Is there a God? Are there many gods? If there are what is he/they like? Can we have any definitive proof?
To analyze these questions we must make some assumptions:
Let us assume that logic works. Without this we cannot get anywhere.
Let us also assume that the Second Law of Thermodynamics is true. This one is harder to justify because it is not provable with formal logic, but there is a lot of evidence that it is true, much like the law of Gravity. This law states that all things move from orderly to unordered, leading to the eventual heat death of the universe.
Let us also assume that Evil exists. This is even harder to justify, because no logic can prove it, and science has little to say about it, but only a psychopath or a moron would reasonably argue that evil does not exist, and I assume you the reader are neither, so Evil exists.
The next question to answer is if the universe has always existed. The answer is no. There are several reasons to think this, for one it does not make much sense to say that the universe has always existed. We see all material things existence end, so all material things must have a beginning also. As far as we can tell the universe consists of material things, so the universe must have a beginning. Science also backs this up by showing that the universe is expanding, which means it must have an origin. Let us call this beginning the "Big Bang". For our analysis the best proof of the Big Bang is Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that since things are becoming more disorderly, if there was no beginning then by now everything would be infinitely far apart. If then there is a beginning then something must have caused it. Whatever caused the beginning must also have a cause, and so on. Yet, because of the Second Law of Thermodynamics there cannot be an infinite line of causes, or a causal loop. Therefore there must be an unmoved first mover. Let us define that as God.
What can we say about this God? We can say that he has infinite energy, or at the very least, close enough to call it infinite. He must not have a beginning or end. And since we say that logic exists, God must then be logical. Furthermore, since there are orderly laws that run this universe, it is unreasonable to think that God is not lawful and orderly. As evidence to this last claim, if we looked out into the universe and observed every object to be spherical, and observed that this was due to gravity (like science has done) then it would be unreasonable to claim that the Earth is not also spherical. In the same way we cannot rule out an illogical God, but we also cannot say that it is likely within a reasonable doubt. This rules out many of ancient mythical beliefs about gods, such as the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian traditions as being the "true God" or "real gods".
Surely we can say more about God? Let us focus on this idea of evil. Since evil exists there must also be good for it to be compared to. If there is good there must be some way of distinguishing good and evil. Every person has an idea about good and evil, but few can agree on its definition. But if real evil exists, it cannot be defined by some wishy washy standard. There must be an empirical moral law defining it. And if an empirical law, and since the law does not come from man, it must come from God. Furthermore, why would an evil God produce a law that condemns himself? No, God must be a good God, by definition of his moral law. Why then is there evil in this world? It must be that more good can come of the evil than there could have been if evil did not exist. Perhaps it is good to know that there are good things, and how could we know good if there were no evil?
We can now analyze the faiths around the world to see if any claim a good, absolute, infinity powerful, and logical God.
P.S. This is clearly drawing off the work of Descartes and Ravi Zacharias, not meant to steal, just add my thoughts.
To analyze these questions we must make some assumptions:
Let us assume that logic works. Without this we cannot get anywhere.
Let us also assume that the Second Law of Thermodynamics is true. This one is harder to justify because it is not provable with formal logic, but there is a lot of evidence that it is true, much like the law of Gravity. This law states that all things move from orderly to unordered, leading to the eventual heat death of the universe.
Let us also assume that Evil exists. This is even harder to justify, because no logic can prove it, and science has little to say about it, but only a psychopath or a moron would reasonably argue that evil does not exist, and I assume you the reader are neither, so Evil exists.
The next question to answer is if the universe has always existed. The answer is no. There are several reasons to think this, for one it does not make much sense to say that the universe has always existed. We see all material things existence end, so all material things must have a beginning also. As far as we can tell the universe consists of material things, so the universe must have a beginning. Science also backs this up by showing that the universe is expanding, which means it must have an origin. Let us call this beginning the "Big Bang". For our analysis the best proof of the Big Bang is Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that since things are becoming more disorderly, if there was no beginning then by now everything would be infinitely far apart. If then there is a beginning then something must have caused it. Whatever caused the beginning must also have a cause, and so on. Yet, because of the Second Law of Thermodynamics there cannot be an infinite line of causes, or a causal loop. Therefore there must be an unmoved first mover. Let us define that as God.
What can we say about this God? We can say that he has infinite energy, or at the very least, close enough to call it infinite. He must not have a beginning or end. And since we say that logic exists, God must then be logical. Furthermore, since there are orderly laws that run this universe, it is unreasonable to think that God is not lawful and orderly. As evidence to this last claim, if we looked out into the universe and observed every object to be spherical, and observed that this was due to gravity (like science has done) then it would be unreasonable to claim that the Earth is not also spherical. In the same way we cannot rule out an illogical God, but we also cannot say that it is likely within a reasonable doubt. This rules out many of ancient mythical beliefs about gods, such as the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian traditions as being the "true God" or "real gods".
Surely we can say more about God? Let us focus on this idea of evil. Since evil exists there must also be good for it to be compared to. If there is good there must be some way of distinguishing good and evil. Every person has an idea about good and evil, but few can agree on its definition. But if real evil exists, it cannot be defined by some wishy washy standard. There must be an empirical moral law defining it. And if an empirical law, and since the law does not come from man, it must come from God. Furthermore, why would an evil God produce a law that condemns himself? No, God must be a good God, by definition of his moral law. Why then is there evil in this world? It must be that more good can come of the evil than there could have been if evil did not exist. Perhaps it is good to know that there are good things, and how could we know good if there were no evil?
We can now analyze the faiths around the world to see if any claim a good, absolute, infinity powerful, and logical God.
P.S. This is clearly drawing off the work of Descartes and Ravi Zacharias, not meant to steal, just add my thoughts.