The Inadequacy of Arguing About the Nature of God

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Endless arguments about the nature of God rarely provide a satisfactory conclusion. Despite numerous attempts, the debates often fail to reach a satisfying answer. This inadequacy stems from the realization that life presents a complex mix of beauty and suffering, which remains regardless of philosophical explanations or reasoning. Whether discussing moral evil or natural evil, the world showcases both immense beauty and immense horror, challenging the effectiveness of arguments about the nature of God.

The concept of a “multiverse” — formerly an obscure idea in philosophy and theoretical physics — is now mainstream. Movies like best-picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once or Marvel’s Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse invite us into an expansive vision of the cosmos: one where there are infinite worlds, possibilities, and comparisons. Even though these multiverse films feature outlandish sci-fi story lines (like hot dog fingers), their characters wrestle with many of the same questions we do, like, are we living in the best possible world?

In this episode, we discuss just that.

You’ll hear from mathematician John Lennox (Oxford) and moderator Daniel Lowenstein (UCLA) in a Forum event at UCLA in 2015. Together, they explore the toughest questions surrounding our existence. What do we do in the face of tragedy? Why do we experience pain? And, if there is a God who created the world, why did he make it like this?

Thank you to the Forum planning team at UCLA for making this event possible.

Watch the full Forum event here.
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