God’s Existence: Arguments and Counterarguments

Posted on Feb 28, 2025 in Philosophy and ethics

Definition of God

Definition of God: The supreme or ultimate reality; infinite mind.

Key Concepts

  • Key Idea: Existence in reality is superior to existence in understanding alone.
  • Necessary Thing: Something that exists in reality.
  • Theodicy: An attempt to explain why God allows evil.

Ontological Argument

The ontological argument posits that just as the concept of a bachelor implies that every bachelor is male, the concept of God implies that God exists. The concept of a bachelor explicitly includes being unmarried. Similarly, the ontological argument attempts to deduce God’s existence from the very definition of God, although the concept of God does not explicitly assert existence.

Campbell’s Libertarianism

  • Determinism is false and incompatible with freedom and responsibility.
  • Free will equals indeterminism.
  • People can exercise free will when they exert moral effort to overcome desires derived from their characters (implying that free actions are rare).
  • The degree of moral responsibility depends on the degree of moral effort.
  • Non-random indeterminism is a necessary condition.

Stace’s Soft Determinism

  • Determinism is true and compatible with free will and moral responsibility.
  • The meaning of free will must differ from being uncaused, based on common language usage.
  • A contrast exists between freedom and external causation only.
  • Determinism is a necessary condition for moral responsibility.
  • One is justifiably responsible for actions done freely (free will equals internal cause).

Argument for Design (Teleological Argument)

All things have an order or arrangement and work towards an end. The universe’s order cannot be explained by chance but only by design and purpose. Design and purpose are products of intelligence. Therefore, nature is directed by a Divine Intelligence or Great Designer.

Craig’s Argument on Morality

Craig argues that if God and His commands are not the basis of morality, then morality cannot be objective. He asserts that God exists, proven by the existence of moral values. He also claims that atheists cannot deem actions like rape objectively wrong, as God is the source of moral wrongness.

Armstrong’s Counterargument

Armstrong disagrees with Craig, stating that atheists can believe things are wrong because they cause harm, among other reasons. Armstrong’s arguments against Craig include:

  • Craig uses an appeal to authority, relying on the trust of other philosophers.

Does the objectivity of morality require God’s existence? Craig: Yes. Sinnott-Armstrong: No.

Naturalism

Naturalism is the idea that the supernatural, including miracles, does not exist. However, this cannot be proven, just as atheism cannot be proven. As long as God’s existence is not disproven and remains possible, the existence of miracles is also possible.

Analogical Design Argument

  1. Watches are goal-directed systems: their parts are organized to perform a function.
  2. Watches are the products of intelligent design.
  3. The human eye, animals, and plants are also goal-directed systems.
  4. Therefore, probably, the human eye, animals, and plants are also products of intelligent design.