The God of the Philosophers - Part 2

God's Existence

There was an inordinate delay in bringing out this 

part. It took a long while to read and understand the 

arguments for and against the existence of God. At 

the end, I decided to give a brief outline and leave 

the matter at that. 

The following are some of the different lines of 

arguments to prove the existence of God:

1.   The ontological argument.

2.   The cosmological (causal) argument.

3.   The argument from contingency.

4.   The argument from religious experience.

5.   The utility argument.

6.   The argument from miracles.

7.   The argument from design.

Of the above, let us take just one and very briefly 

look at the arguments for and against the existence 

of God.

The cosmological (causal) argument.

The argument proceeds from the fact that the universe and everything in it exists. Looking around us, we see millions of stars and galaxies, many varieties of living things and the panorama of human life. All this must have come from somewhere; some being must have produced it. Who could that be, but God? In other words, everything has a cause; in this case, the universe and everything in it must have a cause. That cause is God; therefore, God exists.

Once we accept that everything has a cause, and that cause is what we term God, then there arises the 

logical question: God Himself must then have a 

cause!! Who caused God? A super God? Hence, the causal argument cannot exclusively prove that God exists.

Similarly, there are supporting and opposing proofs 

for the other arguments. The internet is full of them.

The faithful believe in God’s existence as part of their belief system and no amount of philosophical arguments can turn them around. The atheist, on the other hand, is convinced about the rationality of his arguments against God’s existence.  There is no via media, no compromise!

So, let me leave everyone to his or her convictions 

and touch on another close issue – nature of God.