Existence Of God example essay topic
This paper's purpose is to prove the existence of God. There are ten main reasons that are presented in this paper that show the actuality of God. It also shows counter-arguments to the competing positions (the presence of evil). It also gives anticipatory responses to possible objections to the thesis.
The first reason focuses on the belief of faith. The following passage is taken from the Bible. It has excellent meaning because it shows that everyone has faith. Having faith is the first sign that shows everyone believes in a religion.
There are two good definitions of religion. The first is belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. The second is a personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. The passage shows that everyone has an institutionalized system that has belief. The passage is as follows, "Everyone believes in something. No one can endure the stress and cares of life without faith in God.
Atheists cannot prove there is no God. Pantheists cannot prove that everything is God. Pragmatists cannot prove that what will count for them in the future is what works for them now. Nor can agnostics prove that it is impossible to know one way or the other. Faith is unavoidable, even if we chose to believe only in ourselves. What is to be decided is what evidence we think is pertinent, how we are going to interpret that evidence, and who or what we are willing to believe in".
(Luke 16: 16) (4) The passage is great proof that there is a God. It shows that everyone has faith. Faith is a big aspect in religion. With every religion, there is likely to be a single holy being, a god. Many atheists have used science as a way to disapprove the existence of God. Science is not an accurate way of disapproving the existence of God (2).
Scientific method is limited to a process defined by what is measurable and repeatable. By definition, it cannot speak to issues of ultimate origin (creation), meaning, or morality. For such answers, science relies on the values of personal beliefs of those who use it. Science itself offers no moral guidance or values to govern our lives.
All science can do is show us how natural law works, while telling us nothing about its origins. Some have assumed that an evolutionary explanation of life would make God fiction. This overlooks some problems. Even if we assume that scientists will someday find enough "missing links" to confirm that life appeared and developed gradually over great periods of time, unsolved theories would still show the need for a creator. As a result, many scientists who believe in evolution also believe that the universe in all of its immensity and complexity did not "just happen". Many feel compelled to acknowledge the possibility or even likelihood of an intelligent designer (God) who provided the ingredients for life and set in motion the laws by which it developed.
The next two passages are both taken from the Bible. They focus on how humanity has denied the existence of God only to prove to itself that there is and always will be a God. The two passages are, "Mankind has been described as incurably religious. In unguarded moments of trouble or surprise, in prayer or in profanity, references to deity persist. Those who would dismiss such thoughts as bad habits or social vices are left with unanswerable questions. Denying the existence of God does not dispel the mysteries of life.
Attempts to exclude God from the language of civil life does not eliminate the persistent longing for more than this life has to offer". (Ecclesiastes 3: 11) There is something about truth, beauty, and love that make our hearts ache. Even in our anger with a God who would permit injustice and pain, we draw upon a moral conscience to argue that life is not as it ought to be (Romans 2: 14-15). Man in the past has conceived the idea that God did not exist. He has believed that idea and tried to defend his theory. His theory failed because with no God, many mysteries of life remain unsolved.
There is evidence that proves the existence of God through witnesses throughout the time the Bible was written. People have witnessed miracles. On the first reading, the opening words of the Bible seem to assume the existence of God. Genesis, however, was written at a point of time in history. Moses wrote about miraculous events that were said to have been witnessed by millions of Jews and Egyptians. From the departure of the Jews to the coming of Messiah, God rests His case on events witnessed in real time and locations.
Anyone who doubted the claims could visit real places and people to check out the evidence for themselves. Israel and the Jewish followers are often used as an argument against God. Many find it difficult to believe in a God who would be partial to a "chosen people". Others find it harder to believe in a God who would not protect his "chosen nation" from the boxcars, gas chambers, and ovens of Auschwitz and Dachau. The events of World War 2 and the slavery of Jews in ancient Egypt show much suffering to Jews. A question that is brought up is, why would God let his "chosen people" suffer?
The answer is from the beginning of the Old Testament history. Israel's future was prewritten. Together with other prophets, Moses predicted not only Israel's possession of the land but also her unparalleled suffering and dispersion throughout the whole earth, her eventual repentance and then finally her last-days restoration (Deuteronomy 28-34; Isaiah 2: 1-5; Ezekiel 37-38). Many who doubt the existence of God have reassured themselves with the thought, "If God wanted us to believe in Him, He would appear to us".
God has appeared to us. He appeared to us as Jesus. According to the Bible, that is what God has done. Writing in the 7th century BC, the prophet Isaiah said that God would give His people a sign. A virgin would bear a son who would be called "God with us" (Isaiah 7: 14; Matthew 1: 23). Isaiah said this Son would be called, "Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9: 6).
The Prophet also said that this child would die for His people's sins before seeing His life prolonged and honored by God (Isaiah 53). According to the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be that Messiah. Under the oversight of a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate, He was crucified on charges that He claimed to be the king of Israel and that He had represented Himself as being equal with God (John 5: 18). More proof that God exists is also supported by the followers of Jesus gaining Jesus' trust. The reports of the first followers of Jesus agree that He did more than just claim to be the long awaited Messiah. These witnesses said he won their trust by healing paralytics, walking on water, and then voluntarily dying a painful, undeserved death before rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15: 1-8).
Most compelling was their claim that many witnesses had seen and talked to Christ after finding His tomb empty and before watching Him ascend visibly into the clouds. These witnesses didn't have anything to gain by their claims. These witnesses became martyrs, claiming to the end that the long-awaited Messiah of Israel had lived among them, that He had become a sacrifice for sin, and that He had risen from the dead to assure them of His ability to bring them to God. Some who believe in God do not take His existence seriously. Many people think that God does not care about his creations. They reason that a God great enough to create the universe would be too big to be concerned about us.
Jesus however, proves that God cares for all. If you are a Christian, you believe that God is the father, the son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Jesus, the son, died for our sins. That proves that God cares for us, when God makes such a significant sacrifice.
He showed that God is great enough to care about the smallest details of our lives. He spoke of one who not only knows every move we make but also the motives and thoughts of our heart, and even the condition of a fallen sparrow (Psalm 139; Matthew 6) The last reason why God exists involves how we look at God (3). The Bible says that God designs the circumstances of our lives in a way that will prompt us to look for Him (Acts 17: 26). For those who do reach out for Him, the Scriptures also say that He is close enough to be found (Acts 17: 27). According to the apostle Paul, God is a Spirit in whom "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17: 28) (4).
The Bible makes it just as clear however that we must reach out for God on His terms rather than our own. He promises to be found, not by just anyone but by those who admit their own need and are wiling to trust Him rather than themselves. Atheists have a valid argument that denies the existence of God. The presence of Evil on earth almost shatters the manifestation of God. Evil is the decaying of the human soul, it is that which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction. The question that is brought up is why God would let evil be present on earth.
This can be answered by the Augustinian theodicy. The Augustinian theodicy was written by St. Augustine. It is considered to be such a great answer to the presence of evil that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have all adopted it. Three questions are brought up in the Augustinian theodicy, where does evil come from, what is evil exactly, and why God permit it.
Evil is the misuse of free choice by human beings and angels. We have no one to blame for the existence of evil accept ourselves and angels. God is not to blame. Evil is the taking away from the being. With the presence of evil our souls decay. The only reason why there is taking away from the being is because we allow for it to happen.
The most important question is why God permits evil. God permits evil because a world with pain and suffering makes the world more beautiful. It makes the world more beautiful because we learn from our mistakes, and because it makes the world less dull. The Augustinian theodicy shuts down the major argument of the Atheists, the presence of evil.
The presence of God is proven by the last ten paragraphs. Each paragraph is a great reason why God exists. The first reason was about how every being has faith. Faith leads to religion and religion leads to the belief and worship of God.
The second reason was about how atheists use science to disapprove the existence of God. That paragraph shows how science is not a valid tool to prove anything about creation. The third paragraph focuses on how atheists used evolution to deny the manifestation of God. Even some scientists believe that the universe was not created out of nothing. Something intelligent being had to start our world, even if we evolved.
The fourth reason is about how man has previously denied the presence of God. Man has done this only to realize that without God many mysteries of the universe would remain unsolved. The fifth reason is about how man has previously witnessed the miracles of God (ex. Jesus walking on water). The sixth reason is about how Jews have faced such pain. It was prewritten that Jews would have to go through much to reach salvation.
The seventh reason is about how God has appeared to us. Many people validate that God is fiction because he never appears to us. This statement is false because God has appeared to us in the form of Jesus. The eighth reason is because God exists people have talked to him and believed in him. The true believers have become his disciples. The ninth reason is because people do not believe that God cares for us.
This is completely false because God made the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed himself so he could redeem humanity and that all their sins would be forgiven. Making such a self sacrifice is good proof that God cares for humanity. The last reason that proves the existence of God is how we look at God. Most of humanity believes that God must look up to humanity, where as the truth is we must look up to God. The best argument that atheists have to disapprove the existence of God is the presence of evil.
But their argument is shut down by the Augustinian theodicy. These reasons are great proof that shows the existence of God. Any atheist who reads all ten reasons and the Augustinian theodicy can never disapprove the existence of God.
Bibliography
1) Oxford Readings in Philosophy. The Concept of God. New York: Oxford University press 1987 2) Gollwitzer, Helmut.
The Existence of God: As Confessed By Faith. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1965 3) The Summa Theological of St.
Thomas Aquinas. Whether God Exists? 1920.
New Advent. web K. Knight. 2003.
4) Holy Bible. New International Version. (New York). 1978.