DAY 168
CHALLENGE
“How would you argue for the existence of God?”
DEFENSE
One argument proceeds from the existence of contingent things (i.e., things that could be different than they are).
- Some things are contingent.
- All contingent things require a current cause for why they are the way they are.
- There cannot be an infinite regress of current causes.
- Therefore, there must be a first, necessary (non-contingent) cause.
- The first, necessary cause is God.
- Therefore, God exists.The premises of this argument are lines 1, 2, 3, and 5. The conclusions (lines 4 and 6) follow from them.
Line 1 is true by experience. Many things could be different than they are. A person may be standing or sitting. A table may be painted red or green. A pyramid may be built or taken apart.
Line 2 is verified by experience. At any moment, there is a reason why a thing is the way it is. For example, if a person is standing, the atoms in his body are arranged a certain way and he is related to something else (e.g., the ground) so that he is standing on it. If a table is painted red, the atoms in its surface are arranged a certain way and will reflect certain frequencies of light.
Line 3 acknowledges that there can be a hierarchy of current causes. For example, the atoms in a standing person’s body may be held in place by the four fundamental forces known to physics (electromagnetism, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity). It is possible that these forces may, in turn, be based on a deeper set of presently unknown forces. However, this chain cannot go on forever in this way because in that case there would be no ultimate explanation for why the person is standing. If there is to be an ultimate explanation for why the person is standing, it must be based on something that is not, in turn, based on something else. Therefore, there must be a first cause, which is also necessary (not contingent). Proposing an infinite regress of causes for which we have no evidence also violates Occam’s Razor.
Line 5 is based on the standard understanding of God as the First Cause and as a necessary Being.