Philosophical Argument For The Existence Of God example essay topic

Introduction Does God exist? This is a question that men have asked themselves since the beginning of time. In my opinion, yes, God does exist. In this paper I will provide six separate arguments given by different philosophers throughout history. Three will be in support of the existence of God, and the other three will argue against the existence of God.

Six Arguments Many philosophers have given arguments in support of the existence of God. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician gave a logical argument for the existence of God. He said, God either exists or he does not. If we believe in God and he does exist, then we will be rewarded with an eternity in heaven.

If God does not exist, than the most we have miss out on is a few sinful pleasures. If we do not believe in God and he does exist, then we may have to face an eternity in hell for the pleasure of a few sins. If we do not believe in God and he does not exist, then we will face no consequences for our sins. After stating these points, Pascal asks this question. Would any rational gambler think the experience of a few sinful pleasures is worth the risk of eternal suffering? Soren Kierkegaard also gave a philosophical argument for the existence of God.

Kierkegaard said it was irrational to believe in God, but that we should still believe in God even if it seems absurd. His argument tells us that reason has no place in faith because God is beyond reason. Another philosopher that argued in support of the existence of God was Hegel. Hegal thought that the God of religion was an intuition of Absolute Spirit or Geist. Hegal's Geist is not like the God of traditional Christianity. In Hegal's view God is immanent and all of history is the process of Geist coming to know itself.

As such we are all part of Geist, or God. There are also arguments against the existence of God. Nietzsche proposed the notion that God is a human creation. He suggests that once we are aware that the concept of God is our own creation we can no longer base our religious and moral beliefs on any concept of a divine external reality. Nietzsche says it is time for us to create a new mode of being, with human creativity at its center. Kant is another philosopher that argued against the existence of god.

Kant's argument is basically that God is created by man to give purpose to the moral realm. Marx was another philosopher who argued against the existence of God. According to his argument, Marx sees religion as a part of an ideological view that encourages the oppressed to accept their fate. He says, Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.

It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness. The call to abandon their illusions about their condition is to call to abandon a condition which requires illusions. Evaluation of the Six Arguments There were many good points given in the arguments in support for the existence of God. Pascal's argument was an amusing anecdote. He basically insinuates that it is common sense to believe in God.

He says that we really have nothing to loose and everything to gain by believing in God. Kierkegaard also gives a good argument. Since God is the highest, most divine being, He is beyond human reason. This argument also has its weaknesses. Kierkegaard does not really give concrete evidence that God exists, he simply says that we do not need evidence because God is divine.

Hegal's argument says that we are all part of the greater being that is God. Hegal says that God is in everything. I believe that the weakness of this argument is that if the meaning of God is the highest most divine being, then there can only be one being that is God. God can not be made up of Mankind because we all have faults. There were also many strengths and weaknesses in the arguments against the existence of God. Nietzsche's argument says that man made God up so that we could have something to base our morals and values on.

He says it is time for us to realize this and reevaluate our morals and values. This is a good argument because if you accept the premise, people are basing their morality on an entity that does not exist. If this is true, we do need to reevaluate our morals. Kant's argument says that man has created God as a basis for his moral realm.

This arguments weakness is that mankind would not need morals if we were not called upon to answer to a divine being. If there were no God, then people would do whatever they wanted to do. Marx also argued against the existence of God. He says that God is made up so that we can accept our suffering. He says that if man were truly happy, he would not need something like heaven to look forward to. This is a good argument because men do indeed tend to look to God only in times of suffering therefore if men were not suffering there would be no need for God.

Summary and Conclusion The purpose of this paper is to provide three arguments in support of the existence of God, and three arguments against the existence of God. Hopefully after reading this paper people will see a reason why they should believe or should not believe in God. I do not wish to make that decision for anyone but to help them make the decision for themselves..