From: zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu (Zeeshan Hasan)
Subject: Re: Existence of God
Originator: zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu (Zeeshan Hasan -Moderator)
Organization: Oberlin College Computer Science
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 16:17:13 GMT
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In article <9301112023.AA23370@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> belal@macavity.engin.umich.edu (belal  khalid) writes:
>   I expect all the muslems to join hands in this common struggle. Ahmad, why
>   don't you add some points, which support the existence of God, in a follow
>   up article.

	The problem is that there is no argument that can "prove" the
existence of God.  I'm reposting something I wrote quite a while ago
on this subject...
---
	It cannot be "proved" that God does or does not exist, as
nothing absolute can be known of reality.  This is because logic and
science can only tell us what is rational (without logical
contradiction) and what is empirical (without experimental
contradiction).  However, reality is not necessarily based upon these.
Both logic and empiricism may be constructs which humans find
convenient and useful, but nothing more.
	In fact, belief in God requires an ultimate rejection of the
usefulness of rationality.  This is because of what philosophers call
the "problem of evil"; namely, if a good and all-powerful God exists,
why does evil also exist?  This is a question that has no rational
solution.  The only way to reconcile belief in God with the prescence
of evil is to accept (without explanation) that evil makes the
universe better in some unknowable way.  
	Philosophers and scientists have been aware of this for a long
time but generally refuse to accept that the universe is so
incomprehensible (as without reason or observation, we can know
nothing).  Thus they will generally refuse to accept the answering of
such universal questions as the existance of God with the assertion of
"brute fact" (that is, a fact which cannot be understood).
	However, the problem of evil is incapable of being overcome if
one refuses to acknowledge as an incomprehensible "brute fact" that
the world is actually better with suffering and evil in it than
without.
	The above offers no real explanation as to why evil is an
improvement to the universe.  The fact is, no rational explanation
exists.  It cannot be explained by saying that evil increases our
appreciation of good, etc.  To see why, I'd recommend "The Problem of
Evil" by J.L.Mackie.
	So we either accept that the universe makes sense to us, in
which case God cannot be held to exist: or we can accept the existence
of brute facts which are beyond our comprehension, one of which may be
that evil and suffering make the universe better than it would
otherwise be.  In the latter case, God may be held to exist.  This is
in fact the position which all theistic religions must take.
	What does this have to do with Islam?  Well, my favourite
verse in Sura al-Bakara is when, in the middle of the story of Adam,
God says to the angels:

	"Assuredly I know that which you do not."

	The context is the angel's fear that sending mankind to earth
will result in bloodshed.  I would take this to be in direct agreement
with the above "brute fact" solution to the problem of evil, as in an
Islamic view, a brute fact is simply a fact of creation which the
divine may comprehend, but humanity may not.  So the above should not
strike any Muslim as shocking.