What key arguments are there for (and against) God’s existence?

  • Evidentialism:
    • Uses evidence of supernatural events like Christ’s resurrection, demonic possessions, or near-death experiences.
    • Eyewitnesses and their sacrifices support these claims.
  • Moral Argument:
    • Objective morality requires a supreme authority (God).
    • Without God, moral disagreements are subjective opinions.
  • Cosmological Argument:
    • Everything caused must trace back to a First Cause (God).
    • God is eternal, unchanging, outside the universe, and all-powerful.
  • Aristotle & Aquinas’ “Act and Potency”:
    • Changes require an “unactualized actualizer” (pure act) — God.
    • God’s pure actuality makes Him eternal and unchangeable.
  • Pascal’s Wager:
    • Believing in God is the safer “bet,” as it risks nothing and offers potential infinite gain.
  • Teleological Argument:
    • The universe’s complexity and purpose imply a Designer.
    • Fine-tuned physical constants support this design.
  • Ontological Argument:
    • God is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
    • A God who exists is greater than one who doesn’t, so God must exist.
  • Argument from Personal Experience:
    • Individual encounters with the divine (supernatural events, answered prayers) affirm faith.
  • Transcendental Argument:
    • Foundational concepts (logic, truth, consistency) only make sense if grounded in God.
  • Argument from Consciousness:
    • Consciousness isn’t reducible to physical parts, suggesting an immaterial soul or divine origin.
  • Argument from Mathematics:
    • Abstract mathematical truths (e.g., Euler’s Identity, Mandelbrot set) hint at a transcendent designer.

Why would God command the death of so many people in the Bible (e.g., the Canaanites)?

How can a loving God send people to hell?

Why would God need people to worship Him (isn’t that egotistical and arrogant)?

Why does God remain so “hidden”?

Why does the “Old Testament God” seem different than the “New Testament God”?

Why would a good God allow suffering to exist?

Why would a good God allow evil to exist?

What are the practical implications of an atheistic worldview?