St. Thomas Aquinas, Nietzche

One of St. Thomas Aquinas' arguments for the existence of God is the Teleological Argument. This argument is known as the "Argument from Design," as it attempts to prove God's existence through the belief that since there is evidence of design in the universe, there must have been a designer. Another point to further the argument is that brute nature cannot be a designer due to mechanistic materialism, which does not assume any plan or purpose. Therefore, there must be a supernatural designer (Arguments for the Existence of God, C. Guignon). This argument is based off of the opinion that there is evidence of design in the universe. There is much more evidence that supports the belief that this world was created through mere chance rather than design. Thus it is a fallacy to make the claim that God exists because the universe has a design.

The God of the theologians is not the God of most religious factions, in the sense of a loving being that will provide justice in another realm. Instead it is meant as the forms in which Plato describes as invisible, nonphysical, timeless and unchanging items, which govern everything we see around us. When Nietzsche says, "God is dead", he is referring to these same absolutes. All absolutes are human construction, which means that reason, God, and science are all just products of chance events that have been accepted by humans. As a cultural relativist, Nietzsche's belief can create two different reactions among people known as active nihilism and reactive nihilism. He thought that getting rid of God would lead to greater solidarity and responsibility through active nihilism. He felt that when people discovered there never was God and hence actually never lost anything, as they were constantly deceiving themselves. They would go on to create a table of values and go on living a "healthy" life. He believes they will embrace it, as the modern worldview tends to lead people to not believe in God.

The Problem of Evil exists due to the belief that there is suffering in the world, God is good, and God is omnipotent. The question then arises that if God is good and all-powerful, then how can he allow acts of cruelty and injustice to be carried out? This problem could very easily lead some to doubt the existence of God, as many philosophers can't comprehend how the numerous acts of injustice in this world could be allowed. The thought of an innocent child suffering for no viable reason sickens many who contemplate this problem, thus making the existence of a God that is good and all powerful very hard to believe.

The conception of God in The Russian Monk is not rational, but rather emotional and spiritual. In the chapter The Russian Monk, we hear of many instances of God being found due to a spiritual revelation that moves an individual closer to God. Father Zossima gives great examples in his attempt to describe his point. He gives a heart wrenching account of his older brother's final days. A free thinker had taught his brother during his youth, which made him stray from God. It was only until he came down with a terrible illness that he came to a spiritual revelation that opened him up to God and allowed him to find heaven on Earth. The same type of revelation occurred to Father Zossima during his early adulthood.

Father Zossima was sent to a military cadet school in Petersburg, where he picked up "new habits and opinions"(G.I.) that transformed him into a "cruel, absurd, almost savage creature."(G.I.) His life takes a turn after challenging a man, who married his former love interest, to a duel. Zossima wakes the morning of the duel and weeps over the thought of taking another human's life. At the duel Zossima flung his pistol into the woods and asks for the man's forgiveness. At this point Zossima has come to the realization that killing a "good, clever, and noble man" would be a horrendous act. This leads Zossima away from his profession as an officer and toward becoming a monk.

The final account that Zossima gives is his encounter with a mysterious