This is a persuasive essay that I had written for my freshman year English class in 2020. The assignment was that we were able to write anything that we wanted to try and persuade an audience for something. We were allowed to do anything (ie. record a video, write an essay....) and I chose to write an essay, but put the essay on a website because that would be the best way to be able to share with the audience that would potentially read what I wrote.
Anyways, this is close to the original as I would allow it to be. The original had sooo many grammar mistakes that I literally started cringing when I reread it. Like, did I seriously turn that in and had people read it in all it's glory?? It says pretty much the same thing, but it's just edited a little bit so that I'm not cringing while reading it :)
Anyways, this is close to the original as I would allow it to be. The original had sooo many grammar mistakes that I literally started cringing when I reread it. Like, did I seriously turn that in and had people read it in all it's glory?? It says pretty much the same thing, but it's just edited a little bit so that I'm not cringing while reading it :)
Why God Exists
by Cora Lawson
God is a controversial topic. Some say that He exists, but some disagree. So, I wanted to prove the thing that I believed in most. The first thing that I did was asked atheists why they didn’t believe in God. I am a part of this website for writers, and this one section of the site is the forums. I made a forum and asked atheists why they didn’t believe in God. I started to get responses pretty quickly. After reading about 30 of the posts I started to get a little depressed to be completely honest, but I got what I needed. What most of the posts had in common was that there was no proof. Honestly, I have never seen any real scientific proof. Granted I haven’t even looked for any. I just see proof in my life, but nobody that isn’t a Christian would believe that it was God. So, my search began.
Before doing anything, I wanted to add this in. “When it comes to the possibility of God’s existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know if God is there, he says, ‘You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.’ Before you look at the facts surrounding His existence, ask yourself, if God does exist, would I want to know him?” (Adamson).
I remember my fourth-grade teacher once saying to think of the Big Bang like this. Get a shoebox and put a pencil inside of it. Shut the lid and then shake it up. Open it up and what do you get? Nothing? How can a drawing come out of just shaking a shoebox? Think about it, how can a universe come out of this Big Bang? How can something so perfectly made be made from something random like a Big Bang?
There was also this survey from the Pew Research Center that said that 23 percent of Americans with no association with anything religious in 2014. 33 percent of Americans said that they didn’t believe in God, which is an 11 percent increase since 2007 (Nelson).
There have been some examples that some say has been showing God’s design. For example, Earth is the perfect size. Its size holds the perfect amount of mostly nitrogen and oxygen only about 50 miles above the surface. If it was any smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible to be there, like on Mercury, and if it was any bigger, the atmosphere would contain a lot more hydrogen than it does now. (Adamson) “Because molecular hydrogen freely moves up and mixes with stratospheric air, the result would be the creation the additional water at high altitudes, and consequently, an increased dampening of the stratosphere. This in turn would result in cooling of the lower stratosphere and disturbance of ozone chemistry, which depends on a chain of chemical reactions involving hydrochloric acid and chlorine nitrate on water ice” (Hydrogen economy might impact Earth’s stratosphere, study shows). Earth is the only known planet that is capable of sustaining plant, animal, and human life. The moon is the perfect size from Earth to still be in its gravitational pull. The moon creates ocean tides, yet the massive oceans don’t spill over onto land (Adamson).
A Nobel Prize winner Princeton physicist in 1960 asked an underlying question: “Why did the natural world always obey the laws of mathematics?” (Nelson)
Scholars have argued that mathematics exists on its own from the physical reality. Mathematicians have a job to discover the world of mathematical laws and concepts. Physicists put the mathematical law to use and confirm the observation of the scientific method. Issac Newton was considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of the 17th century. He made many tough efforts in his life to try and explain the natural existence of the universe, but in the end, all he could actually say was that it was the will of God. (Nelson)
“Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, ‘The seed of everything that has happened in the universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion….. The universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen.’” (Adamson).
“Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, ‘the universe was about a hundred thousand million degrees Centigrade… and the universe was filled with light.’” (Adamson).
The universe hadn’t always existed. It started somehow, but what caused it? Scientists still have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.
Have you ever realized that the universe operates by a set of rules? One thing that we can always count on is that gravity is always there. “The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn’t have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence.” (Adamson).
“Richard Feynmen, a Nobel prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, “Why nature is mathematical is a mystery… The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of a miracle.”’ (Adamson).
Every cell in your body exists in a very detailed code, sort of like a mini-computer program. Like how you can program your phone to do something specific, DNA instructs the cells. Have you ever wondered how the human body with these specific DNA? How is it that every human being has a very specific set of cells that makes you your own independent person? You can’t find specific information without someone intentionally putting it there (Adamson).
This next part was one of the articles that I had found, and I can’t put it better into my own words, and honestly, if I tried, I might end up plagiarizing it.
“I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don't believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions to caring for those poor, delusional people...to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.
I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn't escape thinking about the possibility of God.
In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God's existence, my prayer began with, "Ok, you win..." It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.
I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, a socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England."
Lewis went on to write a book titled, "Surprised by Joy" as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.” (Adamson).
This topic was so controversial. It's not always easy to prove someone to be real when they don't show themselves. There are different things in life that I pointed out that seem just too perfect to be there by chance. How are you here by chance? At least think about this. It's a lot more sense to believe that someone made this universe than to think of something like the Big Bang. I'm not saying that you have to believe in any of the religions dealing with God, I'm just saying that it makes more sense to think that someone made us and this universe than it just happening out of nowhere.
Before doing anything, I wanted to add this in. “When it comes to the possibility of God’s existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know if God is there, he says, ‘You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.’ Before you look at the facts surrounding His existence, ask yourself, if God does exist, would I want to know him?” (Adamson).
I remember my fourth-grade teacher once saying to think of the Big Bang like this. Get a shoebox and put a pencil inside of it. Shut the lid and then shake it up. Open it up and what do you get? Nothing? How can a drawing come out of just shaking a shoebox? Think about it, how can a universe come out of this Big Bang? How can something so perfectly made be made from something random like a Big Bang?
There was also this survey from the Pew Research Center that said that 23 percent of Americans with no association with anything religious in 2014. 33 percent of Americans said that they didn’t believe in God, which is an 11 percent increase since 2007 (Nelson).
There have been some examples that some say has been showing God’s design. For example, Earth is the perfect size. Its size holds the perfect amount of mostly nitrogen and oxygen only about 50 miles above the surface. If it was any smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible to be there, like on Mercury, and if it was any bigger, the atmosphere would contain a lot more hydrogen than it does now. (Adamson) “Because molecular hydrogen freely moves up and mixes with stratospheric air, the result would be the creation the additional water at high altitudes, and consequently, an increased dampening of the stratosphere. This in turn would result in cooling of the lower stratosphere and disturbance of ozone chemistry, which depends on a chain of chemical reactions involving hydrochloric acid and chlorine nitrate on water ice” (Hydrogen economy might impact Earth’s stratosphere, study shows). Earth is the only known planet that is capable of sustaining plant, animal, and human life. The moon is the perfect size from Earth to still be in its gravitational pull. The moon creates ocean tides, yet the massive oceans don’t spill over onto land (Adamson).
A Nobel Prize winner Princeton physicist in 1960 asked an underlying question: “Why did the natural world always obey the laws of mathematics?” (Nelson)
Scholars have argued that mathematics exists on its own from the physical reality. Mathematicians have a job to discover the world of mathematical laws and concepts. Physicists put the mathematical law to use and confirm the observation of the scientific method. Issac Newton was considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of the 17th century. He made many tough efforts in his life to try and explain the natural existence of the universe, but in the end, all he could actually say was that it was the will of God. (Nelson)
“Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, ‘The seed of everything that has happened in the universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion….. The universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen.’” (Adamson).
“Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, ‘the universe was about a hundred thousand million degrees Centigrade… and the universe was filled with light.’” (Adamson).
The universe hadn’t always existed. It started somehow, but what caused it? Scientists still have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.
Have you ever realized that the universe operates by a set of rules? One thing that we can always count on is that gravity is always there. “The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn’t have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence.” (Adamson).
“Richard Feynmen, a Nobel prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, “Why nature is mathematical is a mystery… The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of a miracle.”’ (Adamson).
Every cell in your body exists in a very detailed code, sort of like a mini-computer program. Like how you can program your phone to do something specific, DNA instructs the cells. Have you ever wondered how the human body with these specific DNA? How is it that every human being has a very specific set of cells that makes you your own independent person? You can’t find specific information without someone intentionally putting it there (Adamson).
This next part was one of the articles that I had found, and I can’t put it better into my own words, and honestly, if I tried, I might end up plagiarizing it.
“I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don't believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions to caring for those poor, delusional people...to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.
I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn't escape thinking about the possibility of God.
In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God's existence, my prayer began with, "Ok, you win..." It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.
I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, a socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England."
Lewis went on to write a book titled, "Surprised by Joy" as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.” (Adamson).
This topic was so controversial. It's not always easy to prove someone to be real when they don't show themselves. There are different things in life that I pointed out that seem just too perfect to be there by chance. How are you here by chance? At least think about this. It's a lot more sense to believe that someone made this universe than to think of something like the Big Bang. I'm not saying that you have to believe in any of the religions dealing with God, I'm just saying that it makes more sense to think that someone made us and this universe than it just happening out of nowhere.
Works Cited
Adamson, Marilyn. “Is There a God?” EveryStudent.com, 2017, www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html.
Holmes, Rayne. Interview with Rayne Holmes. 20 Jan. 2020.
“Hydrogen Economy Might ImpactEarth’s Stratosphere, Study Shows.” Caltech.Edu, 2020, www.caltech.edu/about/news/hydrogen-economy-might-impactearths-stratosphere-study-shows-722. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020.
Is God Real. “Is God Real?” EveryStudent.com, 2020, www.everystudent.com/wires/Godreal.html. Accessed 23 Jan. 2020.
Nelson, Robert H. “Arguments Why God (Very Probably) Exists.” The Conversation, 11 May 2017, theconversation.com/arguments-why-god-very-probably-exists-75451. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019.
Adamson, Marilyn. “Is There a God?” EveryStudent.com, 2017, www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html.
Holmes, Rayne. Interview with Rayne Holmes. 20 Jan. 2020.
“Hydrogen Economy Might ImpactEarth’s Stratosphere, Study Shows.” Caltech.Edu, 2020, www.caltech.edu/about/news/hydrogen-economy-might-impactearths-stratosphere-study-shows-722. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020.
Is God Real. “Is God Real?” EveryStudent.com, 2020, www.everystudent.com/wires/Godreal.html. Accessed 23 Jan. 2020.
Nelson, Robert H. “Arguments Why God (Very Probably) Exists.” The Conversation, 11 May 2017, theconversation.com/arguments-why-god-very-probably-exists-75451. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019.