Hume argues that all the traditional arguments for the existence of God (ontological, cosmological, teleological, etc.) are failures, and he rejects the notion of a “Natural Theology.”
(Reminder: Aquinas believed that Reason, apart from Revelation, could by itself establish some truths about God: God’s existence, and many of God’s essential attributes. Such efforts were traditionally called “Natural Theology.”)
In addition, Hume argues forcefully that the existence of evil is a powerful objection to the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good God.
It is important to realize that Hume does not take himself as having proved that God does not exist: Showing that proofs for a particular conclusion fail to establish its truth is not the same as showing that the conclusion is false!
Hume claimed that “by destroying Reason (i.e., rational arguments supporting belief in God), I have made room for Faith.” Hume did not object to people’s religion being based on faith, as long as they did not try to “justify” their faith by basing it on rational arguments!
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