The Cosmological Argument Essay: Does God Exist?

The question of “Does God exist,” is a question that many people have tried to answer throughout many centuries. Although the answer to whether He exist or not is unsolved and most likely never will be solved, the answer to whether we can prove that he exists is a relatively easy one to answer. The answer is simply, no. We cannot prove whether He exist, but on the other hand no scientist or philosopher has ever been able to prove that He does not exist. Although the answer is quite simple, we can explore the several arguments for and against His existence. The first argument we will indulge in is the cosmological argument. A cosmological argument is an argument that states that everything in the universe is dependent on something greater. For this to be true, at the end of a long line there would have to be an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent being. These contingencies on a
greater being mean that for the universe to occur there must have been cause or reason for it starting. This argument states that everything must have a cause and for everything to have a cause there must have been a first cause at some point in time. This is a very horizontal argument since it focuses mostly on the timeline and creation of the universe. Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers of all time, was the first to think of this idea and he believed that a “god” had to create the first cause. Later, a man by the name of Thomas Aquinas, applied this belief to Christianity and created the cosmological argument. The next argument we will discuss is the ontological argument. This argument is one of the most studied and discussed arguments in the philosophical community. The ontological argument is popular because it is not based on empirical premises and thus does not use the concept of intelligent design which most theological arguments contain. The ontological argument states that God exists because we cannot think of anything greater. This idea was brought forth by a man by the name of Anselm of Canterbury in his book, Proslogion. He said that only fools would not believe in a being which they can imagine. He thought if God exists in the mind and in reality, it is greater than a being who can only exists in the mind. Thus, we cannot imagine something that is greater than God or it would a contradiction since God is the greatest thing we can possibly imagine. Therefore, God must exist since we can imagine Him. The third argument I want to discuss in the teleological argument.
The teleological argument shows that the earth could not just appear here, but had intelligence behind its composition. This belief argues that the earth had to be fine-tuned and developed by a divine mind. This argument supports the belief in God more than any other found. This is due to the growing amount of evidence supporting the argument. As scientist discover more about the universe, more and more is added to the list of scientific evidences supporting the teleological argument. The final argument is the moral argument. This argument states that if God does not exist, then morality and moral beliefs do not exist. Although, since we know that morals do exist, God must exist as well. To prove this argument wrong, you must believe that morals do not exist, or that God is not the standard for morality. Since most atheist do not want to state that morality does not exist, they must argue that God is not the standard for morality. To this day no one has been able to conceive a defensible grounding for moral
values. In conclusion, there are many arguments against and in favor of God existing. Although many offer great insight on why people believe what they believe and why, the greatest argument in my opinion would be the moral argument. It offers very much light on why people have a sense of morality that they are born with. Everyone, whether psychopathic, atheist, religious, or unknowing of a god, has some sense of morality. In my beliefs as a Christian, I do not think that God can be believed in or not. I believe you must be called to believe in Him and those who deny Him, simply have not been called to be Christians and on their own willpower, never can become Christians without His help. As my favorite philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, said “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”