God Most Likely Does Not Exist

Thanks Pro. I will now lay out my arguments for the existence of God. And to answer my opponent's question, I am a Christian and believe in the God of the Bible. Since my opponent seems to want for me to argue for the existence of a God of a certain faith, then I will argue for the Christian God's existence.A1. The Beginning of the UniverseThis argument is a cosmological one that examines the law of causality and the cause of the universe. It was advanced by Thomas Aquinas, and starts by noting that things move, and that everything moves for a reason, nothing moves by itself. Whatever moves must have a cause, and that cause must have been caused by something else, and so on. Here we have a string of causes leading backwards, but they cannot lead backwards forever. There must have been a first cause to start that casual chain.Scientists agree that the universe had a beginning, and that this beginning is what is described as the Big Bang, which occurred 13.7 billion years ago[1]. The universe is expanding, meaning that at one point it must have all been compacted together to initiate the "bang" that started the universe that we live in today. Any universe that is expanding must have a beginning. Since the beginning of the universe must have been started by a cause that lies outside the universe, then this cause must be outside of space and time. According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, all time is relative to matter[2]. Because all matter began 13.7 billion years ago, so did all time. Whatever is responsible for the beginning of the universe must also be extremely powerful.Thus, a cause that is outside of space and time, is omnipotent (extremely powerful), transcendent, and is the creator of the universe that fits the description of God perfectly is probably the higher power that is up for debate: God himself! To not believe in a first cause is illogical and arguably takes more faith than the alternative: not believing in any cause at all. If this first cause is not God, I don't see what else is more likely.A2. Fine-Tuned UniverseThe conditions for life on Earth are so exact that it is hard to believe that the world was not intelligently designed. The universe is governed by laws and constants so precise that if they were to be altered by the slightest fraction increment, life would not exist. For example, let's take the force of gravity, which is controlled by a constant. If it varied by just one is 10^60 parts, life would not exist[3]. Also, "If the initial explosion of the big bang had differed in strength by as little as 1 part in 1060, the universe would have either quickly collapsed back on itself, or expanded too rapidly for stars to form. In either case, life would be impossible."[4] The fact that the dials are perfectly set suggest that someone was there to set those dials to make the universe as unique and suitable for life that it currently is.The existence of laws in the universe point to a creator, since there is no reason for laws to have been a necessity. Without a designer to set things in motion, things should not be required to act certain ways.The numbers and constants that control the universe must be so exact that the tiniest change would've prevented life from occurring at all. These numbers are so insane that it would be illogical to not see this as support for intelligent design and the God hypothesis. Since the universe is so complex and requires a cause, it is indeed likely that an omnipotent (ability to do so) and omniscient (knows what to do) creator God was responsible for it.A3. Universal MoralityWhat makes humans unique and different from all other life forms is the moral nature of them. Humans differentiate from even their closest animal ancestors on morality. There are no grounds to believe that chimps feel bad or guilty for doing something they ought not to have done, and they simply cannot comprehend a vision of the greater good for society as opposed to their own desires and instincts. Animals do not understand the difference between right and wrong. All objects operate according to natural laws instead of moral ones. Put a rock on a slanted hillside and it will roll down, not because it has a choice but because it must obey physical laws.Humans are not like this. In fact, scholars have found no culture, past or present, that does not function according to some system of morality. While some cultures disagree on what moral standards should be, all distinguish "what is" from "what ought to be". This is a very interesting observation because humans are the only species to live like this, as opposed to all other minds of animals. Such moral laws dictate the following:P1: If a moral lawgiver doesn't exist, moral laws don't exist.P2: Moral laws exist.C1: A moral lawgiver (God) exists.These moral laws must have come from somewhere and presume a lawgiver. This lawgiver must be responsible for the distinction between good and evil, as well as be the source of that which is good. This cause must also have the power to set these moral laws in motion. Since Christians believe God to the source of all good (omnibenevolent), all-powerful (omnipotent), and the creator of the universe along with everything in it including moral laws, then the existence of God is plausible and indeed likely. After all, God is a sufficient explanation for the presence of a moral uniformity in this world.The unique nature of the human possession of these standards show that there is something special about humans and that God has an interest in how we live. Christians believe this to be true as well.Altruism also poses a challenge for atheists. If natural selection is true and God does not exist, then humans should act in ways that serve their own self-interest. However, humans often act in ways that do not benefit themselves but other people instead, such as giving up a seat to a stranger on the bus or donating blood. Darwinian evolution cannot explain this. It cannot explain figures such as Mother Theresa dedicating their lives towards helping others, or statements such as Christ's maxim: "love one another". This goes against natural selection and suggests the presence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent figure that exists in our conscious to help us have a sense of virtue and morality that no other creature possesses.Thus, God likely does exist.[1] http://tinyurl.com...[2] http://tinyurl.com...[3] http://tinyurl.com...[4] http://tinyurl.com...