Essay on the Existence of God: Philosophical and Moral Perspectives

This essay delves into the philosophical debate surrounding the existence of God. It explores arguments from both theists and atheists, examining moral, psychological, and logical perspectives. The essay investigates the challenges of proving or disproving God's existence, considering the role of faith, reason, and the problem of evil. It discusses the psychological needs that drive belief, the implications of divine hiddenness, and the potential impact of anti-theism. The paper also analyzes pragmatic arguments for theism and the ethical considerations of belief systems, concluding that while evidence may be lacking, the belief in God plays a crucial role in establishing a moral order in society. This assignment, contributed by a student, provides a comprehensive overview of the ongoing debate between theists and atheists, highlighting the complexities and nuances of the discussion. The essay considers the potential consequences of rejecting God and explores the ongoing questions about the nature of God in a world filled with suffering.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
God does not exist
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
It is a lot easier to convince people that there is a God and religions have been doing that
successfully for many centuries. However, not every human being believes in the actual
existence of God. Typical atheists argue against the close-minded notions of the infinitely
powerful and supernatural presence of God and ask for the evidence for God. Yet, it is
impossible to prove the existence of God by anyone. Based on the moral and theistic arguments,
the paper investigates as to what elements led to the existence of God and why the presence of
God is necessary despite there being no evidence of his existence. Though there is no proof that
God exists, his existence is essential to meet the psychological and moral needs of the society.
Experiments with entailment thesis on different beliefs show that while the subjects are
aware of the assumption that God exists, they are hesitant to believe. The basic idea is to show
how knowledge is assigned as some kinds of agent and preference when compared to belief
(Murray, Sytsma, & Livengood, 2013). Epistemologists cannot assume that an entailment thesis
is positive simply based on assumptions as it needs to be given positive support. An entailment
thesis is typically treated as the default and seldom given a knowledge treatment. Based on the
logic theory and problems, if a statement has not been proved then otherwise, and if the
otherwise has not been proved, then the statement exists. According to the logics as no one has
proved the existence of God, therefore, God does not exist, and as no one has demonstrated that
God does not exist, thus God exists (Mion, 2012). There are countless augments both for and
against the presence of God, and some are powerful than others. Theists infer God's existence
based on the fact that they cannot be proved wrong but the logic that “I must be right as I cannot
be proved wrong” is guilty of erroneous reasoning. An atheist can give the same reasoning and
conclude that God does not exist.

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Theists are accused of wishful thinking as they want God to exist despite having no
evidence for God's existence. The believers have created God because of their psychological
needs and solace (Pace, 2011). They are keen to know about life after death, the purpose behind
the universe, or some such psychological need. Lovering (2009) argues that under Broad
Skeptical Theism, unless theists provide new support for God's existence and under Narrow
Skeptical Theism, until theists offer a righteous division to show what God would do and what
he cannot, they would remain in an indecisive position to decide on the fundamental issue of the
existence of God. Monton (2006) attempts to fine-tune the evidence that provides evidence of
God. The presence of many-universes resists the probability for the existence of God. There are
central constants within the laws of physics which designate the universe to be finely tuned for
life.
Ellis (2010) follows the 'explanatory inductive' approach and 'expressivist' approach to
examine different minds and makes certain conclusions about the belief system in God. He
concludes that if one already has a belief in God, then the theistic expressionism is an alluring
conception of His ontological position. Theistic expressionism is a widely acknowledged
expressivist view of other minds. It can be banned without philosophical impropriety, but the
same can be said for the atheists or the disbelievers. Once the blunt dissimilarity between God
and man goes away, humanism and theism are no longer exclusive substitutes. Expressivism
looks at God and the world to be distinct from each other, and the belief in God makes a
transformation to the believer who looks at the world in aspects of God-involving, and God
makes an essential difference (Ellis, 2010). Under theism, God is fundamentally omniscient, but
no entity can be both all-knowing and irrational. According to some theistic beliefs, God requires
faith and requires wit. However, it would be irrational for God to remain hidden and require

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belief (Janzen, 2011). This is a substantial problem for the person who carries the perception that
belief in God is essential for salvation. The person can argue in favor of existence of God only
with those who are resolute to prove that God is irrational. However, it would be negligent and
immoral to employ arguments with such segment of people as stated by Janzen (2011).
Religious systems and believers behold God's goodness in the world, despite the evils
that confront them. They seek religious and moral responsibility to stand up to evil and mitigate
it. The believers do not deny the existence of evil and recognize the practical issues of evil. It is
part of their faith to receive evil from God (Kellenberger, 2005). God delivers the best possible
elucidation of objective moral facts and thus exists. Thus, it is the features of morality that appeal
to the theists and encourage their belief system in God. Christianity has contributed significantly
to the notion of God and presented the humanly attractive idea of God. However, modern
sensibilities are changing the traditional views of God (Henry, 2013). However, doubt enters
when the motility id destroyed, and evil becomes unendurable. Then God and his goodness no
longer seem good. Observing God's goodness in creation fails to explain God's moral reasoning
behind creating sufferings and evil. Christianity might itself be responsible behind the modern
fading of belief in God. God requires belief for salvation for his existence as a condition, and it
can be seen as a requirement for 'God's belief. There are many Biblical injunctions that state
salvation to be necessary (Janzen, 2011).
God’s existence is based on moral arguments as he is seen as the good creator of the
universe. Ordinary people rely on favor religious arguments to establish morality, and thus,
belief in God’s reality naturally comes to them. If God exists, he carries the power to make
every person believe in his existence. But not every person believes that God exists and countless
people are unbelievers. It shows that God decides to hide for whatever reason, and thus, the

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above discussion reflects him to be irrational. As asserted by Pace (2011), Pragmatic arguments
for theism assert the practical and epistemic reasons to believe that God exists. Pascal's Wager’s
argument is one of the most famous theistic pragmatic argument that argued belief in God on a
practical basis and how such belief systems make an unlimited advantage for a subject and keep
him secure against an infinite harm (Pace, 2011). The opponent of theism might contend that
such beliefs are morally hazardous. Moral-pragmatic perceptions might prove that the justified
theistic standards of evidence are pointedly lower than the default evidential values. Still, they
establish a strong assumption against atheism as many existentialist writers are anxious that the
belief that God does not exist might be more damaging for the society psychologically and
morally. There would be widespread despair about living in a universe without purpose and
without God, as asserted by Pace (2011).
Kellenberger (2005) explains the various elements that work behind the belief system in
God. It is the presence and gratitude of evil in the world, the belief that God's creation can be
only good and a belief in God's gratitude and goodness in the world. It is the link between these
different elements that have propagated the belief system in God. The wholesale agony in the
world forces humans to connect with the ultimate love that is proclaimed by Christianity. As
stated by Henry (2013), the gulf between the divine and the human is indeed beyond
comprehension. The believers of God need to ask themselves as to why God created such a
world that is ridden with the problem of suffering. The skeptical theists cannot know what God
would do in horrendous cases involving evils. Because of the absence of convincing evidence of
some kind of positive God, raises questions regarding divine hiddenness. Thus, the presence of
God is limited to goodness and evil within the intelligent design complex systems (Lovering,
2009). The general level of hiddenness displayed by God and receiving only silence when asking

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him to reveal Himself shows that God does not exist. God's existence thus enjoys a low enough
prospecst among atheists (Mawson, 2010).
There are numerous ongoing debates related to religion and the existence of God, and the
presence of evil if God exists. The theists and atheists have their own set of claims as to what
God should do and how a fine-tuned intelligent life can survive (Lovering, 2009). The presence
and absences of specific experiences lead to the development of theists and atheists. The practice
of prayer is rationally sustaining a theist as the prayer experiment, and the outcomes can show
variable experiences (Mawson, 2010). The existence of God is a metaphysical query and is
another dimension to the question, and it is more about if we want God to exist. While even
though most atheists tend to believe we should, theists strongly believe that the world be much
worse if God did not exist. It is interesting to know that many atheists agree to those notions, and
such an opposing view is known as Anti-theism (Kahane, 2011). However, one must not confuse
it with atheism as it believes in the goodness of God's existence. Anti-theists believe that the
belief in God's existence makes things better in many ways. The anti-theist does not discard God,
nor His goodness as asserted by Kahane (2011). Theoretically, God is omnipresent, and anyone
who believes in God's presence has to confess his presence empirically, and this is what makes
God's existence ambiguous. The trust in the existence of God is the human condition of
inevitable trust (Henry, 2013). According to Kahane (2011), even if God is omnibenevolent, the
world remains evil and worse in various respects. Even if anti-theism is correct, there are
questions about the attitude one should develop towards God Himself and his existence. Any
arguments against God and his goodness back a moral complaint against God.

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As stated by Mion (2012), the world of believers and the non-believers would always be
in an lop-sided position. The theist carries higher responsibility and needs to bring forward some
convincing supporting evidence for the existence of God. The atheist, on the other hand, can
always protect his or her position by dejecting the arguments of the theist. According to Mawson
(2010), some atheists believe that their Atheism is principally not a good thing. They assign a
significant likelihood to God's existence and yet have high assurance in the rationality of the
arguments that lead to the belief in the existence of God. It sounds somewhat paradoxical, but
there are substantial issues here because of the numerous religions. How can one decide is all
religions are worshipping the same God or which God is significant, Judaism, Christianity,
Islam, or other religions?
Conclusion
The discussion goes in favor of the proposition that God does not exist and yet cannot
ignore the role of God and how the belief system establishes a moral order in society. Theists
believe in God's existence based on their traditional theist understanding and of the ethical
consequences. Many people will be psychologically demotivated if they learn that there is no
God. Thus, the belief system certainly enjoys a practical moral advantage that is agreed upon
even by Anti-theism. As long as there is no clear evidence of God’s existence, the debate
between theists and atheists is likely to continue. However, to reject God completely would be
like rejecting moral realism altogether. Still, there are issues for theists as if God is
fundamentally omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent, there is no explanation for the evil
that persists in the world despite an all-knowing God. God is expected to offer fine-tuned support
for intelligent and moral life, and yet he allows pointless suffering and pain in the world. The

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debate seems to be trapped in a state of limbo, and despite there being no proof of God’s
existence, he exists to give meaning to human life and the universe.

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References
Ellis, F. (2010). God and other minds. Religious Studies, 46(3), 331-351.
Henry, M. (2013). Where is god now? New Blackfriars, 94(1053), 495-507.
Janzen, G. (2011). Is god's belief requirement rational? Religious Studies, 47(4), 465-478.
Kahane, G. (2011). Should we want god to exist? Philosophy and Phenomenological Research,
82(3), 674-696.
Kellenberger, J. (2005). God's goodness and god's evil. Religious Studies, 41(1), 23-37.
Lovering, R. (2009). On what god would do. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion,
66(2), 87-104
Monton, B. (2006). God, fine-tuning, and the problem of old evidence. The British Journal for
the Philosophy of Science, 57(2), 405-424.
Murray, D., Sytsma, J., & Livengood, J. (2013). God knows (but does god believe?).
Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition,
166(1), 83-107.
Mawson, T. J. (2010). Praying to stop being an atheist. International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion, 67(3), 173-186.
Mion, G. (2012). God, ignorance and existence. International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion, 72(2), 85-88. 1
Pace, M. (2011). The epistemic value of moral considerations: Justification, moral
encroachment, and james' 'will to believe'. Noûs, 45(2), 239-268.

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Appendix
Proposition: God does not exist
Argument Type of
Evidence
Source of Evidence Content of Evidence
Christianity gave rise to
theism and is giving rise
to atheism
Religious
analysis
New Blackfriars Western view of God
might be changing
Any belief requires mental
assent and is not based on
knowledge
Empirical study An International
Journal for
Philosophy in the
Analytic Tradition
entailment thesis on
God’s existence does
not justify the default
status it is granted
Job-like believers behold
and become experientially
aware of God's goodness
Philosophical
analysis
Religious Studies Different elements
like recognition of
evil, God's creation a
and God's goodness
build the belief
systems in God
Even atheists agree that
God's inexistence would
be regretted and thus the
necessity to believe in
God
Philosophical
analysis
Philosophy and
Phenomenological
Research
God's existence is
needed to make
things better
fallacious reasoning
behind God's existence
Theory and
problems of
logic
International Journal
for Philosophy of
Religion
No one has ever
proved that God’s
existence or
inexistence
serious problems for
theism
Philosophical
analysis
International Journal
for Philosophy of
Religion
questions regarding
divine hiddenness
and the presence of
evil in the world.
'explanatory inductive'
approach raises issues for
theism
Philosophical
analysis
Religious Studies Theistic
expressionism can be
rejected without
philosophical
impropriety
paradoxical issues
because of the numerous
religions.
Philosophical
analysis
International Journal
for Philosophy of
Religion,
not plausible
argument for
obligation to pray to
which God under
which religion
Moral-pragmatic
perceptions have created
Philosophical
analysis
Noûs Pragmatic arguments
for theism to believe

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God because of
psychological needs
that God exists
God is fundamentally
omniscient but cannot
hide and be rational
Philosophical
analysis
Religious Studies irresponsible and
immoral issues with
God being
fundamentally
omniscient
fine-tuning argument
doesn't increase
probability for God’s
existence
Logical analysis The British Journal
for the Philosophy of
Science
fundamental
constants within the
laws of physics
describe the universe
to be finely tuned for
life not God