Does God exist? This question is probably the most baffling question that every person has to try to figure out during their lifetime. No one really has any proof of God?s existence. Since no one really knows the answer because there isn?t enough evidence, then doesn?t that make everyone an agnostic? The answer to this is ?NO? because there is good reason to believe in a God of love. The survival of the Church and all of its followers, God in creation, miracles in everyday life, and the impact of Jesus? life are a few reasons to believe in God. However there are critics like Freud, Marx, and Darwin who have criticized the design argument. In the end the reasons to believe in a God of love outweigh the reasons not to.

 

The first criticism of the design argument questions why there is natural and moral evil in the world if a God of love created it. Why do good people get hurt or killed because of some horrible evil. Not to long ago in Germany, Hitler killed six million Jews and other ?undesirables? during the Holocaust. Also in Russia Stalin killed thirty million people. In the last five years many people have asked themselves where God is when all of these evil things are happening. On the ninth of September 2005, many innocent hardworking people were killed by terrorist attacks. Where was God? About half a year ago a massive tsunami hit Asia taking the lives of two hundred thousand people. Where was God? More recently hurricanes Katrina and Rita have slammed the Gulf Coast causing flooding and destruction in Texas and Louisiana. Where was God? Hurricanes not only blow trees away but faith too. How could God allow so much pain and suffering throughout the world? Every day good-hearted people get diagnosed with cancer, the lives of babies are aborted, and people are murdered. With all of this evil in the world it is understandably difficult to always have faith in God.

 

The second criticism of the design argument is the difference between deism and theism. The deist?s view is that they believe in a higher person but not necessarily a God. Deists don?t have enough evidence to prove or disapprove God?s existence. The theist?s view is that they believe in a God. However no matter how much they want to believe that there is a God doesn?t mean that there has to be a God. This argument is similar to the third one, which states that even though our world seems very complex, it doesn?t mean that God created it. For instance a gold fish lives in its little world: the bowl. The fish is very content with his world because it has everything it needs. It has clean water and good food to eat, but its world is created by something more intelligent than it; a human. The same analogy can be applied to us. Our world is so wonderful and complex that it is hard not to believe that only God create something so magnificent, but what if we are like the goldfish in that we are just content to live in our little world unaware that there are far superior intelligent aliens out there. Maybe we are the creation of some aliens instead of the creation of God.

 

The fourth criticism of the design argument is that we are forcing the analogy that we the creation must be created by a creator or God. In Darwin?s Origin of Species his theory of evolution indirectly refutes the existence of God by stating that humans and other creation evolved from lower life forms over millions of years. He stated that humans are ancestors of apes or monkeys. Maybe we didn?t evolve from apes, but that still doesn?t make God our creator because intelligent aliens could have created us. Just because we are alive doesn?t mean God put us here. Many people force the analogy that if we scratch our head then the reason is that there must be an itch, and if we exist the reason is that we must have a God who put us here. It is a logical argument, but it doesn?t necessarily prove the existence of God.

 

The fifth criticism of the design argument is if God created us then who created God and then who created the creator of God and so on. How could God exist if no one created Him? How could God just create himself? If God exists there must be a reason or someone who created Him, and if ?someone? created God wouldn?t that make that ?someone? God because he is superior to his creation.

 

Marx, Freud, and Darwin refuted in their own way God?s existence, but their arguments were mostly unfounded. In Karl Marx?s Communist Manifesto, he urged the poor to rise up against the injustices of the rich over the poor. He wanted them to revolt and take what was rightfully theirs. The rich always took advantage of the poor because they were inferior in status. Marx believed that this unjust hierarchal system stemmed from the Bible. Freud believed that man created God, which was contrary to the belief that God created man. He said that humans believe in God because they are scared of death, but how can humans be scared when they are already dead. He said that humans portray God as a Santa Claus figure so that when we want something we can pray to God for it; however? God came first and then Santa. Darwin indirectly refuted the existence of God with his theory of evolution stating that all creation evolved over millions of years, but the Bible says that God created man and women not apes.

 

Even though the criticisms of the design argument are logical, they do not disapprove God?s existence either. There are many reasons to believe in God. Personal experience is the most powerful proof of God?s existence. How much more evidence can there be if God, Mary, or a saint appears to you. If suddenly you have a religious vision or there is a moment in your life where you can clearly see God in a person or in their actions, how could you not believe in God? How could you tell a person like Gerard Manley Hopkins that God doesn?t exist when he said, ?We live in a world charged with the grandeur of God.? Another example of a personal religious experience is of a monk who went to a monastery when he was sixteen years old and devoted eighty-eight years of his life to serving God. There is no way that you can prove to that one hundred and four year old monk that God doesn?t exist because he has seen God almost every day of his life.

 

Another reason to believe in God is from the experiences of saints. Saint Francis lived a life of luxury and pleasure, but after a vision he gave it all up to go live with the lepers. Saint Ignatius was a soldier who was shot in the knee and while he recuperated he read the Bible to learn the teachings of God. At five years old, Max Kolbe had a vision of Mary who held a red crown symbolizing martyrs and a white crown symbolizing purity, and Maw asked for both crowns. Near the end of his life Kolbe was in a concentration camp and a Nazi was about to send a father of ten children to a gas chamber, and Max Kolbe asked to take the place of the father so that his children wouldn?t be without a father. God chose people with very strong faith to lead his people. Abraham is the Father of Judaism, and God asked him if he would sacrifice his son. Even though God told Abraham that he didn?t have to sacrifice his son, he was willing to do so. God also chose Moses who had a cleft pallet which would make it very difficult to speak Hebrew, yet God chose him to preach the word of God. Why else other than God would these people be willing to change their whole lives or sacrifice very precious things?

 

Look at the world around you for another reason to believe in a God of love. Everything around us has design and purpose. According to William Paley?s watchmaker analogy we are like a wrist watch in that we are so complex that we couldn?t have just evolved, but there must be a watchmaker or a people maker a.k.a. God. Leonardo Da Vinci studied the anatomy of the human body. He said God created nothing superfluous or without purpose. The human hand can perform fifty-eight different movements. The fingers have extreme dexterity and strength. Newton stated that ?his thumbs alone proved God?s existence.? The heart keeps us alive and beats rhythmically without getting tired for entire lifetimes. The brain is the most powerful computer on earth because it never fails like machines or robots do. The senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell are amazing abilities, which wouldn?t be possible without the brain. The brain is a master computer that allows us to perform a myriad of things. Talking, walking, writing, reading, playing sports, and inventing all could not be possible without the amazing capabilities of the brain. Only God could create something so perfect as the human body and the world we live in. Our body is a miracle. Every organ, cell, and tissue has to function absolutely perfectly for us to survive. Birth is a miracle. From one cell a perfect living person develops. Legs, arms, eyes, mouth, stomach, heart, brain, personality, physical attributes, and many other things all are created from the implanting of a sperm cell into the egg cell. There are other miracles such as cancer disappearing without any scientific reason or of people surviving in horrible conditions because they have God to strengthen them.

 

The survival of the church for over two thousand years makes it the oldest empire ever. How could all the followers of Jesus be wrong? All of the disciples except John are martyrs because they believed Jesus and saw the resurrection. Many Christians were persecuted in the Roman lion dens because they had faith in Jesus being the son of God. Jesus said ?If you give your life away, you will get eternal life the greatest treasure.? It is the largest religion in the world. How could over a billion people be mistaken on the existence of God. There must be some reason that so many people know that there is a God.

 

Jesus has made the biggest impact on the world because two thousand years after his death he is the most famous man on earth and he has the largest group of followers, and

He isn?t even alive. Whereas many people made claims to be God as soon as they died the followers left soon after. Jesus? followers haven?t left, and as a matter of fact more followers have joined His church. The scribes wrote down the descriptions and teachings of His life in the greatest book ever written, The Bible. The manner in which Jesus lived his life and ended his life to save us from sin and evil is the greatest act of unselfishness ever. He died for our sins so that we could be saved and go join Him in Heaven. Jesus suffered greatly; it is a miracle that He survived the flogging because most people would die from blood loss. Then once he was crucified, instead of being angry he for gave the soldiers. His last unselfish words were ?Forgive them Father for they know not what they have done.? Jesus? life couldn?t all be meaningless and yet impact the history of the world and of its people.

 

In conclusion we don?t have definitive proof of God?s existence, but we do have good reason to believe in a God of Love. If you put together the classical argument for God?s existence it greatly outweighs the criticisms against the design argument. ?God, I believe now help my unbelief.?

The theory of "Elemental Balance of Good and Evil" tells me why bad things happen to good people and why good things happen to bad people. Theres not too much nor to little good/evil in the world, it all evens out in the end. A perfect balance. And in between 10-11 million people were killed in the Holocaust, 6 million of which were Jews.

Did you write this or copy and paste from another site? This doesn't sound like something you would right.

 

*suspicious*

It sucks.

A-ROD!

 

K-ROD!!

 

ROROD!!!

Did you write this or copy and paste from another site? This doesn't sound like something you would right.

 

*suspicious*

 

 

 

It sucks.

 

ahhhhhhhh! can you keep these comments to yourself.

 

BTW its mine.... i wrote it... obviously these aren't thoughts that haven't been thought of before. i just took from my experiences and wrote an argument that even though we can't prove God exists there is good reason to believe. now you can believe it or not ... i could care less

For someone who never uses punctuation and has horrible spelling...this is a stretch.

Did you write this or copy and paste from another site? This doesn't sound like something you would right.

 

*suspicious*

 

 

 

It sucks.

 

ahhhhhhhh! can you keep these comments to yourself.

 

BTW its mine.... i wrote it... obviously these aren't thoughts that haven't been thought of before. i just took from my experiences and wrote an argument that even though we can't prove God exists there is good reason to believe. now you can believe it or not ... i could care less

 

I'm assuming you posted this here to see what other members think of your paper and/or your ideas. You can't expect everyone to congratulate you and agree with you. I think it sucks.

Did you write this or copy and paste from another site? This doesn't sound like something you would right.

 

*suspicious*

 

 

 

It sucks.

 

ahhhhhhhh! can you keep these comments to yourself.

 

BTW its mine.... i wrote it... obviously these aren't thoughts that haven't been thought of before. i just took from my experiences and wrote an argument that even though we can't prove God exists there is good reason to believe. now you can believe it or not ... i could care less

 

I'm assuming you posted this here to see what other members think of your paper and/or your ideas. You can't expect everyone to congratulate you and agree with you. I think it sucks.

 

thats fine id didnt ask for everyone to like it i was just posting it to see if i could get some inteligent responses.

 

but just because you dont like it doesnt mean you have to say it.

Most of your post is just preaching.

 

Only God could create something so perfect as the human body and the world we live in.

This is why having the discussion with you would be difficult.

no

Like I said in a topic awhile back, we can prove if God does or does not exist. All we have to do is find a way to reanimate dead tissue so we can revive frozen dead people. Once they are conscious, we can ask them where they spent their 80 years in death.

Like I said in a topic awhile back, we can prove if God does or does not exist. All we have to do is find a way to reanimate dead tissue so we can revive frozen dead people. Once they are conscious, we can ask them where they spent their 80 years in death.

 

:lol

Like I said in a topic awhile back, we can prove if God does or does not exist. All we have to do is find a way to reanimate dead tissue so we can revive frozen dead people. Once they are conscious, we can ask them where they spent their 80 years in death.

 

You're telling me Dawn of the Dead was a religious piece?

 

:shifty

What a bunch of bulls***.

 

So it's better to believe in something that there's no evidence whatsoever for than to not? Please.

 

Go to www.wikipedia.com and look up "Flying Spaghetti Monster" and see how well your supernatural belief/nonsense holds up against a fictional yet "rationally intelligent designer made of spaghetti" holds up.

 

Also, whether a Rhodes Scholar wrote this or not, it's still crap.

Wow Buckeye, you have made your point like what 70-80 times now?

Wow Buckeye, you have made your point like what 70-80 times now?

 

 

You're right, I should suppress my speech like everyone else in this forum.

 

Grow up.

There's no sense arguing for or against God's existence, guys.

 

 

 

 

Religion is a matter of faith, not tangible proof.

A-ROD!

 

K-ROD!!

 

ROROD!!!

 

TWNED

There's no sense arguing for or against God's existence, guys.

 

 

 

 

Religion is a matter of faith, not tangible proof.

 

 

Exackly. Exackly.

 

That being said, I agree with whoever said the post is just preaching. If the human body is perfect, I want titties painted on the whitehouse and the Washington Monument made into a big phallis for the ladies. If god made it and it can be dirty, pornographic or obscene, then as Lenny Bruce says, "The fault lies with the manufacturer."

 

I also want vagina flavored ice cream cones! Where the hell is God on those if this world is so "perfect"?

The world is not perfect simply because of the fact that it is not heaven.

The world is not perfect simply because of the fact that it is not heaven.

 

 

Oh, man. Here we go again.

 

Well, then let's play a game. A good watchmaker makes good watches. To be a good watchmaker you have to at LEAST make good watches.

 

Now, just the concept of God is a being of infinite wisdom who is perfect in every way. So, God, in being perfect, MUST have created a most perfect world otherwise then he couldn't be perfect and therefore wouldn't be very God-like.

 

To say God, a perfect being, created a flawed world is saying that God made a mistake. He made a mistake by leaving pot everywhere, by allowing rape and holocausts to happen.

 

I don't know, you say it's about personal faith and try to argue for heaven. Why's it gotta' be heaven? Why not nirvana? Why anything. If it's personal, you believe in heaven and I believe in a wooden box surrounded by dirt.

Well engineered allegory.

 

My response is simple, but be aware that I do not claim that I speak the truth.

 

Earth is far from perfect because, as I said, it is not heaven. However it goes deeper than that. I believe (and interpret Scripture to say) that yes, God created the world, but he left us in charge of it. We as humans are predisposed to sin, evil, whatever you want to call it - which means that as the 'managers' of this life and this earth, we're going to make life on earth harder on eachother.

 

 

Hope that helped to answer some of your questions about what Christians believe. If you have any others I'd be happy to entertain them. Always remember when you're considering the validity of the Christian faith (or any other for that matter) that it is just that: a faith. We know God isn't provable by science, but the beautiful (or to many, foolish) thing is, we don't care. :cool

The world is not perfect simply because of the fact that it is not heaven.

 

 

Oh, man. Here we go again.

 

Well, then let's play a game. A good watchmaker makes good watches. To be a good watchmaker you have to at LEAST make good watches.

 

Now, just the concept of God is a being of infinite wisdom who is perfect in every way. So, God, in being perfect, MUST have created a most perfect world otherwise then he couldn't be perfect and therefore wouldn't be very God-like.

 

To say God, a perfect being, created a flawed world is saying that God made a mistake. He made a mistake by leaving pot everywhere, by allowing rape and holocausts to happen.

 

I don't know, you say it's about personal faith and try to argue for heaven. Why's it gotta' be heaven? Why not nirvana? Why anything. If it's personal, you believe in heaven and I believe in a wooden box surrounded by dirt.

 

Your argument doesn't make sense because you have never picked up a bible or have enough understanding of it.

The world is not perfect simply because of the fact that it is not heaven.

 

Oh, man. Here we go again.

 

Well, then let's play a game. A good watchmaker makes good watches. To be a good watchmaker you have to at LEAST make good watches.

 

Now, just the concept of God is a being of infinite wisdom who is perfect in every way. So, God, in being perfect, MUST have created a most perfect world otherwise then he couldn't be perfect and therefore wouldn't be very God-like.

 

To say God, a perfect being, created a flawed world is saying that God made a mistake. He made a mistake by leaving pot everywhere, by allowing rape and holocausts to happen.

 

I don't know, you say it's about personal faith and try to argue for heaven. Why's it gotta' be heaven? Why not nirvana? Why anything. If it's personal, you believe in heaven and I believe in a wooden box surrounded by dirt.

[/quote

Deism, belief that God created the known universe and humans and nature(more importantly) did the rest. Thats basically where I stand. Liberal Catholicism. If you do believe in a higher being(not saying you should) you should check it out.