The God debate rages on unabated, with people the world over clamoring for the proof that there is no God (or the proof that there is one). Naturally, undisputed proof is hard to come by on either side, or the debate would likely have ended a long time ago. Ultimately, it comes down to each person’s interpretation of the known facts of the world, and how they personally perceive them.
Before we begin, we’d like to stress that this list is not meant to be an attack on God or religion, and in fact, we plan to do a follow-up piece that explores the topic from the other side, exploring forms of proof that God does indeed exist. What we would like to do with both of these lists is present some of the most compelling arguments from each side, and spur discussion on the topic.
In a previous feature, we showcased a list of The 10 Most Educated Countries in the World, and this is relevant to our current list in an interesting way. There has been a good deal of study into the demographics and educational levels of both highly religious and irreligious people, and by and large it has been shown that more educated and intelligent people tend to not believe in the existence of a God at higher rates than less educated and intelligent ones. While that in itself is not proof that there is no God, it does show that the more intelligent among us are increasingly finding the answers to their questions about the universe and its origins without needing to rely on the crux that a creator did it.
Are you ready? It should be an interesting and contentious discussion, so let’s get started with the first of five forms of proof that there is no God.
5. Enormous Number of Religions and Gods
The fact that so many convincing religions have been created, with Gods that different people all worship as real, proves that it is possible to create such things and get people to wholeheartedly believe in them, even when they are completely fake, as clearly only one of them could be right.
In this way, the massive number of religions and Gods actually acts as a form of proof that none of them are real. With as many as 1,000 different Gods having been constructed throughout human history, the odds are far greater that all of them are fabrications, rather than one of them actually being real, and the other 999 false.
4. The Callousness of the Universe
It is often argued that the universe is incredibly fine-tuned for the existence of life, as a proof that there was an intelligent creator, yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. 99.9% of the universe is a cold, barren wasteland devoid of life, and 99% of the creatures that have ever existed on Earth are now extinct. If the universe was created with the express purpose of allowing for the flourishing of life, it was a monumental failure unbefitting of an omnipotent God.
3. First Cause of God
A common argument against the creation of the universe without a God, is that there could be no first cause from nothing to launch the universe into motion. Yet this same dilemma exists when speaking of a God. It is not enough to claim God always existed; there must be a beginning and a first cause to everything. So how could an omnipotent, omniscient being simply spring into existence from nothing? There is no rational way such a being could ever come into existence, which is proof that such a being does not exist.
2. No Proof of Events from Religious Texts, and No Proof of God
Perhaps the strongest proof against the existence of God is quite frankly that there is no proof for the existence of a God. If a God truly existed, it should be very obvious, not requiring people to suspend their belief and have “faith” that the words written on a page by humans are really the words of a God. A real God who craved the worshipping of his creations would make his presence known, not play games with his subjects and hide in the shadows.
Not only that, but events in religious texts, specifically of a giant global flood (which are related in more than one such text, including The Bible) are completely without scientific evidence that they ever occurred, and that evidence would be…well, evident, if they had. If we can prove today that some of the stories in religious texts are false, how could anyone possibly believe in anything else they claim as the word of a higher power?
1. God is Not Good
If there was truly a loving God watching over us, then we would not be subject to the suffering and calamities that strike us at every turn. Either there is no God, or God is not benevolent to turn his back on humanity under the guise of allowing us free will over our lives (though He had no problem interfering in our affairs just a couple thousand years ago).
A benevolent God would not allow us free will, because clearly we are unfit to wield it. In fact, a benevolent God never would have created such a violent, depraved, egoic race of abominations as humans in the first place, and forced us to scratch and claw our way through our pain and suffering-filled existences, to reach an exalted higher plane of plenty; He would’ve created a paradise for all of us from the start, without want or need, strife or malice.
It is unconscionable to think such a place actually exists, and yet we are forced to “earn” our way into it by a loving God, and if we fail to do so, are flung into a demon-filled pit for eternity. It is absurd and ludicrous. No benevolent God exists when this is the form it takes, and therefore no God exists.
