Define and explain at least two arguments related to God’s existence.
Select from: ontological argument, first cause argument, cosmological argument, argument from design, problem of evil, or arguments related to agnosticism and the rationality of religious belief.
For the two that you pick, identify possible objections and how the argument might respond to those objections.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Cosmological Argument
The Cosmological Argument is one of the classic arguments for the existence of God. It posits that everything that exists must have a cause, and since an infinite regress of causes is impossible, there must be a first cause, which is God. This argument is often associated with philosophers like Thomas Aquinas and William Lane Craig.
Objections: One objection to the Cosmological Argument is the question of what caused God to exist if everything must have a cause. Critics argue that if God is exempt from needing a cause, then the premise that everything requires a cause is flawed.
Response to Objection: Proponents of the Cosmological Argument respond by asserting that God is a necessary being whose existence is not contingent on a cause. This rebuttal posits that God’s nature is such that He exists necessarily, without the need for a cause.
The Argument from Design
The Argument from Design, also known as the Teleological Argument, suggests that the intricate design and order in the universe imply the existence of an intelligent designer, which is God. This argument has been popularized by thinkers like William Paley and more recently by proponents of Intelligent Design theory.
Objections: Critics of the Argument from Design often point to natural explanations for apparent design in the universe, such as evolution through natural selection. They argue that attributing design to a supernatural being is unnecessary when natural processes can account for the complexity observed.
Response to Objection: Advocates of the Argument from Design counter this objection by asserting that the complexity and fine-tuning of the universe go beyond what mere chance or natural processes could produce. They argue that the presence of intricate design points towards an intelligent designer, which aligns with the concept of God.
In conclusion, both the Cosmological Argument and the Argument from Design offer compelling reasons to believe in God’s existence, despite objections raised by critics. While these arguments have faced scrutiny over the years, proponents continue to refine their defenses, emphasizing the rationality and coherence of belief in a divine creator.
