Religion has always been one of the integral parts of human society. It appeared at the dawn of civilization with the first attempts to explain the nature of the universe and the origin of species and people. Communities created their gods to answer questions that were difficult for them with the help of some supernatural powers. Thus, all beliefs rest on the idea that God exists and his influence is unlimited.
Throughout history, there have been multiple arguments offered to prove the existence or nonexistence of this supernatural creature. For instance, one of the central ideas of the faith is that human beings are created after the image and likeness of God, who is a perfect creature (Feser, 2017). However, people’s bodies are not complete, and some multiple flaws and diseases affect human beings, which means that there is no God responsible for the design.
The problem of people’s incompleteness and their struggle against it remains a disputable issue that can either prove or refute the idea of God and its impact on all human beings. Usually, the results of these debates depend on the perspective and arguments offered to justify a particular vision. Cinema, as one of the most important kinds of modern art, can also offer many movies related to the problem. For instance, one of the most famous films, Forrest Gump, depicts a boy who suffers from multiple flaws in his body. The problems with his spine complicate the main character’s movements and make him wear leg braces (Finerman & Zemeckis, 1994).
Additionally, his intellect is low, which prevents him from socializing and being a common student. All these diseases or problematic features are inborn, which means that regardless of the idea of the perfect design chosen by God, his body remains incomplete and weak.
Moreover, as far as the first signs of the described problems appear in the early childhood of the main character, one cannot speak about a certain kind of punishment provided by God because of sins (Evans, 2018). On the contrary, Forrest seems a kind, religious, and caring boy who does not understand the nature of his problems and tries to live in a usual way, communicate, feel strong romantic emotions, and evolve (Finerman & Zemeckis, 1994).
Unfortunately, the problems with his spine and mental abilities are severe barriers to his success and positive outcomes. In other words, the design of his body, which should be perfect if to accept the idea of God’s existence, prevents him from being happy (Evans, 2018). It contradicts some basics of the religion and can be taken as the argument for none existence of some supernatural creature.
One of the movie’s most powerful scenes shows how Forrest starts to run without leg bracers. Under the impact of strong emotions, fear, and with the support of his friend Jenny, the boy mangers to overcome his physical incompleteness and move freely (Finerman & Zemeckis, 1994). This episode shows that human beings are not perfect, as they are the result of evolution, but not divine intervention. They can suffer from various diseases and experience pain; however, individuals also can overcome challenges by their effort. In such a way, the existence of some problems with the bodies’ design and severe illnesses among children, and their disabilities can be taken as evidence of the nonexistence of God, who is evaluated as a perfect creature.
References
Evans, S. (2018). Moral arguments for the existence of god. Web.
Feser, E. (2017). Five proofs of the existence of god. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press.
Finerman, W. (Producer), & Zemeckis, R. (Director). (1994). Forrest Gump. United States: Paramount Pictures.