Arguments in Favor and Against the Existence of God - Research Paper Example

? Existence of God Existence of God Even after tremendous advancements in science and technology, still we are unable to unveil the mysteries surrounding the concept of God. Majority of the people in this world believe that nothing can be evolved out of emptiness and all the creations in this universe is the contributions of a superpower called God. At the same time, atheists question this argument. In their opinion, if nothing can be evolved out of emptiness, from where God comes. The arguments both in favor and against the existence of God seem to be ever lasting. In other words, it is impossible to either prove or disprove the existence of God. Science believes only in things which can be proved with the help of experimental facts. In other words, as long as the existence of God proved beyond doubt with some kind of experiments, science may not believe in God. On the other hand, religions give more importance to beliefs rather than facts. According to religious views, science or humans have limitations in explaining the existence of God since God has more power than humans. Creations can never be superior to the creator. In short the arguments in favor and against the concept of God seem to be endless. This paper analyses the arguments in favor and against the existence of God. Arguments in favor and against the existence of God The first purported proof of the existence of God is the ontological argument. The ontological argument seeks to prove the existence of God from the laws of logic alone. It dates back to St Anselm, an eleventh century philosopher-theologian and archbishop of Canterbury, but was also used by the French philosopher Rene Descartes. It argues that once we mentally grasp the concept of God we can see that God’s non-existence is impossible. This argument, if it is successful, demonstrates the existence of a perfect being that could not possibly fail to exist (Arguments for God's Existence, 2004). One of the major arguments against God is caused by the invisible nature of God. Atheists are of the view that if God exists, he should appear in a visible form. In their opinion, the existence of invisible things without scientific proof cannot be believed. At the same time it should be noted that we believe that electrons and protons do exists and electricity is the flow of electrons. In other words, we have no problems in believing in the existence of electrons even though we never seen it. However, we can experience the effect of electron flow (electricity) in many ways. We know that a bulb may not be lighted unless the electricity flows through its filament. If we can believe in the existence of electrons, we can definitely believe in the existence of God also. Believers can experience the influence of God in many ways. It should be noted that electrons will flow only through good conductors. Objects such as wood, glass, etc like insulators may not conduct electricity. Same way God will act only through his believers. In other words, both electrons and the God need a medium for its working. In the case of electrons, the medium is conductors whereas in the case of God, the medium is believers. Bad conductors will never agree the concept of electron and same way atheists will never agree with the concept of God. When we look at the design and structure of this universe, we cannot reject the idea of a creator. It is illogical to believe that everything in this universe occurred accidently. In other words the symmetry of this universe provides ample evidences for the existence of god. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life. The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph (Adamson, n. d). It is difficult to believe that all these things took its places accidently. As in the case of machinery, all the parts of this universe need to be in the right places in order to sustain life on earth. It should be noted that science rely on the force of attraction principle to explain why spherical objects like earth and moon stay in this universe as it is. It should be noted that the concept of force of attraction from sun put forward by science to explain the stability of earth in its orbit. It is difficult to consider scientific principles always as it undergo changes periodically. At the time of writing this paper, Einstein’s principle of relativity seems to be on the verge of modification or elimination. According to this principle, light was the fastest moving thing in this world. However, some of the recent discoveries point towards the existence of another thing which may move even faster than light. According to guardian.co.uk reports on Thursday 22 September 2011, “Particle physicists detect neutrinos travelling faster than light, a feat forbidden by Einstein's theory of special relativity” (Faster than light particles found, claim scientists, 2011). If this discovery is true, many of the basic scientific principles will be changed. Same way, earlier science taught us that Sun is moving and earth remains stationary. Later science modified it and argued that earth is moving and sun remains stationary. As per the current evidences, both sun and earth are moving. In other words, scientific principles are changing rapidly and therefore trusting of these principles beyond certain limits is illogical. How is it possible to think that the balance in the world came about by coincidence when the extraordinary harmony of nature is observable even with the naked eye? It is the most unreasonable claim to say that the universe, each point of which suggests the existence of its Creator, has come into being on its own. Therefore, there should be a designer of the balance visible everywhere from our body to the farthest corners of the inconceivably vast universe. So, who is this Creator that ordained everything so subtly and created all? He cannot be any material being present within the universe, because His must be a will that existed before the universe and created the universe therewith. The Almighty Creator is One in Whom everything finds existence, yet Whose existence is without any beginning or end (Yahya, 2011) According to cosmological argument, “If I say something must have a cause, it has a cause. If I say the universe must have a cause, the universe has a cause. Therefore, God exists” (Hundreds of Proofs of God’s Existence, n. d). Science always starts the description of the origin of universe from hydrogen and helium clouds. Science argues that clouds, dusts, hydrogen etc were the first particles which started the formation of universe. These particles came closer and somehow and started to attain the proportions of a massive body. As per scientific principles, when the mass of an object increases, it may attain more attractive power and may attract even distant bodies. As the attractive power of this body increased, it attracted all the other particles or objects in this world and assembled everything under its control. In short science argues that the universe formed as a result of the above mechanism. At the same time science keeps silence about how the first particles originated in this universe. Once it starts from the concept of hydrogen, helium, dusts etc, it may argue everything logically with the help of scientific arguments. However the origin of these particles still remains controversial. One question which inevitably comes up in a discussion is what is the origin of God? If God created matter/energy, and designed the systems that have propelled matter into its present arrangement, who or what accomplished that for God? Why is it any more reasonable to believe that God has always been than it is to say that matter has always been? As Carl Sagan has said, "If we say that God has always been, why not save a step and conclude that the universe has always been?"(Clayton, 2011). The above questions cannot be answered with the help of any logic or evidences; but it can be answered only with the help of certain beliefs. There are many questions which are unanswered by science. Science does not have any objection in believing in the existence of mind or soul in human body. It should be noted that these things are invisible and disprovable and still science has no hesitation in believing in such things. The logic behind this scientific concept about the existence of mind or soul is the fact that energy is required to perform any work. Mind or soul is considered as the driving force or energy of body. In other words, all the bodily functions occur because of the existence of mental power or energy. According to scientific principles, energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. If mind or soul is an energy form, then it cannot be destroyed even after the dearth of a person. If that is correct, science should answer the question; what happens to soul after death. Science has no clue at all about what happens to soul after death even though it accepts the existence of soul on every living thing. The arguments of religions seem to be relevant here. Religions believe that soul comes to human body from God or soul is a spiritual thing rather than a physical thing. Physical things can be destroyed, but spiritual things cannot be destroyed. In other words, spiritual things are beyond the grasping capacity of human since it comes from God. In short, the eternity of God can be easily recognized from above arguments. “Human beings are aware of actions as being right and wrong, obligatory and forbidden. Such awareness carries with it the thought that they are “bound” to do some things and bound to avoid doing others” (Byrne, 2007). Another thing which suggests the existence of God is the human awareness about good and evil. It is a fact the before we do something, we normally thin about the morality of that action. Our mind will always advise us to stay away from something which is perceived as a wrong act. What force gives us the sense of good and evil, is a question difficult answer with the help of scientific principles. Earth is only one planet out of the eight planets of sun. Sun on the other hand, is only one star of the galaxy; Milky Way. There are Billions of galaxies in this universe. Our knowledge about the world outside of earth is still very limited. In other words, we know very little about this universe and based on that it is illogical to deny the existence of God. Conclusions The existence of God is a controversial topic and it may continue in that manner forever. There are logical arguments both in favor and against the existence of God. Arguments against God are mostly based on scientific facts whereas arguments in favor of God seem to be based on belief. Since many of the scientific principles undergoing changes at present, it is illogical to rely heavily on scientific principles to deny the existence of God. There are many things upon which science put trust even if they are not provable. Moreover, our knowledge about this universe is extremely small when we compare the size of this universe. The controversies surrounding life before birth and life after death are still unanswered even though science does believe in the existence of energy (soul) on every human body which is alive. Under such circumstances, it is logical to argue in favor of the existence of God rather than denying it. References Adamson M. (n.d), Is there a god? Retrieved from http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html Arguments for God's Existence (2004), Retrieved from http://www.existence-of-god.com/existence-of-god.html Byrne P (2007), Moral Arguments for the Existence of God. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://171.67.193.20/entries/moral-arguments-god/ Clayton J.N. (2011), Does God Exist? Retrieved from http://www.doesgodexist.org/ Faster than light particles found, claim scientists (2011). Guardian.co.uk. Thursday 22 September 2011 Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/22/faster-than-light-particles-neutrinos Hundreds of Proofs of God’s Existence (n. d), Retrieved from http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm Yahya H. (2011). The existence of God. Retrieved from http://www.harunyahya.com/Existence_of_God.php Read More