The objectification of God means that God is viewed as a being and object existing alongside other beings and objects. In this view, he exists like other entities in existence like galaxies, black holes or humans. By adopting this erroneous understanding of God, atheists accuse theists of believing in beings which cannot be backed up by empirical and scientific evidence.  

This lecture, however, first demonstrates that according to Islam, God is not an object among other objects who happens to exist alongside other things in our current reality. He is, instead, the source of all of reality and the grounds which makes the existence of any contingent being possible. For there to be such a “thing” as existence, there is a need for a starting point for all of reality. The alternative to a starting point of reality is the fallacy of “infinite regress,” which is a logical impossibility.  

When God is understood this way, there are other forms of evidence which can demonstrate the existence of God. These forms of evidence are 1) logic and 2) consciousness of reality, both of which are far stronger bases for demonstrating God’s existence than science. Science itself presupposes existence and logical truths.  

This does not mean that the atheist claim that there is “no scientific evidence for the existence of God” is true. Our only point is that even if the claim were true, it would in no way justify the atheist’s claim that God does not exist, or the more moderate claim that there is no evidence for His existence.  

We do not, however, believe this claim to be true. We believe that there is scientific evidence that points to an intelligent designer of the universe. In the next series of lectures, in addition to other arguments, we will study two arguments for God’s existence which are supported by current scientific discoveries. 

To learn more, please tune into the full version of this lesson.