UNIT ONE: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
The basics of this unit are the arguments for and against the existence of
God. You will need to know a few key arguments for each side and be able to
critique each one. So, here we go…
Here are 3 key words which you MUST use in your exam. Remember,
examiners love seeing key words.
Define them:
Atheist:
Theist:
Agnostic:
Of course, the whole unit focuses on the concept of proof. Proof is evidence
that guarantees something. There are lots of arguments about whether
God’s existence can be proved. What arguments can you give for and against
God’s existence?
These theories suggest that God does exist:
These theories suggest that God does NOT exist:
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The first cause argument for the existence of God
The first cause argument is sometimes called the cosmological argument.
(Coming from the word Cosmos which means to do with the universe).
The first cause argument was put forward by whom?
Well done! (You may remember him from such units as religion and conflict as
he was the chap who came up with the Just War theory)
The First Cause argument in 4 simple steps
1. We see things moving. (E.g., ‘A’ moves)
2. Things (A) don’t just move by themselves. Things have to be moved by
something else. (We will call the something else B.)
3. The something else (B) has to also have had a cause before it. C. This
cant go all the way back to infinity otherwise nothing would ever have
started – there has to have been a first cause.
4. The first cause must have been God – an uncaused cause.
Yes, its confusing but the more you think about it the more it will make
sense.
What do you think of this argument? Does it prove the existence of God?
(Remember, that is what the unit is all about!)
1 strength of this argument
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1 weakness of this argument
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David Hume is probably the most well known person who argued against
the first cause argument. His main points were:
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Just because most things have a cause it doesn’t mean we HAVE to
apply this to the whole universe.
Some people will argue that the universe can’t just be explained by
itself, it must have been created by God. However, people will accept
that God can be created by itself. (To put simply – if EVERYTHING has
to have a cause, how come God doesn’t?)
If God is perfect then why is the universe so full of imperfections?
Doesn’t this just suggest that God isn’t perfect? And if that is the case
then surely it can’t have been God who created the world?
Of course, for these arguments there are of course plenty of counter
arguments. That is what is called philosophy!
The Design argument for the existence of God
The design argument is also known as the teleological argument. (Teleos –
meaning design and order)
Perhaps the most famous example of this theory comes from William Paley.
Explain this theory below. There is handy hint picture to help you.
Thomas Aquinas (yes, him again) had a similar theory to this but he used the
illustration of a dart board. He argued that an arrow will not just hit a target by
itself. Someone intended to shoot the arrow. The arrow has to be exactly the
right weight and feathers etc. It all had to be just so. In the same way, the
universe needs an intelligent designer in order for there to be design and
order.
To put in very easy to remember terms – the design argument says that there
is so much design and order in the world that it can’t have just happened. It
needed to have been created.
1 strength of this argument
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1 weakness of this argument
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REMEMBER; you have to be able to talk about these arguments in terms
of what they suggest about the existence of God. These arguments are
NOT about why everything exists but purely about whether God exists.
Religious experience
Some would argue that God does exist because people have had experience
of him/it. You will not be asked about any specific religious experience but will
be asked about how religious experiences can be used to prove the existence
of God.
Arguments for and against religious experiences
For
- So many people have religious
experiences that not all of them can
be making it up
Against
- No proof that what a person has
experienced is God.
Practice exam questions and model answers
Explain how a religious experience may lead a person to believe in God. (6
marks)
‘The first cause argument does not prove the existence of God’ do you agree?
(6 marks)
Explain the teleological argument for the existence of God (6 marks) Have a
go at marking this one – look out for the P.E.E.L and make annotations.
The teleological argument for the existence of God is based in the belief that
the world is so ordered and complex that it must have had a designer
because such complexity could not have occurred as a result of an accident.
William Paley supported this theory. He used the example of a pocket watch
being so designed and ordered with everything needing to be in the right
place in order for it to work. Therefore it must have been designed. In the
same way, the world has so much order in it that it too must have been
designed and he suggested that designer was God.
The teleological argument then is used to prove the existence of God because
it suggests that the complexity of the world could not have been as the result
of chance or accident but must have been designed. The only thing great and
powerful enough to create the universe was God.