How can we prove there is a God?

Question

An atheist asks 'How can we prove there is a God?'

A muslim answers:

We just begin with simple logic. When something is right in front of our eyes it is difficult to deny it, right? Asking rhetorical questions can be very helpful in presenting our case. Begin by asking the question; "Can you prove you exist?" Yes, of course you can. You merely use your senses to determine what you can see, hear, feel, smell, taste and you have emotions as well. All of this is a part of your existence. But this is not how we perceive God in Islam. We can look to the things He has created and the way He cares for things and sustains us, to know there is no doubt of His existence.

One approach is to suggest simple yet convincing experiements anyone could comprehend. Cont. =>

For instance, say to someone, "Consider this the next time you are looking up at the moon or the stars on a clear night; could you drop a drinking glass on the sidewalk and expect it would hit the ground and on impact it would not shatter, but it would divide up into little small drinking glasses, with iced tea in them? Of course not."

Another example is have them consider what might happen if a tornado came through a junkyard and tore through the old cars; would it leave behind a nice new Mercedes with the engine running and no parts left around? Naturally not.

Or ask someone to consider what it would be like if someone told us about a fast food restaurant operating itself without any people there? The food just cooks itself, flys from the kitchen to the table and then when we are done, the dishes jump back the kitchen to wash themselves. This is too crazy for anyone to even think about.

After reflecting on all of the above, how could we look to the universe above us through a telescope or observe the molecules in a microscope and then think all of this came about as a result of a "big bang" or some "accident?"

We don't have to see an artist to recognize a painting, correct? And the paintings can be from someone who is anonymous. But we do believe there must be someone who did this painting, it could not have been painted on its own. So, if we see paintings without seeing artists painting them, in the same way, we can believe Allah created everything without having to see Him (or touch, or hear, etc.). Because this universe is nothing but a beautiful yet complicated painting, how could it have been made on its own? There must be a supernatural force behind all this.

ok so what do you tell your child when he asks you where did the world and all these things come from?

Faith doesn't prove anything.if you have faith in santa claus, do you think it would exist ? you need a proof.. and for muslims, this world is the proof tht there IS someone superior to all humans.

And has someone been able to prove that there's no God? and I mean using logic and science and plain common sense. Not those stubborn mindsets who wouldn't believe anything contradicting what they believe is true. has someone been able to tell how this world came into existance? how did that 'big bang' thing occur? there must have been something that caused the big bang, what was it?

and people ask who created God, well, I think God wouldn't be a god if someone had created him. No one created him, he's divine and eternal and that is why he is the God.

Here's another example - you are in an examination hall.U're given a question paper. You read it thoroughly and think it is really a tough one and you're cursing the person who made this question paper. But you know you still have to do what is asked in that question paper cuz it's an exam and you are going to judged on the basis of how well or how bad you've done in this exam. you have studied for that exam and you know the matter that you're going to put in. and you know you just have to go through it, there's no other option. Now you get the results, and you find out that you failed. You know you didn't do well in exams, you deserved this. Will you still curse the person who marked your paper ? or will you just except it as a result of what you did. On the other hand, if you did well, you would expect to pass and you most certainly will. you are happy that you were judged fairly well and you deserved it.

Well, this is exactly the same case with us and God. the examination hall is this world, the exam being taken is this life that is given to us. We are taught by our parents, teachers, friends, people around us and by experience ,all these rules and stuff that we need to spend our lives in a way to be happy and contented. now we the good ways and the bad ways to achieve that goal and live happily until we die. the question paper has been deliberately made tough by someone to see what we know, what we can do and what we are really capable of doing.

In the same way God (Allah) lets a person go through evil, hatred and injustice deliberately to see how he copes with it . If he loses his hope and gets disappointed and grow hatred towards life and humanity, it’s his fault that he is thinking this way. He CAN be optimistic about life and face every injustice and tragedy with his positive views about it, he CAN still be happy. But God has made it easier to do the bad/wrong and a lot more harder to do the good/right. Because He wants to see what way the person goes for, whether he chooses the easy option and does a bad thing which he thinks is right and easier to achive or he goes through troubles and hardships and gets the right thing done which is right in every way. That is why Allah lets all the bad thing happen to his children to help them grow and learn through life, not just have all candies and the good things beside his bed and live life happily without making any efforts himself.

"Can He make a rock so big - nothing can move it?"

Muslims believe that Allah is capable of doing anything He Wills to do. It should be noted in Islam we understand Allah doesn't posess any of attributes of any of his creation. He never Wills to do anything that would make Him no longer be Allah. That is to say, He would never die as this would mean He is no longer "The Eternally Alive" (one of His charateristics mentioned in the Holy Quran).

Therefore, He CAN make a rock (or anything else for that matter) so large or heavy - nothing in the entire universe can move it. As regards Allah "moving" it, He is NOT in the universe and He does not resemble His creation. Therefore, Allah is never subject to the Laws of the Creation because He is both the Creator and the Law Giver.

Answer 1

The existence of life on Mother Earth... the existence of human beings is proof sufficient enough to prove existence of God Almighty! If we understand the crux of cosmic life, "How the cosmos is formed"... all becomes clear by itself! The cosmos cannot exist in absence of God Almighty shall be proved now. Rather... we exist because God Almighty is there.

When the dissolution of the old cosmos occurs... the entire cosmos reduces to the size of half a thumb. The sacred Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism makes it explicitly clear that devoid of all impurities within... all souls’ atmans in the cosmos occupy the volume of half a thumb. In whatever stage of manifestation one is... all reach the 8.4 millionth manifestation!

The dissolution of the Cosmos announces every form of life reaching the end... the 8.4 millionth manifestation... when human beings gain enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha). Does it mean an animal at the time of dissolution of the Cosmos evolves into the form of a human being and finally gains enlightenment and salvation; yes... the truth is so!

And what is this... The size of half a thumb! The cluster of pure celestial energy... the combined mass of all purified souls atmans in the Cosmos at a given point of time is what we know as God Almighty. A grain of sand... an independent soul atman... the whole mound... God Almighty! At the time of dissolution of the Cosmos God Almighty reduces to the size of half a thumb!

This cluster of pure cosmic energy... the size of half a thumb... unable to retain itself in its prime pure state for long explodes with a big bang and starts a new cosmos... a new journey of life! Does it mean the new cosmos forms when the big bang occurs... yes, the Mother of all explosions... the big bang creates the new cosmos!

Due to the big bang all souls’ atmans which were in their pure state hurtle down the cosmos at unimaginable speeds. As the rolling ball gathers moss... the hurtling souls' atmans gather impurities on the way. To eradicate the impurities... the dross within... every soul atman manifests a series of 8.4 million bodies on the whole!

Starting life as an amoeba (single cell formation)... the first manifestation by the soul atman in the cosmic life... it further evolves into multi-cell formation, then insect life, plant life, animal life and finally the form of a human being! The human form is reached after crossing through 7.3 million manifestations in the insect, plant and animal form!

Only in the human form can the soul atman within regain its lost pure pristine original form when human beings reach the stage of enlightenment and salvation. This analogy... the chronology of events proves beyond doubt that God Almighty is the Creator of the Cosmos. No God... no big bang... no life would exist in the Cosmos!

The moment human beings gain enlightenment and salvation... the purified soul atman having regained its original pure pristine form gains entry into the abode of God... the kingdom of God (aka Baikuntha in Hinduism). Entry into the kingdom of God means ceasing of life for ever for that soul atman. The kingdom of God is a point of no return! More on Existence of God - http://www.godrealized.org/existence_of_god.html

Answer 2

There's a flaw in the reasoning you provided. All your examples were about inanimate things. Cars, food getting cooked, ... Of course there is no way that an inanimate thing can do something in itself.
When you look at animal life, suppose you get a cut in your finger. That finger will repair in itself, maybe not perfectly, but it will heal without needing intervention. Animate things have capabilities to grow, alter themselves and the world around them.
The point that up till now nobody has been able to proof, is how the first life came into existence. Coincidence when the right molecule mix was available? Or some Divine intervention? Science doesn't provide us with an answer to that, and probably never will. Religion answers that question, but cannot proof it... It requires "a leap of faith".

Answer 3

Asking how "we" can prove there is a god is like asking how "we" can prove the world is flat. God is a concept that is brainwashed into children beginning the day they are born if their parents subscribe to a religion. As they mature, some people are able to analyze the world and realize that the existence of god is not necessary to understand the beauty and complexity of the world. Nor does people's affiliation with a religion mean they are "good" people. Christianity, especially, seems to make followers feel they are not obliged to act morally because they have an "in" with god, thus all bad deeds are forgiven. Read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins to find out how the complexity of the universe is actually an argument against the existence of god.

Answer 4

OK. For the sake of argument, let's say I accept your reasoning, which can be simplified this way: The Universe is extremely complex, and it seems more plausible to ascribe this complexity to an organizing intelligence than to mere randomness.

1) This argument only demonstrates the existence of a creating force, not necessarily a moral divinity. A man can also create a watch, etc... That doesn't make him a God.
2) Even admitting that the sheer complexity of the Universe would require divine intervention, this argument only goes to furthering the idea of A God, not necessarily the one you want to believe in. It does nothing to further te idea that Mohamed, Jesus, or anybody else, had any kind of special revelation. That still must be accepted on faith. For all we know, this God had no intention of being known to us otherwise than through the material experience of the world we all share.

Answer 5

I would have gladly answered this question in the affirmative up until recently when my faith took a real beating. In fact, I would say that it lost. It went up against greed, corruption, lust, money, ignorance etc. and lost. I used to believe that there was an omnipotent God with a plan for all of his children, but I cannot believe that an all-knowing and -loving God would have it in his plan for me to be this miserable. Why would he put me within reach of my dream just to snatch it away at the last minute? Why would he give me the false hope that I could attain it again after a lot of hard work just to take it away again? Why would it be sooo hard for it to be included in his plan for me that I have money -- and I don't mean Bill Gates-money. I just want enough to meet expenses and a littlel eft over for a trip to the beach or a nice shirt. Why would he give me the intelligence to know what is out there and the ambition to go after it and then withhold it from me? These are not the actions of a loving God who cares for his children; these are the actions of a vindictive god who enjoys mean, practical joke-playing at his childrens' expense. And since I choose not to believe in a vindictive power governing us, I choose to believe that there is no God at all and that the world is a wonderful, happy, vicious and cruel place that can sometimes lift you up to great heights and then drop you to inescapable lows.
And I'll match your rhetorical questions 1 to 1 that prove that there is a God or any other of your tricky little rhetorical arguments or philosophical experiments to prove that there is no God.

Answer 6

Basically such problems arise with both theists and atheists. The reason is they want GOD to what is in their books. Either a HE or SHE. And there is worst of all definition everyone uses for GOD- Creator, Preserver and Destroyer.

Let us go by little logic like this. I will narrate a small incidence.

It is told, Once Isac Newton did not want to believe in GOD, he has been debating this with one of his close friends. Then his friend as usual left the day back home as did Newton. In the middle of the night, Newton's friend returned to the Lab and kept a Globe made of clay and left unnoticed.

Next morning when both of arrived at the Lab, Newton was surprised to see a clay Globe inside without his knowledge. Then Newton's friend asked, how do you think this would have come in to existence? First there should be a toy maker to mould the clay to a globe and then some one should have brought it here. So does this universe came into existence because of the toy maker called GOD.

In Hindu scriptures this is known as "Pot maker" logic. Where is the pot without a pot-maker? Then the logic is further extended a bit and asked what remains after the pot is broken? Then they say ,the space remains. Where was space while the pot existed? It was inside the pot and now it has merged in to the bigger outer space.

So is our body, this universe and other living beings. The soul is all pervading. This all pervading soul or spirit is called GOD the existence and we the little beings with our small bodies and large celestial objects verily exists in him as if dividing the bigger soul in to parts by small walls. Thus it leads to two principles in Hindu scriptures; Jiva (Smaller souls) and Shiva (GOD soul). When a Jiva reaches the ultimate truth or final stage of emancipation or what great master Buddha termed the enlightenment, the JIVA breaks off this smaller binding walls and merges in union with GOD, the supreme soul.

But Hindu's make one consistency, GOD is self-existent.
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That is "Thesis" and Now let me give you an Anti-Thesis".
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If all this nature, universe and GOD and everything that is space and matter can be self-existent why not the entire nature without a GOD to be self-existent. To disprove this is anti-thesis and wrong the pot maker logic was used by hindus.

But just forget about the logic, the "Atheistic" question remains valid: "Why not nature and universe is self-existent and required no creator?";

This problems as I said is possible only if you think GOD is creator as creationists believe. Because, if universe is GOD created and who created GOD? Another GOD, then Who created that GOD? This is un-ending... whether the EGG first or the HEN first?

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We only see human beings worship a GOD, do the animals have one? Do the plants have one? We never know...If they have one, how would they worship or think of their GODs?

Answering your question alone will not solve the problem, as this creation is not human alone. If there is a GOD then that GOD is for every one and every thing that we see and feel right?

Answer 7

Your examples remind me of the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” a native in the Kalahari Desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle. I found this to be very amusing, but I also began to see parallels between his thought process, and that of the modern day Theist. Both are using CAVEMAN LOGIC to explain their world.

I fail to see the difference between “hmm, bottle fall from sky, must be gods” and “hmm, trees, butterflies, the Moon, all the complexities of life prove the existence of god.”

In both of these cases, someone is simply replacing one unknown for another unknown, but proving nothing!

Not only can God not be proven, but I will also go so far as to say that God can be disproved. It is impossible for something to be all knowing and all good. If you are aware that something bad is going to happen, and you allow it to happen anyway, then you cannot be all good. If God created everything, then he also created evil. It is also impossible to be all-powerful; can God create a rock that even he himself cannot move?

I would have thought that as man became more knowledgeable and logical that he would have pushed aside his caveman beliefs, but it seems to be just the opposite.

Answer 8

Well I have many statements for that.
- No human being is able to make such a great creation like earth, there´s absolutely a bigger creator force.
-There is always a balance in things.
- I´ve prayed and been answered, I know someone listens to my prairs.
- When you have faith you simply believe, I don´t know it´s form, and I don´t know if it is a smiley person, but I know that force exists and gave me my beautiful life.
;D

Answer 9

I believe that God exist. Nothing could ever make me change my mind about it. God is in my Life Everyday.

We can't prove there is a God only believe in him if we choose too. The reason I believe in God is because every time I have asked God a question, he answers me by giving me knowledge of it pretty much instantly!

Answer 10

God can not be pr oven.It is an personal choice to believe in God.It is an natural thing for people to seek an higher power and purpose off life.Like where do we come from why are we here and where do we go kind off thing.I am thank full for freedom off re legion.And if it is up to me i tolerate respect and try to get along with everyone.

Answer 11

Highly unlikely. There's a series of coinsedence that surpasses human understanding and that's God. Confirm or deny either way we are powerless to it. Is there a God, the atheist asks...why would you ask about something you totally don't believe to be there. If it wasn't there why would the answer be important.