Since the ancient times, civilizations across the world have grappled with the Idea of their own creation and if there is an omnipresent God or supernatural being that transcends all levels of science. Tough questions arise at the very insistence of resolving the mystery about the existence of God, with scientists and philosophers pulling in all directions in an attempt to explain the core and origin of mankind.
Theories such as the Big Bang theory and Darwinism have been fronted to explain the origins of the universe and mankind, but none has been able to explain some critical issues that we experience in our daily lives such as the notion of consciousness and its relationship with matter, the question of infinite intelligence, among others (Haisch 36). It is therefore the purpose of this paper to evaluate some few issues about the existence of God.
The God theory as proposed by renowned astrophysicist Bernard Haisch leaves no doubt in our minds regarding the existence of a super deity. Heist uses the notion of consciousness to reveal how human beings are a filtered facet of the supernatural God. According to the astrophysicist, “…some combination of ideas within this infinite consciousness are compatible with each other and together result in environments in which evolution can take place and beings can live.
Some, however, are totally incompatible and result in pure chaos and an inability to evolve and manifest materially” (Haisch 16). This assertion points to the fact that an infinite intelligence, which is God, knows absolutely which ideas and concepts are compatible to give the universe the order we all enjoy. It reveals that our own existence can never be explained only in scientific notions of materialism, reductionism, or randomness.
The debate about the existence of God raise more philosophical questions than can be possibly answered using the existing knowledge. A fundamental limitation is that there is no universally acknowledged definition of God, not mentioning the fact that some definitions are self-defeating and self-contradictory (Mackie 47).
This, however, does not curtail the liveliness of the debate about the existence of God. As described above, the ordered environments that we exist in are a vivid indicator that some infinite consciousness in the form of God exist (Haisch 16).
Many other arguments have been fronted to back the existence of God. For instance, the cosmological argument asserts that in the beginning, there must have been a ‘first cause,’ an ‘uncaused cause’ or a ‘prime mover,’ and this can only be acknowledged as God (Existence-of-God.com para. 1).
The teleological argument, which nears the assumptions made by Haisch, argues that the order, design, and complexity witnessed in the universe is the best proof to demonstrate the existence of God. This argument basically follows the analogy of the watch design and the watch designer (Harrison para. 5). Still, the ontological argument argues on the premise that God is greater than any matter that can be conceived by human beings, hence his existence is without question.
Various philosophical arguments exist to counteract the above arguments. These arguments are atheistic in nature, and are broadly categorized into two groups – a priori and a posteriori arguments (Mackie 102). The first bunch – a priori arguments – asserts that there exist some valid logical inconsistency in the theistic notion about God, and as such, it is virtually impossible for such a deity to exist.
The problem of evil is one such contradiction, whereby the atheists argue that the very admittance that evil exists is proof enough that God does not exist since his all-powerful, all-loving, all-good, and all-knowing nature is unable to prevent evil (Mackie 104). The basic premise of this argument is that the all-encompassing nature of God knows how, and have the capacity to prevent all forms of suffering.
It therefore follows that we would naturally expect the super deity to prevent all forms of suffering. However, this is not the case and we continue to suffer under the watchful eyes of God, hence it’s prudent to say he does not exist (Mackie 105). Other contradictions in the a priori arguments against the existence of God include issues of pain, injustice, multiplicity, and Simplicity.
On the other hand, a posteriori arguments against the existence of God argue that the universe is different than it would have been if actually God existed due to such issues as rising crime rates, corruption, murders, etc. As such, the arguments conclude that existence of God under such circumstances cannot be validated (Mackie 111). All in all, it is evidently clear that the debate about the existence of a deity is not about to be concluded.
Works Cited
Existence-of-God.com. The First Cause Argument. 2004. Web.
Haisch, B. The God Theory: Universes, Zero-point Fields and what’s behind it All. San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. 2009.
Harrison, P. Arguments for and against the Existence of God. 1997. Web.
Mackie, J.L. The Miracle of Theism: Arguments for and against the Existence of God. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1983.