As philosophers study religion and the validity of religious ideas, it is inevitable that the subject of God will be brought up. Whether or not God exists is a popular discussion that many people have, regardless of their philosophical background. However, philosophers have structured arguments in defense of God to better understand how or why the universe might be reliant on a higher power, and authors, such as Brian Davies and John Hick have written about such arguments for this reason. While speaking about God, philosophers employ cosmological, design, and ontological arguments, in attempt to defend God’s existence.
To begin, cosmological arguments use the existence of the world to assert the existence of God. Davies focuses on three cosmological …show more content…
This argument is referred to as the first cause argument. This argument states that everything that occurs has a cause that either has a first cause or is part of an infinite cycle wherein there is no first cause. However, Aquinas prefers the idea of a first cause, therefore eliminating the possibility of an infinite cycle of events, which Hick finds problematic (20). While Davies finds merit in questioning the universe (57), Hick entertains the idea that the universe is simply a given. These cosmological arguments were designed to examine the beginning of the universe and God’s possible role in creating it. Although flaws can be found within each of them, they are all important to …show more content…
This claim has lead to design arguments, under which are two main ideas. The first idea is design as purpose, which suggests that things were designed due to having multiple parts that create it, resulting in an item. Design as purpose is most significantly appealed to by William Paley, who uses the watch analogy (the multiple parts that a watch consists of were clearly constructed for a reason) to assert that the universe must “be accounted for in terms of intelligent and purposive agency” (Davies 75). He believes that the workings of the universe are too complex to be coincidental (Hick 24). David Hume has several issues with this argument, one of them being that, rather than the universe being designed, particles in the universe randomly form combinations until finding one that creates “a stable order” (Hick
To begin, cosmological arguments use the existence of the world to assert the existence of God. Davies focuses on three cosmological …show more content…
This argument is referred to as the first cause argument. This argument states that everything that occurs has a cause that either has a first cause or is part of an infinite cycle wherein there is no first cause. However, Aquinas prefers the idea of a first cause, therefore eliminating the possibility of an infinite cycle of events, which Hick finds problematic (20). While Davies finds merit in questioning the universe (57), Hick entertains the idea that the universe is simply a given. These cosmological arguments were designed to examine the beginning of the universe and God’s possible role in creating it. Although flaws can be found within each of them, they are all important to …show more content…
This claim has lead to design arguments, under which are two main ideas. The first idea is design as purpose, which suggests that things were designed due to having multiple parts that create it, resulting in an item. Design as purpose is most significantly appealed to by William Paley, who uses the watch analogy (the multiple parts that a watch consists of were clearly constructed for a reason) to assert that the universe must “be accounted for in terms of intelligent and purposive agency” (Davies 75). He believes that the workings of the universe are too complex to be coincidental (Hick 24). David Hume has several issues with this argument, one of them being that, rather than the universe being designed, particles in the universe randomly form combinations until finding one that creates “a stable order” (Hick