Our lives go better in a world created by God

Bibliographic Data

ID7166364
AuthorsBrian Ballard (0000-0003-3509-4396, Concordia University Irvine, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume61
Issue2
Pages350-364
Publication date2025-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligious Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-4125 • E-ISSN: 1469-901X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0034412524000519
OpenAlexW4406187325
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited39

This article develops a novel argument that God’s existence would greatly increase our prospects for meaning in life. The key idea is that if God exists, He stands in certain relations to the world that would confer value upon it. For instance, God would be its creator and sustainer. The world would thus gain value in much the way that relics gain value by their links with historical persons and events. And crucially, as a result of this infusion of value, our lives go better because the things we engage with matter more

Argument (complex analysis) · Epistemology · Existence of God · Key (lock) · Meaning (existential) · Possible world · Theism · Value (mathematics) · Computer Science · Karl Barth and Christian Theology · Mathematics · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs · Philosophy · Theology and Philosophy of Evil