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God can be proven real.

(PRO)
WINNER!
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(CON)
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JohannesJohannes (PRO)
Hello everyone, I first want to thank my opponent for their participation in this debate. This should be interesting.

Before I begin, I want to bring up something I think is relevant. According to the Pew Research Center's last major global poll(2010), 83.7% of people identify themselves as religious and thus believing in some god or deity(ies) while only 16.3% describe themselves as atheists or agnostics. Because of this, although it lies to me that the existence of God is provable, I think most of the burden actually lies with CON to show what fallacy or what lapse in logic that 83.7% of the world's population has fallen into. 
http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

Ok, I'll begin with the proofs now.

So, there are a lot of routes you can take to prove the necessary existence of God/a god, but the route I'm most familiar with and would like to present in this debate is Thomas Aquinas' Five Proofs. So, really all I am going to do here is present these arguments in their most simple/general form and it will lie with CON to show how these proofs are invalid. 

1. The Argument from Motion: 
Our senses can perceive motion by seeing that things act on one another. Whatever moves is moved by something else. Consequently, there must be a First Mover that creates this chain reaction of motions. This is God. God, who is outside of motion, sets all other things in motion and gives them their potential.

2. The Argument from Efficient Cause:
Because nothing can cause itself, everything must have a cause or something that creates an effect on another thing. Without a first cause, there would be no others. Therefore, the First Cause is God (who is outside of causality Himself).

3. The Argument from Necessary Being: 
Because objects in the world come into existence and pass out of it, it is possible for those objects to exist or not exist at any particular time. However, nothing can come from nothing. This means something must exist at all times. This is God.

4. The Argument from Gradation: 
There are different degrees of goodness in different things. Following the “Great Chain of Being,” which states there is a gradual increase in complexity, created objects move from unformed inorganic matter to biologically complex organisms. Therefore, there must be a being of the highest form of good. This perfect being is God.

5. The Argument from Design: 
All things have an order or arrangement that leads them to a particular goal. Because the order of the universe cannot be the result of chance, design and purpose must be at work. This implies divine intelligence on the part of the designer. This is God.


These proofs are good because they're axiomatic, rooted in logic alone, and pretty understandable without getting too in depth on things like metaphysics and epistemology. 

Also, because of the way the prompt is phrased, I think it also lies with CON to provide a defeater for the existence of God. Meaning, just as I have provided logical proofs for the existence of God, CON needs to do the same showing that God cannot exist.

Ok, that's all for now. I look forward to next round, Vote PRO!!


Return To Top | Posted:
2018-12-29 11:47:16
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Please do not give too many biased statements, please provide evidence when dealing with facts. Please do not take offence to any claims I , or my opponent have stated, as I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Please do not promote hatred for bias