Epigraph

He is God: there is no god other than Him. It is He who knows what is hidden as well as what is in the open, He is the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy. He is God: there is no god other than Him, the Controller, the Holy One, Source of Peace, Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Truly Great; God is far above anything they consider to be His partner. He is God: the Creator, the Originator, the Shaper. The best names belong to Him. Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him: He is the Almighty, the Wise. (Al Quran 59:22-24)

Presented by Zia H Shah MD

In her novel 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein includes an appendix that presents and critiques 36 traditional and contemporary arguments for the existence of God.

You will need to find her book or videos to support her arguments. However, over time, I will link one or more of my articles in defense of theism for each argument.

Here are the 36 arguments she addresses:​

1. The Cosmological Argument​
2. The Ontological Argument​
3. The Argument from Design​
4. The Argument from the Big Bang​
5. The Argument from the Fine-Tuning of Physical Constants​
6. The Argument from the Beauty of Physical Laws​
7. The Argument from Cosmic Coincidences​
8. The Argument from Personal Coincidences​
9. The Argument from Answered Prayers​
10. The Argument from a Wonderful Life​
11. The Argument from Miracles​
12. The Argument from the Hard Problem of Consciousness​
13. The Argument from the Improbable Self​
14. The Argument from Survival After Death​
15. The Argument from the Inconceivability of Personal Annihilation​
16. The Argument from Moral Truth​
17. The Argument from Altruism​
18. The Argument from Free Will​
19. The Argument from Personal Purpose​
20. The Argument from the Intolerability of Insignificance​
21. The Argument from the Consensus of Humanity​
22. The Argument from the Consensus of Mystics​
23. The Argument from Holy Books​
24. The Argument from Perfect Justice​
25. The Argument from Suffering​
26. The Argument from the Survival of the Jews​
27. The Argument from the Upward Curve of History​
28. The Argument from Prodigious Genius​
29. The Argument from Human Knowledge of Infinity​
30. The Argument from Mathematical Reality​
31. The Argument from Decision Theory (Pascal’s Wager)​
32. The Argument from Pragmatism (William James’s Leap of Faith)​
33. The Argument from the Unreasonableness of Reason​
34. The Argument from Sublimity​
35. The Argument from the Intelligibility of the Universe​
36. The Argument from the Abundance of Arguments​

In the appendix, Goldstein not only lists these arguments but also provides detailed analyses and refutations for each, reflecting the novel’s exploration of faith, reason, and the human condition.​