Abstract

The basic question that is examined in this work is that of whether God or the universe is the ultimate ontological reality. If it is God whether he is logically necessary or not; if the universe whether it exists by chance or our of its own inner necessity. My thesis is that the concept of necessity and several of the theistic arguments provide the key to answering this question. ;My method is to first examine the various theistic arguments to see which argue to a necessary God, and second to see which concept of necessity is best applied to God. I conclude that logical necessity is best when considering the nature of God. With this established, then examine several of the most well known of the theistic arguments to see if any are sound. I conclude that they do not provide a proof of the existence of God, although Plantinga's version of the ontological argument does provide some reason to think that God exists. ;I then examine in detail the three possible ultimate explanations of the universe, Brute Fact, Necessary Universe, and Necessary Deity, and conclude that both Brute Fact , and Necessary Universe , are both fatally flawed, leaving Necessary Deity as the only plausible theory. I then examine some of the properties a necessary God must have