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

Arguments for 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.