IS HE THERE OR NOT?

It's a question that the likes of Richard Dawkins would sneer at but, to most of us, it's a reasonable one. If somebody were to prove to me, categorically, that there is no such thing as God, my first reaction would be to feel cheated. When I was growing up I was promised that God was there and, if I was good, I would be going to Heaven. As an adult I can have doubts, but there's still that feeling that there must be something there. That's what this post is about.

The first thing that anyone arguing against the existence of God says is, why does He allow so much starvation and suffering in the world. The simple answer to that is that He doesn't. If you look at it rationally, it doesn't matter whether God exists or not in this scenario; it's man himself that causes all the suffering. There is actually enough food to go round in this world but many are starving, while we in the developed world worry about our waistlines. It's the same with medicine, housing, clothing etc. There's enough for everybody but the greed of a few means that the many goes without. Stephen Fry stated that if he dies and finds himself face-to-face with God, he'll be having it out with Him for all the suffering in the world. There's a galaxy-worth of hypocrisy in that statement. If Fry doesn't believe in God, then surely he must accept that man himself is responsible. Fry is perfectly happy to dine at the obscenely luxurious table of our royalty, while others starve, which would tend to suggest that he doesn't care. So, rather than him having it out with God, I think it might turn out to be the other way round!

Anyway, back to the point. Most philosophers I read at university don't believe in God. This is explained by them as being due to the fact that God is a paradox. They use a logical proof for this:

1) God is all-powerful.

2) God can only do good.

The argument is that 1) and 2) cannot both be true since 2) places limits on God's power. Since both are held to be necessary attributes of God, then He is a paradox and cannot possibly exist. To me, though, this explanation all hinges on the definition of 'good'. For the argument to work you have to accept the existence of an absolute concept of 'goodness'. Most philosophers these days would refute the existence of such an absolute, explaining 'goodness' as a more subjective concept. This opens the door to an unintended consequence. Since 'goodness' is a subjective concept then it might well reasonably be argued that something is only good because God does it. This turns the above logical argument on its head since, if one measures 'goodness' as something that God does, then there is no paradox at all since this definition places no restrictions at all on God's power.

Science is often used as a reason for saying that God doesn't exist, since it explains things that, previously, could only be explained as the work of God. Science and God, however, are not the mutually exclusive concepts you might think. In his book 'A Brief History of Time', Stephen Hawking explains that the whole universe should be more chaotic than it is. Either something is holding it all together or it is a remarkable coincidence that everything has just fitted into place the way it has.  Hawking offers two possible explanations: there is a God or there have been, and will be, many, many universes endlessly expanding and collapsing. By the sheer law of averages one of these universes would be as it is now. It's not that we're lucky to be in this one; we could exist in no other. So we have come about just by chance, and might well do so again if a universe such as ours comes into being a second time. Neither explanation is provable; you need to have faith for either one!

And then there's evolution. There's no denying that evolution is a fact but the theory of Natural Selection has not been proven. Even if it's true it doesn't preclude the existence of God. As I always said to the kids in my class, God could easily be working through natural processes. A couple of centuries ago scientists used to view discoveries as seeing into the mind of God. If you believe in God it doesn't mean you have to eschew science and vice-versa.

My belief in God tends to come and go. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't but I wouldn't count myself as a atheist and always find myself sticking up for belief in God. But what do you think? Let's hear your views on this or any other facet of religion or philosophy you want to bring up. And WillieWontHe can tell us more about his beliefs without having to read through a slagging- off of his team!

I look forward to reading some comments. And since I plan this to be a respectful discussion area, any comments that are abusive or the like will be removed; not that I expect any comments of that ilk!