Arguments for the existence of God
(CONTINUATION)

2. OBJECTIONS

First we will mention some frequently occurring reasons why the arguments for the existence of God are not for everyone interesting enough or clear and persuasive.

2.1. Many people are disillusioned by the primitive image of God found at many traditional religious people according to which God is an old man with long white beard sitting on a cloud. This image is implanted in people's minds by many pictures, paintings and statues which are for making belief easy and palpable. Our opinion is in accordance with those who reject this false religious image about God. This rejection, however, should not include the entire question of the existence of the real God.. Jesus` teaching reflects another image that is about a spiritual and invisible divinity that can not be imagined in a material way or painted by human hands.

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) Back to SUMMARY

2.2. Many people are looking for scientific proofs for the existence of God. If we speak about God we have to consider the differences between the nature of things in the material world and the nature of the One whose existence is beyond it. Science is able to investigate and draw conclusions only from those subjects of human interest which are within the frame of the existing universe around us or in us. The right use of the term "God " presupposes Him as being the source of all kind of existence. We can not place Him among the limits of our world because He is the one who created it having determined its limits. That is why those people who look for the answer for the question of God's existence only through science can never find a definitive answer to their question, although science can support theism (belief in God) rather than materialism. Back to SUMMARY

2.3. Perhaps you say: "I would believe in God if he showed himself to me". Why are you sure that you would certainly believe? If somebody doesn't want to accept something, even the clearest sign will not convince him. As an illustration, everybody could experience that one can deny truth. If somebody has lied at least once in his life - who can say he hasn't? - he has rejected already once the truth that he recognised (in that specific situation). So it is possible that someone sees what is right but doesn't accept it. It is not enough only that the truth is revealed, but also a personal acceptance is needed.

If the almighty God showed himself in all his power and might, man would be forced to believe in him. Man would not be free anymore to decide on his own to lead his life according to the commandments of God."

On the other hand, in this writing we try to show that in reality God has already showed Himself to all men, in different forms and He is ready to show even more if readiness and receptivity are present.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." (Albert Einstein) Back to SUMMARY

2.4. Many people fail to believe in God because of the "Problem of evil", saying: "If God is omnipotent and loving why do evil and suffering still exist?"

The detailed explanation of this topic exceeds the frame of our present paper, but as a starting point we can easily see that in many cases the reason of evil and suffering in our world are the evil decisions of men. In the Christian understanding God never wanted anything bad for the people, he created a good world in which men was provided with volitional freedom. God honours man and his dignity and so he even accepts the bad decisions of man. Man would not be really free if God accepted only partially the deeds of man e.g. his good deeds because they do not cause suffering. In this way God lets evil happen, he does not make it impossible, otherwise man would be degraded to a puppet. The reality is that often man does not use his free will in a good way, people do not think of the others, but of themselves. Many sufferings could be avoided if people helped each other and acted according to the principle "Love your neighbour as yourself". Many diseases have their cause in the lack of responsibility of people, even if it is not always obvious enough, people influence each other in many ways.

But there are other events like thunderstorms, floods, earthquakes, ... which are not directly caused by human beings and can lead to a lot of suffering. At this point we should be conscious of the fact that man is endowed with intelligence and many abilities which can help him to prevent himself from many bad consequences of such natural phenomena. Using our knowledge in a reasonable way and not especially for personal profit could protect us in many cases much more than it is usual nowadays. One very simple first step would be that people should not live in dangerous areas.

Nevertheless we have to admit that this question is perhaps one of the most difficult questions in human life for many people. Also, we have to express our compassion towards those who ask this question while experiencing severe suffering. On the other hand, suffering can lead man to a deeper understanding of his life and of the aim of his existence because it challenges man to think about the sense of his life. Often suffering people become easier aware of how unimportant material things are than healthy ones and start to look for a better base for their lives. Back to SUMMARY

CONTINUATION - THE FORMULATION OF SOME WELL KNOWN ARGUMENTS