Ludwig Feuerbach's Argument For An Omnipotent God

“… And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee” (Tarantino, Pulp Fiction). While the passage is paraphrased for dramatic effect, this passage gives some insight to the supposed power that God has at his disposal. However, seeing as written history has detailed both literal and metaphorical destruction, one could question where this “great vengeance and furious anger” is. Better yet, is the belief that God has such power plausible? Given the certain events have taken place over the course of history, especially during the last three centuries, some people question the validity of believing

The stance concerns the notion of faith and God on a level which does not behave how humans presume it would. Ludwig Feuerbach entertained an idea that anthropomorphized God. He believed that God could be a positive projection that existed in a realm beyond that of humans, i.e. the supernatural. By this definition, God exists in a state beyond human comprehension. Therefore, it would be plausible to believe that God is omnipotent with this as support. Of course, this idea does come with the caveat that one believes and or entertains the idea that God exist. With this in mind, the idea of faith comes into play. To some extent, one could argue that having faith in something is more powerful than having reason behind something. In regards to the omnipotence of God, many of the characteristics people give to God, particularly omnipotence, are founded upon some amount of faith. Reason alone cannot explain the tactics that God uses or the true nature of its power (Pojman 167). Blaise Pascal believed that it may in fact be rational to believe in a God that cannot be explained by practical means. Faith is in part based on emotion. Emotion, in many cases, does not operate under much rationale. The point is, if one considers God as omnipotent with some degree of faith, their belief will not be completely logical, but not necessarily

A big point against an omnipotent God is the perceived evils on Earth. In opposition, the concept of restraint comes into play. God may be holding back with his great vengeance and furious anger for a long-term purpose humans cannot yet or may never understand. The hardest point to make an argument against is whether it is even possible to for human to even try to, let alone, comprehend the nature of an omnipotent God. Truth be told, if God is omnipotent nothing in the universe would be able to comprehend its power. Also, the concept of faith is heavily in the favor of this being. As stated before faith and hope are rarely based on logic and rather emotion. Therefore, the concept God and omnipotence inherently do not have the best support logically. However, one can still argue that an omnipotent God should not act in the conventional human ways and instead act objectively and on the whole. This would be a being acting from a stance of omnipotence, and such a stance is most likely the standpoint from which God