...Pascal’s time that regarded reason as their guide with respect to religion. In Pascal’s Wager, a piece that he wrote to the Libertines, he explains not why God is real, but why we should believe in God. The Libertines disagreed by saying, “Since it is impossible to know if there is a God, then there is no reason for me to choose one way or the other.” (101) Pascal refuted this argument by stating that we, as humans, must make a choice to either believe or not to believe in God. Being agnostic is not plausible, Pascal states, since the actions of being agnostic are the same as being atheist. Pascal then states how believing in God is the only option that makes sense because if God does not exist, then there is no loss. However, if God does exist, then we either gain eternal happiness for believing, or an infinite amount of time living an infinitely horrible...
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...Research Paper on God It seems clear that philosophy somehow is relevant to the important questions human beings deal eighth in their everyday lives. The existence of God is one of the basic questions in philosophy. The concept of god is ambiguous and differs from person to person and from society to society. Theists believe that God exists, atheists that he doesn’t, and agnostics that we don’t have a good reason to believe in one-way or the other (Slick). There are many arguments for the existence of God, but they all have objections to the premises offered. Some believers argue that if we cannot prove God really exists then we are entitled to believe that he does. On the other hand a theist could point out that if we cannot prove God does exist, we are entitled to believe he does not. There is no way we can prove the existence of God, but there are few arguments that give reasons why we should believe in God, but unfortunately they all have objections to them. Two arguments trying to prove the existence of god, and are not completely successful, are the teleological arguments, the cosmological arguments, and Pascal’s wager. The teleological argument argues that there is an order in the universe, but order cannot exist without design for which this means that there must be a designer, God (Engel). According to Philosopher Paley he believes that just like a watch needs a watchmaker to build it, then everything else needs a designer. For example the eye cannot be put together...
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...argument itself does border on trying to proves gods existence, this argument is as follows: God is a being that which no greater can be conceived, a being that exists in reality is better than one that just solely exists in the mind, therefore god must exist in reality. Anselm himself argued that even through reason, those without faith could not truly understand god, as Anselm stated that the argument was never meant to for faith upon someone but this argument itself was only for the reassurance of faith, he himself already accepts gods existence. Anselm considered that reason alone can lead to error and therefore has to be supported by faith as it is only through faith that greater understanding can be achieved. if the believer accepts there is god then the ontological argument may be a valid argument that god’s existence is necessary. In the same way a triangle has 3 sides, for a believer that believes they understand the concept of god then for them god exists to quote Anselm: “For I believe this too, that ‘unless I believe I shall not understand’”. Therefore Anselm himself believes that it does not actually prove anything unless you have this preconceived notion about the existence of god, this is also known as faith. Karl Barth supports the idea that the argument in itself was to not prove gods existence but it is a prayer, this is something that many of Anselm’s critics miss. Barth argues that Anselm’s definition of god is not present as the beginning of an argument but...
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...questioning the existence of God. The main question being “If God truly does exist why does he allow evil to occur, why doesn’t he protect the innocent”. In the dialogue between Athea, Bea and Agnos, Bruce Russell uses the characters to tackle that exact question by focusing on the argument of the problem of Evil. Athea in this dialogue is used as the protagonist in the attack of theism, he lays the foundation of the dialogue by providing the premises on which he believes that God must not exist due to the presence of evil. Bea in this dialogue is considered the protagonist in the defense of theism, he role is to highlight the weakness in the problem of evil argument and furthermore suggesting alternative reasons for the presence of evil despite God’s existence. In this essay I shall summarize the setting of the dialogue between the two main characters, then delve into the arguments that are presented. I shall first highlight Athea’s argument against the presence of God, explaining the structure and conclusion of the problem of evil argument, as this lays the foundation for the whole dialogue. I shall then focus on Bea’s reaction to Athea’s argument, clarifying her perceived weakness of the argument and furthermore pointing out her theories on why the presence of evil exists despite Gods existence. Finally I shall present my opinion on the Problem of evil, illustrating the weakness in the premises and its inadequate consideration of the ways in which God might prevent evil without...
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...someone doesn’t believe in the existence of God. There are two types of Atheism negative and positive atheism. The negative atheism is when someone have no knowledge about God and doesn’t believe in it; while on the other hand the positive atheism is when they have the knowledge but still doesn’t believe in God. Over the years things started to change, Science came and people now have better understanding of things around them. These have made a major impact on people’s faiths and believe, which has caused an increase of atheist people. Back in the old days, everything was seen as either a miracle or a punishment from God. But since Science came along, it gave an explanation for why things happen and supporting it with evidence. This had made people question the existence of God, because God became no longer ‘the explanation’. For example: At first people thought that God had created the universe, but then Science came and argued this fact with a theory called the Big Bang theory, which is the explanation for how the universe started. Stephen Hawking said: “ Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation”. What he means is that there are no evidence that proves that God did create the universe, but science do. Therefore Science is much logical than believing in God. Here when the rise of atheism began. Hawking represents what the majority of people think and how they left God after they...
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...The Age of Reason? Rarely have I felt the mixed emotions of shock, anger, confusion and sadness more intensely than I did while reading The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Published as a pamphlet in 1794, Paine authored this short piece to share his thoughts and opinions about religion and summarize his proffesion of faith. While I have come to appreciate the honesty and openness with which he wrote, I do not agree with the largest portion of Paine's actual beliefs. Thomas Paine started off well enough with the ever true statement: "I believe in one God, and no more" (Timmerman, Hettinga 95). He affirms, as do I, that God is the master creator behind nature (101), and that all men are equal (95). From here, however, Paine's worldview and...
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...(2) Reconciliation between God and Humanity. (b) Do you think Jesus died to save people?(4) Give two reasons for your point of view. • yes because Jesus says in the Gospels that he was dying to save people from sin. This is the reason why we are born without sin. This is important for Christians as we can get to heaven. • Also as a christian The catechism teaches that Jesus’ death brought salvation upon us people yet again providing evidence that Jesus did die to save us people on Earth. (c) Explain how one religion community expresses its love of God.(8) They take vows to be obedient to God, one community is the Carmelite nuns who take vows. These vows are very strict and by following them you are showing your love to God. Also religious communities should spend time with God in private prayer. The Carmelite nuns spend almost 12 hours of everyday in pray2011-Beliefs And Values 2011-Beliefs And Values er, worship and contemplation. This truly shows they are committed to God. Also in religious communities the people give up their freedom. In order to show their complete love towards God, the Carmelite nuns give up things like money and sex so theres simply no distractions. Lastly, the Carmelite nuns live in an enclosed area away from the rest of the world simply not to get distracted allowing them to show full devotion and commitment to God. (d) “Christian should not believe that god is three” (6) Do you agree? give reasons for your opinion. I disagree...
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...12/6/13 Prof. Sharpe God has been a very important part of my live since I was a very little girl. When I was only a couple of months old I was baptized. That was my first spiritual encounter with God. I then proceeded to commit my first communion in third grade. I then received my confirmation when I was in eighth grade. Like I said before God has been a very important part in my life for a very long time. Who is God? What are his characteristics? I believe that God is the person who created me and he is the person I believe in. I also think that God is the creator of the world and that has control over everything that happens in my life. I think that some of God’s characteristics are that he has the ability to make things happen. I think that he makes certain things happen for a reason. I also believe that one of God’s characteristics is to be there for you in your time of need. I believe this because god knows what you can and cannot do. God is not going to give you something that he thinks that you are going to fail at, I believe that he is going to challenge us a human beings but I believe that he is going to challenge us with things that he knows that we can do. A human being is a person that God puts on the earth to represent him in some way. I believe that God makes all human beings different because he wants us to be our own person but still reflect him in someway. I believe that when a person dies another person is born. I believe this because God is going to call...
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...Philosophy of Religion My God or Your God Throughout the history of mankind, humans have believed and had no doubt in the existence of a God or gods, for thousands of years. People lived their lives believing and worshiping some sort of superior power. But after thousands of years, we notice that in the 19th century and beyond to present day, people have lost connection with God and stopped having faith. In regards to faith, I believe that we are limited with evidence, therefore we have limited answers. With so many beliefs, religions, and faiths out there in the world, it is easy for someone to give up in their faith, and end up believing in nothing. We then potentially become atheists or agnostics. Also, if we are born with no strong background religion, then it will be impossible for someone to believe in God or any faith. I think people take the easy route; if it does not make sense to them, then they automatically do not believe in it. This acquisition questions our purpose of living in this world. Why are we here? What is our purpose? These questions I believe are difficult or maybe even impossible to understand. As a Gnostic theist I strongly believe that God does exist. I am going to defend my position using the teleological argument. Here are the reasons that I am going to discuss that justify the existence of God: 1. the universe has complex purposes. 2. The human mind is incapable of understanding the complexity and aims of the universe. 3. There are no valid...
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...emotions of shock, anger, confusion and sadness more intensely than I did while reading The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Published as a pamphlet in 1794, Paine authored this short piece to share his thoughts and opinions about religion and summarize his profession of faith. While I have come to appreciate the honesty and openness with which he wrote, I do not agree with the largest portion of Paine's actual beliefs. Thomas Paine started off well enough with the ever true statement: "I believe in one God, and no more" (Timmerman, Hettinga 95). He affirms, as do I, that God is the master creator behind nature (101) and that all men are equal (95). From here, however, Paine's worldview and my worldview take two totally different paths. Paine dedicates a large amount of his writing to discuss his views on divine revelation. He defines revelation in a religious context as "something communicated immediately from God to man" (96). He then presents the application of his definition to reality, arguing that a revelation from God is only a true revelation to whomever first directly receives it: "It is a contradiction in terms and ideas, to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second-hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication"...
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...Many philosophers have been trying to find reasons whether God exists or not. Another common concern is who is rational to believe or whether to believe in God is just faith without support. There are a number of good examples for believing in God and a number of examples against believing in God. The term of “God” is defined as an all loving, all knowing, and all powerful being. People that believe that God exist are theists. On the other hand, people that do not believe in God are atheists; they are denying existence of God. However, agnostics are people who think that there is not enough evidence to believe or not to believe. A philosopher, William K. Clifford, discussed questions about the ethics of belief, emphasizing the importance of the belief of the individual. His evidentalist principle is as follows: “It is wrong, always and everywhere, to believe anything for anyone upon insufficient evidence” (355). In addition to him James challenged Clifford, saying that it is not always possible to use rationality to determine beliefs. According to Clifford, a person can believe only if there is sufficient evidence for that belief. It is not acceptable to believe in something just because a person needs to believe. A person must have a reason. For example, if someone believe just because he or she feels better it is not a good enough reason. The problem when somebody believes in something is that a person stops opposing and testing the belief, and stops seeing real considerations...
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...Whether one believes in God or not, a person must have a reason for his or her belief. There must be a rationale, in some form, that supports the belief or thought process which the individual has. For example, philosopher John Searle does not believe in God, arguing there is not enough available evidence about how the world works to justify such a belief. He does not believe in the supernatural either, but holds that there is, among intellectuals of the world today who have become so secularized, a sense where the existence of God or the supernatural would not matter as much as it would have a century ago. He presents a logic as to why he does not Plato, on the other hand, presents his reasoning for believing in God and/or the supernatural through Socrates discussion with a religious fanatic shortly before his trial in the "Euthyphro." Euthyphro is a young, zealously pious man determined to bring a lawsuit against his own father over the death of one of their servants. When Socrates questions the propriety of proceeding against one's father, rebukes him, asserting that the only relevant question is whether the killer has acted justly. concedes that most people will regard prosecution of one's father on behalf of a hired hand as the height of impiety, but he insists that he understands the will of the gods more plainly and precisely than most. This is the presumption that Socrates questions in the dialogue, and defeats. That same presumption that one...
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...You have a mind so hear is a quote from Inherit the Wind, Rachel said,” Bert left the church, but he didn’t abandon God.” Do you believe that you can serve god but not attend the church. You might say no or yes, there is no problem in thinking no for all we know god gave us a mind to think for ourselves. The choice is yours to think but I think that Bert can still serve god and not attend church. There are ways to deny god but many ways to let god into your life and follow him or serve. One way or reason that Bert still serves god is by the Ten Commandments that got made as his rules to be loyal or serve god, even one can mean you still serve god. The most important way to serve go dis to keep him above everything else. This relates to Bert because he still serves god as loving in him still after teaching the Evolution theory, and not using his name in vain....
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...Anselm And Augustine Reason Of Faith Anselm And Augustine Reason Of Faith St. Augustine, who was also far and away the most influential Catholic theologian prior to St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine’s mode of thought indicates perfectly that all knowledge upon all subjects must take into account the revealed truth of Scripture along with the insights of philosophy, since all knowledge is aimed at helping humanity understand God. He declared that “Faith precedes Reason” because unless you believe, you would not understand. St. Augustine like other Early Fathers of the Church, fully welcomed reason which was open to the absolute, and infused it with the richness drawn from Revelation. St. Augustine argued that reason and faith must be in concordance to know the truth and the stages of history. Moreover, he held that both help each other. Faith can help “illuminate” truths for philosophy and reasoning along the way to knowing God, and reason can help faith in understanding the perfections of God. St. Augustine, who was also far and away the most influential Catholic theologian prior to St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine’s mode of thought indicates perfectly that all knowledge upon all subjects must take into account the revealed truth of Scripture along with the insights of philosophy, since all knowledge is aimed at helping humanity understand God. He declared that “Faith precedes Reason” because unless you believe, you would not understand. St. Augustine like other...
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...At the age of seventy, Socrates found himself at the law court defending himself on the charges brought against him by Meletus. Meletus is accusing Socrates of not believing in the gods in whom the Athenians believed but in some other spirits (24b). In the long run, justice was not served on the part of Socrates even though he did whatever he could to defend himself. According to the verdict, Socrates was guilty of the charge including some other charges and was sentenced to death. I do not agree with this verdict and believe that Socrates was innocent of this charge. The reasons for my belief is that Meletus contradicted himself during the cross-examination at the law court and Socrates had a good explanation to refute the charge, making it clear that he did believed in the Athenian gods. First and foremost, Meletus accused Socrates of believing in some other supernatural spirits but not the Athenian gods. When Socrates questioned him to clarify whether he did or did not believe in gods at all during the cross-examination, Meletus answered saying “this is what I mean, that you do not believe in gods at all” (26c). How can Meletus make a point and completely refute it within a fraction of seconds, and how is it possible for a man to be an atheist and believe in other forms of spirits at the same time? Socrates himself even realized that Meletus was contradicting himself and he seems to win victory over him. The inconsistency of Meletus’ charges should have signaled the 501 jurors...
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