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Does God Exist? Literature Review
One of the most intriguing and important questions that can be asked by an individual is on whether or not God exists and if there is any way to prove God’s existence. Depending on one’s belief, the responses may be varied on proving the existence of God as being easy or impossible. For the religious believers, such as Christians and Catholics and those of other religious denominations the answer would simply be yes God exists and we humans are the proof of God’s existence. However, from a philosophical or scientific standpoint the answer to God’s existence requires much more in-depth analysis and study. The following discussion will be about whether or not it is possible to prove God exists through the study of philosophy.
In philosophy there are just as many differences in proof of God’s existence as there are opinions on the reality of God as a fact from any other standpoint. Depending on the foundation of philosophers’ theories some have found a way to claim that God does exist, while others have shown that it is impossible to know of this entity called God that is given credit for all of the universal life that exists. From the knowledge gained during the process of class, I am left with more confusion on the on the concept of God than I have ever been before. Perhaps the truth is that if God exists only for those who believe in his or her existence as the source of all creation.
When looking at the work of philosophers like Bertrand Russell there is one very important aspect of philosophy that cannot be ignored, the critical analysis that philosophy forces the individual to ask questions that are unique to the physical sciences, which aim to prove things from a physical, empirical, and tangible point. However, in philosophy, one must thing critically and abstractly on what is and is not real or possible. Going back to the proof of God’s existence, it seems impossible from nearly any manner to prove God exists. Unless there was a manner in which “sense-data” could be proven without refutation of God as an entity that can be seen, touch, felt, heard, and smelled, there truly is no way to prove God exists.
Primarily God exists inside the mind of the believer. In philosophical terms, for those who support the reality of life to exist strictly based on the perception on one’s mind, then in the case of those who believe in God, then the proof of God’s existence is present inside the mind of the believer, which only he or she could confirm. However, from a large scientific standpoint for the masses with various beliefs, there is no way to prove God exists. Until the day God enters the public sphere via CNN or some other major news media, and provides ample proof of his or her existence as God the creator of all things present, there is no way to prove God exists.
Surely that does not dispute the idea of God as a possible aspect of what allows the human and the universe to exist. The point, from a philosophical standpoint, particularly according to Bertrand Russell is to understand the sense-data that one could use in their argument for God’s existence. There are a tremendous number of people who will confirm or claim that they sense God’s presence, which is one way that perhaps proof of God exists. But on the flip side there will be the group of individuals who do not sense God and their own sense perception is just as valid as those who do sense God. This complex set of circumstances is why proof across the board of God’s existence has not yet, if ever, will be confirmed. In conclusion, for the believer, yes God exists and the belief is enough proof for that individual; however, for the non-believer there is no evidence present for the individual to confirm the existence of God.
Works Cited
Gould, James A., and Robert J. Mulvaney. 2008. Classical Philosophical Questions. 13th ed.
Pearson. Print.
