Subject:
Essay Writing Competition
Topic:
Existence of God
Full Name:
Hamza Mian
Member Code:
19063
Majlis:
London, Ontario
Home Address:
1144 Foxhunt Rd.
Home Phone or Cell Number: (519) 474-0417
It is perhaps one of the most debated questions man has ever asked: Does God Exist? It is a
question of great religious importance and comes with much controversy. This paper will thoroughly
examine and analyze evidence to support the existence of God from three perspectives: Philosophical,
Scientific and Religious. For the first two perspectives, the definition of God will be that of just a creator
of the universe and nothing more.
The philosophical method has been used for several millennia to determine whether an allpowerful deity is existent or not. This section will examine how some philosophers have brought their
ideas to the debate and how those are evident in the existence of God. Firstly, one must look towards
the works of perhaps the most influential of all rationalist philosophers: Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650).
In his most widely recognized work, Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes attempts to rebuild his
understanding of reality from the ground up. He does so by throwing away everything that can be
doubted about his knowledge. This leads him to believe that the only thing that cannot be doubted is his
own existence. “Cogito Ergo Sum” which is translated in English to “I think, therefore I am” and is a
widely known saying. This is the idea that since a man (or woman) can think, there exists an entity that is
doing the thinking. If the man (or woman) is being deceived by some external force to believe that
he/she exists, there exists an entity that is being deceived. Therefore, an entity, which is most likely the
person who is thinking, must exist. After this discovery, Descartes turns to the idea that the process of
thinking creates ideas; therefore, ideas must exist. Once that is established, he turns towards the
existence of God. However, the formula that Descartes uses to prove the existence of God is rather
controversial, and so only one part of his philosophy will be considered: Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit. Latin for “Out
of nothing, nothing comes”; it is perhaps the strongest evidence to support God’s existence. For a brief
moment, we now turn our attention towards a philosopher from the 20th Century who redefined
epistemology and metaphysics: Willard van Orman Quine (1908-2000). In Quine’s philosophy, he talks of
what are known as “Observation Sentences”. These are sentences that one may or may not assent to
depending on their beliefs and the evidence they have to support the subject matter. A rather fitting
example of an observation sentence is: God is existent. One can assent to this statement if they have the
believe it and if they have the evidence to support that belief. In Quine’s view, this is the definition of
knowledge; to attain belief in, evidence for, and the actual truth on a particular topic is to have
knowledge. However, to know the truth for certain is almost always an impossible task. Therefore,
knowing of God’s existence for certain may not be possible. However, we can still bring ideas and
evidence to the discussion so that one can assent to the displayed observation sentence. Going back to
Descartes philosophy, now we can see that once we provide sufficient evidence to support God’s
existence, it is still cannot be classified as a certain truth. However, in Descartes idea of “Out of nothing,
nothing comes”, we can see that there has to be a creator in the equation of the universe. Something
had to create the reality in which we live; if there was nothing creating us, nothing would have been
created. Now one might ask a very good question: Doesn’t that mean that someone must have created
God? A very good question; indeed. However, the one asking the question must have failed to recognize
that they are now assenting to the observation sentence: God is Existent. They now believe in the
existence of God, if even for a brief moment, because their belief has been altered by evidential support
(shown in the form of a question). However, the answer to the question that was raised is irrelevant.
The real question has now been answered with evidence to support it and there is no need to go further
than what we are limited to at the moment. Though it is possible, the existence of a greater being than
the one who has created us is not the subject of the discussion.
If we look back at the philosophies of Rene Descartes, he mentions that he can think meaning
that there is an existing entity which does the thinking. This entity is called “the mind”; not to be
confused with the physical brain of a human being. The mind is much like what one would describe as
the soul of a human being. It is able to create ideas; ideas do not exist in this physical world. Look
around. Do you see an idea floating near you? Most likely, the answer is: No. Therefore, the mind must
be of another realm or in another place of existence. However, it seems that it is somehow able to
interact with the physical world because it is able to connect to the brain. A person is able to think of
something and then act on it if they chose. This can only mean that the mind is interacting with the
brain to indirectly access the physical world. Considering this, let us look at the existence of God in the
same manner. The mind exists in a place that happens to be much like where God would exist; a place
unseen, yet somehow very close to the physical world. Much like how the mind can indirectly access the
physical world, it is entirely possible for a supreme being, such as God, to affect this universe in ways
that He may chose. The existence of this other realm advises that there must be more to it than just the
mind. The physical world has characteristics that are different from others, such as the force of gravity,
quarks, dark energy, and other such things that are different, yet related. This can only mean that the
existence of other entities in this realm is very likely. These entities could be angels or even the devil. In
conclusion, as shown in the idea of the mind, the existence of God is indeed possible and as shown in
Descartes’ Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit argument, the existence of a creator (God) is evident.
Science seems to be the biggest opposition of religion; denying the existence of God with each
progressive step. However, in these scientific progressions, there is even more proof of the existence of
God than one might imagine. With each question answered, more and more questions arise; questions
that lead us to God.
Every major religion in the world is based off of the existence of God. Every religious scripture
informs humans that God exists and that God can lead mankind to its destination. To begin, one must
recognize that man’s creation must have a purpose. Many have tried to answer the question: What is
the purpose of man? Many of the religious scriptures say that the purpose of man is to serve God.
However, how can one serve God if one is not alive? Man must first survive in order to be able to
achieve a higher task. Perhaps the purpose of humans is enhanced as man achieves his tasks. Well, by
this logic, maybe there is a task below survival. In order for one to survive in this world, one must first
gain the knowledge to help him survive. However, as I have shown in the philosophical discussion,
gaining of knowledge as absolute truth is impossible. Then how must we gain the knowledge to survive
and be able to serve God? It is evident that mankind cannot survive in this world by their selves. Now if
we turn our attention towards God, we may be able to solve this dilemma. The definition of God in
religious terms tells us that He is one who is all-powerful, all-gracious, all-merciful, and most importantly
all-knowing. God is a being that knows everything, meaning that he knows the truth for certain.
Humankind needs the truth so that it can succeed in the tasks at hand. The answer lies in divine
revelation. Throughout the centuries, ever since humans began communing with other humans, God has
sent prophets to the people. These prophets were able to receive direct knowledge from God Himself.
The prophet would then share God’s knowledge of the certain truth with the other human beings. This
allows for mankind to gain the knowledge that it needs for survival in this world. At the end, man is able
to achieve its main goal: Serving God. As one may be able to see now, the process is an endless loop.
God helps man so that he can serve God who proceeds to help man and so on.