Online Custom «Is Theological Argument Successful in Proving the Existence of God?» Essay Sample

Teleology is a philosophical theory that tries to explain morality through the derivation of duty and obligation from the common right of human beings. Therefore, it is concerned with the ultimate collective happiness. For example, Thomas Aquinas in his natural law theory argued that the outcome of the law is to create a common good. In this regard, he was using law as a means of achieving morality to attain the common good of all people. Thomas Aquinas is regarded as a founder of teleological theory that seeks to explain the existence of God. The paper attempts to critically analyze the theological method as a means of demonstrating the existence of God. It proceeds with an assumption that morality is concerned with virtues, which are divine. Thus, good actions as a measure of morality aimed to attain the common good may prove the existence of a supreme being - God.

The teleological theory has always faced criticism from the evolution theory initiated by Charles Darwin. While the theological theory addressed the existence of God through design, the evolution theory disapproves the theory by introducing the DNA as the primary cause of life. The teleological theory derives from the word “telos,” which means a purpose. It therefore implies that everything in the universe has a particular reason why it was created (Hughes, 2015). They argue that, since everything on earth has a special order from the beginning that leads to a common end, there must be a driving force. Thus, they claim that there is a divine force behind the orderly creation that existed from the very beginning. The building of one thing over the other to work and associate in harmony with each other in the universe is the interlinking and the orderly nature of God. The theory presents God as an intelligent being who ensured that everything on earth follows a particular order. The intelligence of God is manifested in the orderly and sophisticated manner the universe was created (Hughes, 2015). No human being can equate with God, and neither can any being create what appears in the world. The argument put forth in depicting God as an intelligent driver of the earth’s creation from the beginning is always referred to as an argument from analogy. William Paley is a representative of those people who adhere to the teleological theory. The teleological theory further propagates morality as coming from God. According to the theory, God is a moral being who cherishes morality.

The teleological theory, however, does not sufficiently explain the existence of God as it fails to consider the existence of the DNA and the biological design suggested by the champions of the evolutionary theory. Charles Darwin and his supporters argue that the existence of the modern man traces back to the advancement of human beings through several stages and has nothing to do with God. The elucidation of the orderly nature of the earth as a justification for the existence of God is fallacious (Schmid, 2015). The evolution theory proves the inexistence of God through science by undertaking scientific experiments as opposed to mere ideas proposed by the supporters of theological theory. Hume also questions the teleological theory, because the orderly design of the earth is no evidence of God’s existence. Hume considers that the world is just imperfect from the very beginning. He further argues that no person created the universe, and neither does it need a designer. According to him, the absence of evidence proving that the world did not exist by chance makes the whole teleological theory weak in explaining the existence of God. He uses several examples, in particular he says that suffering of human beings and the other creatures on earth is a reflection of earth’s imperfection, which cannot be attributed to any supreme being (Schmid, 2015). The existence of diseases, earthquakes, volcanos, droughts, and floods that negatively impact human beings cannot reflect a well-designed universe attributable to a supreme being.

From the existentialist point of view, God does not exist and human beings enjoy individual freedom. They also reject the idea of God-given moral laws as propagated by Thomas Aquinas. The existentialists reject God’s Ten Commandments and anything related to eternal verities (Sartre, 1960). The existentialist theory proposed by Jean-Paul Sartre argues that the understanding of human nature does not deal with the natural occurrence of things and neither can it be sufficiently explained. The protagonists of the theory reject the moral thinking of categorizing human actions as right or wrong. They also reject the scientific arguments that are guided by any notion of truth. According to the theory supporters, human life can only be derived from what they call norms of authenticity (Sartre, 1960). The theory is born in the midst of the conflict between the principles of Christian faith and ethics.

In my point of view, the teleological theory is sufficient in explaining the existence of God. Protagonists of the evolution theory accept the idea of biological design. The acceptance of such an idea demonstrates that even in science, there is a particular design or order. It is the design and orderliness of the whole universe due to which theological theorists claim the existence of God. The existentialist theory contradicts Christian faith. It does not provide any concrete evidence to prove the inexistence of God apart from challenging the ethic. Therefore, I support the teleological argument that there can be no order on earth without a supreme being called God.

In conclusion, there exist many theories that try to explain the existence of God. These theories, however, are limited as regards to one another. All the arguments seem to attack the teleological view of the existence of God. However, I agree with the teleological theory that the design and order in which the universe exists sufficiently proves the existence of God.