
Arguments in favor of belief in God
This is a position paper for a meeting The Public Debate Club The arguments in favor of belief in God are divided into three groups - the first group is the utilitarian arguments according to which belief in God is in your interest regardless of God's will, the other two groups are combined when there are the arguments that God exists and the second is arguments for observing mitzvah assuming that God exists. Arguments in principle for the existence of GodIn a strange way, the simple question 'Is there a God' does not appear in the Bible and in fact there are extensive parts in it where God presents himself as successful and the leader among various gods and not necessarily as one. In fact, both in the Ten Commandments and in the Shema call, God presents himself as the only God of the Jewish people And not as the only God there is. Therefore, the proofs of God's existence that we have are much later and some of them are borrowed from Christian and Islamic theology. The proofs for the existence of God are divided into proofs from reality and proofs from logic. The first type looks for the existence of God in reality and especially looks for signs in the world for phenomena that can only be explained by God, and the second type is a pure logical argument that looks for the proof of God's existence in the essence of God's perception. Proofs for the existence of God from reality look for phenomena that cannot be explained. These phenomena were very common in the past, when science could not explain cosmology and nature, and thus the sun, the moon, the human structure, etc. were used as proof of the existence of God. The development of science divided these proofs into those that search for God in areas that science still does not explain (for example, the causes of the Big Bang, or unrecorded periods in evolution), and on the other hand, into proofs that rely on miracles that happen to believers, such as 'a boy from Bnei Brak who fell from the fourth floor and survived' and In the relative minority of casualties from the Kassams in the south and the Scuds in the Gulf War. Among these arguments are the sports fans who see the achievements or losses of a team as proof of the existence or non-existence of God. Arguments in favor of faith and observance of mitzvah on the assumption that God existsApparently, if you accept the proof that God exists, then believing in him should be self-evident. In practice it turns out that even people and populations who were personally and directly exposed to the irrefutable existence of God (for example the Israelites in the desert or the prophet Jonah) still refused to believe from time to time. As a result, there is a need for a system of arguments for belief in God even for those who believe that God (ours specifically or some general type of supreme being) exists. These arguments are based on God's policy of reward and punishment as well as the favors that God has done with the believer personally or with a wider group such as the Jewish people or humanity. The arguments of reward and punishment are presented in the Bible by God Himself in extreme detail when He directs to believe in Him and only Him, and also indirectly when the Bible tells about what happened to those who did not believe (such as the golden calf sacrificers), who believed and obeyed the commandments (for example, King Saul) Or they believed but tried to be clever (for example Korah and his committee or Jonah the prophet). In recent decades, Orthodox Judaism has placed great emphasis on the torment that will be inflicted on unbelievers and plastic depictions of hell, thus reflecting a trend in Catholic Christianity and the evangelical communities in the USA to scare people into believing. There are cases in which the arguments for faith are combined with the principled argument for the existence of God, as in the example of Voltaire who claimed that if God does not exist then disbelief in him is useless, and if God exists then disbelief in him will lead to hell. Therefore, if we are in uncertainty about the very existence of God, the consideration of cost benefit dictates that it is better to err on the side of faith. Utilitarian arguments - belief in itself is a good thingThese arguments deal with the fact that faith in itself brings benefits to believers regardless of the existence of God. These arguments deal with various measures of quality of life as well as the social benefits of belonging. The arguments for belonging explain that active faith is a type of social framework that allows believers to form relationships, enjoy emotional support and enable education for their children. Many believers report an improved feeling, sometimes to the point of ecstasy, following participation in the prayers. Others point to synagogues in the United States as the best 'networking' meeting. The arguments for the quality of life rely on statistical differences between believers and non-believers in various areas of quality of life such as survival rates following a heart attack, a lower divorce rate and fewer suicides. It is of course important to separate these arguments from more self-righteous arguments for a lower crime rate (for example in the area of sexual or drug crime) which often originate from non-cooperation with the police. |
The Public Debate Club
Discussion summary: "Is there a God?‘
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