Proofs for the Existence of God - Essay Example

There are unanswered questions even today about the importance and existence of God as creator of this universe or the galaxies that astronomers see through their ever more powerful telescope. If it is conceivable that this universe had a beginning and will have an end, then it is logical to assume that it must have had a creator, since nothing can be created out of nothing. While John Leslie in his treatise on the subject of ethically required existences argues that there must be proof of God somewhere in the system of things, St Anslem of old puts the cart before the horse and argues that the importance that religion and mankind gives to God proves his existence (Anslem, 4)1.

Explication To my mind, both philosophers are arguing for the existence of God, but each from a different standpoint. John Leslie, in his argument for what he calls ‘ethically required existences’, relies on the tenets of naturalism and prescriptivism to explain his viewpoint (Leslie, 1972:222)2. St. Anslem however takes a more unconventional approach and states that to think of God is to think of the Greatest Power that the Universe has ever known, and undoubtedly since some Power created this Universe and every living and inanimate thing out of nothing at all, that Power can only be God and belong to God.

No one can create something out of nothing except God. Therefore it is imperative that we believe in the existence of God, the Creator and Master of All the known universe and its galaxies etc. It is far better to accept the existence of God because each creature in the universe is the product of intelligent design and that presupposes a creator. Main Argument John Leslie starts with the notion that we cannot label anything as intrinsically good or bad unless we know what good and bad is, therefore we are making a judgment that can only depend on prior knowledge or something that is inherent in man’s nature or existence.

If morality or ethical behavior is what separates us from the animals or at any rate, the creatures that lie below us on the totem pole of existence, then there is someone or something that put it in our hearts, or minds and our souls, and that could only be God. No wonder it is often said that ‘Conscience is the voice of God in man’. The very fact that we all come into this earthly existence with an inbuilt sense of morality is proof enough of the existence of God, a creator that prefers us to be good and do good, but has given us free will all the same, in order to test our level of obedience to him in this earthly life.

To support St. Anslem’s argument, since it is so confusing, I prefer to put forward what has been called Pascal’s Wager to prove the existence of God. Pascal’s Wager induces us to wager that there is a God, rather than there is not. He has very interestingly drawn out parallels whether we believe in God or do not believe in God because we cannot do both. Either we believe in the existence of a Supreme Being or we do not. But suppose if we did and there is indeed a God that meets us at the Pearly Gates or whatever as we pass into the afterlife.

In that case we would indeed be pleased that we assumed correctly that God did exist. Indeed this assumption also makes our moral life on Earth easier as well. We take pains to do good and be good because