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Pace McGriff
Devin Patten
English 1010
14 Jul 2014
Does God Exist?
I chose this topic because I have studied this question for ! "hole life# $he question of
"hether God e%ists& or not& has been debated b! huans for centuries# $he fact is& in this "orld&
there are people on both sides "ho believe God e%ists& or do not believe God e%ists# $his
question has been involved "ith the foration of "orld religions& philosophies& and as "ell a
great debate for scientists# 'e a! not be able to absolutel! prove that God e%ists& but "e can
argue li(e the author of this article does& that God e%ists#
$a"a )nderson& the author of this essa!& opens her introductor! paragraph b! as(ing five
questions* +Does God e%ist, -o" can !ou be sure that God e%ists, .an !ou prove to e that God
is real, Does the e%istence /or lac( thereof0 of God a(e an! significant difference, 'as
1iet2sche right in declaring* 3God is dead3,4 $he concluding sentence& is "here the thesis
stateent is& "hich sa!s5 +$his is not an apologetic for .hristianit!& but rather for basic theis 6
an arguent that God e%ists& not an arguent that the .hristian God is real#4 $he author is being
specific "hen the! state the arguent is not particularl! about .hristianit! /or an! other
religion0& but it is 7ust about if God e%ists#
In the second group of paragraphs& )nderson tal(s about "h! God atters to the huan
condition# 8he references a quote fro )theitst philosopher& 9rued& "ith the preise that +God is
a pro7ection of the huan subconscious&4 and as(s the question of the iplications if 9rued is
right# 8he then references a contrasting quote fro the Book of Ecclesiastes& "hich supports God
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sa!ing* +'ithout God life is utterl! eaningless#4 8he then s"itches bac( to an opposing quote
fro )theist philosopher& Jacques Monod& sa!ing* +Man finall! reali2es that he is alone in the
universe& and that huans 7ust happened b! chance#4 -er rhetoric here is all about contrasting
vie"s fro )theists and $heists# 8he then uses a transition into the ne%t sub7ect b! as(ing the
question* +Does God e%ist& and "hat are the clues that God e%ists,4
.ontinuing on& the ne%t group of paragraphs tal( about the histor! of huans and
religion# )nderson references a quote fro 8t# )ugustine& sa!ing +Man is restless until he finds
rest in God#4 8he tal(s about ho" huans in histor! have a desire to e%ist after ph!sical death:
for e%aple& the Eg!ptians believed that building p!raids "ould preserve their spirit after
death# 8he concludes this section b! tal(ing about ho" huans have al"a!s searched for the
great life question& +'here do "e coe fro,4
$he ne%t group of paragraphs tal( about the origins of our universe& and ho" it cae to
be# )nderson argues that God ust be outside of tie and space& and that God is the force behind
the evidence of the ;ig ;ang $heor!& or the origins of the universe# $here is evidence in the
universe of an intelligent design "hich a(es life possible#
.ontinuing on& the ne%t group of paragraphs tal( about huans and oralit!# 8he
e%plains that soe people thin( of right and "rong as a relative concept 5 but reall! deep do"n
all accountable people (no" that soe things are 7ust "rong 5 li(e child abuse& rape& or urder#
)nd in conclusion& she argues that oralit! e%ists because God e%ists& and God also has orals#
)nderson3s concluding paragraph tal(s about ho" she has presented to the reader clues
/or evidence0 for the e%istence of God# )lso& ho" it is necessar! for the reader to have an open
ind if the! are going to consider the evidence that God e%ists#
)nderson3s rhetoric is that there are clues /or evidence0 that prove God e%ists# 8he fairl!
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sho"s the opposing sides of each arguent# -er supporting evidence being found in the
appearent religious spirit of an& the origins and fine5tuning of the universe& and oralit!#
)nderson starts out her essa! ver! strong b! as(ing five thought provo(ing questions# 8he
uses questions that have been as(ed b! huans throughout the histor! of tie# )n! person "ho
is seriousl! "ondering if God e%ists "ould have these questions in ind& and these are iportant
questions for the reader to consider in order to reach a conclusion for the ain arguent# ;!
starting out the essa! "ith these questions& her rhetoric appeals to the reader3s reason and logic&
and is therefore using logos# 8he also uses the opposite arguent in the introduction& sa!ing* +If
there is no God& there is no .hristian faith "orth considering&4 "hich can be effective in sho"ing
the reader that both sides of the arguent are considered b! the author#
$hroughout the essa!& )nderson uses references and quotes b! credible sources# $here are
quotes used fro various& proinent people fro both sides of the arguent of "hether God
e%ists# 8he also uses a quote fro the Bible& "hich is one of the ost "idel! published boo(s in
the "orld& and "hich an! people believe is credible# =sing quotes fro both atheists and
theists& can be effective in sho"ing that the author is being fare& b! presenting both sides of the
arguent# )lso& b! using these credible references& the author is using rhetoric that appeals to the
reader& b! sho"ing that she is not 7ust using her o"n opinion in the arguent& and is thus using
Ethos#
$he section "here )nderson tal(s about a +>ational )rguent fro Moralit!&4 is a valid
topic to discuss# 8he starts out "ith a strong question* +'here does our a"areness of ob7ective
oralit! coe fro,4 8he then proposes the "ide5strea belief that God is good and has orals#
$his propts the reader to consider if orals are connected "ith the e%istence of God& and if the!
are relevant in proving that God e%ists# $his anal!sis is assuing that God has given huans the
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abilit! to (no" good fro evil& other"ise $a"a sa!s* +8ipl! put& if there is no God& then the
evil that en do is not evil& it sipl! is#4 $he oral arguent can be tied to huan eotions&
and therefore the author is using rhetoric that appeals to Pathos in their arguent#
)nother valid arguent that )nderson proposes& is that evidence for God3s e%istence is
found in nature all around us# 8he sa!s*
9urtherore& our universe is fine5tuned# It is governed b! a nuber of ph!sical constants
and la"s /e#g# gravit!& relativit!0 "hich are set at e%actl! the right place to support life on
earth# $his is not rando chance or pure luc(& as soe ight argue# >ather& it is evidence
of a transcendent ;eing "ho created the universe /tie& space& and atter0 so that "e
ight live and coe to (no" -i#
$his covers a lot of questions that scientist have for finding evidence that God e%ists& and ho"
science and God do not conflict "ith each other#
In )nderson3s conclusion& she states that the reader ust have an open ind in order to
consider the arguent& because it is ipossible to absolutel! prove that God e%ists# )lthough it is
a brief essa!& she has a strong arguent on the topic& and it is up to the reader to have an open
ind# I personall! thin( that this is a strong acadeic essa!& and it is "ell "ritten# -o"ever& I
"ill ention soe things that I thin( are not ver! strong in )nderson3s essa!#
Even though she states in her thesis stateent that she is not arguing for .hristianit!& it is
obvious throughout the essa! that she is biased to"ards .hristianit!# ?ther than using quotes
fro proinent philosophers& she onl! uses passages fro the Bible as her ain source# I thin(
she could have also used quotes fro other "orld religions& to sho" that religions other than
.hristianit! also believe in God#
?ne part in her essa! that I do not thin( is appropriate is "hen she sa!s* +If soeone
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disagrees& puel the until the! adit it is reall! "rong for !ou to do so#4 )nderson is tal(ing
about oralit!& and this is eant to be (ind of huorous& but I do not thin( it is a good use of
huor in her essa!#
$here is a tie "hen )nderson sa!s& +People have a relentless desire to understand and
touch the divine#4 $his a! be a fallac!& because there are soe people that have no desire at all
to be religious in their life# $herefore& it sees li(e she believes that all people no atter "hat
"ant to believe in God# 8he believes that all people "ould "ant to believe in .hristianit!& if there
"as proof that Jesus is actuall! God# $he desire to be religious is onl! true "ith soe people in
huanit!#
In conclusion& I see that the author has provided a solid acadeic essa!# )nderson uses
strong questions that are thought provo(ing for the reader# 8he uses credible quotes and sources
to bac( up her arguent# -er rhetoric is good as she use Aogos& Ethos& and Pathos# 8he has a
good organi2ation in her sub7ects& and her "riting is ver! clear# )lthough there are a fe" "ea(
points to this essa!& I did not thin( the! "ere devastating to her arguent# I learned a lot fro
evaluating )nderson3s essa!& and ! "riting in the future "ill be better because of this# )lso& if I
"as ever questioning "hether God e%ists& this "ould be a convincing arguent to read#
'or(s .ited
McGriff B
Anderson, Tawa. "Does God Exist?" Apologetics315. Apologetics 315, 2 Apr. 2010. We. 1!
"#l$ 201!.