Free Essay On The Existence Of God

God exists or not is one of much debated issues. A lot has been discussed on this subject and there are a variety of opinions that interpret this issue in different ways. Existence of god has always been a subject of curiosity. Some believe in the existence of the god while there are many who do not believe in the existence of the god. There are also different ways of showing respect to god. This paper is going to discuss the existence of god and examines the issue in light of some popular opinions on the issue.

Argument:

Pascal Wager’s argument:
A famous philosopher Pascal wager opines that there is a god and everyone should believe in the existence of the god. Wager suggests that we should believe in the existence of God because the expected return of believing in God is greater than not believing. Pascal suggests that if there is a God and we believe in God, we will go to heaven but if we do not believe in God and if there is a God, we will certainly go to hell (Pascal).
Everyone wants to go to heaven whether he or she believes in the god or not. People are very much feared of going into hell. They just do not want to go to hell and make every effort of going into heaven. People, who truly love and respect god, may not desire of heaven, but other people desperately wish to go to heaven. This is their behaviour and tendency to take benefits everywhere. They just want to take benefits, and not the pain for their desire.

Explanation of the argument:

Wager takes an approach that is more about logic and expected value of believing in God. It can also be summarized in numerical terms and presented by statistics. The expected value of believing in God is greater than not believing in God. If this argument is interpreted, the common conclusion that appears is that there is no harm in believing in the existence of god. But, by not believing in the existence of god we may deprive ourselves from the benefits that we may avail in case of existence of god.
There are a number of people who actually believe in god and abide by god’s ideas, but a majority of people in this world are opportunistic. They try to rip the benefits without taking any pain. There are people who do not actually believe in existence of god or are simply confused about whether to believe in god or not. These people try to be clever and do not disclose their cards. They are the one who try to rip benefits at every place (Pascal).
They do not want to lose the opportunity of going into heaven. In fact, they can present their candidature before people who really deserve going into heaven. These people have nothing to do with the god and his ideas; they are just habituated of taking benefits. Ditching others for their own benefits is something that they know. God is aware of such people, but these people still believe that they are smarter and they deserve all benefits.

Counterargument:

Premise1: If God exists and knows everything, then God can distinguish whether a person believes in him just for logical reasons or believing in heart. The world is full of opportunists. There are people who pretend to believe in gods, but actually do not believe gods in their heart. The main reason of doing so is to get all benefits of believing in gods without actually following what god suggests people to follow in actual life. These people may actually believe in god, but they may pretend so with specific intention and that is to go into heaven (Oppy and Scott).
Premise2: If some people believe in God not by heart but for just going to heaven and not acting as how he wants, the whole exercise is irrelevant. Gods cannot be fooled by people. God knows about people behaviour and their feelings. God also knows who thinks what and why. If people do not want and respect god by their heart, there is no benefit of it. One should have faith in existence of god and also should follow all steps that gods suggest for humans.
Premise3: Then, God will understand those who believe in him just for going to heaven and don’t accept this behaviour, believing in him but not acting according to how he wants, is an act of cheating god. God does not show his mercy on such people because he knows that these people are pretentious and cannot be relied upon. God realizes that people who pretend to believe in god, merely for their interests or for going to heaven, are not his true followers (Oppy and Scott).
Premise4: So, then, people who deceive God will not go to heaven. The conclusion is very simple. God recognizes people who follow and respect him in their heart, as well as, who pretend to respect him for their interests. People, who do not respect god or his ideas, do not deserve heaven. God does not shower their blessings on pretenders who just try to show-off of respecting gods, but not do in the reality. People, who just pretend to respect god, may actually go into hell, instead of heaven.

Defense:

God is not concerned about the reasons why people believe in him but is only concerned about the fact that either they believe in him or not believe in him. So, it doesn’t make a difference whether or not people are acting according to how God wants. The important aspect is that the fact that people believe in him. The bottom line is that existence of god should not be questioned and if it is questioned, there are consequences for the same. God expects that no one should question his might and supremacy. Gods cannot be a subject of discussion and nobody should question their existence prima-facie.

Why defense is unsuccessful?

God knows everything. So, he will understand that what people say and do is different. God wants people to believe in him and act according to how he wants. People who are deceiving God are classified as not believing in him. If one believes in the existence of the god, there must be respect for the god. One should not do formality and just show that he or she believes in the god. God knows everything and people cannot deceive god by pretending to respect god.
A majority of people do not worship gods because they actually respect them, but they worship them because they fear their existence. It has been observed that people are fearful of god’s wrath and thus hesitate from committing sins, instead of respecting gods and act in an ethical way. This world is full of such artificial people who do not hesitate from fooling even gods. Such people do not deserve going into heaven, if the views of wager are to be believed.
Merely acting of believing in god is not sufficient and people must act in accordance. Believing in existence of god and then act accordingly in that way solves the actual purposes. God does not appreciate people who pretend and act redundantly without their actual intention or feelings. This act of people is not less than an effort of cheating gods. Such people are opportunistic and they intend to receive all the benefits without facing any unpleasant situation. Such behaviour has always been a matter of criticism in almost all the faiths.
After discussing and analyzing the subject, it can be concluded that existence of god is one of the most complicated issues. What god wants is a complex issue and what god does not like is also equally difficult to know. The existence of god is a question of faith and one’s perception. If people believe in god, they should believe in god and his principles too. If one does not believe in existence of god, there is no need to do formalities because gods cannot be fooled. God knows the difference between pretending and real feelings. Acting, merely for the purpose of going into heaven, is a useless task.

Works Cited

Oppy, G., and Scott, M. Reading Philosophy of Religion. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
Pascal, Blaise. Pensées. London: Dent, 1932.