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A RESPONSE TO ATHEISM

PHIL 201 D44 LUO

August 18, 2011

A Response to Atheism

In reading McCloskey’s article it’s obvious he is searching for definitive proof that God exists. He is unable to find proof and therefore comes to the conclusion that God must not exist. He believes that the existence of evil discredits arguments made in support of believing in God. There is not one single thing in this world that we can know definitively without looking at the evidence. You have to look at the whole picture. Just like in a criminal investigation, the crime scene investigators gather evidence they are not looking for just the bullets or just the body. They look and gather all the data before coming to any conclusions. We will discuss each of the arguments and some additional reasons McCloskey gives as reasons not to believe that God exists.

Cosmological Argument

When we examine the cosmological argument we find that for something to exist there has to be a cause for its existence. The universe exists and was necessary for human beings to exist. We are contingent beings; our existence relies on the existence of the universe. We exist, and therefore so does the universe exist and there must be an ultimate cause of that existence.

McCloskey makes a good point when he says the cosmological argument does not prove there is an all powerful, perfect uncaused cause but it provides strong evidence that there is some necessary cause to the world we live in and instead of being dismissed it should move us to investigate that “necessary cause” in more detail. The argument certainly has its weaknesses. For instance, if everything has a cause then what caused God? When analyzing the strengths of the argument it highlights the fact that things do not bring themselves into existence and there cannot be an infinite number of causes so an ultimate cause must also exist.

I agree with McCloskey in that it doesn’t provide enough evidence to start assigning attributes to the ultimate cause. We can’t easily go on from here and say yes God exists and he is all powerful and perfect. We can only assert that there is an ultimate necessary cause. This argument certainly provides enough evidence to entice someone to continue investigating.

Teleological Argument

For the teleological argument McCloskey says there are not examples of design and purpose in the world. He says that we need indisputable examples of design and purpose; if there are none the teleological argument is not valid enough to warrant further investigation of God. When I look at the world I see evidence of design, order and purpose. Animals instinctively enter into a reproductive cycle during the same season year after year, the human body; each part relies on another to make the whole work like a well oiled machine. There seems to be an end goal to the processes we see. In his book, Evans describes it as “beneficial order”.

The design of the human body is not something that science can recreate it is complex in nature. The human mind cannot be replaced by manmade computers; the computer incapable of processing information in the same manner as the mind. There is design throughout nature that we cannot even fully comprehend. I believe these all provide evidence of intelligent design. How could there be design without a designer? There is too much to assume everything is an accident. This view uses the “The Best Explanations” approach for understanding the world around us.

Evolution

In McCloskey’s article he also uses evolution to dispute the teleological argument. If evolution exists then I would say it provides even more evidence that there is intelligent design in this world. If objects can detect changes in the environment and adapt to them they were designed to do so. And if they were designed to change and adapt then there must be a designer. A creator who thought about the potential changes we might experience in this world and enable adaptation to occur naturally.

Evil

McCloskey goes on to say that he also believes that the presence of evil in the world proves that there is not a divine perfect creator. When you look at each of the arguments individually I can see how one might come to this conclusion. The cosmological argument only proves (if accepted) that there is a necessary being; however it does not prove that he is divine or perfect. The teleological argument by itself leaves us wondering why we also see chaos in the world around us. Not everything is orderly and perfect. You need to collectively look at each of the arguments prior to coming to a conclusion about the existence of God.

McCloskey believes that because there is evil there is no God. There could be valid reasons for the presence of evil in the world, though some may beyond our comprehension and understanding. There needs to be some proof or evidence provided if one wants to make a claim that it’s illogical for God and evil to exist in the same world. McCloskey’s article does not provide this proof. He just says that because there is evil there is no God.

As parents we sometimes allow bad things to happen to our children to teach them a lesson. We make a choice to allow them to deal with the consequences of their actions so they might learn from that experience. If we are created in the image of God isn’t it possible that as our Father, he allows us to suffer sometimes to realize the consequences of our actions? It is possible and if it’s possible then it gives a good explanation why God may allow evil things to occur.

Free Will

McCloskey’s argument on free will is interesting. In his article he poses a view that asks if God is good, all powerful and perfect then why not create human beings only capable of choosing what is right and therefore eliminating evil. He goes on to suggest that because God didn’t do this and there is evil that God must not exist. If that were the case then we would we not have free will. We would be like robots programmed only to do the right thing. How would we develop or build character? How would we learn to deal with difficult situations?

God wanted us to have free will, in the hopes that we would choose to love him and worship him because he is worthy. We love our children because they choose to love us, unconditionally no matter what, they love us and trust us. That kind of love brings us an overwhelming joy and peace. I believe God wants us to choose to love him, with our own free will.

Free will exists therefore evil exists. Moral evil exist because man has free will and can chose to sin or do evil things. Natural evils may exist to teach us lessons or to serve as a consequence for our actions. No one can know for sure but there are possible explanations other than dismissing the existence of God.

If God is real then Satan must also be real and he is evil. Satan, with his free will chooses not to love God he chooses evil and could be the cause of evil in our world.

Final Thoughts

In closing, without God life is meaningless. If we are not growing mentally and spiritually for a reason then it’s all for nothing because we will have gained all the knowledge and wisdom this life has to offer and then what…die? What good would that do us? What purpose does that serve?

Without God there would be chaos all around us. There would be chaos in our behavior and chaos in nature. There would be no order or design to anything.

With God we have love, hope and peace, without him we have an empty world that seems to have no end goal. We will get to the end of this life and it will have been purposeless and without meaning. With God we have right and wrong, a standard for how we should behave and conduct ourselves in our dealings with others. Without God who gets to be the judge of how we should interact with each other, who gets to say what, is right or wrong? What is comforting about living in a world where there are not standards for behavior? What is comforting in thinking that there is no loving father who has a plan for my life and who willingly rights my wrongs?

Without God there is more question than answers. With God I can choose to get to know him by reading scripture and praying for understanding in this life. I believe it’s more comforting to think that there is a plan for my life, that I am forgiven for my sins and that I am loved beyond measure by my Father in heaven. There is evil but there is also good and I know that in the end the good outweighs the bad. And sometimes the bad is necessary to gain perspective, insight and wisdom.

Bibliography:

Evans, Stephen. C. Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.

http://carm.org/cosmological-argument

http://carm.org/teleological-argument

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