We live in a world where millions doubt the existence of God: a world of science and technology in which people only accept what they can prove. Why do these people doubt him and why do others believe so fervently?People have many varied reasons in believing in God. Some need the faith as a comfort to help them in times of loneliness or sadness. For others it gives a sense of purpose or perhaps a pattern on how to live their lives. However for the majority it is an explanation of why we are here, how we became and what will happen to us when we die. Different religions believe differently. To believe in God you need faith.
Faith is to believe in something so undisputedly you need not have proof. This topic of Gods existence is probably one of the most passionately debated arguments of all time. Many philosophers throughout the ages have devised theories to defend or prove wrong the Christian belief. People have accepted the fact that God created the universe for thousands of years, but recent advances in science have proved many theories correct, such as Charles Darwins Evolution theory: that man evolved from apes. Charles Darwin and ancestor?At the time this contradicted many beliefs on how God created man and many people refused to understand that he did not create us for a special purpose. In recent years, people have discovered that for some theories, science and religion need to go side by side, just like Thomas Aquinas first cause or big bang theory.
The Cosmological argument As Britain was slumbering around in the Dark Ages, Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274) a theologian (a person who believes in the systematic study of religions and religious beliefs) from Naples, Italy was studying the existence of God. He invented a reason why God does exist in 1265; the cosmological argument. In 1897 his views were recognised as the basis of Catholic theology by Pope Leo Vlll. Aquinas believed that the universe must have been created by something (which was the Big Bang) and that must have been created by something and the answer is God. Nothing can create itself! It has to be created in the first place. Karl Marx Karl Marx was a German philosopher who lived from 1818 until 1883 and he thought that religion was a waste of time. Marx believed that we should make the future happen for ourselves and not leave it to dreams.
He was influenced by Ludwig Feuerbach and Moses Hess, who were also religious sceptics. Marx was especially impressed by Hegel’s theory that a thing or thought could not be separated from its opposite. For example, the slave could not exist without the master, and vice versa. Feuerbachs theory Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) was a German philosopher and believed that most people in the world invent God. Feuerbach said,In religion, man denies his reason. They imagine him in their likeness and follow in his footsteps. Which gives them comfort, hope and trust. So they invent God and imagine he is real. Most People in the world are suffering. Feuerbach had views on religion for the future; What yesterday was still religion is no longer such today; and what today is atheism, tomorrow will be religion.
The Ontological argumentThis is one of the oldest arguments in Christian theology. Ontology is the study of the nature of being. St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury lived from 1033 to 1109 and he invented the Ontological argument. St Anselm was born in 1033 into a Catholic family, and was taught the catholic faith by his mother. At the age of 15, he wanted to join a monastery but he wasnt allowed to go. At the age of 27 St. Anselm fulfilled his wish and he went to the monastery of Bec in Normandy, France. During his life St. Anselm gained a reputation for being a good independent thinker and under the guidance of St. Anslem the monastery became a school of Philosophy and teleology. Think of the most wonderful, greatest thing possibleThe Ontological argument This must be greater than anything else.
Anything that.exists is more wonderful than anything that does not exist. This greatest, most wonderful thing must existTherefore, as we think of the most wonderful thing,we are thinking of something that must exist. The Teleological argument The Teleological argument was embraced by William Paley who stated that God must have created all of the amazing things in the world because they could not create themselves in so much detail and complexity. Living organisms, Paley argued, are even more complicated than watches, in a degree which exceeds all computation. Only an intelligent Designer could have created them. There has to be an original designer. So the universe must have been created by something or somebody and that somebody has to be God.
He has been accused of plagiarism even to the extent of his views of the intricacies of the watch. Paley was born in Peterborough, England in 1743. He worked as a priest and became archdeacon in 1772. He was an active opponent of the slave-trade and excelled in the writing of text books mostly concerning his theological philosophies.William Paley Pascals Wager Blaise Pascal was a scientist, mathematician and philosopher born on the 19th of June 1623 in Clermont-Ferrand in France. His mother was Antoinette Begon; she died when Blaise was three (1626). His father, Etienne took the responsibility of bringing him up and he taught his son himself. The Pascals moved to Paris on August 19th 1662 partly to prosecute Etiennes scientific studies and partly to carry on the education of Blaise who had already displayed exceptional ability.
Pascal had two sisters, Gilberte and Jacqueline. Blaise became deeply religious at the age of 14 when his father injured his leg and had to recuperate in his house. He was looked after by two young brothers from a religious movement just outside Rouen. They had a profound effect on the young Pascal and he became deeply religious. In 1648 Pascal began to work on Philosophy that he worked on for over 10 years. His wager was this; if God exists and you die, you have 2 options; if you have lead a bad life and had not believed in God, you will go to hell but if you have lead a good life and believed in God, you will go to heaven.God exists god does not existChristianHeaven!!!Never know about it Non-ChristianGo to hell!!Never know about itBut there is always the doubt of how much do you have to believe in God to go to Heaven if God does exist.
True disciples believe: Christianity is RightChristianity is Wrong100% fundamentalist Real ChristianHeaven!!!Never know about it99.999999% ChristianHellNever know about it75% ChristianHellNever know about it25% ChristianHell!Never know about itNon-Christian but try to believe hell!Never know about itPascal died August 19th 1662 at the age of 39 after a malignant growth spread to his brain. Blaise Pascal had a good plan for any would-be doubters, but it is a cheating way to try and get into Heaven. True faith should not need fail-safe measures. Conclusion I think it would be impossible to reach a conclusive answer to the question of the existence of God. Many philosophers such as those detailed above have tried to prove for and against with their theories on theology. This question has been philosophised since the dawn of time and in the modern world we are still no nearer a definite conclusion.
