Throughout history, mankind has always questioned the existence of God or a higher power.
They have longed to know if there truly is a deity that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and all powerful and
all knowing. An even greater question that has been posed amongst mankind is “Where is the evidence
of God’s existence”? If there is a God then why does evil exist? In McCloskey’s article, he tries to disprove
the existence of God by using theist arguments in a way that they were never originally intended to be
used. McCloskey goes as far as calling the arguments “proofs” in an effort to discredit any evidence of
there being a God. He makes a case that the cosmological argument, teleological argument and
argument from design only justify his viewpoint as to why a person should not believe in a supreme
deity. Instead of presenting any real evidence, he just tries to rationalize that a Christian should not
believe in God simply because there is evil and if God was so just, then why would he allow innocent
people to be harmed especially if they believe in Him?
The first “proof” McCloskey tries to argue against is the cosmological argument. The
cosmological argument explains the existence of God and the reason why there is a cause for everything.
That cause is due to an uncaused. McCloskey believes that the cosmological argument is defective due to
the uncaused of the first cause. McCloskey believes it makes no sense to believe in an uncaused first
caused because he believes there is nothing in the universe that alludes to there being a divine creator
who has no beginning. He feels there is no proof that the universe just came into being. Everything in the
universe moves toward all beings being connected in some way to one another. Each being is contingent
upon one another. The creation of the universe did not just happen haphazardly, but there was an
uncaused to the cause. A divine creator that had an intelligent design that was formulated to bring the
universe into existence. Everything in the universe it connected. If a person was to step back and view
the universe as a whole, they would see that every component or “being” is connected. Planets and stars
form solar systems. Those systems form galaxies. The galaxies form filaments which in turn create a
cosmic web and everything in the universe is influenced by gravity. McCloskey would say that this has
nothing to do with an uncaused but I would have to disagree. Nothing in the universe is independent of
itself but all is connected forming a harmony that could only be created by an intelligent divine being.
The next proof that McCloskey argues against in his article is the teleological argument and the
argument from design. McCloskey states in his article, to get the proof going, genuine indisputable
examples of design or purpose are needed (page 64). McCloskey believes there is no verifiable
evidence of design and purpose but never gives a clear example as to why his statement is valid.
He tries to validate his statement by using the theory of evolution but fails to realize that it is
nothing more than a theory. There is yet to be any indisputable evidence that all life developed
from single-celled organisms.
Throughout the universe and even within creation on Earth, you can see the connection between
the various beings. There exist many examples of beneficial order and their purpose created by
an intelligent designer (page 79). For example, the cornea of the human eye looks very similar to
a star that has turned into a supernova. If we were to cut a Nautilus seashell in half, we would see
that it takes on a similar form as our Milky Way Galaxy. Even movements of a hurricane form a
spiral shape just like a spiral galaxy. Furthermore, these examples are demonstrations of the
Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence has a numerical pattern that can be found all
throughout creation. This sequence can be found in seashells, plants such as the sunflower and
pine cone, snails, seahorses, even the human ear. This sequence did not happen just by chance.
For this to be found all throughout creation, this could only be the work of an intelligent
designer.
McCloskey implies that evolution has displaced the need for a designer. The theory of
evolution is nothing more than a theory just as its title implies. There is no sufficient evidence
that all life started from a single celled organism. Biologically, even though there may be genetic
similarities, there is no possible way that you could compare a lion to the DNA of a fish. The
difference in their genetic makeup is far too great. Their genetic makeup is nowhere near
compatible or similar. Take for instance humans and apes. If humans did evolve from apes then
why are there still apes? Why didn't all apes evolve into humans? How were some apes chosen to
evolve but others were not? There may be similarities between carbon-based life-forms, but
there's no sufficient evidence that they evolved from a single-celled organism. Not only is there
no definitive proof, but another question to ask is how would McCloskey explain the natural
design of the Fibonacci sequence and how it can be found all throughout creation? The theory of
evolution has no explanation for this divine connection.
McCloskey has a firm belief that due to evil being present in the world, there is no possible way that a
perfect being could have created the universe or the world. He questions how God can be considered
perfect if he allowed evil to cause harm to his creation. One could argue that the universe is not void of
chaos or destruction but that chaos is still a part of the intelligent designer's master plan. There are all
types of cosmic collisions going on in the universe as we speak. Even the Earth goes through cycles
where volcanoes caused destruction or hurricanes devastated coastal areas. However, after the
volcanoes have caused destruction, new land or earth has been created and replenished. Hurricanes
may change the coastline causing new inlets to be formed providing new habitats for life to thrive. There
is evidence of purpose and design, but we may just not understand the process of how the creator is
allowing his creation to form. It would take an open mind to see order within the chaos.
McCloskey continues on by discussing the free will argument. He poses a question, "God could have very
easily so have arranged the world and biased man to virtue that men always free chose what its right?"
God could have very easily designed man in a way where they would always choose what is good and
right. This would have fit with McCloskey’s viewpoint that if God was perfect then evil would not have
existed. However, what McCloskey fails to realize is that if man was designed to choose nothing but what
is right and good then he would have a false sense of freedom. God desires to have a relationship with
his creation. He desires to commune with mankind without having to force them to choose and love
him. He wants man to worship Him by their own free will. This would be impossible if God created man
to solely pick what is right and good. The knowledge and understanding that God wants to have a
personal relationship with his creation can only come about by having faith. When one lacks faith, then
they are opposed to expanding their knowledge of God. There are left to their own thoughts and
devices.
