God Existence Essay, Research Paper

?…god is dead and no one cares drowning in his own hypocrisy and if there is

a hell I will see you there burning with your god in humility…? ?Trent

Reznor, from Heresy Does God exist? As you can see above, even the most vile

human beings acknowledge him. But trying to argue for or against the idea that

God exists is much more difficult than believing that he exists or even

acknowledging that there is a ?higher power?. Even Charles Darwin?the

British naturalist who developed the theory of evolution and natural selection

in his book The Origin of Species?seems to get confused with the argument. In

his piece ?Religious Belief,? he fumbles with two distinct incongruencies.

The first is that there must be some explanation for the benefits and happiness

of life and these must come from an inherently good being who has become known

over the years as ?God? in our culture. The second is that if God is truly a

good being, and he created the earth and all of its inhabitants, then there must

be some explanation do for all the pain and suffering in life. The only escape

from insanity in regard to this matter of God?s existence is not to commit at

all. Because after reviewing this reading, it is clear that the two arguments

mesh into a spastic predicament that is all too confusing for sane men to

comprehend. However, both of these elements?good and evil?contribute to

life?s balance. Many events in life evoke indeterminent emotional response.

There is no better summation of happiness in this world than the gleam on the

faces of the parents of a newborn child. Darwin argues that ?If all the

individuals of any species were habitually to suffer to an extreme degree they

would neglect to propagate their kind…? and ?all sentient beings have

formed so as to enjoy, as a general rule, happiness.?(page 67) With these

impressions in mind, it is hard to cling to the claim that God as a completely

good being does not exist. When an atheist looks in the mirror and sees the

miracle of life, how is it possible that he can reject God? Grand scenes like

the Grand Canyon under a perfect blue sky could not have just evolved. It is

obvious that God exists. In contrast, if God is completely good and he created

the world, then what is the explanation for the presence of evil? If the result

of reproduction of human beings is one form of ultimate happiness then how can

child abuse be explained for example? In Dave Pelzer?s best-seller A Child

Called ?It?, the author documents the torment he endured experiencing one of

the worst child abuse cases ever recorded in California history. He thought that

not only did his mother hate him, but God must have hated him too. How could God

allow something like this to happen in his world that he created if he is all

good? Darwin notes, ?That there is much suffering in the world no one

disputes. Some have attempted to explain this in reference to man by imagining

that it serves for his moral improvement.?(page 67) This idea applies to

humans like Dave Pelzer, who ended up becoming an extremely productive member of

the United States Air Force and a successful author. However, Darwin also brings

up the idea that there are thousands of other species that suffer greatly in

life and do not improve their morals. Would God allow evil to flourish to the

extent that we see it just for moral improvement? Perhaps he does not exist. At

this point there is strong evidence in arguments for and against the existence

of God. This is one of the few arguments that appears to be never-ending. It is

an infinite loop. Darwin says that he connected his belief in God with ?the

higher feelings of wonder, admiration, and devotion which fill and elate the

mind,?(page 67) but concludes this idea by saying that these grand feelings

can be brought about by other things, like music for instance, and can hardly be

a part of the argument for the existence of God. This is an example of the web

that one gets caught in when trying to participate in this argument. Darwin?s

views are very logical and acceptable, but because he is participating in this

argument, he is confusing. Darwin?s essay brings in two sides of the story

concerning the existence of God. He first asks, ?How can the generally

beneficent arrangement of the world be accounted for??(page 67) and suggests

that happiness prevails because there is a purely good God. He counters this

argument with the suggestion that there are millions of suffering creatures that

achieve no moral improvement due to their suffering and there is no explanation

for this evil. The idea that the only reason suffering exists for human beings

is for their moral improvement is less believable because of this. These points

bring about an argument that has no finale. So Darwin is right in his

conclusion, ?I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse

problems. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I

for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.?(page 68)