God: Real, or “Just Some Word”
Whether God exists or not, we use him as a handy metaphor for all the mysteries in the universe that we cannot explain in any other way. The term God hypothetically, can be used for anything. People perceive him how they want to. But what does the word “God” really mean? The Merriam Webster Dictionary has a couple different definitions for this but the first one is this, the supreme and ultimate reality such as: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of the universe. Lets make this clear to begin, the Bible makes no attempt to prove that God actually exists, what it does do, is prove that the universe is the affirmation of his existence. What I mean by that is it proves God created the land, not that he exists. Him creating the land proves that he exists but the Bible doesn’t just come out and say “Oh look, there’s God.” It’s evident to everyone who reads that God was a creator.
It’s hard to believe what we cannot see. And I think this is why we have such a huge divide between Atheists and Christians. I myself am a Christian. I believe that God created the universe and his son Jesus died for my sins so that I can have eternal life. That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to explore his existence more, because I do. Atheist’s on the other hand, does not believe in God. This can bring me through another rabbit hole. Atheist’s tend to believe in science. I believe in science too (shoot I want to be a scientist) but I also believe that God is the creator of science….
(I have a ton more work to do on this I KNOW but I just put this down as a stepping stone for my continued work)
References
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). God definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/god
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
If you can provide any feedback i would love to get it. I would like some guidance towards this assignment. My 2 paragraphs are choppy and pretty much everywhere right now
Good to see you getting started, Sunflower.
—Well, maybe not “all” the mysteries.
—We don’t use him to explain why the handicapped parking spaces always seem to be empty even when the rest of the parking lot is full.
—We DO use him to explain how the universe “started,” since we can’t quite conceive of anything that just “always has been.”
—But then we ascribe to him the characteristic of “always having been.”
—So, examples help.
—Not “the greatest offensive line in the history of the National Football League.”
—Be careful of these grandiose claims, Sunflower. Readers love to argue. That’s to your advantage. But they also push back against every claim, so make claims you mean to defend.
—You’re starting to deviate from your “whether God exists or not” supposition. You’re taking for granted even since that he does, in fact, exist, and that what’s in question is not his existence but his Knowability, for lack of a better description.
—I will ALWAYS advise against resorting to the dictionary specifically for help in a Definition argument. But you can distinguish your own position from common knowledge if you like. For example:
Getting back to your text:
—Hmmmmm.
—Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
—You have my attention now.
—Is there truly no “Existential claim” in the Bible for the existence of God?
—Let’s be clear about what a book would have to DO to contain such a claim.
—The book, Huckleberry Finn doesn’t actually SAY in its pages: “This is the true account of a boy who had adventures in the American South in the early 19th century.”
—It simply tells the stories of the adventures.
—Does it not, therefore, claim that the boy who had the adventures must have existed?
—It does, but it does so for the enjoyment of readers who understand the nature of fiction, who might also be familiar with Mark Twain, who participate in a collaboration of entertainment, knowingly participate in make-believe.
—How would that apply to the book you’re using as source material?
—Is it an adventure story? Or does it mean to be taken as the literal word of God, transcribed through humans, by divine inspiration?
—Is telling the story of creation an attempt to PROVE the story of creation?
—If not, what’s the purpose of telling the story?
—And, finally, if the story is meant to be taken as TRUE, how can it be understood EXCEPT as evidence that the God who is purported to have said “Let there be light” existed sufficiently to utter the words?
—That is lovely phrasing, captures my attention, and makes me very eager to hear an explanation of how the universe can affirm the existence of anything Other Than the universe.
—Hmmmmmmmm.
—Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
—Is it therefore supposedly evident to every but me that God existed BEFORE the existence of the universe?
—I ask because, admittedly, I have trouble conceiving of a time before the universe, and also, seemingly contradictorily, I have trouble conceiving of anything at all that Has Always Existed. But I don’t see how my uneasiness with the one is in any way eased by my embrace of the other.
—For readers uneasy with both concepts, the trade-off isn’t so obvious an advantage.
—Just because I can’t explain how the universe Has Always Existed I have to accept that Someone or Something Else Has Always Existed?
—That just sounds to readers like me as if we’re “calling the Eternal ‘God.'”
—No argument there.
—I’m not so sure about that.
—I believe in all sorts of things I cannot see. Electrons. But not angels.
—It’s wise to make this declaration. I’m not sure it advances your argument much, but no sensible reader will object to knowing who they’re “arguing” with. 🙂
—Nor should it. Naturally you should want to know as much as you can about things you believe in.
—Correct, by definition.
—You might be in danger of finishing off this comparison incorrectly.
—An atheist reader could anticipate where you’re going with this and object, “Before you suggest that I should want to investigate God more fully, as an act of intellectual fair play, I’d like to invite you to investigate the existence of a real Santa Claus who visits every home on earth in a single night in a sleigh drawn by reindeer.”
—I’m not sure what that means, but maybe you explain in your final sentence. 🙂
—Nope. I didn’t get an explanation of what the rabbit hole looks like.
I’m intrigued, though, Sunflower, and thrilled to have some WORDS on the page over which we can meet. We’re a long way from 3000 words, though, and at the rate, it may take us another semester to get there. But I’m encouraged that you’re willing to commit this far.
Please keep at it. Start by responding below to let me know if these reactions to what you’ve done so far are helpful. Thanks!
These comments and the advice were very helpful. And if I’m being completely honest some of the the things you said were enough to keep me determined to get this work done. I appreciate the help.
That’s really good to hear, Sunflower. I’m a tough case, but if you can make me doubt my doubts, you’ll be doing a very persuasive job indeed. 🙂