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Introduction
This perennial question about the existence of God has always been the favorite topic in many debates. It seems that this issue has never been laid to rest yet. This time, the debate was hosted by Birmingham University, in October 2011, and the two top-caliber debaters were Professor William Lane Craig, who defended the issue on the existence of God, against Professor Peter Millican, a skeptic and atheist himself, who believes that God does not exist. Both were conversant in their own field of expertise and they presented their positions thoroughly well. This paper will then present the pros and cons arguments as to whether or not God exists.
Argument
First point, “the origin of the universe” (youtube.com): Craig explained, “If the universe never had a beginning that means that the number of past events in the history of the universe is infinite” (youtube.com). He summarized his point through logical premise, “The universe began to exist. If the universe began to exist, then the universe has a transcendent cause. Therefore, the universe has a transcendent cause” (Youtube.com). “This cause,” according to him, “must be the uncaused, changeless, timeless, and immaterial being which created the universe” (Youtube.com). He said, “There are only two candidates that could possibly fit such description, either and abstract object, like a number or else an unembodied mind or consciousness” (youtube.com). He discounted abstract objects since they do not stand in a causal relationship (youtube.com). He said, “Therefore, it follows logically that the transcendent cause of the universe is an unembodied mind” (youtube.com). He called it the personal creator (youtube.com).
Second point, “the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life” (youtube.com): Craig mentioned about “constants” and “quantities” (youtube.com). He emphasized, “All of these constants and quantities fall into the extraordinary narrow range of life-permitting values. Were these constants and quantities to be altered by less than a hair’s breadth, the life-permitting balance would be destroyed and life would not exist?” (Youtube.com). He offered these logical premises, “The fine-tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance or design. It is not due to either physical necessity or chance. Therefore, it is due to design” (Youtube.com). He ended up, “the fine tuning of the universe implies the existence of a designer of the cosmos” (youtube.com).
Third point, “objective moral values and duties in the world” (youtube.com): Craig posed this question, “How can we know that he is good?” (youtube.com). Then, he argued that had God not existed, morality would not have existed in the same way. However, since morality exists, then God is existing.
Fourth point, the historical accounts about Jesus: Many historians agreed that Jesus came into this world because of an authority to speak for and on behalf of God. So that, if he resurrected from the dead, then a great miracle had indeed taken place. The resurrection of Jesus could be explained by these three facts: his sepulcher was empty; he had physically appeared after his death and the fact that the disciples believed that he resurrected from the death. He summarized it in these logical premises, “The hypothesis, God raised Jesus from the dead, is the best explanation of these facts; the hypothesis, God raised Jesus from the dead, entails that God exists; therefore, God exists” (youtube.com).
Finally, the fifth point, “the personal experience of God” (Youtube.com). Arguments for God could actually destruct our attention for God Himself. Accordingly, this is not an argument to prove the existence of God. If you are sincerely seeking God, God will make his existence evident to you. The Bible says to draw near to God and He will draw near to you. He concluded that the belief in God is the most rational worldview.
Objection
Evaluation
The debate was highly intellectual. I have learned many things. Both professors were well-equipped with knowledge of the topic and delivered their arguments directly to the point as they have conceptualized them. Professor Craig’s propositions were elaborate and emphatic. The con arguments of Professor Millican were very precise. However, in debates like this, there is always one side which a listener will align with at the end. In this case, I have aligned with the arguments that God really exists, not because I am biased against the other argument, but because Craig’s presentation of his arguments was clearly logical and evidentiary.
Conclusion
It is nice to have debates like this every now and then because they sharpen our minds, not to mention the additional learning that we derived from very intelligent people, like Professor Craig and Professor Millican. In fact, I had repeatedly watched the video since I had to get the true essence of the arguments.
Works Cited
ReasonableFaithTour. "William Lane Craig vs Peter Millican: "Does God Exist?", Birmingham University, October 2011." YouTube. YouTube, 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEw8VzzXcjE>.
