...Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary The Existence of God; Science As Justification Submitted to Dr. michael chiavone Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For THEO 626 D02 By Daniel Martin Student ID: L25178504 New Orleans, LA December 12, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Introduction 1 a. Thesis and introductory explanation b. Historical development of doctrine II. Arguments for the Existence of God 3 c. Cosmological Argument d. Teleological Argument e. Anthropological III. Atheism Versus Existence of God 11 f. Evidence used to disprove God’s existence g. The believers evidence to counter IV. Conclusion 13 h. Summary of the arguments i. Applications in the church today V. Introduction The existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, monotheistic God has come up against enormous resistance from the beginning of time. Early believers such as Moses, Elijah, Paul, and Peter all had to demonstrate that their God is the one true God at times. These believers even encountered persecution and ridicule for holding on to these beliefs at times. Nevertheless the challenges to these early believers tended to be demonstrating that their God was greater than their accuser’s god or gods. At times, it was through the words of men that the God of the Bible was shown to be greater, and other...
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...Descartes’ Meditation 3 is a proof which attempts to provide evidence for the existence of God. Descartes gives this evidence through reasoning, starting out by describing how he comes to this conclusion of the existence of God. He does this by closing himself off mentally from the outside world, ignoring sight, hearing, and his other senses and looking deeply in himself (Cahn 496). This allows him to make an introspective look at God’s existence without the influences of another person. From this state, he organizes his thoughts and from his collective thoughts and reasoning, he deduces that God does exist due to his finite existence, a mere substance that is “not sufficient to explain my [Descartes] having the idea of an infinite substance, since I am finite, unless this idea proceeded from some substance which really was infinite” (Cahn 500) and the understanding that God is a substance that “is infinite, independent, supremely intelligent and supremely powerful” (Cahn 500). This basically means that since he should not be able to have the ability to think the way he does without either being an infinite being or having an infinite being put the thoughts into his head. This explanation appears to be extremely logical, but once it is analyzed several flaws in reasoning are picked up from the reading. I agree with most of Descartes reasoning on the existence of God, which I will clarify further, along with an explanation of the biggest...
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...Is it Possible to Prove the Existence of God? Name Institution Is it Possible to Prove the Existence of God? Several theories have been put forward to explain how the universe came into being. While most religious groups maintain that, the universe is as a result of an act or acts of a Supreme Being, scientists proposes other theories to counter or agree with this argument. For example, the Big Bang theory tries to explain the origin of the universe because studies in astrophysics have clearly shown that indeed the universe had a beginning (Hatcher, 1994). In addition, the Charles Darwin’s theory also tries to explain the origin of man by suggesting that the human race as it exists today originated from a single cell to a complex being (Hatcher, 1994). However, some of these theories contain inconsistencies that may explain the existence of God. To prove the existence of God, one has to look at the observable phenomena such as the complexity of the universe, laws of nature and inconsistencies in proposed theories. The complexity of the universe suggests the presence of a Supreme Being. While the evolution theory tried to explain the origin of man, it failed to provide substantial evidence on the complexity of the human being (Hatcher, 1994). In fact, the theory suggests that a human being evolved from a single cell organism. However, the complexity of the human brain and the nervous system may suggest otherwise due to its structure. The...
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...The existence of god has been a question that has plagued mankind since it began to think logically. Many philosophers argue that there may or may not be a god, or that there may even be different types of gods. It is difficult to say whether or not god can exist because there is a lack of knowledge or limited knowledge regarding the issue. Mankind has only been around for so long and only has little pieces of history left to study. So who knows what we could be possibly be missing in this quest to find the ultimate answer. Yet our way of thinking has evolved enough to allow us to grasp more complex ideas to make up for lost history. And maybe just maybe, be able to come to the conclusion of whether or not god can or cannot exist. The Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the universe has expanded from a hot and dense condition at some time in the past, and continues to expand to this day. My question is what put it there? Time could have not decided to one day say, “I think I’m going to create life in a thing called a universe.” And magically particles come out of nowhere, more and more build up until it’s screaming hot, and then BANG! Time begins and so does everything as we know it today. Something had to place it there. Something had to have planned out the whole process involving the beginning of time. Everything is too complex and precise to not have been created by an intelligent being. I do believe in “God” but not the god referred to in the bible. I believe...
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...views on the existence of God I believe have been biased in a sense but have evolved in the present day into seeing things with a greater outlook. What I mean by biased is essentially the majority of my life I have been surrounded by a big family that is strong and firm believers in God and the Catholic religion. I went to a private Catholic school from grades k to 12th. I have been baptized and have also completed my first communion, both of which signify an individual to becoming a child of God. I have always been taught to believe in one way and this particular way is the right way. Even the slightest doubt in the Catholic religion would bring a sense of fear because doubting the Father is a sin. I understand that an individual is fully capable of concluding their own ideas of God regardless of their family’s religion but my personal religious upbringing has had an impact on me. I feel as if I have instilled this idea of God, the almighty father, the creator of all, in my head but I have learned as I have gotten older that a lot of questions arise. I have learned that after I graduated high school the idea of God is still there but the practice aspect of the religion I have slowly gravitated away from. I guess I have kept the idea of God because I find comfort in the idea that relatives that have passed before me are in heaven resting peacefully and when my day comes, I will also rest in an eternal afterlife. Death essentially is what contributes to my belief in God because when...
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...into 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...
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...Gods existence Believers: Science is based on the premise that everything comes from something. To think that something originated from absolutely nothing is unreasonable and illogical. It would be ridiculous to look around us at all the intricacies and complexities of nature and deny the existence of a higher power and to say that all these things happened by random chance. Every group of people, every civilization believed in God or some form of after life. That is more than the people in the world squared. They can't all be wrong can they? Science involves the rejection of the belief of God but Science actually proves Gods existence. You can't destroy matter. The "Big Bang" tells of everything coming into existence out of nothing. Well obviously there must be something to have made everything, everything has a creator. Non-Believers: If there was a higher power that was responsible for everything that has and will happen on Earth, then Earth would be perfect. The theory of evolution, produced by Darwin, states that there isn't a 'God' at all. There is no authenticated evidence to suggest that 'God' does exist. Whereas, there is more than enough evidence to support Darwin's theory. The human eye is imperfect, if there was a 'God', surely he would design us so that we were perfect beings, there wouldn't be a blind spot for example. There...
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...Is proof for the existence of God's necessary? Monica Carter PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Zummuna Davis October 3, 2012 When you ask a human how the universe evolved some will say that man created the universe. Next question, how can man create something in outerspace? Now the room is silent, why is that? How can you answer a question that cannot be answered. So why do you need proof that God exist, what will that prove, that people are actually worshipping God, instead of a what people say is an inanimate object. In the beginning God created the heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2). There are many traditional proofs for the existence of God, and we will look at three, the argument from design, the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. There are many ways that the universe might have been, it might have had different arrangement of planets and stars; it might have begun with a bigger or smaller big bang; the vast majority of these universes would not have existence of life. We are fortunate indeed to have a universe that does. The argument of design, picture looking at a rectangular skyscraper and examined the structure within it, you might think that this intricate structure was not the outcome of mere chance, but had been designed. Now look at the universe, is it possible that such...
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..."He is the One GOD; the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Glorifying Him is everything in the heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty, Most Wise." This is the depiction of god in the Quran as well as in the Bible, Torah and many more. God can be simply described, as St Anslem said "nothing greater can be conceived". In essence it is the utmost supreme being and to be classified as a supreme being you must be the absolute of everything possible; such as love, knowledge, and existence. By definition a being must be omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent to be viewed as god, however if one or all of these attributes are proven impossible to achieve that must mean God does not exist if potrayed in Christian or Muslim perspective. Based on the theistic perception of God, this being cannot exist due to the countless issues that arises such as the paradox of hell, the problem of evil, the omnipotence paradox, the argument of freewill and lastly the dysteleological argument. Before claiming God in nonexistant, we must first understand what it means to exist. To claim something exist is quite hard to prove given that there are many factors that can disapprove it such as senses. A materialistic philosopher would claim that by seeing colour shapes or feeling texture proves its existence however they are mere interpretations of our brain to create a sense and would colour exist if they were no light. These simple factors that we tend to...
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...C. S. Lewis once said, “God is not the sort of thing that one can be moderately interested in.” This implies that if God exists humanity ought to find the best way to relate with Him and if God does not exist then there is no need to be interested in God at all. Most theist and atheist philosopher like Camus and Sartre agree that the answer to the question of whether God exists makes a huge difference for man. For example, if there is no God then life ends in death, and therefore our existence is inconsequential. On the other hand, if there is a God, then there a chance/possibility of knowing and relating with Him as part of His creation. This paper therefore seeks to provide reasons that assert the claim that God exists in addition to responding to the popular atheistic theory of theodicy which claims that the problem of evil proves that God does not exist and if He does then He is not good and omnipotent. One of the arguments that theists use to prove the existence of God is the one of the origin of the universe. It relies on the widely popular assertion that the there was a time when the earth was not there. For centuries, human beings have seen themselves faced with the question of why we have everything instead of nothing. Atheists claim that the universe we live in is eternal with no beginning or end and that is all. Surely, that claim is not reasonable. If there is beginning point for the universe then the actual number of events that occurred in the past is infinite...
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...Is the existence of God logically consistent with the existence of evil? The existence of evil is a seemingly irrefutable fact of life, one which Davies considers to be “the most discussed topic in the philosophy of religion.”1 This presents the theist with a dilemma, forcing them to make attempts at reconciling the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent and wholly good God with that of evil. Kreefy stresses the extent that this ‘problem of evil’ challenges theism, going so far as to claim that “more people have abandoned their faith because of this problem than for any other reason.”2 In the course of this essay, I intend to show that the existence of evil gives one sufficient cause to doubt traditional theism; and that one is rationally justified in doing so. In order to achieve this end, I shall identify the problem of evil, evaluating some of the major defences and theodicies proposed by theists and ultimately demonstrating that such attempts at accounting for the existence of evil are neither adequate nor convincing. The problem of evil is presented in two distinct modes; these being the logical argument from evil and its evidential counterpart. The logical problem of evil stems from the “contradiction involved in the fact of evil, on the one hand, and the belief in the omnipotence and perfection of God on the other.”3 At first glance, this contradiction is merely implicit, being made explicit through the presupposition that if God were a wholly good being, then He would...
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...the introduction of religion. Those of religion steadfastly believe in its existence, while those of no religion argue for its nihility. Before science became advanced enough to offer valid input, debate consisted solely of historical knowledge and theory, but now is the time when science can be brought into the equation. Based on scientific evidence as well as historical knowledge and theory, the heavens of Christianity do exist. Undeniable scientific evidence has been found of the existence of God and the Heavens. The small amount of scientific evidence found is not enough to prove existence. In fact, the small amount of evidence is enough to prove existence because...
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...the possibility of an existence of a God. The question most of us don't “know” the answer to is how did the human race come to be? Who or what created it all? Most atheists use scientific facts, and “logical” reasoning to back up their beliefs. If their thinking is so “logical” why is it that Professor Richard Dawkins, a high profile atheist, believes and quoted “nothing created everything”. It isn’t logical to state that something came into existence without an origin or creator of some sort. Atheists will argue that it all began with evolution. They believe the big bang...
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...Based on professor Glynn’s lectures the arguments for the existence of God includes the cosmological, Design, and Ignorance and the argument against the existence of God includes the Empirical, Rational, etc. The Cosmological argument shows that you got to keep going backk.It is constantly looking for a source/explaination for everything. Scientist have came to the conclusion of the Big Bang Theory, but where/ who created the Big band? where did th invisible force come from? Is it from the all powerful but invinsible God? Or did it just come out of thin air? This then carries into the next argument where people may just call it pure ignorance. That is when people try to explain an already difficult concept with a more abstract concept with...
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...Moral Arguments for the Existence of God Name Institution Date Introduction Moral arguments around the existence of God constitute a diverse group of arguments that reason from a certain angle of moral life or morality to God’s existence, with the general understanding of God as a morally good creator. It is important to note that moral arguments are interesting considering the fact that one has to give attention to all the philosophical issues that are handled under Metaethics in order to effectively evaluate the soundness of such arguments. On the other hand, they are important considering their dominance in famous apologetic arguments in support of religious belief. The connection that apparently exists between religion and morality tends to uphold the claim that there is need for a religious foundation that can define moral truths, or that such truths can be best elaborated by the existence of God, or some actions or qualities of God. This essay focuses on the various types of moral arguments, with the intention of drawing on the distinction between practical and theoretical or pragmatic moral arguments. As such, this paper asserts that from the moral perspective, mortal obligations constitute of rules that are imposed by a supreme being that can only be explained by a Godly figure. Moral Arguments for the Existence of God There are various moral arguments that have been established in support of the existence of God, some of which will be discussed in this section...
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