There are three positions one can take regarding the existence of God. First, in no particular order, is the atheist. Regarding God, the atheist claims that God does not exist. The second view is the agnostic school of thought. A person who maintains this position follows a “believe it when I see it” stance (i.e. suspended judgment).
Finally, there is the theist position. A person who subscribes to this school of thought believes (or asserts) that there is a God. This theistic position tends to embrace the monotheistic position of the Abrahamic Traditions, as does the atheist in their counterarguments. On the other hand, non-Abrahamic religious tradition are rarely discussed.
The Atheistic and Theistic Positions Relative to Asian Thought
Atheism is a common claim in the west. Yet in some Asian traditions, God is seen differently. For example in Hinduism, Brahman is both transcendent (transcends the spatial-temporal realm), and as well as immanent and manifest (exists in the world). This God, termed “Brahman” in the Hindu Religion, has no anthropomorphic qualities and is impersonal.
In Vedanta (Hindu philosophical thought), the self is considered God. This school of thought also involves a transcendental entity whom is present in the world.
In the Buddhist Theravadist tradition, there is no God at all. It’s believed that things exist because everything else exists in its own fashion – a concept that’s related to dependent origination. The structure of the universe is intrinsically tied to everything else, and everything depends on everything else for its form and structure. In this system, God is not essential and therefore the atheist claim would not be pertinent.
The Burden of Proof – The Atheist or the Theist?
So who should have to defend the assertion that God either does or does not exist? Is it the atheist, or the theist? Before we decide this, we have to figure out who is making the primal claim (e.g., the theist claim that God exists or the atheist claim that God does not exist).
Ordinarily one might think that the burden of proof rests with the atheist because it is normal and reasonable to think that God exists, or so it seems. Christians often ask the question “why is there something rather than nothing?” It seems the only answer to this problem is that there is some creator. Therefore, it seems that the atheist would need to defend their position.
But it is not always clear that a creator is necessary as shown by the Buddhist position of dependent origination. Perhaps the Christian position could run into problems with the Hindu position as well, because Hinduism’s all encompassing Brahman is prior to the creator Brahma (e.g., the creator God that is simply a manifestation of the transcendent and immanent Brahman).
The Existence of God: The Imperative of Theistic Proof
Nevertheless, the atheist position is nearly impossible to prove. One might say that unicorns do not exist. However, the only way one could know that is by turning over every rock and stone in the universe to show that the unicorn is absent.
On the other hand, the theist has a better option to prove God exists. To say that a unicorn exists one simply has to identify a unicorn if such a thing is possible, and all doubt is removed. So it seems fitting that the theist should step up and provide proof for God’s existence. Yet the problem for the theist is that they cannot just invite God over for dinner. Therefore arguments for the existence of God were needed by the theists.
The Theist and Philosophy
During the middle ages the priests and theologians of the day preserved philosophy. Philosophy was considered “The handmaiden of religion.” During medieval times, philosophy was used to go beyond belief, which formed the core of the Christian tradition; to go beyond and use philosophy, or rational arguments, to support the assertion of the existence of God.
If proving that God does not exist is almost impossible, it seems incumbent on the theist to prove their position. The atheist and theist positions on what is called the theistic arguments for God I will link to soon.
Sources:
Honderick, Ted., The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1995
Hyman, Arthur., Walsh, James J. eds. Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic and Jewish Traditions. Hackett Publishing Company: Indianapolis, 1973
Stewart, Melville.,Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology of Contemporary Views. Jones and Bartlett Publishers: Boston, 1996