Existence of GOD

Syeda Farhat ul Ain

Bahria University Karachi

Popular world views…

• Theism : Believes in existence of God.• Atheism: Not believes in existence of God.• Omnipotent: Everything is possible, logically impossible (Descarte)• Omniscient: Knows everything.

The Design Argument• The simplest, most straightforward argument for the existence of God • Can be stated in a few, easy-to-understand steps.• Sometimes called as the teleological argument• The most influential argument for the existence of god throughout most of

history• If we pay close attention to the details of the universe in which we live, we’ll

be able to see that universe must have been created by an intelligent designer.

• The fact that everything in nature seems to be put together in just the right manner suggests that an intelligent designer was responsible for its creation.

Paley's Teleological ArgumentPremises:

• Human artifacts are products of intelligent design. They have a purpose• The universe resembles human artifacts. • Therefore the universe is a product of intelligent design and has a

purpose• But the universe is complex and gigantic, in comparison to human

artifacts.

Therefore, there probably is a powerful and vastly intelligent designer who created the universe.

• David Hume, 1711 - 1776, argued against the Design Argument through an examination of the nature of analogy.

The First Cause Argument• Nothing just is without a reason why it is. Everything that is has some

adequate or sufficient reason why it is. • Example of a rabbit.• The First Cause Must be Uncreated, Eternal

Ontology ?• Branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being as

such; metaphysical

Ontological argument?

• The argument that God, being defined as most great or perfect, must exist

St. Anselm

• Philosopher• Archbishop of canterbury ( late 11th century)• Proslogian (book)• Arguments on God’s existence in 2nd and 3rd part of his book

First Argument“Than that which nothing greater can be concieved”

• Does God exists merely in the understanding or in reality as well?

Greatest Conceivable Being

• All Knowing• All powerful• All loving• Just • Timeless• EXISTING

Not So Great a Being

• All Knowing• All Powerful• All Loving• Just• Timeless• Non-existent

Second Argument“God’s existence is necessary. He is a being that cannot not exist”

• Would it be possible for Him to go out of existence?

Criticism

• Monk and philosopher Gaunilo• Concept of Conceivable Island- beautiful and greatest in all respects.• The idea of Anselm was totally by absurd?

Anselm’s answer for Gaunilo

• Island can only exists contingently• God’s existence is necessary• Island can never have a maximal qualities• The properties that God is supposed to possess are maximal

properties

Rene Descartes• French philosopher• “I think, therefore I am”• He believed that we can prove the existence of god merely by LOGIC• By God, we mean a “supremely Perfect Being”• And PERFECTION=EXISTENCE• Hence, God must exists

Immanuel Kant• Philosopher• Late 18th century• Invented the phrase “ontological Argument”• He said, “God does not exist” is not a self contradictory• He also said that “existence is not a predicate”

Evil?

• Profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force

Moral Evil• Mora evil refers to the morally wrong intentions, choices and actions

of rational agents• Think of human greed and cruelty

• It refers to the operations of non-human nature• famine., diseases, earthquake

Natural Evil

Attempted solution to the problem of Evil• Saintliness

• Artistic Analogy

• The Free-will Defence

KNOWLEDGE, PROOF AND EXISTENCE OF GOD• Proofs, supposed to yield knowledge• Knowledge, a true and justified belief • Right sort of evidence• Objections on arguments• Objections lead to doubts, that leaves the decisions to you whether

the argument is proof or not• Argument against benevolent God, the problem of evil

THE FREE WILL DEFENCE• Free will, solution to the problem of evil• “the ability to choose for ourselves what to do”• Equal possibility of doing evil• Which is preferable one: free will or pre-determined?

Criticism• Suffering can be terrible• Two basic assumptions• Illusion of free will• Determined by past• There is a genuine free will in some sense• • Three important concepts:• Free will but no evil• God could not intervene• Doesn’t explain natural evil•

Beneficial laws of nature• Lack of regularity would cause chaos• Similar cause tends to produce similar effects• Natural evil, an unfortunate side-effect of laws of nature• This argument is vulnerable, in two ways:• Why omnipotent God would create such laws that lead to evil?• Why God does not intervene to perform miracles more often?

• Theist believe in :• Resurrection (The act of rising from the dead or returning to life)• Bring Lazarus back from dead

• Christianity and others religions believe that Miracles occur now

Miracle • A divine intervention in the normal course of events which involves

breaking an established law of nature…..

• Generalization about the way certain things behave…

• Most religions claims…God performs Miracles….confirmed the existence of God…

Hume on Miracles• “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” – Section X

• A person should never believe a report that a miracle had actually taken place unless it would be a greater miracle then the person reporting it, was mistaken.

• He thought that miracles were impossible as they are things that break the law of nature .• As a Naturalist he thinks: Anything that would break the Law of

Nature is not possible…

Arguments• Deliberately playing with word Miracle – Something out of ordinary

• Hume had following powerful arguments when it came to challenging the existence of miracles:

• Miracles Always Improbable• Psychological factors• Religions cancel out

Miracles Always Improbable• How a particular Law of Nature holds?• For something to be accepted as Law of Nature – there must be

Maximum possible amount of evidence confirming it.• In case of any miracle reported:• more evidence for it didn’t occurred than that it did.

• So a Wise person – Reluctant to believe occurrence of miracle.• E.g. Resurrection logically possible…but there is great amount of

evidence for supporting the view ‘it never happened’• A/c to Hume – we should be extremely reluctant to believe that it did.

Psychological factors• It can lead people to be self deceived… amazement and wonder are

pleasant emotions• We have tendency to believe highly improbable things. e.g. UFO – life

on Mars…ghost stories demonstrate possibility of life after death.• We are prone to believe miracles true• People approved those who have witnessed miracles….appealing to

think of it….. ‘some kind of prophet’.• This lead to interpret extraordinary events as miracles

Religions cancel out• Miracles claimed by all religions.• Different miracles Claimed by different religions – Multiple gods

exists….. But its not true: 1 Christian God and many Hindus gods• So the miracles claimed by different religions cancel each other out as

a proofs of existence of particular God.• Combination of these factors make rational people reluctant to

believe that miracles happened.

Was it a Miracle ???

No!!! Our senses have deceived us….

Thank You for Attention!