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.
Firstly, I will consider the nature of an experience. Experience
involves encounters which are empirical (testable via senses). We draw
non- empirical conclusions about many things and people- that they
have orange hair and are 5 feet tall, that they are lonely and
confused. These conclusions are mainly although not entirely based on
empirical evidence. If most our encounters with other people and
objects are empirical it is therefore reasonable to suggest that we
can experience God and draw conclusions about there nature from this
experience. If we can find meaning in things that cannot be verified
by empirical evidence then it may well be possible to experience God
and use these experiences to prove gods nature and existence.
Experiences of god are not regular and universal like ordinary
experiences. Religious experiences often accompanies existing belief
i.e. takes place with those who are already believers. God is believed
first via faith which means that by having a basic framework it'll
make you accept religious experiences. It is possible to conclude that
it is a learned belief.
Could one go as to suggest that religious experiences are proof for
the existence of God? For a religious believer the involvement of God
in human af...
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...eligious experience of their god. This then takes
us back to the notion that religious experiences are shadowed by ones
culture/ tradition and therefore human rather than divinely centred.
To conclude, I believe claiming a religious experience as a proof for
the existence of god creates more questions and problems than it seeks
to answer. Furthermore, sceptics may state that the fact one claims to
have had a religious experience does not mean that god exists. Just
because a person believes god is there (epistemology) does not mean
that God is actually there (ontology). You need something more than
the 'feeling' of religious experience for the verification of this.
The argument may form a part of a proof but it often combines with
other proofs, the argument is not sufficient alone.
[1] The Puzzle of God page 101
However, there is no researchers or method to either prove or disprove the existence of “God”. Descartes argues that the mind and soul cannot be measure in science; the mindless mechanistic “coincidences” is the direct results of God’s work. To conclude, the argument is all about faith and beliefs. There is no doubt that science contradicts religion, even some greatest scientists of the world have declared that there is some invisible power that we cannot explain through science. Yet, I believe that we should consider evidence that we have in order to examine the reality and “truth”. Our experiences of everyday life, the time that passed, the behaviors that we observe, were far more convincing than something that bases on a vague
Believing in God is a pretty big deal, just once it would be nice for someone to give full frontal proof that God existed. None of that “you just have to believe” talk, just hardcore evidence. Well the bible does just that. How much more proof would someone need than legit stories of the truth? Prime examples like Moses and the burning bush, God reveals himself to Moses in a remarkable way, that shows his full power and beyond humanity abilities. Just like this he makes it known again with Elijah when he proves his existence by bringing his flame to the offering to show the other citizens that the only God they should be worshiping is him.
The Proof of the Existence of God There are many arguments that try to prove the existence of God. In this essay I will look at the ontological argument, the cosmological. argument, empirical arguments such as the avoidance of error and the argument from the design of the. There are many criticisms of each of these that would say the existence of God can’t be proven that are perhaps.
The Moral Argument for the Existence of God Kant did NOT put forward a moral argument and anyone who said he does is wrong!!!! Kant rejected all attempts to argue from the world to God, he regarded such an exercise as impossible. However he thought that God was a POSTULATE of practical reason. If you share Kant’s assumptions, then it becomes necessary to assume that there is a God.
...as a result of outside forces that attract my senses awaken my knowledge that a Superior Being authors these perceptions. Furthermore, when an inner voice "talks" to me on ideas and emotions I try to sort out and understand more deeply, I recognize that inner voice as God's. When I perceive that there is order in the universe as a whole, in spite of disruptions great and small, I know that God exists. When I experience sorrow and joy, failures and successes; when I am able to think through a problem and figure out a solution, my ability to discern, perceive, and reflect, are proofs that God exists and continues to prove His existence through me. Most of all the gift of free will or volition that I am blessed with, tells me in all certainty that God does exist. And with the certainty of knowing that I am His creature comes the other certainty that God exists for me.
Religious believers say that the proof of God’s existence is in all of the things that aren't addressed by science. They believe that God has a plan that is beyond the capability of human understanding.
Truth, what is truth? This question itself has a thousand answers, no person can ever be sure of what truth is rather, truth can be justified, it can checked for reliability with strong evidences and logic. If the evidence proves to be accurate then it can be established that a certain answer is the truth. However, have we ever tried to think about what intrigues us to seek the truth? To think about a question and set foot firmly on the path of knowledge. Definitely it has! That was the very cause itself which is why this world has witnessed some of the greatest philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates etc. along with the school of thought. The ability to think and reason is one of the greatest ability humans have, it is what distinguishes us from the animals. It is what gives us free will, the ability to control our own outcomes. However, it is that ability to ‘think’ itself which has caused men to rebel with the myths and statements established about the unseen and natural forces since the beginning of time. It gave rise to questions such as: Do aliens exist? Is there a world of the unseen? Life after Death and the most popular question since the beginning of times, Does God exists? And the answer is ‘yes’. Here is how I will justify my stance.
Saint Aquinas defines the existence of God with the upmost clarity. Saint Anselm and William Paley attempt to tackle the existence of God but are weighed down by weaknesses within their argument. Even with Saint Anselm being a Christian theologian, he does not incorporate his personal religious beliefs into his argument. St. Anselm relies purely on logic and ontology to define what he constitutes as God, defined as a being in which nothing greater can be thought. This definition is general enough to be consistent with what various individuals establish as their “God.” Anselm uses Tinkerbell as an example to defend his thought to reality premise. Tinkerbell relies on the faith from children to believe in her existence for her to exist. For Anselm, if something is thought then in some realm, it must exist. However, St. Anselm does not address crucial arguments that deteriorate his position. The translation from thought into reality is not clear. A sole idea constructed by the mind does not establish its place in reality. Dragons are thought and even read to a child during their adolesc...
and how the World came about. But can people judge what it says in a
... that God exists is the argument from miracles. This argument says that if miracles are true then God must exist, because s/he is the only being that could possibly violate the laws of nature. However, this theory relies to heavily on testimony and therefore cannot be counted as valid. In conclusion, there is no evidence to suggest that we can say with absolute certainty that we know that there is or is not a God.
The question of whether there is any clear evidence of God's existence, tried to argue for many centuries, by engaging in this enlightened minds, representing both positions on this controversy.In recent years, evidence refuting the possibility of the existence of God have become the cause of many clashes, accusing at the same time anyone who dares to say that he believes in God, a man who believes illusions and irrational.Karl Marx stressed that everyone who believes in God must suffer from a mental disorder which affects its ability to correct thinking.The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud wrote that a person who believes in God the Creator has the illusion and asserts itself in this belief because they believe in the factor "fulfilling the wishes of" what causes human something that Freud recognized the undeserved position.The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche openly said that faith is synonymous with the reluctance of knowing what is true.The votes of these three historical figures (and others) are now re-presented by a new generation of atheists who claim that belief in God is intellectually justified.Is that what this is all about?Is belief in God is a symptom of irrational thinking?Is there a logical and reasonable evidence for the existence of God?Is beyond recourse to the Bible, the question of God's existence can be confirmed, refuted this position with both old and new atheists, and faith in the Creator of factly justified?Yes, it can.And what's more, the importance of evidence of the existence of God makes the position of atheists seem to be very convincing.To provide evidence for the existence of God, we must first put the right questions.We'll start with one of the most important, metaphysical questions: "Why do we have somet...
We go through life drifting from one superficial disagreement to another without truly ever taking the time to ponder about the meaning of life. Such a question will not be easily resolved but by trying to answer it we stop daydreaming and extend our conception of ourselves while gaining knowledge of the external world (Solomon 10). Unfortunately anyone who attempts to answer that question quickly realizes that it isn’t just one broad question but rather it’s the slogan to an overwhelming amount of enquiries. Out of all possible question the one that has had the most influence on humanity is the notion of whether or not God exists. Philosophers and non-philosophers alike from ancient civilizations to our modern era have contributed their own two cents to the argument. Through the course of the following pages the idea of God will be defined, explained, and defended by the Ontological Argument to ultimately prove that God exists.
... God and how He is related to us – how powerful He is to make everything in this world works; how He made everything almost perfect for us. I have also learned that believing He exist, makes me understand more about His existence, just like what St. Anselm said. I believe that believing He exists, is what makes Him exist. For me, Yes, God really exist.
It is also worth noting that rational evaluation of religious experiences may not achieve many because it is in a disagreement between believers and philosophers. Whether description of deity or divine experience can be meaningful may not be as important since a significance of numinous experiences seems to be independent of any rational explanation. Furthermore, perhaps considering reasonableness or rationality of numinous experience itself is meaningless because, as I said, it is almost impossible to rationalize significance of one’s transcendental experience. However, it seems unreliable, as numinous experience is private and unverifiable. Also, empirical evidence seems to be too unfaithful because our sense perceptions, especially eyes, can distort our vision and then our memory. Therefore, although its significance may be independent of any evaluation or reason, I would rather conclude that religious experience is not reasonable ground for existence of God, and, therefore, religious experiences cannot be strong evidence of existence of
From the discussion, it can be concluded that existence of God can be proved and developed by logical reasoning. They can be proved by seeking answers to our everyday questions like what can be bigger than our reason, who dictates solar system to act like an animate body. The evidence may not have physical existence but it is supported by the physical elements of nature.