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Does God Exist?
Does God Exist? This is one of the principle questions in discussions between atheists and theists - and it is one of the questions which causes some of greatest enmnity among people. You will find here debates between atheists and theists about the existence of gods, arguments against gods and for atheism, and critiques of arguments for gods. Articles & Resources
Sort By : Guide Picks | Alphabetical | Recent God or god? To capitalize or not to Capitalize
One issue which seems to cause consternation between atheists and theists involves a disagreement over how to spell the word "god" - should it be capitalized or not? Which is correct, god or God? Many atheists spell it with a lowercase 'g' while theists, particularly those who come from monotheistic traditions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or Sikhism, always capitalize the 'G'. Who is right?
Does God Matter?
The question of whether or not some sort of god exists is not one which should necessarily occupy the minds of atheists all of the time. Theists - especially Christians - regularly challenge us with arguments and ideas which supposedly demonstrate that their god definitely exists. But prior to that, there is an even more important issue to address: is a god really important in our lives?
Why Debate The Existence of God?
There is a common perception that there must be something more to atheism than simply disbelief in gods because of the fact that atheists are so often engaged in debates with theists. After all, what's the point of debating if not to convert someone to some other philosophy or religion?
Who has the Burden of Proof?
The concept of a burden of proof is important in debates - whoever has a burden of proof is obligated to "prove" their claims in some fashion. If someone doesn't have a burden of proof, then their job is much easier: all that is required is to either accept the claims or point out where they are inadequately supported. In debates between atheists and theists, who has the burden of proof?
Question of God
Can something as serious as a debate over the existence of God and its consequences for humanity be turned into superficial pap? That may be the case with the new PBS show "The Question of God" which presents the debate with two of the worst representatives of their respective positions: Freud for atheism and C.S. Lewis for theism.
12 more Articles & Resources below More Categories
What is God? (25)
What is Theism? (7)
Arguments for God (17)
Debating God (15)
Arguments Against God (9)
Book Reviews: God @
God Polls @
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Sponsored Links
Is There A God?Offering Six Straight Forward Reasons To Believe In Godwww.EveryStudent.com
God's Existence ProvenGoldilocks Discovers the Creator! Read How in "The God Hypothesis"www.GoldilocksUniverse.com
How Well Do You Know God?Take this test to find out quick.www.GodTest.com
Related Categories
God Quotes: Famous God Quotes
Articles & Resources
more from your guide Signs of God?
Theists claim to find signs and evidence of god all around us - in trees, clouds, and in life itself. We must ask, however, whether such interpretations of nature are reliable enough to take very seriously. After all, unless we know what we mean by "God," how can we justifiably say that something is a "sign" of God rather than a "sign" of something else entirely?
Is the Problem of God's Existence Solvable?
Some argue that there are problems which simply cannot be rationally solved and, therefore, they can't properly be called philosophical problems (because philosophy aims at rational solutions to problems). Is the question of the existence of God one of them? Is this problem not solvable?
Lowering Standards for Belief
One of the basic features of Pascal's Wager is that it asks one to accept a belief on much lower standards than is typically used for accepting other beliefs. Why? Because of the perceived danger of being wrong. Does such risk really justify lowered epistemic standards?
Six Reasons to Believe in God
There are a lot of works of Christian apologetics available - some of it decent, some of it awful. Unfortunately, a significant amount of apologetics falls firmly in the "awful" camp, apparently written by people who really don't understand philosophy, logic, or science. Even worse, few Christians seem to be able to distinguish between the two types.
Does God Value Free Will?
A common Christian argument in defense of the existence of evil in the world revolves around free will: God values our free will so much that even the existence of evil caused by free will is better than an absence of evil and an absence of free will. But just how much could such a god value free will anyway?
Unsupported Premise in the Kalam Cosmological Argument
Dr. William Lane Craig's 'Kalam Cosmological Argument' is one of the more sophisticated and (in some circles) popular arguments for the existence of God. Unfortunately, like so many other theistic arguments, it suffers from a fatal flaw that the author prefers to gloss over instead of address directly.
Platonism and Western Religion
Many people think that a fundamental disagreement between religion and irreligion involves the concept of gods - but they are wrong. Much more fundamental than that are basic metaphysical positions about the nature of humanity and the nature of the universe. These separate people much more than theism or atheism do.
Mystical vs. Aesthetic Beliefs
What are we to make of mystical experiences? For some, a mystical experience is an immediate and powerful reason to believe in things like gods and angels. Others, however, argue that they should be taken with a huge grain of salt and don't necessarily warrant uncritical acceptance.
Evil vs. Omnipotence
Is the existence of evil compatible with the existence of an omnipotent god with the ability to desire to eliminate evil? That seems unlikely and many antitheological arguments have been based upon just that. A solid argument makes the existence of the traditional God unlikely at best - and belief in it unreasonable.
Can You Be Commanded to Worship?
A great many Christians treat belief in their god to be virtuous while atheism is simply disregarded as vice. Such a position may not, however, be entirely consistent with certain common ideas regarding the nature of morality - for example, the Divine Command Theory.
Recently Reviewed Books on Atheism
Atheism is often misunderstood and sometimes reviled - but it deserves neither. There aren't a great number of books which really do a good job at explaining what it is and help people to understand what it is about.
Recent Books on Gods, God, and Divinity
Does God exist? If there is a God, or any gods, what are they like? Did they creat the world or humanity? Are they a source for morality? Every year there are a number of new books about gods and belief in gods - what are they are are any of them worth reading?
Does God Exist?
Does God Exist? This is one of the principle questions in discussions between atheists and theists - and it is one of the questions which causes some of greatest enmnity among people. You will find here debates between atheists and theists about the existence of gods, arguments against gods and for atheism, and critiques of arguments for gods. Articles & Resources
Sort By : Guide Picks | Alphabetical | Recent God or god? To capitalize or not to Capitalize
One issue which seems to cause consternation between atheists and theists involves a disagreement over how to spell the word "god" - should it be capitalized or not? Which is correct, god or God? Many atheists spell it with a lowercase 'g' while theists, particularly those who come from monotheistic traditions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or Sikhism, always capitalize the 'G'. Who is right?
Does God Matter?
The question of whether or not some sort of god exists is not one which should necessarily occupy the minds of atheists all of the time. Theists - especially Christians - regularly challenge us with arguments and ideas which supposedly demonstrate that their god definitely exists. But prior to that, there is an even more important issue to address: is a god really important in our lives?
Why Debate The Existence of God?
There is a common perception that there must be something more to atheism than simply disbelief in gods because of the fact that atheists are so often engaged in debates with theists. After all, what's the point of debating if not to convert someone to some other philosophy or religion?
Who has the Burden of Proof?
The concept of a burden of proof is important in debates - whoever has a burden of proof is obligated to "prove" their claims in some fashion. If someone doesn't have a burden of proof, then their job is much easier: all that is required is to either accept the claims or point out where they are inadequately supported. In debates between atheists and theists, who has the burden of proof?
Question of God
Can something as serious as a debate over the existence of God and its consequences for humanity be turned into superficial pap? That may be the case with the new PBS show "The Question of God" which presents the debate with two of the worst representatives of their respective positions: Freud for atheism and C.S. Lewis for theism.
12 more Articles & Resources below More Categories
What is God? (25)
What is Theism? (7)
Arguments for God (17)
Debating God (15)
Arguments Against God (9)
Book Reviews: God @
God Polls @
function zIca(a,b){if(a||b){wt('','',0,0,0);w('');if(a){w(''+at[4]+xb);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w(qa);}if(b){w('');zSB(1,3);w(qa);}w(qb+qc);}} zIca(z336,zs); Advertisement
Sponsored Links
Is There A God?Offering Six Straight Forward Reasons To Believe In Godwww.EveryStudent.com
God's Existence ProvenGoldilocks Discovers the Creator! Read How in "The God Hypothesis"www.GoldilocksUniverse.com
How Well Do You Know God?Take this test to find out quick.www.GodTest.com
Related Categories
God Quotes: Famous God Quotes
Articles & Resources
more from your guide Signs of God?
Theists claim to find signs and evidence of god all around us - in trees, clouds, and in life itself. We must ask, however, whether such interpretations of nature are reliable enough to take very seriously. After all, unless we know what we mean by "God," how can we justifiably say that something is a "sign" of God rather than a "sign" of something else entirely?
Is the Problem of God's Existence Solvable?
Some argue that there are problems which simply cannot be rationally solved and, therefore, they can't properly be called philosophical problems (because philosophy aims at rational solutions to problems). Is the question of the existence of God one of them? Is this problem not solvable?
Lowering Standards for Belief
One of the basic features of Pascal's Wager is that it asks one to accept a belief on much lower standards than is typically used for accepting other beliefs. Why? Because of the perceived danger of being wrong. Does such risk really justify lowered epistemic standards?
Six Reasons to Believe in God
There are a lot of works of Christian apologetics available - some of it decent, some of it awful. Unfortunately, a significant amount of apologetics falls firmly in the "awful" camp, apparently written by people who really don't understand philosophy, logic, or science. Even worse, few Christians seem to be able to distinguish between the two types.
Does God Value Free Will?
A common Christian argument in defense of the existence of evil in the world revolves around free will: God values our free will so much that even the existence of evil caused by free will is better than an absence of evil and an absence of free will. But just how much could such a god value free will anyway?
Unsupported Premise in the Kalam Cosmological Argument
Dr. William Lane Craig's 'Kalam Cosmological Argument' is one of the more sophisticated and (in some circles) popular arguments for the existence of God. Unfortunately, like so many other theistic arguments, it suffers from a fatal flaw that the author prefers to gloss over instead of address directly.
Platonism and Western Religion
Many people think that a fundamental disagreement between religion and irreligion involves the concept of gods - but they are wrong. Much more fundamental than that are basic metaphysical positions about the nature of humanity and the nature of the universe. These separate people much more than theism or atheism do.
Mystical vs. Aesthetic Beliefs
What are we to make of mystical experiences? For some, a mystical experience is an immediate and powerful reason to believe in things like gods and angels. Others, however, argue that they should be taken with a huge grain of salt and don't necessarily warrant uncritical acceptance.
Evil vs. Omnipotence
Is the existence of evil compatible with the existence of an omnipotent god with the ability to desire to eliminate evil? That seems unlikely and many antitheological arguments have been based upon just that. A solid argument makes the existence of the traditional God unlikely at best - and belief in it unreasonable.
Can You Be Commanded to Worship?
A great many Christians treat belief in their god to be virtuous while atheism is simply disregarded as vice. Such a position may not, however, be entirely consistent with certain common ideas regarding the nature of morality - for example, the Divine Command Theory.
Recently Reviewed Books on Atheism
Atheism is often misunderstood and sometimes reviled - but it deserves neither. There aren't a great number of books which really do a good job at explaining what it is and help people to understand what it is about.
Recent Books on Gods, God, and Divinity
Does God exist? If there is a God, or any gods, what are they like? Did they creat the world or humanity? Are they a source for morality? Every year there are a number of new books about gods and belief in gods - what are they are are any of them worth reading?