Since man came into existence, the existence of a supreme being (God) to whom man should pay allegiance has remained a mystery. As such the existence of God has been studied by numerous theologians, philosophers, scientists among others in an attempt to address controversies on the issue. Some of the main arguments put across for Gods existence include: the teleological argument, the moral argument, the ontological argument and the cosmological argument.
Each of the arguments tries to provide some reasoning as to the existence of God. According to Peterson et al (12), the moral argument is based on the appeal that there cannot be morality without God. The ontological argument is based on the absurdity of reasoning or thinking of the inexistence of God. In other words, just as there is no five-sided rectangle so is there not a universe without God. The cosmological argument stems from the argument that simply because the universe exists, there must be a being that is responsible for its existence and that’s God. The teleological argument on the other hand attributes the orderliness and habitability of the universe to a supreme being who is God (Peterson et al 34). The teleological argument focuses things that govern nature such as the law of gravity, the coming into the existence of the universe through the big bang theory, the arrangement of planetary bodies among other natural phenomena.
I find the teleological argument most plausible. The teleological argument, also known as the argument to design is rooted in the fact that the universe is orderly and fit for human habitation. The argument is rooted in teleology, which states that purpose and design are overwhelming in nature and their scope is beyond that of human activities. Teleology is the philosophy account that acknowledges the existence of final causes in nature (Peterson et al 56). The argument attributes the natural orderliness of the universe and of life on earth to God as the designer and controller of life.
I find the arguments on physics laws, the arrangement of planetary bodies and the coming into existence of the universe through the “big bang theory” very thought provoking. Why is the sun not closer to the Earth than it is today? If it was, would life still exist on Earth? The law of gravity prompts the question, why does it exist? What if it was reversed?.The big bang theory prompts one to ask, what would happen if the big bang involved a larger or smaller explosion? In case the explosion happened too fast would the pull of gravity have gathered components of the solar system the way they are now? The fact that the explosion happened in the magnitude it did yet its developments now support life on earth should be attributed to a design by a Supreme Being. These activities involving high degrees of precision can only attributed to design by a superior being who is God. Moreover the purpose of God’s design was to ring and support life on earth.
The teleological argument suggests that human beings are lucky to be living in such an orderly universe. Based on the universe might be having different laws of physics, or a different arrangement of stars and planets. It is by design that we have the universe as it is now and a supreme being (God) is the designer of the universe and all that exists naturally.
Works cited
Michael Peterson, et al., Reason and Religious Belief 4/e, Oxford University Press, USA; 4
Edition. 2008. Print
Michael Peterson, et al., Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings 4/e, Oxford University Press
2010. Print
