Even if no proof existed, it would still be rational to believe in God.
What Is a Properly Basic Belief?
Not every rational belief requires proof. You trust your memory without proving every detail of the past. You believe the world around you is real without constantly verifying it. You assume other people have minds like yours, even though you can’t prove it scientifically.
These are called properly basic beliefs—foundational truths we accept without needing arguments first.
Application to God
Plantinga argues that belief in God can be rational in the same way. If our cognitive faculties are functioning as they should, then a natural awareness of God can arise in us just as naturally as memory, perception, or our belief in other minds.
In other words, trusting in God can be as rational as trusting your own memory or senses.
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| Alvin Plantinga |
But What About Miracles?
Someone might object: “But God involves miracles and supernatural claims, and such requires proof.”
Plantinga’s response is that the miraculous nature of God doesn’t automatically disqualify belief from being properly basic. We already accept beliefs about unusual or improbable events in everyday life without demanding constant proof.
Provable miracles or supernatural claims might provide verifiable or testable evidence, but they aren’t required for belief in God to be rational in the first place.
Arguments Still Matter
The point of this is not that arguments for God don’t exist. Many do. The claim is simply that arguments aren’t the only way belief in God can be reasonable.
Faith in God can be foundational, rational, and properly basic.
See also: Atheism could be a Cognitive Deficiency