The Argument for the Existence of God Essay

According to William James, a 20th century philosopher; every religious experience has four characteristics. Ineffability, meaning that these experiences can’t be expressed or it is challenging to express them; people often gain an insight or they learn something from the experience of how to carry on with their life. Transiency,

Most arguments for the existence of God are ‘a posteriori’, seeking to move from experiences within the world to the existence of God rather than relying on the definition of God to prove his existence. Religious experience is an interaction with God or a feeling of connection with a higher power. It is interesting to note that William James never spoke of ‘God’ but of the ‘spiritual’, ‘unseen order’ or ‘higher’ aspects of the world. Does a person have to be sure they encountered God rather than connecting with a higher power for their experience to be classed as ’religious experience’? The basic problem when trying to verify religious experiences is providing proof to show others that

existence of God (1).With the ordering of the universe, created by an intelligent being, they hold

In contrast to the classical arguments for the existence of God, namely the ontological, cosmological and teleological arguments, the argument from religious experience doesn’t just entail a set logical of points arriving at a conclusion on a piece of paper, rather it also necessitates sense-based experience, tangible to the individual who experiences the divine.

In his Proslogion, written in 1077-1078, St. Anselm of Canterbury, introduced the first formulation of his ontological proof for the existence of God. In an effort to gain a deeper knowledge and acquaintance with his creator, Anselm set out to logically deduce God’s existence from the very definition of God. In the Proslogion he writes, “God is that which a greater cannot be thought. Whoever understands this properly, understands that this being exists in such a way that he cannot, even in thought, fail to exist” (Anselm, 101). Anselm uses this definition as the fundamental argument for his proof of God’s existence. He argues that if the “fool” or disbeliever denies the existence of God, he is still capable of understanding the definition of God, thereby God exists in his mind as a mental image but not necessarily in reality. However, since the very definition of God is “that which a greater cannot be thought” and surely what exists both mentally and in reality must be greater than what exists only mentally, then God’s existence in the fool’s thoughts must inevitably imply his existence in reality, as well. If that’s not true, than the thought the fool has cannot be of God, since if that thought only exists mentally then there must be something greater than it is and that goes against Anselm’s definition. Ultimately, according to Anselm’s definition, it would be self-contradictory to deny the existence of such a being.

Descartes points of view and reasoning about God existence is purely based on perception. He could sense the presence of God but cannot know for granted God's intentions toward men. Admitting God's existence is recognizing that there is a bigger order, a bigger being, for whom our human stands should not apply and whose role we are not called to define.

The argument for God, based on personal Religious experiences, is an argument that cannot be refuted by others. While others may not have the ability to prove the existence of God, through another’s experiences, they also cannot disprove this existence. A person’s personal experiences are something that no other person can determine, nor argue. My experiences are my interpretations for the occurrences within my life, therefore, another person cannot determine what my true experiences are, or how they make me feel or believe. Kreeft points out that there really is no need for an argument for the existence of God, based on these personal experiences, since another person cannot determine another’s

The Bible begins with the book of Genesis stating, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Bible doesn’t begin with an argument for the reality of God, but states the truth of His existence. The Jews accepted the truth of an eternal God, so the authors rarely spent time with an argument for His existence. However, today in our society, it is usually required to begin explaining the gospel with an argument for God’s existence. 1 Peter 3:15 instructs believers to, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” For the believer, it is a good practice to have an understanding of the arguments for God’s existence. It is important to realize that

God exists, and there are four main arguments to prove it. The four arguments are mind, causal, design, and moral. You cannot trust your own thinking if everything just happened by chance. Something caused everything to happen. For the world to have such a marvelous design there must be a designer. All cultures have a moral code, so there has to be a moral giver. He also reveals Himself through the Bible which makes it completely reasonable to believe He exists and is alive. When I was in sixth grade, I was sick and was tired of it. I turned to the back of my Bible and read the passages that were listed in the back under what to read when you are sick. As soon I finished reading, I was no longer sick. We are aware that He is our Creator, our

If I was asked what evidence I had for God's existence, I would first start by explaining the four levels of happiness. Level One is laetus, which is a temporary pleasure from things such as food or technology. Felix is Level Two. This is happiness from self esteem or personal achievement which, eventually, will lead us to an unsatisfied life. Beatus is sacrificing our own life to help others and make a difference. Most importantly, sublimitas is the ultimate happiness which can only be reached beyond our world. This leads to the five transcendent desires: unconditional and perfect love, justice, beauty, truth, and home. These are things we can never perfectly experience on earth. However, for every desire we have, there is a fulfillment. What

The arguments are like roads, from different starting points, all aiming at the same goal of God. How do we know God exists? As Christians, we know God exists because we speak to Him every day. Thomas Aquinas, Jacques Maritain, and Aristotle have taught us we do not audibly hear Him speaking to us, but we sense His presence, we feel His leading, we know His love, we desire His grace. Things have occurred in our lives that have no possible explanation other than God, according to Jacques Maritain. God has so miraculously saved us and changed our lives that we cannot help but acknowledge and praise His existence. With this being said I agree that God does truly exist with the help of Thomas Aquinas, Jacques Maritain, and

We may even assert that the existence of God is far more evidently perceived than the existence of men; because the effects of Nature are infinitely more numerous and considerable, than those ascribed to human agents. (Principles 109)

The existence of God has been a controversial question for as long as time has existed. As many arguments can be made for and against the existence of God. In this essay, I wish to explore arguments both for and against and eventually come a conclusion that God does indeed exist. The very essence of Man, all his values and his beliefs, are wrapped up in this question, "Does God exist?"

There are two main issues in the philosophy of religion that focus on the existence of God. First and foremost, there are four arguments that describes the philosophy of religion which are cosmological arguments, ontological arguments and teleological arguments. Cosmological idea are empirical a posteriori arguments based on experience and sense perception. Our experience of the world shows God as the cause, creator or ultimate explanation of the word. Ontological concept are rational a posteriori arguments based on the pure reason, independently of sense experience. The definition or essence of God, the sort of being God is requires its existence. The third concept is teleological argument which is empirical a posteriori arguments also

The Existence of God What we call religious experience can differ greatly. Some reports exist of supernatural happenings that it would be difficult to explain from a rational, scientific point of view. On the other hand, there also exist the sorts of testimonies that simply seem to convey a feeling or a peace of oneness- something which most of us, religious or not, may possibly relate to.