The strongest argument against the existence of God is that a being of infinite benevolence and omnipotence would not let so much evil transpire in the world. Of course, this would not preclude a deist understanding of God, as responsible for the order of the universe, but loathe to disrupt the flow of events through miracles. The best argument against deism is that the design of the universe is too faulty, for example, permitting hurricanes and tornadoes, creating parasites, and other things which would seem inefficient and unnecessarily cruel.
Of course, there are a couple of caveats. Atheists, for example, are always extolling the idea of "standing on our own two feet". What if God wants us to stand on our own two feet as much as possible, and therefore is economical and mysterious with His benevolence? Also, the possibility that death is not the end of the story, and there is a chance to balance everything in the long run makes it hard to judge just by what is seen on Earth. Finally, what if the original design were impeccable, but was marred by the introduction of evil through the malevolent action of creatures with free will? |
