Thursday, October 10, 2019
Do God Exist ?
Thesis Statements 1. Because of manââ¬â¢s ignorance and curiosity, arguments for the existence of God have been made over the years. Basically, these arguments are divided into two large groups i. e. logical and metaphysical. Actually, these arguments seek to prove that the existence of a being or having faith with at least one attribute that only God could have is logically necessary. 2. Believing and having faith in God will only resort to one thingââ¬âgoodness. 3. Faith has something to do with oneââ¬â¢s conception about God. 4. The existence of God remains a matter of faith since itââ¬â¢s difficult to ââ¬Å"proveâ⬠God to someone who does not believe. . There are arguments that attempts to give information of what they know about the existence of God. And thatââ¬â¢s it. It is now our choice if we believe or not but the important thing is we must hold on in our faith. Read more:à http://ivythesis. typepad. com/term_paper_topics/2010/02/thesis-statements-res ults-of-having-faith-in-god. html#ixzz2CwZzjm00 4 Primary Arguments for God's Existence Written by Michael Vlach. Perhaps the hottest topic in all of philosophy concerns the existence of God. Thus the questionââ¬âââ¬Å"Does God exist? â⬠Our answer to this question affects how we view the world, how we behave, and what we expect for the future.If God exists, then we are probably accountable to this God. The universe may have meaning and purpose. Plus, our own existence may not cease at physical death. If God does not exist, however, then we are probably here by chance and are not accountable to some transcendent being. This life may be all we have, so live your life however you see fit and enjoy it. Traditionally, there have been four major arguments for Godââ¬â¢s existence: (1) the cosmological argument; (2) the teleological argument; (3) the ontological argument; and (4) the moral law argument.Below are explanations of each of the arguments and the common responses to them. 1. Cosmological Argument The term ââ¬Å"cosmologicalâ⬠comes from the Greek word ââ¬Å"kosmosâ⬠which means ââ¬Å"world. â⬠The cosmological argument for Godââ¬â¢s existence goes like this: The world could not exist on its own so there must have been a first cause that brought it into being. This first cause is God. Or put another way, the universe could not just exist on its ownââ¬âsomeone or something must have made it. This cause of the universe is God. Three criticisms of the cosmological argument have been offered.First, some say matter is eternal and is not in need of a ââ¬Å"first cause. â⬠Second, some say ââ¬Å"If everything needs a cause, what caused God? â⬠Third, some say that even if it is true that some being caused our universe to exist, this does not prove the existence of the Christian God. All it shows is that there is some powerful being that created the universe, but this does not necessarily mean that this creator was the God of the Bible. 2. Teleological Argument The teleological argument is also known as ââ¬Å"the argument from designâ⬠(The Greek word ââ¬Å"telosâ⬠means ââ¬Å"purposeâ⬠or ââ¬Å"design. â⬠).The argument goes like this: The universe evidences great complexity or design; thus, it must have been designed by a great Designer or God. The argument from design can be likened to a watch. A watch is obviously made by a watchmaker. The world, which is much more complex than a watch, must also have been designed by a great Designer or Divine Watchmaker (God). In sum, the teleological argument asserts that the universe evidences too much complexity to be the product of random chance. We know that the celestial bodies move with perfect accuracy in their orbits. Our bodies, too, are incredibly complex.According to the teleological argument, thereââ¬â¢s just no way all this complexity could ââ¬Å"just happen. â⬠God must have created it all. There have been t hree responses to the teleological argument. First, some say the teleological argument is guilty of a ââ¬Å"weak analogyâ⬠because it assumes a significant resemblance between natural objects (ex. rocks, trees) and objects we know have been designed (ex. watches, skyscrapers). Thus, comparing natural objects with objects we know have been created by humans is like comparing apples and oranges. The analogy just doesnââ¬â¢t work.Second, some say that the theories of the big bang and evolution better explain the complexity in the universe. Third, some say that even if the teleological argument is true, it does not prove the existence of the Christian God. 3. Ontological Argument The third argument for Godââ¬â¢s existence is the ontological argument. This argument is unlike the cosmological and teleological arguments in that it does not argue from evidence in the natural world. Thus, it is not a ââ¬Å"cause and effectâ⬠argument. The ontological argument can be stated in this way: ââ¬Å"God is the greatest being imaginable.One of the aspects of perfection or greatness is existence. Thus, God exists. â⬠Or put another wayââ¬âââ¬Å"The fact that God can be conceived means that he must exist. â⬠This argument for Godââ¬â¢s existence was developed by the twelfth century theologian and philosopher, Anselm. It is based on Anselmââ¬â¢s declaration that God is ââ¬Å"that which nothing greater can be conceived. â⬠The ontological argument has been very controversial. Even many who believe in Godââ¬â¢s existence question its validity. A contemporary of Anselm named Guanilo responded to Anselm. Guanilo said that one could imagine a perfect island but that did not mean a perfect island exists.Others have said you can imagine a unicorn but that does not mean unicorns exist. Thus, many challenge the idea that the idea of God must mean that God exists. 4. Moral Law Argument Another argument for the existence of God is the moral la w argument. It goes like this: Without God morality would be impossible. There must be a Lawgiver (God) who originates and stands by moral law. A universal moral law cannot exist accidentally. There must be a basis behind itââ¬âGod. According to this view, every person is born with an inherent understanding of right and wrong.Everyone, for instance, understands that killing an innocent person is wrong. Everyone understands that helping a drowning person is right. Where did this internal understanding of right and wrong come from? According to adherents of the moral law argument, this understanding comes from God. He put it into the hearts of every person. There have been two responses to the moral law argument. First, some deny that there are universal truths. Many today believe that truth is subjective and relative. Societies and individuals determine what is true for them, but there is no God that does this.Second, some say that the presence of evil in the world argues against a Moral Lawgiver. If God is all-powerful and all-good, how can evil exist in the world? The arguments and counterarguments for Godââ¬â¢s existence remain controversial. The cosmological, teleological, and moral law arguments remain popular with Christian apologists today. The ontological argument is not as well received although some today still asserts its validity. It should be noted that most Christian theologians and philosophers believe that God never intended for his existence to be something that could be proven with 100% certainty.They point out that faith is an important component in understanding God and his existence. Argumentsà for and against theà existence of Godà have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others for thousands of years. Inphilosophicalà terms, arguments for and against the existence ofà Godà involve primarily the sub-disciplines ofà epistemologyà (theory of knowledge) andontologyà (nature of god) and also the à theory of value, since concepts of perfection are connected to notions of God. The debate concerning the existence of God is one of the oldest and most discussed debates inà human history.A wide variety of arguments exist which can be categorized asmetaphysical,à logical,à empirical, orà subjective. The existence of God is subject to lively debate in philosophy,[1]à theà philosophy of religion, andà popular culture. The Western tradition of the existence of God began withà Platoà andà Aristotle, who made arguments for God's existence that would now be categorized asà cosmological arguments. Later,à Epicurusà formulated theà problem of evil: if God isà omnipotent,à omniscientà andà omnibenevolent, why does evil exist?The field ofà theodicyà arose from attempts to answer this question. Other thoughts about the existence of God have been proposed byà St. Anselm, who formulated the firstà ontological argument;à Ibn Rushd (Averroes)à an dà Aquinas, who presented their own versions of the cosmological argument (thekalamà argumentà and theà first way), respectively;à Descartes, who said that the existence of a benevolent God wasà logically necessaryà for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; andà Immanuel Kant, who argued that the existence of God can be deduced from the existence ofà good.Thinkers who have provided arguments against the existence of God includeà David Hume, Kant,à Nietzscheà andà Bertrand Russell. In modern culture, the question of God's existence has been discussed by philosophers and scientists such asà Stephen Hawking,à Richard Dawkins,à Daniel Dennett,à Richard Swinburne,William Lane Craig, andà Alvin Plantinga. Atheists maintain that arguments for the existence of God show insufficient reason to believe. Certainà theistsà acknowledge that belief in the existence of God may not be amenable to demonstration or refutation, but rests onà faithà alo ne, a position calledà fideism.Theà Catholic Churchà maintains that knowledge of the existence of God is available in the ââ¬Å"natural light of human reasonâ⬠alone. [2]à Other religions, such asà Buddhism, do not concern themselves the existence of gods at all. Does God Exist? byà Tawa Anderson Is there a God? 1à How can you beà sureà that God exists? Can youà proveà to me that God is real? Does the existence (or lack thereof) of God make any significant difference? Was Nietzsche right in declaring: ââ¬Å"God is dead! â⬠? These questions strike at the very heart of human existence, and cry out for our personal attention and deliberation.Furthermore, these questions must be answered before we can inquire into the truth of Christianity. After all, if there is no God, then Jesus certainly isnââ¬â¢t God in the flesh! If there is no God, there is no Christian faith worth considering. In this brief essay, I will share three persuasive clues (traditio nally called arguments or proofs) that point to the existence of God. This is not an apologetic forà Christianity, but rather for basicà theismà ââ¬â an argument that God exists, not an argument that theà Christianà God is real. God ExistsGod must exist because something must have caused the first moment in time and that something is God. This is summarized by, Saintà Thomas Aquinasà in his theory of cause. He presented five arguments for the existence of god in his masterwork theà Summa Theologiae. In the argument about casualty he stated the following premises: 1. Theà natural worldà includes events that occur. 2. In thenatural world, every event has a cause, and no event causes itself. 3. In theà natural world, causes must precede their effects. 4. In theà natural world, there are no infinite cause/effect chains. 5.Hence there is anà entity outsideà of nature (a supernatural being), which causes the first event that occurs in the world. In ourà f inite worldà of existence, an event cannot cause itself, and if there is no first cause, there would not be any effects. So, God is the first cause. God must exist since all his premises are all in support of his conclusion that the first cause is God. An atheist is likely to say that the Big Bang was the first cause, but Aquinasââ¬â¢s premises and conclusion will refute this theory, as we will view later. I agree with this theory of cause, because I believe that our existence could
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.