An Argument for the Existence of the God of Abraham

There are two ways a thing can exist. It can exist contingently, or it can exist necessarily. A thing is contingent if its existence is contingent on the existence of other things, and if it could be different (or not exist at all) without causing a logical contradiction. So to give an example, I am contingent, because my existence is contingent on the existence of my parents. I am also contingent because I could have had black hair instead of blonde without this causing some kind of logical contradiction in the nature of the universe.

For a thing to be necessary in its existence, it would have to rely on the existence of nothing else for its own existence, and everything else would have to rely on the existence of that necessary substance for their existence. Now we know that there must exist some necessary substance, because it is impossible to imagine a time when nothing existed. If nothing existed, nothing could have ever come to exist. So since there is existence now, something has always existed.

It could be, of course, that the cosmos is the necessary substance, and as has been pointed out by many atheists, "The Universe Just Exists." However, we also must realize that our cosmos is only one of many possible cosmos which may have existed in time, and also if our cosmos had been arranged differently, it would cause no logical contradiction. For example the Earth could just as easily have been the fourth, rather than the third, planet from the sun. But if the universe could exist differently from it now exists without causing a logical contradiction, the universe could not exist at all without causing a logical contradiction. As a result, we can say that the universe displays all the characteristics of a contingently existing substance. Therefore there must be some necessary substance, which is something other than matter, energy, etc, i.e a metaphysical substance, which is the exnihilator of the cosmos.

But if it is a necessary substance, it has to be a substance which could not be otherwise than what it is. So what are some traits that we can attribute to the necessary substance?

A.) It must be one. The idea of having two necessary substances is a contradiction, because each has to rely on nothing else in order to exist, and everything must rely upon each of them for its own existence. But if neither relies on the other to exist neither is necessary, and if either does, one is unnecessary.

B.) It must be metaphysical and indivisible. If it had contingent parts, like matter or energy, it would be contingent on their existence and therefore unnecessary.

C.) It must be alive. The principle that unites plants, animals, humans, and everything else that is alive is the principle of self-locomotion. They are capable of moving themselves. If this necessary substance is truly the exnihilator of the universe, relying on nothing else to have moved it in order for it to begin the movements that gave birth to our cosmos, then this thing lives.

D.) It must be perfectly good. A thing is "good" when it fulfills its end or function. When it fails to fulfill its natural end or function we say it is "bad". E.G, a bad tire is a flat one, because it is not fulfilling its function of helping our car move along the road. But since the existence of our necessary substance is logically necessary, it could not logically be otherwise than what it is. Therefore it logically must perfectly fulfill its natural end, and therefore it must be perfectly good.

Thus we find that the existence of the universe is logically reliant upon the existence of one incorporeal living and perfectly good God exactly like the kind revealed in The Hebrew Bible.