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The Argument from Non-belief

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

Theodore M. Drange
Theodore M. Drange
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506
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Extract

Attempts have been made to prove God's non-existence. Often this takes the form of an appeal to the so-called Argument from Evil: if God were to exist, then he would not permit as much suffering in the world as there actually is. Hence the fact that there is so much suffering constitutes evidence for God's non-existence. In this essay I propose a variation which I shall call ‘The Argument from Non-belief’. Its basic idea is that if God were to exist, then he would not permit as much non-belief in the world as there actually is. Hence the fact that there is so much non-belief constitutes evidence for God's non-existence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , December 1993 , pp. 417 - 432
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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References

1 Gen. 17. 1, 35.11; Jer. 32. 17, 27; Matt. 19. 26; Mark 10. 27; Luke 1. 37; Rev. 1. 8, 19.6.

2 Acts 3. 6–18, 5. 12–16, 9. 33–42, 13. 7–12, 14. 1–11, 28. 3–6.

3 Matt. 18. 12–14; John 12. 32; Rom. 5. 18, 11. 32; I Cor. 15. 22; Col. 1. 20; I Tim. 2. 4, 6; II Peter 3. 9.

4 Mark 16. 15–16; John 3. 18, 36, 8. 21–5, 14. 6; Acts 4. 10–12; I John 5. 12.

5 Prov. 16. 4; John 12. 40; Rom. 9. 18; II Thess. 2. 11–12. Also, Jesus spoke in parables so that not everyone would understand and thereby get saved. See Matt. 13. 10–15; Mark 4. 11–12; Luke 8. 10.

6 Matt. 25. 34–40, 46; Luke 10. 25–37, 18. 18–22; John 5. 28–9; Rom. 2. 5–7, 10; James 2. 24–6.

7 See the references for note 1, above.

8 For example, according to Titus 1. 2 and Heb. 6. 18, it is impossible for God to lie.

9 Price, H. H., ‘Belief and Will’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume 28 (1954), pp. 1–26;CrossRefGoogle ScholarBernard, Williams, Problems of the Self, chap 9 (Cambridge University Press, 1973)Google Scholar; Louis, Pojman, ‘Belief and Will’, Religious Studies XIV (1978), 1–14;Google ScholarClassen, H. G., ‘Will, Belief and Knowledge’, Dialogue XVIII (1979), 64–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

10 Exod. 6. 6–7, 7. 5, 17, 8. 10, 22, 9. 14, 29, 10. 1–2, 14. 4, 17–18, 16. 12; I Ki. 18. 1–39; John 20. 24–8. See also the references in note 2, above.

11 Gen. 7. 23, 19. 24–5; Exod. 12. 29, 14. 28; Num. 16. 31–5; Isa. 37. 36. There are also dozens of other verses that could be cited here.

12 Prov. 16. 9, 20. 24; Isa. 46. 9–11; Jer. 10. 23; John 6.64–5; Acts 15. 18; Rom. 8. 28–30; Eph. 1. 4–5, 11; II Thess. 2. 13; Rev. 13. 8, 17. 8. Also, if our hearts are ever hardened, then it is God who has hardened them. See Exod. 4. 21, 7. 3, 9. 12, 10. 1, 20, 27, 11. 10, 14. 8, 17; Deut. 2. 30; Josh. 11. 20; Isa. 63. 17; John 12. 40; Rom. 9. 18.