Jessica Wiebe

 The Impossible God Jessica Wiebe In his paper, Evil and Omnipotence, Mackie (1955), argues that the possibility of God existing based on the belief of omnipotence, is not only irrational, but that the beliefs are inconsistent. These beliefs include that God is omnipotent, capable of stopping evil, and that he is entirely good. The problem though, according to Mackie (1955), is that even if those statements are true, evil still exists. And if evil still exists, then either God is not, in fact, an omnipotent being, or God does not exist. The purpose of this paper is to show support for Mackie’s argument and to implore the reader to always think critically and consider the evidence when deciding to believe in that which we cannot see. If we can put our faith into science for a moment and believe what the evidence says about evolution, then we can assume that it is true that our species has been on this earth for as long as 200,000 years (Stenger, 2007). It was during that long-ago time that the earth experienced its last ice age and human beings were almost at a point of extinction. Life expectancy was perhaps twenty years, infant mortality was extremely high and the fear of death from natural disasters was rational (Stenger, 2007). And yet for tens of thousands of those years the so-called heavens simply watched while children starved and innocent people died horribly from unknown disease. Then, finally, according to Stenger (2007), it was decided that the heavens would intervene after all. But not in every part of the world, just in certain parts of the middle-east. And not only that, but now these people were told who they could and couldn’t be with, what they could eat, and what holy day they would observe. Why this sudden interest in us, and where was this being when our species was nearly eradicated? Stenger (2007), makes some very valid points about the impossible existence of God that appear to perfectly align with those of Mackie (1955), the first of which support Mackie’s argument of the existence of evil. Stenger (2007), says that if God exists, then the attributes of God are consistent with the existence of evil. But his attributes are not consistent with the existence of evil. And since those statements are contradictory in themselves, God cannot and does not exist. Throughout history, many of the observations noted by theologians once had a considerable force toward supporting the existence of God. But the more humans discovered about DNA and evolution, the more these observations became falsifiable. The discovery of human ancestors and genetic connections between humans and other animals showed fault with the notion that God created humans as a distinct life-form (Stenger, 2007). Scientists now know that it is not possible that every form of life was created separately and left unchanged. And scientists of all faiths as well as those of no faith have agreed that the idea of intelligent design simply does not hold up (Stenger, 2007). In his argument of evil and omnipotence, Mackie (1955), uses the example of the problem of evil to argue for the non-existence of God. In another book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins (2006), uses the issue of good. Some believers pose the question: if there is no God, then why be good? Dawkins challenges that by asking if they are suggesting that the only reason they are good people is because of the fear that God is watching. He points out that if one would admit that in the absence of God a person would commit heinous crimes then they have revealed themselves to be an immoral person. On the other hand, however, if they admit that they would continue to be a good person regardless of the presence of a god, then they have admittedly undermined the claim of the need for a god for people to be good. In another chapter, Dawkins (2006), points out that some religious people would ask, “how can you determine what is bad and good?” Some also note that only religion can provide the standards of good and evil. But this does not make God’s existence more likely, it only makes it more desirable, which, according to Dawkins, is what religious people have a hard time telling apart. The final argument against the existence of God, at least for this paper, is the fact that, if there is one and only one God, why are there so many holy wars and contradictions within religion itself? It’s bad enough that there are so many different characteristics of God among the different religious sects, but what’s worse is that this God claims to love everyone and yet approves of abuse and torture for not following certain rules as laid out in religious texts. To make matters worse, if people don’t follow the rules, not only do some cultures torture or kill, but God has apparently set aside an entire afterlife of fire and brimstone to use as punishment. But he loves us all. As Dawkins (2006), points out, the penalty for blasphemy, as cited in the Old Testament, is still in force in certain countries. Pakistan, for example, sentenced a medical doctor to death just in 2001 after he mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad was not a Muslim until he invented the religion at the age of forty (Dawkins, 2006). In 2006, a Muslim was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity (Dawkins, 2006). This man did nothing except change his mind, and even in doing so, he still worshipped God. If God is this benevolent being who expects only the good from his followers, then surely he would not have condoned this type of punishment, or any punishment at all for that matter. In conclusion, the argument against the existence of God not only has its merits, but there is very little evidence to support the existence of any god at all. Not only does Mackie’s argument on the problem of evil still hold, but there are many other reasons that support the fact that a perfect creator simply cannot exist. If God exists, then he is perfect. If he exists, he created the universe. If God is perfect, then whatever he created is also perfect. The universe is definitely not perfect. It is then impossible for a perfect being to have created the universe. Therefore, God cannot exist (Stenger, 2007). References Dawkins, R. (2006). The God delusion. London: Bantam. Mackie, J. (1955). Evil and omnipotence. Mind, 200-212. Stenger, V. J. (2007). God: The failed hypothesis. New York: Prometheus Books.