The Existence of God

One of the main topics my religion course has focused on so far has been how one should go about demonstrating the existence of God using reason. Several different arguments were put forward, but all of them pretty much fell back upon the same idea: something cannot come from nothing. In order for a thing to come into being, existence must be granted it by something else. If a thing were to give itself existence, it would have to be there to give itself existence, to exist before it existed, or in other words, it would have to both exist and not exist at the same time. This violates a fundamental principle of reasoning, called the Principle of Noncontradiction, which states that something cannot both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect. Therefore, everything which we see around us that has being was brought into being by something else. If we were to trace back to the very beginning of the universe, to the first plants, rocks, particles and atoms of matter, we would still have to draw the same conclusion. So where did all this stuff that makes up the universe come from?

The only logical answer is that it was made by some being that does not owe its existence to anything else; it is itself existence; it is against its nature to not exist. This makes sense, because if we were to say that this being owed its existence to something else, we'd be stuck with the same problem again (well, where did the something else come from?). You see, if ever there were a time when absolutely nothing at all existed, there would still be nothing now, because, as was stated before, something cannot cause its own existence. Therefore, there is a being that is eternal and self-existing and that has granted existence to everything else that is. This being we call God.

Other arguments used to support the existence of God include the teleological argument, the moral argument, and the historical argument. The teleological argument says that the great complexity and yet perfect order of the universe, as well as its breathtaking beauty, point to a design for its existence, and therefore an intelligent Designer. The moral argument says that the presence of a conscience in man that gives him a sense of right and wrong and of a responsibility to live his life accordingly prove that there is a God Who has planted these dictates in our nature and to Whom everyone innately feels that sense of responsibility. The historical argument pretty much says what it looks like: history demonstrates that almost every race of people from the dawn of time, no matter how seemingly depraved they may be, have had some form of religion. This shows that men have an inherent knowledge that they depend on God, that they need Him, and that they must give Him their worship.

Conclusion: God exists, we all depend on Him for our very existence, and it would be well for us to acknowledge these facts and offer Him our praise, thanksgiving, and worship.