by jimwalton » Fri Jun 16, 2023 11:11 pm
Well, one of the ultimate questions of all time and thought is, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" It's a question everyone must deal with.
But you asked specifically about God. I would first of all say God exists because that's the nature of reality. You might as well wonder, "Why does reality exist?" If anything exists, something has to be real.
Secondly, though, I would say God exists because his existence is necessary. Let me lay it out this way, summarizing an argument given by Alvin Plantinga.
1. If God (a supreme, supernatural divine being) does not exist, his existence is logically impossible. That doesn’t mean he can’t be made up in someone’s imagination (which is still possible even if he doesn’t exist); what it means is that if God doesn’t really exist, the very concept of God is nonsensical. His existence doesn’t even make sense, even if people can imagine Him. It comes down to this: If God doesn’t exist in reality, then he can’t possibly exist in reality.
2. But if God does exist, then it’s necessary that He does. It cannot be otherwise if He is truly God and if He truly exists. If God is really there, as creator and sustainer of all, then he must necessarily be there, or else nothing else would exist.
3. Therefore (first conclusion), God's existence is either impossible or necessary. There’s no halfway position.
4. If God's existence is logically impossible, then even the concept of God and everything we might think or imagine about him is ultimately absurd. We are trying to make a reality what is not only impossible, but also nonsensical.
5. Yet the concept of God is neither nonsensical nor impossible. There’s actually good sense to the existence of in many ways, for example, that something caused what we see, or that the universe in all its order and balance was actually purposefully designed that way. While some may not agree, it’s assuredly not contradictory.
6. Therefore (second conclusion), if God’s existence isn’t impossible (if that choice is removed from the equation), then the only reasonable choice left is that God is logically necessary.
Well, one of the ultimate questions of all time and thought is, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" It's a question everyone must deal with.
But you asked specifically about God. I would first of all say God exists because that's the nature of reality. You might as well wonder, "Why does reality exist?" If anything exists, something has to be real.
Secondly, though, I would say God exists because his existence is necessary. Let me lay it out this way, summarizing an argument given by Alvin Plantinga.
1. If God (a supreme, supernatural divine being) does not exist, his existence is logically impossible. That doesn’t mean he can’t be made up in someone’s imagination (which is still possible even if he doesn’t exist); what it means is that if God doesn’t really exist, the very concept of God is nonsensical. His existence doesn’t even make sense, even if people can imagine Him. It comes down to this: If God doesn’t exist in reality, then he can’t possibly exist in reality.
2. But if God does exist, then it’s necessary that He does. It cannot be otherwise if He is truly God and if He truly exists. If God is really there, as creator and sustainer of all, then he must necessarily be there, or else nothing else would exist.
3. Therefore (first conclusion), God's existence is either impossible or necessary. There’s no halfway position.
4. If God's existence is logically impossible, then even the concept of God and everything we might think or imagine about him is ultimately absurd. We are trying to make a reality what is not only impossible, but also nonsensical.
5. Yet the concept of God is neither nonsensical nor impossible. There’s actually good sense to the existence of in many ways, for example, that something caused what we see, or that the universe in all its order and balance was actually purposefully designed that way. While some may not agree, it’s assuredly not contradictory.
6. Therefore (second conclusion), if God’s existence isn’t impossible (if that choice is removed from the equation), then the only reasonable choice left is that God is logically necessary.