This is a brief presentation on the fundamental question 'Is there a Creator?' and this presentation was given in IIIT-Delhi keeping views from different religions, philosophers and scientists.

1. Is there aCreator?
Presented by “I am Batman”

2. Group Members
Sahil Babbar 13082
Akshat Sharda 14009
Chaudhary 14032
Lakshay Dahiya 14057
Aashay Mittal 14001

3. We’re going to talk about…
DIFFERENT PEOPLE,
DIFFERENT OPINIONS
SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRIES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
PHILOSOPHERS’ TAKE
CONCLUSION

4. Different People, Different Opinions
Computer Programmers think that God is a brilliant
programmer and the world is just a simulation of his programs.
Physicists believe that the whole world can be successfully
explained using physics & mathematics.
Neurologists try to prove that God is a product of relaxed
sensations produced in right-hemisphere of the brain.
Philosophers have spent centuries debating and proving/
disproving the presence of an all powerful being called God.

5. All Religions have their different or “personal”
Gods. So, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the
world, which means, are there 4,200 Gods?
Saints are elusive and difficult to understand
without belief. All saints preach that there is only
one creator and people give multiple names to
remember Him.
Different People, Different Opinions

6. Who to Believe?
Lets Dive In !

7. Scientific Enquiries
Antony Garrett Lisi, UCLA
Rules
for Atoms
Rulesfor Giant
Objects likeStars
Two Set of Rules don’t fit
together !
Trying to find
‘The Theory of Everything’
Gravity is
mischievous

8. Scientific Enquiries
E8 Lie Group
Just as all the circles are bind
together, similarly, all the particles
may be bind together each other in
intricate pattern of E8.
Each of these circles can be
associated with different kind of
elementary particle, like one circle can
correspond to electrons, other to
gluons, etc.

10. Where Science is Headed?
“An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything”
Scientists at LHC are trying to find the
particles predicted by Lisi, which could
ultimately solve this mystery that whether “Is
There A Divine Hand Behind Existence?”

11. Religious Views
Christianity

12. The Seven Days of Creation
According to the Bible, God created the
Universe as we know it over a total span of 7
days.

13. Day 1:
God said, “Let there be
Light”. And there was
Light.

14. Day 2:
All water till now was in the
form of vapour.
God collected all the water and
created oceans and the skies.

15. Day 3:
God said, “Let the water
regather, and let the dry
land appear.”
Let the Earth bear grass and
other seed bearing plants.

16. Day 4:
The skies were cleared so that the
Sun, Moon and Stars were visible.
These were to “serve as signs to
mark seasons and days and
years”.

17. Day 5:
God created the birds and the
creatures in the seas.
“Be fruitful and increase in number
and fill the water in the seas, and
let the birds increase on the earth”,
He said.

18. Day 6:
God created all the types of animals, as
well as Humans.
Adam was given the task of naming each
animal.
From Adam, God took a rib and created
Eden.

19. Day 7:
"By the seventh day God had finished
the work He had been doing; so on the
seventh day He rested from all His
work. And God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy, because on it He
rested [or ceased] from all the work
of creating that He had done."

20. Religious Views
Buddhism

21. Based on the teachings of Gautam Buddha
He is an enlightened teacher who sought to
end the suffering of conscious beings through
elimination and craving
Two branches of Buddhism
Theravada(School of Elders)
Mahayana(The Great Vehicle)
Vajrayana(also considered by some as a part of Mahayana)

22. These schools vary on
The nature of path of liberation
The importance and canonicity of various teachings and scripture
However one consistent belief is a lack of creator deity
The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice
are the Three Jewels:
The Buddha
The Dharma (the teachings)
The Sangha (the community)

23. Common Concepts to all branches of
Buddhism
Both accept the Buddha as their teacher.
Both accept the Middle way, dependent origination, the Four Noble
Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Three marks of existence.
Both accept that members of the laity and of the sangha can pursue
the path toward enlightenment (bodhi).
Both consider buddhahood the highest attainment.

24. In Buddhist literature, the belief in a creator god (issara-
nimmana-vada) is frequently mentioned and rejected.
This is along with other causes wrongly adduced to
explain the origin of the world; as, for instance, world-
soul, time, nature, etc.
God-belief, however, is placed in the same category as
those morally destructive wrong views which deny the
karmic results of action, assume a fortuitous origin of man
and nature, or teach absolute determinism. These views
are said to be altogether pernicious, having definite bad
results due to their effect on ethical conduct.

25. Buddhism instead emphasizes the system of causal relationships
underlying the universe (pratītyasamutpāda or Dependent
Origination) which constitute the natural order (dharma) and
source of enlightenment.
No dependence of phenomena on a supernatural reality is
asserted in order to explain the behavior of matter.
According to the doctrine of the Buddha, a human being must
study nature (dhamma vicaya) in order to
attain prajñā "wisdom" regarding the nature of things (dharma).
In Buddhism, the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete
alleviation of dukkha ("suffering") in saṃsāra, which is
called nirvana.

26. Just as humans can affect the world more than
animals, devas can affect the world more than
humans.
While gods may be more powerful than
humans,Buddhists believe none of them are absolute,
and like humans, are also suffering in samsara, the
ongoing cycle of death and subsequent rebirth.
Buddhists see gods as not having attained nirvana,
and still subject to emotions, including jealousy,
anger, delusion, sorrow, etc

27. Hinduism

28. Is there a creator
In monotheism, the single God is
often also the Creator but
Hinduism being a polytheism has
a specific creator of the universe
which has the name Lord Brahma.
Shaivism which is one of the four
most widely followed sects
of Hinduism has a different
opinion and they believe Lord
Shiva as the ultimate Being. They
believe that Shiva is All and in all,
including the creator.

29. Before time
Before time began everything
was dark and there was nothing
except a vast ocean.
On this ocean floated a giant
serpent and sleeping on the
snake’s coils was Lord Vishnu.
Slowly he was awoken by a
sound arising from the depths of
the ocean, which was a humming.

30. A magnificent lotus grew from
Lord Vishnu’s naval and right
in the centre of the lotus sat
brahma.
Brahma didn’t know his
purpose and was encouraged
by Vishnu to create the world
from the materials provided.
Brahma calmed the wind and stilled the waters and brought peace.
He then creates the world.

31. The Earth
Brahma creates everything
including the grass, flowers, trees
and plants.
Brahma’s way of creation was to let
the living things evolve and slowly
the earth was full of animals,
insects, birds and fish.
These creatures had the ability to
touch and smell as well as the ability
to move and hear.

32. The three Gods
Hinduism believes in the trinity which consists
of Brahma as the Creator, Vishnu as the
preserver and Shiva as the Destroyer.
OR
Some believes say that there is one god but
he is called by different names while doing
different works.
He who creates is given the name Brahma,
the one who looks after the creation is called
Vishnu and at some point God would want to
destroy the universe and this is to be done
by Shiva.

33. Hindu Cosmology
The universe is cyclically created and
destroyed.
The time period of a single cycle is 8.64
billion years.
Each period consists of 4 Yugas.
This way of creation and destruction
explains that the Big Bang is not the
beginning of everything but just the starting
of a new cycle.
Even Brahma, the creator is born again and
again and creates the world anew after each
destruction.

34. Philosopher’s Take

35. Parable of the Invisible Garden
In 1944, haunting and revelatory article 'Gods‘
Two people see a neglected garden
One is believer and one is sceptic.
Tests for presence of a gardener
I.
Time
II.
Electrical fence
III.
Bloodhounds

36. Views Of John Wisdom
Two people are presented with same evidence,
their views can be different.
Atheist does not believe in the existence of a
supreme power
Believer has faith in the existence of a
supreme power (God).

37. Views Of Antony Flew
Logical Positivist
Can’t testify statements ,statements are not
assertions.
if the belief is unfalsifiable
religious hypothesis (e.g. God loves us) should be
rejected
Amount of suffering suggests no loving God exists.

38. Richard Hare’s criticisms of Flew
The parable of the Paranoid Student
A student is convinced that all his teachers want to
murder him.
Statement is unfalsfiable but belief is meaningful
We all have fundamental beliefs on which our actions
are based.
Bliks- belief that informs our views about the world.

39. View Of John Hick
Hick agrees claims that are factually significant are
meaningful.
We die- don’t able to confirm existence
Religious statements can be verified
Parable of the Celestial City
Eschatological Verification- verification in the next life

40. View Of Wittgenstein
Religious statements are meaningful because
they form part of a religious language game
To understand- we should share the beliefs
Science and religion are two different
language games

41. Causation
So first of all, what is the causal argument?
Derived from the Principle of Sufficient
Reason

42. First-cause of the universe
Saint Thomas applied the concept of causal
argument to the cosmological argument.
He reasons the existence of universe depicts
the existence of a creator, the God.
Saint Thomas’ four verses of the first-cause
argument:

43. First Verse: A first mover
Newtonian law of motion
Someone or something has to be present to
initiate the chain of reactions.

44. Second Verse: Cause
The first-cause.
If there were no first-cause, the chain of
causes of any action that is performed could
not be initiated.

45. Third Verse: An eternal being
If everything was temporary, eventually
decayed, given infinite time, everything would
vanish.
If there is no God, universe must have lay like
this from infinite time.
He then argues that this however, is not
possible.

46. Fourth Verse: First-cause of
perfection or Good
To compare things as good or bad, valuable &
invaluable, there must be a standard.
A pure good, most valued being has to be
present to set the standard.
If such a being exists, it is God.

47. Conclusion
Can these
Ants ever know, who
created their
world?
Is our intellect too
Weak to ever
Understand and Know
God?

48. Conclusion
See For Yourself!
Saints like Buddha, Nanak, Christ, Muhammad, Bulleh
Shah, Farid have specified that practising Meditation is
the ONLY Path to Self Realisation and God Realisation.

49. “Seek and ye shall find”
–Jesus Christ