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Is God's existence necessary?

Is God's existence necessary?


  • Total voters
    73

arthra

Baha'i
God exists... The substratum of the universe and the impetus for all that is...
He is and we are ephemeral...

"Alles wesen sind durch das Eine." - Plotin Enneadin
 

Kartari

Active Member
Hi Gambit,

Is God's existence (metaphysically) necessary?

No, if you mean necessary for existence to be. Alternative and more logically consistent hypotheses can easily be postulated to explain the universe's existence absent of any given, meaningful definition of God (e.g. M-theory and other multiverse conceptions, the concept that the universe ever expands and contracts in natural cycles, etc.). Indeed, there is too much confusion and contradiction to weed through before we can even begin to arrive at a clear definition of what God might even be, much less begin to use the concept to satisfactorily explain how our universe may have been created by such a being.
 

Kartari

Active Member
Agreed. That's why we must posit a being whose existence is necessary in order to account for a world of contingent beings.

"Must?" Not so imo. It's not hard for me to think of alternative explanations for how an ever-changing universe can exist without any given God concept. Indeed, I see no reason why the ever-changing nature of our universe would require this to exist.
 

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
M'kay..
So you're saying. .
There is a possibility you could be an unnecessary human being?
Other than the people I've interacted with, in 1000 years, will I have mattered?

So, you, as a believer, conceive of God as unnecessary?
I only concede that God may interact but may not micromanage everything. Personally, I feel that God is in the energy drive of the universe, that which makes everything go in motion and live and such. However, the Biblical character's necessity is in question. For example, in the bible, Yahweh goes to the Council of El to complain the other gods are lazy and apathetic to humans. Now Yahweh's getting the same lecture.

Well, if nothing is necessary, then why is there something rather than nothing?
Because something happened. Even WITH gods there need be no PURPOSE to it. Everyone likes to think some god made us special, etc. However, what if He were just playing around as a kid and grew up, moved away, and we are all just Andy's toys never being played with again?

The answer is fried chicken..
Blasphemy. It's always been 42. :p

We are talking about beliefs here. And theists believe that God is a necessary being whose existence is uncaused. That does explain why there is something rather than nothing.
The thing is, that is only one conception of the divine. However, other gods have been born, died, etc.

Depends on how you define pantheism. Is the pantheistic god supernatural?

Ciao

- viole
From our perspective, yes. From the deity's perspective, no, as what it does is natural to it, right?
 
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