Ontological Argument For The Existence Of God

Existence of God

The question as to the fact on whether or not God exists or ceases to exist has been one of the most debated. Human beings find it necessary to prove the existence of God so that we can give meaning to life. People that disprove his existence do so because they find meaning elsewhere, such as in evolution. A person can believe and have faith in God, but as to whether or not his existence can be proven lays the argument between theists and atheists. The philosophers discussed believe that faith and reason must be coherent with each other. St. Anselm with the Ontological argument, and Paley’s Teleological argument, all articulate proofs that provide an argument for God’s existence. In juxtaposition, Hume offers arguments against
First, is the argument for motion, which states that whatever is in motion is put in motion by another. God therefore is the First Mover and he gives us the will to move. Second, is the formality of efficient causation, which suggests that a thing can not be the efficient cause of itself. There has to be an order of efficient causation and something is always caused by another thing. Cause has to be created by an uncaused. In this case, God is the First Efficient Cause and it is because of him that all things exist. The third way is possibility and necessity, which says that some things are possible to be or not to be and things are given there necessity by a greater being. Both the second and third ways fall under the cosmological argument for God’s existence. The fourth way is the gradation of things and there is some more, some less good, true, noble, etc. Goodness had to come into the world somehow and this way is through God. The fifth way is the governance of the world and bestows that whatever lacks intelligence can not fulfill some purpose, unless it is directed by some being with intelligence and knowledge. This being that instills knowledge is to be known as God. All these ways are provided with the understanding that nothing can go on until infinity because if it did, then God would not be needed to
As an argument from design, Paley uses a watch to portray how God must without a doubt exist. He scrutinizes the watch and describes the intricate quality it possesses. The watch’s mechanism and parts are framed and put together for a purpose. The watch is not the outcome of pure chance like a rock; therefore it had to be designed by some greater being. Similar to the watch, the universe is also characterized with order and complexity. Due to such instance, the universe also had to be created by a greater source, which is God. The analogy of comparing the universe to a watch also captures the mysterious and unknown characteristics inherent within the universe. The teleological argument applies this criteria to the whole universe. If designs imply a designer, and the universe shows marks of design, then the universe was created. Clearly, every life form in earth's history has been extremely complex. Besides living things here on earth, the whole universe seems designed for life. Literally hundreds of conditions are required for life on earth. Everything from the mass density of the universe down to earthquake activity must be fine-tuned in order for life to survive. The random chance of all these things occurring is literally beyond imagination. With this much design, it is difficult to believe that