch to assert that something as complex as nature has been ordered and specifically designed to serve a particular purpose. Therefore, even if we are unable to grasp the design and are aware of the defects, we cannot but acknowledge the contrivance which springs from “the intelligence of the watchmaker (God)” (Paley 62). Alvin Plantinga takes the rational approach. He states that the theist can support the proper functioning of his cognitive processes by the proposition that “it functions in the way God designed it to function” (Plantinga 7).

However, the atheist cannot support his contention that the theist’s belief in God, despite the lack of evidence, is a result of a cognitive defect. This makes the theists’ stand more rational. On the side of the atheists, David Hume advances the problem of evil as proof of the non-existence of “a very powerful, wise and benevolent deity” (Hume 63). An omniscient, omnipotent God, who is an “indulgent parent” to man, would obviously do away with pain, order the world on individual volitions, endow man with the ideal temperament and faculties and abolish the deficiencies and excesses of nature in order to ensure the happiness of his creation.

The presence of evil is proof that God does not exist. I think that any argument regarding the rationality of religious belief cannot reach an irrefutable conclusion. The inability to submit this argument to scientific enquiry confines it to the realm of metaphysics. It is left to each individual to grapple with the question, based on his unique view of life and accept that perspective which will best equip him to realize his full potential and attain happiness.