God is a deeply controversial topic and believes about God vary widely across cultures and individuals. While some people find comfort and purpose in believing in God, other view the concept as a human-made construct, born out of the need to explain the mysteries of the universe.

The historical roots of belief in God

One argument for the existence of God is that science might not be ale to fully explain this world, calling the unsolved mysteries of this universe „God “.

 This way of thinking has roots in the history of humanity, where fear of the unknown often led to the invention of gods and myths.

For instance, the ancient Romans created a pantheon of gods to explain natural phenomena they could not understand. Jupiter, their king of gods, was believed to control the sky and express anger through lightning and thunder. Today, we know the physics behind lightning and thunder and do not believe in those gods anymore.

Is God a creation of uncertainty?

But have we truly outgrown this way of thinking or is God merely placeholder for the parts of reality we have yet to understand? Fear out of the unknown and uncertainty is a natural human response but does not constitute proof of Gods existence.

Concepts like heaven and hell illustrate how imagination, fueled by anxiety about death and afterlife, has shaped religious beliefs over centuries to counteract the discomfort of the uncertainty. It is convenient to believe in the existence of something more powerful and bigger than us.

Science and the role of God

With the advancement of science, may of the roles once assigned to gods have been replaced by scientific laws that seem to govern our universe.

 This raises the question: could we redefine God as an embodiment of all natural laws? While some might accept this idea, many prefer a more personal, human-like God.

However, we still face various questions that our current scientific knowledge is not able to explain.

Why did the BigBang occur? What was before the BigBang? What is consciousness, and how does it arise from a combination of atoms and molecules?

These and many more mysteries, though profound, do not necessarily imply the existence of God.

History shows that humanity has often claimed that certain phenomena were beyond the reach of science, only to later uncover their explanations. For example, many philosophers and other educated men believed that the process in the sun were the work of God. Today, we understand nuclear fusion as the source of the sun's energy.

This does not mean that God is definitively excluded as a potentially explanation for life’s mysteries, but it highlights the human capacity to unravel what was once unknowable.

Personally, I much rather believe that science holds the key to the mysterious universe. Is that not something that makes you want to wake up every morning, knowing we still have a far way ahead of us to unravel the mysteries of the universe?

Saint Thomas Aquinas and the arguments for God

Saint Thomas Aquinas, a catholic theologian of the 13th century, postulated three arguments, or proofs, for Gods existence.

1. Cosmological proof: Everything in motion must have a First Mover, or First Cause, to set it in motion – this is God.
2. Teleological proof: the universes complexity and apparent design imply the existence of an intelligent designer – God.
3. Ontological proof: By definition, God is perfect. If God did not exist, he would not be perfect. Therefore, he must exist.

Scientific Counterarguments

Modern science has challenged these arguments:

1. Cosmological proof: While physics says nothing about where the laws of physics themselves come from, this gap does not necessity a divine cause. Theories like the multiverse suggest alternative explanations, and it is possible that our cognitive limits prevent us from fully comprehending the universes origins. This does not imply the existence of God but rather states the boundaries of our physical and neurobiological capabilities.
2. Teleological proof: The complexity of life can be explained by evolution, where sophisticated designs arise naturally through survival and adaptation. A first designer is not necessary because the complexity evolves according to scientific laws.
3. Ontological proof: Philosopher Immanuel Kant pointed out that perfection and existence are separate concepts. Perfection does not necessarily mean it must exist.

Agnosticism and the limits of knowledge

Scientists are often reluctant to admit that there are some things beyond the realm of science. Proving that God dies nit exist is inherently challenging because it is impossible to prove a negative. For example, the absence of evidence for dragons does not entirely eliminate the possibility of their existence. Although we have scoured most of Earths surface and have never seen a dragon, one might be in some undiscovered region of Earth.

Similarly, even though we have explored vast regions of space without finding God, this does not rule out the possibility of God in unexplored regions.

This perspective forms the basis of agnosticism – the view that it is impossible to know for certain whether God exists. An agnostic neither affirms nor denies Gods existence, acknowledging the limits of human understanding.