Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay

Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay

Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay

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Explain the Cosmological Argument for God’s existence.

In complete sentences answer this in paragraph format. do not use citations. use the resources provided.

Is Religion Reasonable? • Are religious beliefs (about the universe’s relation to the supernatural) reasonable? • Faith seeking understanding: ontological, cosmological, teleological arguments for the existence of God (monotheism); pantheism (God=universe); panentheism (all is in God) • Are religious experiences (about one’s personal relation to divinity) reasonable? The Ontological Argument •St. Anselm (1033-1109) “God” means the greatest conceivable being A being that exists in one’s mind and in reality (outside of one’s mind) is greater than one that exists only in one’s mind Therefore, God must exist in reality Kant’s Objections to the Ontological Argument If there is a greatest conceivable being, then he exists. But we cannot conclude from the sheer possibility of such a being that he exists A concept of God + a concept of his existing may be greater than a concept of God alone; but these are still only concepts, not proofs of God’s existence outside our concepts The Cosmological Argument: St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74). Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay
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The universe, like all things in it, is contingent (i.e., depends on something else as the cause of its existence); otherwise, it is unintelligible If there is no ultimate cause of the universe (that is, if the causal sequence is infinite), then nothing would ever have happened or be intelligible here and now. But things do exist here and now, so God exists here and now Hume’s Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument Perhaps the universe has always existed: if this can be said of God, why can’t it be said of the universe? Fallacy of composition: parts → whole Why should we think that everything has a cause or reason for its existence? Besides, the argument does not prove that God is anything other than a cause of things who might not care at all about his creation The Teleological Argument: Argument from Design/Purpose Wm. Paley (1743-1805) The order and intricacy of things in the universe make sense only if an ordering and purposive mind is their cause Analogy: watch . . universe watchmaker . . universe-maker

Criticisms of the Teleological Argument: David Hume

Even the claim that the universe exhibits order is doubtful; it is a human imposition We cannot use analogy in discussing the universe: we do not experience universes or know that intelligent beings produce them Even if we argue analogously, we cannot conclude that its creator is one, wise, or good Criticisms of the Teleological Argument: Charles Darwin (1809-82) Things in nature exhibit order, but that is not the result of design or purpose Things appear orderly because random variations produce adaptive individuals PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Dialogue Education Update 3 THIS CD HAS BEEN PRODUCED FOR TEACHERS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM. IT IS A CONDITION OF THE USE OF THIS CD THAT IT BE USED ONLY BY THE PEOPLE FROM SCHOOLS THAT HAVE PURCHASED THE CD ROM FROM DIALOGUE EDUCATION. (THIS DOES NOT PROHIBIT ITS USE ON A SCHOOL’S INTRANET). Contents          
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 Pages 3 – Video Interview with Daniel Dennett Pages 4 to 5 What is Philosophy of Religion? Pages 6 to 10 The Task of the Philosopher of Religion Page 11 – Other questions in Philosophy of Religion Pages 12 to 15 Central questions Page 16 – Monotheistic Definitions Page 17 – Polytheistic Definitions Page 18 – Pantheism and Panantheism Pages 20 to 21 – Natural Theology Page 23 – Community of inquiry stimulus material Page 24 – Bibliography YOUTUBE Video Religion Vs Atheism Daniel Dennett on CCTV “Highlights”   Click on the image to the left. You will need to be connected to the internet to view this presentation. Enlarge to full screen Philosophy of Religion  Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion. Philosophy of Religion Philosophy of Religion is sometimes distinguished from “religious philosophy“.

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion has classically been regarded as a part of metaphysics. Philosophy of Religion However, the philosophy of religion has concerned itself with more than just metaphysical questions. Philosophy of Religion Objects of religious belief raise special philosophical problems and invite us to clarify central metaphysical concepts. Philosophy of Religion A philosopher of religion is interested in asking what may be knowable with regards to religions’ claims. Philosophy of Religion A philosopher of religion asks whether there are sound reasons to think that God does or does not exist. Philosophy of Religion  There are other questions studied in the philosophy of religion. E.g What, if anything, would give us good reason to believe that a miracle has occurred? Philosophy of Religion The question “What is God?” is sometimes also phrased as “What is the meaning of the word God?” Philosophy of Religion What is God?“ ”  “Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, and he makes gods by the dozen.”  -Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay

Michel De Montaigne Philosophy of Religion

Some people believe in supernatural beings, some believe there is just one God, while others believe in many different deities while maintaining that all are manifestations of one God. Philosophy of Religion Within these two broad categories (monotheism and polytheism) there is a wide variety of possible beliefs. Philosophy of Religion Monotheistic definitions Augustine  In Western thought, God is traditionally described as a being that possesses at least three necessary properties: omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), and omnibenevolence (supremely good). Philosophy of Religion  Even once the word “God” is defined in a monotheistic sense, there are still many difficult questions to be asked about what this means. Philosophy of Religion Polytheistic definitions The distinguishing characteristic of polytheism is its belief in more than one god(dess). Philosophy of Religion Pantheistic definitions Pantheists assert that God is itself the natural universe. Panentheism Panentheism holds that the physical universe is part of God, but that God is more than this. Philosophy of Religion The second question, “Do we have any good reason to think that God does (or does not) exist?”, is equally important in the philosophy of religion. There are eight main positions with regard to the existence of God that one might take:
Theism
Pantheism
Panentheism
Deism
Agnosticism
Atheism
Retreism
Polytheism Philosophy of Religion Natural theology 
The attempt to provide proofs or arguments for the existence of God is one aspect of what is known as natural theology or the natural theistic project.

Philosophy of Religion

The philosopher Alvin Plantinga has shifted his focus to justifying belief in God through reformed epistemology. Philosophy of Religion  According to DZ Phillips, the question of whether or not God exists cannot be “objectively” answered by philosophy. Community of Inquiry Discussion  CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR THE STIMULUS MATERIAL FOR A DISCUSSION ON BIG BANG COSMOLOGY AND THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. (You might like to print this material out and distribute it to the class.) Bibliography                  Saint Augustine; The Confessions of Saint Augustine (John K. Ryan translator); Image (1960), ISBN 0-385-02955-1 Descartes, René; Meditations on First Philosophy; Bobbs-Merril (1960), ISBN 0-672-60191-5 Barzilai, Gad; Law and Religion; The International Library of Essays in Law and Society; Ashgate (2007),ISBN 978-0-7546-24943 Durant, Will (& Ariel (uncredited)); The Age of Faith; Simon & Schuster (1980), ISBN 0-671-01200-2. Marija Gimbutas 1989. The Language of the Goddess. Thames and Hudson New York Gonick, Larry; The Cartoon History of the Universe; Doubleday, vol. 1 (1978) ISBN 0-385-26520-4 vol. II (1994) ISBN#0-38542093-5, W. W. Norton, vol. III (2002) ISBN 0-393-05184-6. Haisch, Bernard The God Theory: Universes, Zero-point Fields, and What’s Behind It All — discussion of science vs. religion (Preface), Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006, ISBN 1-57863-374-5 Lao Tzu; Tao Te Ching (Victor H. Mair translator); Bantam (1998). Marx, Karl; “Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right”, Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher, (1844). Saler, Benson; “Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists, Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories” (1990), ISBN 1-57181-219-9 The Holy Bible, King James Version; New American Library (1974). The Koran; Penguin (2000), ISBN 0-14-044558-7 Evans, C. Stephen (1985). Philosophy of Religion: Thinking about Faith. InterVarsity Press. pp. 16. ISBN 0877843430. Antony Flew, John Polkinghorne, Keith Ward and Richard Swinburne The London Philosophy Study Guide offers many suggestions on what to read, depending on the student’s familiarity with the subject: Philosophy of Religion William L. Rowe, William J. Wainwright, Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, Third Ed. (Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998) Wikipedia-Philosophy of Religion- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_religion … Explanation of The Cosmological Argument of Gods Existence Essay
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