Introduction
This paper seeks to examine not the existence of God or negation, but whether man’s belief in god is rational and based on sound logic and deductive reasoning.
The aspect that needs to be discussed first is which acts constitute holiness. It is seen that the acts which gods approve are terms as holy, or good acts, and conversely, the acts which gods disapprove, are unholy acts. In other words, the pre-requisite for an act to be approved by gods is that it should be holy. Thus holiness is the cause and not the result. In other words, the approval is granted by gods because it is holy, and the fact that gods approve it does not make it holy.
Similarly, by extending this logic the fact that god is existent should make mankind believe in him, and not because mankind believes in the existence of God that should make Him existent as God.
Main body
Thus, it is argued that God’s very existence should make man believe in him, and not because people believe in God, should authenticity of God be rationalized.
Thus it is seen that divinely approved (existence of God) and holy (man’s belief in him) “are oppositely placed, as being altogether different from each other, for the one is ‘such as to get approved’ because it gets approved while the other gets approved precisely because it’s ‘such as to get approved.’” (Tredennick. and Tarrant, 22).
The argument validating the rationale of man’s belief in God stems from the fact that God being, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, does not need scientific evidence, or proof for being believed. God is an exception to the theory that all theories need to be evidenced, or seen to be believed. Man accepts the existence of wind forces, the reality of his former generations, or even the movements of the cosmic forces, yet he has not seen these aspects with his own eyes.
It is said that man’s finite capacity, despite tremendous advancement in science and technology, is too limited to understand the form of God. When the smallest of living species is considered, it may not be able to be aware of existence of the largest of living species.
Coming back to the argument of the rationale of God’s existence, it is seen that man’s supplications to gods may emanate from faith, or to gain favours, but “what benefits for the gods eventuates from the donations which they received from us…. How are they benefited by what they received from us?” (Tredennick. and Tarrant, 29).
This is justified that this is a form of fulfillment, or reinforcement of the faith that man reposes in God. However, once again, it is seen that the mere fact that god approves an act does not make it holy; it is only if the act is holy that it would be approved. Being holy and the act of being approved are two different notions, and therefore, man’s actions, sacrifices and offerings need to be holy in order to seek and received the approval of Supreme Being.
The fact that an aspect of life cannot be seen cannot form the basis for its denial, or non-existence. However, in the Bible, God has provided evidence of his existence and resurrurection. When Thomas doubted Christ’s resurrection, and asked for evidence and proof, God provided it to him, and this made him a Believer, too.
In the Indian context too, God had taken birth, over time, in several manifestations to destroy existing evils and establish the eternal philosophy of peaceful co-existence, compassion and charity. It is widely believed that life in the cosmos would be an eternal feud between forces of good and evil, and ultimately, with the intervention of celestial powers, the good forces shall prevail over evil ones, and righteousness settled.
Conclusion
However, it is necessary for man to discriminate between what is holy and what is not so that he could live in peace with himself and his world.
Works Cited
Tredennick, Hugh. and Tarrant, Harold. (2003). Plato: The Last days of Socrates. Euthyphro: Penguin Classics (England).