Socyberty > Philosophy

God is an Intellectual Necessity

God is an intellectual necessity because His existence best describes reality.

Have you heard someone say, “there is too much evil in the world, there cannot be a god?” Perhaps you have heard people say, “I don't believe in god because there is not enough evidence. That fact is that the evidence for the existence of God is wholly sufficient.

The person who uses the reality of evil as evidence against God's existence fails to realize that their very complaint invokes a moral law giver. When a person assumes the reality of evil, they are assuming the reality of good. They are also assuming a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and bad. When they invoke a moral law, they are assuming a moral law giver. If there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law. If that is the case then there is no good or evil. The criticism dissolves. So the reality of evil can only be resolved within the framework of a moral law giver.

The evidence for God's existence is compelling. The Kalaam Cosmological argument is a great starting point. Its basic premise is that the universe is not eternal. If it was, it would be god. Since the universe is not eternal, it had a beginning. Matter came into existence out of nothing. In the closed system that the universe is, this is an impossibility. There had to be a “first cause” outside the framework of this universe that brought it into existence.

Furthermore, the evidence from biology shows life to be intricately designed by an intelligence. Chance is too sketchy an explanation for the intricate language encoded in DNA. The intricacy of the eye indicates careful design by an intelligent creator.

When you combine all of this information it becomes clear that the existence of God is not just a plausible reality but an intellectual necessity. At least this is true if you want to have consistency between your beliefs, behavior, and the surrounding world. It is only possible to be a logical atheist if you live a life of despair. Naturally, that is unlivable.

God is an intellectual necessity because belief in God enables a person to have cohesion between belief and practice. In other words, God provides the best and most comprehensive understanding of reality.

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Comments (6)
#1 by Nice try, Dec 22, 2007
Most of the above is valid reasoning, apart from the following crucial part:

\"When they invoke a moral law, they are assuming a moral law giver. If there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law.\"

Which is basically reducible to the statement: \"Moral law requires a moral law-giver\".

Rather than agreeing or disagreeing, I\'d simply like to point out that this is an assertion you\'ve made above, but not one you\'ve demonstrated -- so you\'re not quite proving what you claim you are. Perhaps with some revision it\'ll work out better in the future. Or maybe not.

Clearly there are plenty who believe a law of gravitation doesn\'t suppose a giver of gravitational law. Think of it like a math class -- try to show your work.
#2 by JM Kane, Dec 22, 2007
Not quite. You see, moral law has to come from somewhere if your going to make it morally obligatory for everyone. So it does have to have a moral law giver or it has no absolute value. As for gravity, there are a lot of people who think a lot of things, but unless you believe gravity is eternal, you have to acknowledge that it has a first cause.
#3 by EdRoberts, Dec 22, 2007
The "intellectual necessity" is not a proof of God, only that our Universe was created from 'outside'. An outside where time, space and reality as we know it either does not exist, or is vastly different.

This 'creation' event could certainly have been caused by a God; but unfortunately that is a somewhat slim possibility - who knows? - we could be the product of any number of things from that 'other' place.

The real question is this: Is there life/existence after death?

I contend that even if there is a God, and He created us - if we do not live beyond this life - no one would give a good damn about God...

#4 by JM Kane, Dec 22, 2007
Ed,

I am at this point not suggesting any particular kind of God. God by definition is that which is eternal so whatever you call that which is outside of the known universe that originated the universe, that is god. Only when we understand this, does it then behoove us to determine what kind of entity or being god is. Actually, even if you don't believe in an after life, you can care very much about God. Because if God is an angry cruel being, whose to say he can't squash our existence and play with us like pets at his whim and leisure. For those who believe this life is all there is, it is very precious to them, and I guarantee they won't like the idea of not being in control of it.
These are questions everybody has to wrestle with.
#5 by Hamdy E., Jan 6, 2008
You're asserting the existence of causal relations outside of perception. This is logically untenable.

Presently, it's impossible to prove a first cause since perception is needed for such an endeavor. Since the first cause supposedly happened many billions of years ago, we'll never be able to verify it. Moreover, since god cannot be perceived (although some argue against this), then it's absolutely impossible to assert a first cause.

#6 by JM Kane, Jan 12, 2008
Hamdy,

I am asserting no such thing. I am asserting the existence of causal relations outside of science ability to measure it...but not outside of our ability to percieve it. Frankly, I percieve the presence of God in the creation very easily. You may disagree with me on this because you hold to a naturalistic framework. My disagreement with you is that the naturalistic framework is inadequate. There are ways of knowing that fall outside the scope of science. History would be a concrete example.
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