...Elder 1 Tonisha Elder Phil 201 Response to McCloskey article May 7, 2016 Elder 2 In McCloskey’s article “On Being an Atheist”, McCloskey shares with us his arguments on why being an atheist is more comforting (if you will) than being a Christian. McCloskey believes that the three proofs (Cosmological, Teleological, and the argument from design) are not a basis for proving God’s existence. McCloskey discharges the proofs by saying in his article, “, theists do not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs, but come to religion as a result of other reasons and factors.” (McCloskey, 62). Although there are many ways that one could come to believe in Gods existence, thinking cosmologically, I can’t help but to look at Gods splendor around me or think of the universe, and doubt that God does in fact exist. In “Approaching the Question of God’s existence, Foreman says, “There are certain effects we see in the universe that show God exists.” (Foreman). Foreman touches on the fact that there is no one argument that proves one hundred percent that God exists. He goes on to share that these three arguments do have value, and when put altogether they all do prove to some degree that God does in fact exist. McCloskey attempts to break down each of the proofs to in a way persuade the reader on why these proofs are invalid. The first one he addresses is the cosmological argument. This proof or argument is the one that is most argued...
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...Response Paper Mccloskey Article Clark Hernanser PHIL 201 February 24, 2013 Ramon Graces Response Paper Mccloskey Article In his article, On Being an Atheist, H.J. McCloskey tried to show that atheism is a more reasonable and comfortable belief than that of Christianity. McCloskey argued against the three theistic proofs, which are the cosmological argument, the teleological argument and the argument from design. He pointed out the existence of evil in the world that God made. He also pointed out that it is irrational to live by faith. According to McCloskey, proofs do not necessarily play a vital role in the belief of God. Page 62 of the article states that "most theists do not come to believe in God as a basis for religious belief, but come to religion as a result of other reasons and factors." However, he feels that as far as proofs serve theists, the three most commonly accepted are the cosmological, the teleological, and the argument from design. It is important to note that he considers these arguments as reasons to "move ordinary theists to their theism." (McCloskey 1968) This is not necessary the case and contradicts the former statement that most theists do not hold to these proofs. As such, the attempt to dispute these arguments as a reason not to believe in God is almost not worth attempting. If theists do not generally hold to these proofs as reasons for faith, then why bother trying to dispute...
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...Response Paper H. J. McCloskey, a renowned philosopher in the mid 20th century, wrote a provocative article in 1968 titled, “On Being an Atheist”. McCloskey argues for atheism as the preferred and better belief system based upon his refutation of the theistic arguments. He argues against the existence of God by attempting to refute the cosmological and teleological arguments; as well he endeavours to discredit a God based upon the presence of evil. In doing this, he extends the boundaries for arguing God, whilst opening the floor to debate free will and the apparent comfort of the atheistic belief system. However, through careful analysis of the arguments for God, and an insight into the mysterious free will that God has given man; we see that a theistic belief is logically more sound and preferred. McCloskey says that the proofs for the argument of God cannot definitively establish a case for the existence of God. Therefore, all those proofs for God cannot be used in the logical argument for a God. However, McCloskey didn’t recognize the three aspects when approaching the question: does God exist. Through these three studies, we are shown that though no one person can empirically prove the existence of God, He in fact still exists (Foreman, Lesson 18). The three aspects to approaching the question of God are: best explanations approach, cumulative case approach, and the minimalistic concept of God. The best explanations aspect refers to the existence of God as the best way...
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...sponse Response Paper Stephanie Brockman PHIL 201 McCloskey Responses Introduction H. J. McCloskey gets most of his strong statements against the belief by asking the atheist to provide sufficient proof that God exists. However, McCloskey is not the only person who is unsure and asks questions God’s existence based on personal beliefs or influence. From the beginning many people have had questions about God and his existence. He wrote numerous books on atheism between 1960 and 1980 including the famous book, God and Evil. This paper evaluates the credibility of McCloskey’s article “On being an Atheist”. One of the McCloskey’s core arguments against theism is his demand for any proof that ascertains theists’ beliefs on God’s existence. He believed that atheism is more comforting than theism because most Christians do not believe in God because of proof but because of certain reasons and factors, he is looking for more solid evidence in God’s existence. However, there are several reasons why a person should believe in the existence of God. Firstly, theists believe that God is the creator of all things and of nature. Therefore, God is the creator of all things in existence and that affect both the atheists and theists are affected by this. The Bible also states, that Koran and other religious literatures all communicate the existence of a high power with some similar characteristics. These writings have been in existence for several years without any alteration of which...
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...Arvin D. Medlock Jr. PHIL 201-DO2 Professor R.D. Kuykendall 5 May 3, 2015 McCloskey Response Paper “On Being an Atheist” Does God Exist? That is the question we face! For many years Theists and Atheist have debated this question for many years along with their central views and beliefs that we as human being rely on as it relates to Life and God. The Point of views and debates center around the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological argument (argument from Design) and the most debated argument as it relates to this topic called the Problem with evil? When questioning wither or not God Exist these traditional arguments play significant roles in investigating and proving or discrediting someone’s view or stance on this specific Philosophical belief. As you read McCloskey article “On Being an Atheist” he argues the Theist stance who believe in the Existence of God from the perspective view of an Atheist. McCloskey in writing this Article is not trying to discredit their belief in the Existence of God, but to raise questions, doubts and uncertainties concerning their arguments on which they stand on to prove their belief by ultimately concluding that the Theist arguments are not valid and should be disregarded as evidence to prove their belief in the existence of God. The problem with McCloskey argument against the argument of Theistic View is the Theist argument is not to literally prove their belief concretely on the existence of God, but there view is design to give...
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...Many people argue about the existence of God. McCloskey is one of those people. The following paper will discuss some of the arguments Mr. McCloskey has against God, as well as, a proper rebuttal for them. Mr. McCloskey would argue that the different arguments, or “proofs” as he calls it, do not provide an accurate case for the existence of God, therefore they should be ignored (McCloskey 51). The problem is, that the arguments were never meant to be used as definitive proof, but rather as a “best explanation” as explained by Dr. Foreman (Foreman Presentation: God’s Existence). The arguments for God’s existence are just that, arguments. Those who use these arguments would understand that the arguments are not perfect and theoretically they...
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...Response Paper I. “Most theists do not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs” (McCloskey, H. J., 1968). The “proofs,” as McCloskey calls them, do not play as big of a role in the Christian belief system as one would think. “Proofs may confirm a doubting theist in his belief” (McCloskey, H. J., 1968) but is does not typically sway someone devout in their beliefs. The most commonly accepted “proofs” are cosmological, teleological, and argument from design. If a theists does not accept these “proof” as evidence of a higher power and a belief of God then there is not much point in trying to change their minds. God is a subject that is mostly based in faith and faith is not a tangible thing that you can observe with your...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY A THEISTIC RESPONSE TO H.J. McCLOSKEY PHIL 201-D10 FALL 2011 DR. EDWARD MARTIN BY IVAN DERRICK COOKE Cooke 2 INTRODUCTION In 1968, atheist philosopher H.J. McCloskey composed a strong argument on how being an atheist was far superior to the theistic lifestyle. This imperious article was published in the journal Question and reflects McCloskey’s view that “atheism is a much more comfortable belief than theism, and why theists should be miserable just because they are theists.”1 In his article, McCloskey seeks to disprove many of the arguments that theists believe and often seemingly ridicules or persecutes those who believe in God. Among the arguments McCloskey attempts to minimalize, there are three common proofs that many, if not all, theists lean on for their belief in God. These proofs include the cosmological proof, the teleological proof, and the argument from design. Furthermore, McCloskey speaks on the problem of evil and how the existence of evil disproves the reality of a God. Near the end of McCloskey’s article, he also insists that atheism is comforting, claiming that it is more comforting than theism. This paper will debate the validity and truth of the three claims that McCloskey seeks to discount in his article and will further debate the problem of evil and disprove the idea that atheism is comforting. PROOFS VS. ARGUMENTS ------------------------------------------------- McCloskey often slights the theistic view as one...
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...Response Paper Humanity has held varying perspectives concerning religion and deity. In our current world there are countless religious beliefs such as Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Atheism to name a few. The vast majority of these are monotheistic or polytheistic with the exception of Atheism which is absent of any belief in a deity. In each dogmatic structure a formula is provided as a means to live a meaningful life, some to self-satisfaction, in serving others and one in serving a loving God. However, Atheism holds to a belief that there is no afterlife only an end of all existence. With this in mind and there being various religious aspects we must ponder the question, how can humanity reject or disallow the everlasting father, the one true God? Many are the disputes for and against the existence of a God and many have proven to be confusing and misguided to say the least but do propose strong arguments that should be understood. An article by Australian philosopher H. J. McCloskey titled, “On Being an Atheist” presents a seemingly very compelling pro-atheist argument. McCloskey wastes no time and opens his article by explaining the flawed belief systems of theism. Although there are a other arguments to be considered in formulating a solid perspective McCloskey chooses to remain in the scope of three, the Cosmological, Teleological and the argument of design. Cosmological arguments endeavor to surmise the existence of God...
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...Response Paper McCloskey Article Anthony Powers PHIL 201- C09 November 6, 2015 Response Paper McCloskey Article In his article, On Being an Atheist, H.J. McCloskey attempted to prove how that holding an atheistic pattern of thought was much easier than holding a theistic worldview. McCloskey even referred to theism as a “comfortless spine-chilling doctrine.” Since McCloskey stated that proofs do not hold a vital role in the belief of God. I would question what would play a role in the belief of God for McCloskey. Since he believes that theists come to the belief of God based on other reasons and factors rather than just believing in God for a basis of our religious beliefs, then where does the Christian philosopher fit in? As a theist we are to move away from the point of proving Gods existence and rather explain why we hold to the theist view. Relating to Forman’s presentation, the best explanation approach is the best possible way to combat this view that the proofs should be abandoned. Although we may not be able to fully establish the case for the existence of God, we are able to give reasons to believe in the God of the Universe. The amount of proof that is necessary for McCloskey to form a belief of atheism, should be examined because like theism, it can not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The explanation of the beliefs of theism is most likely the best explanation as to why a God exists. Although there is many explanations as to Gods existence, the best way...
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...Phil- 201 Response Paper The argument of whether or not it is possible to prove or disprove God’s existence has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years. Many scholars, atheists, and non-believers throughout the years have argued against the existence of God, but in H.J. McCloskey’s, On Being an Atheist, he shows a much deeper look at his argument by discussing what he thinks might be the overarching argument of Gods existence. After reading McCloskey’s article I have found many weaknesses in his argument and aim to point them out to show the truthfulness of Gods existence. In order for theists to properly bring truth to this matter we must understand the background to the beliefs of the atheists. The very first problem with McCloskey’s article is that he states that the theist’s argument in favor of God’s existence does not hold any proof. He believes that our proofs do not hold any girth and there for should be done away with. McCloskey states on page 64, “To get the proof going, genuine indisputable examples of design or purpose are needed. There are no such examples, so the proof does not get going at all.” This argument is an interesting one but is disproven by some other arguments atheists might have. Many traditional approaches to different solutions use proof or the idea of it to support it. If you examine the traditional approaches you will find that proof is seen as a series of logical steps which lead to a conclusion without having any unquestionable...
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...Corey Rivera Dr. Matthew Arbo Phil 201-D20 December 7, 2013 Response Paper Does a belief in an all-knowing, all-good, all-perfect, and all-powerful God provide one with all the answers to life’s inexplicable questions? Conversely, does a belief in atheism offer any insight into life’s inexplicable questions? According to an article titled “On Being an Atheist,” written by the Australian philosopher H.J. McCloskey, atheism seems to do just that. In fact in his article, McCloskey not only bashes the classical arguments for God’s existence using the problem of evil, but also offers it as the reason why one should not hold to the belief in all-knowing, all-good, all-perfect, all-powerful God. However, as seen in the arguments against McCloskey’s beliefs in atheism, such a belief is not only a sin against God, but has devastating effects to all of mankind. McCloskey claims that arguments, named “proofs” in his article, offer no significant evidence to establish a case for an omnibenevolent God, and therefore should be disregarded.1 However, McCloskey is using the classical arguments the wrong way and in a manner they were not designed to be used. The problem with referring to the classical arguments for God’s existence as “proofs” implies a sense of certainty. These arguments were not meant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of God, as McCloskey believes. Rather these arguments take a best explanation approach for the existence of God. They simply argue the best...
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...A response to H.J. McCloskey's Article, "On Being an Atheist" In 1968 H.J. McCloskey wrote an article to his fellow atheists entitled "On Being an Atheist". His purposes for writing this article were to inform other atheists of the supposed inadequacies of theists' belief in God, and to address accusations that the position of atheism is "cold" and "comfortless”. The author intends to show that in fact, it is theism that is the cold and comfortless position to hold. Mr. McCloskey is undoubtedly an intelligent and thoughtful man. His article was written in an easy to understand syntax, and was surely embraced by many that hold a similar position. In fact, I think that any Christian would find it easy to wholeheartedly agree with Mr. McCloskey. Atheism is a much better alternative than serving the kind of god he describes in his paper! While McCloskey's arguments sound good, his portrayal of a vengeful, vindictive and manipulating god seems foreign to a discerning Christian. Upon reading his article, one questions the depth of the author's research on the God of the Bible at all. It seems almost as if his only understanding of Him comes from the obviously uninformed theists he quotes in his article. One gets the impression that all theists are either dim-witted or gluttons for punishment, maybe even a little of both! McCloskey attempts to refute three well-known arguments for God’s existence. McCloskey’s arguments in most cases focus in the problem of evil. In his...
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...Response Paper to McCloskey Article “On Being an Atheist” H.J. McCloskey, claims that “proofs” offered by theists for the existence of God simply do not provide evidence that there is one omnipotent, omniscient being. His arguments about “proofs” question why people are theists, and why theists should abandon their arguments or “proofs”. He claims that most people do not believe in God because of their lack of knowledge about evolution, but in fact most theist believe in God and consider themselves theists, because there is documented evidence that supersedes any “hypothesis” or “theory” that scientists have on the life forms on earth, and even earth itself. “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Although an atheist may make a convincing argument about there not being a God, and we are all products of evolution, there is no documented, definitive evidence that is fact. Darwin himself even labeled evolution as such, “the theory of evolution.” However, I do believe McCloskey makes a very valid point about the arguments he, as an atheist, is challenging, and he defends his ideas very well. While I can appreciate the theory that it is possible that the universe was a cluster of stars and then one day something exploded and miraculously the galaxies and solar systems were formed and, luckily for us there was one planet that was capable of sustaining life and microscopic organisms and bacteria evolved into all living things...
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...Response Paper H. J. McCloskey Article Shawna Upchurch Liberty University Summer 2015 PHIL 201-D18 H.J. McCloskey had written an article called On Being an Atheist that was publish on February, 1968. In this article he speaks about if God is real. Even though we cannot see God in person does that mean he is not real? There are some that does not have a belief in God even those there is no proof stating there is not a God. This does not mean that one should not listen to others then they try to tell you that there is not a God. But the best thing to do is listen to them and see what proof that they can show to state as to why they think that way. Then there are some that believes that there is a God but does not believe in all that is said that he had done. McCloskey stated in page 62 that, “Philosopher colleagues attribute to much importance to the role of the proofs of the existence of God as a basis for religious belief, that most theists does not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs, but come to religion as a result of other reasons and factors.” (McCloskey, 1968) McCloskey used three arguments to support his claims; these three arguments are cosmological argument, teleological argument, and Argument from design. McCloskey had went on speaking about the cosmological argument and about the universe. McCloskey was more into the idea of a big bang. This can be broken down into three ideas from Evans and Manis on their non-temporal form of cosmological...
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