God is the reason why there is a universe at all, regardless of whether the universe is young, old or infinitely old." (Evans, p
And as McCloskey queries, "is it not the case that complete virtue is compatible with the possession of free will, might not God have very easily so have arranged the world and biased man to virtue that men always freely chose what is right? Clearly theists cannot consistently argue that free will and necessitation to virtue are incompatible, for they represent God himself as possessing a free will and as being incapable of acting immorally." (McCloskey, p
Of course, the mathematical and physical complexities of proving causality, at least cosmological, abound; even the most advanced physicists cannot formulize the actual moment of creation, but that is not really the germane argument for needing just cause. if, as William Craig has commented, the Big Bang is really like a metaphysical first principle, then everything which comes to be has a cause of its own to come to be in the first place (Craig and Smith, 1995, p
" So, if we are miserable by our very nature, then we must have a God to take comfort in: What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an imbecile earthworm; depositary of truth, yet a sewer of uncertainty and error; pride and refuse of the universe. Who shall resolve this tangle? (Pascale in Craig, n
As a finite value…. Or in a vacuum fluctuation from a larger space time continuum (Smith, 1992)
How can we have day without night -- thus how can we have good (positive energy) without evil (negative energy)? Strictly speaking, we must then put the concepts of good and evil with the creator, and the choice we have about it as part of creation. Humans then, must learn to act responsibly; evil is wrong choices, but Swinburne argues that we must be in a mature and responsible situation to see the results of wrong actions; and move toward right actions (Swinburne, 2004)
More than that, while he criticizes the major arguments of a popular religion in his society -- namely, Christianity -- he assumes that his rebuttal of theism in his society must be applicable to all theistic positions. That is, as one philosopher recently pointed out, in response to Richard Dawkins, "akin to refuting a truly bad idea and concluding that no alternative ways of conceptualizing it could" exist (Corlett, 2009, p
Despite the lack of evidence to provide confirmation, Science assumes that naturalist metaphysics exist. Moreover, this assumption is based on the fact that the practice of science could not exist if supernatural explanations are allowed (Mahner, Bunge; 1996)
Despite the lack of evidence to provide confirmation, Science assumes that naturalist metaphysics exist. Moreover, this assumption is based on the fact that the practice of science could not exist if supernatural explanations are allowed (Mahner, Bunge; 1996)
Moreover, the search for truth and knowledge demands such inquiry. A famous 12th century monk, educator, and philosopher named Peter Abelard, realized even then the necessity of questioning beliefs "By doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth" (Bronowski, 45)
The many depictions which represent this non-corporeal realm, and the god or gods comprising it, have been viewed and portrayed very differently from era to era and from culture to culture. Religion has presented itself in so broad an array of disconnected and unique manifestations across the spam of human history that no generalization can conceivably apply to the full variety of its expression" (Carse 2) When examining religious teachings in belief in the existence of God, admittedly trying to disprove an assertion, even an assertion made without proof at all, is rarely if eve possible
.No matter how absurd the existence claim, we can't look everywhere and check everything in order to assert with absolute confidence that there's no entity having the property" (Paulos 42)
.which says that nothing can both have a property and lack it at the same time" (Schick 484)
And, since many people tend to view all religious beliefs that exist or have ever existed, except for their own, as erroneous, it would be obvious that the subject of religious beliefs not only should be questioned and investigated as to authenticity, but there is an intellectual obligation for them to be so studies. After all, "reason is the safeguard of the objectivity of religion" (Whitehead 16)
Atheism is not new, considering that it exists ever since the early ages and has progressed alongside of religion. "For example, philosophers of the ancient world such as Epicurus and Lucretius were nonbelievers, 2 and leading thinkers of the Enlightenment such as Baron d'Holbach and Diderot were professed atheists" (Martin, 1990, p
He or she is likely to try to find meaning in everything that happens and when he or she comes across concepts that he or she cannot explain, he or she is probable to feel that religion is the only domain that can provide an explanation. "We typically feel the need for comfort and support when we and our loved ones are victims of these evils which are commonly, and for the theists accurately, called 'acts of God'" (McCloskey 1968, 67)
Mark 14:61-62, as well as Matt 26:63-64 and Luke 22:70 where Jesus tells the Priest he is the Messiah. (Rational Christianity, 2012) II
His relations with his fellow men are warped by self-love; society is founded on mutual deceit. Man's justice is fickle and relative, and no fixed standard of value may be found" (Craig)
However, when one looks at Evans' discussion of the non-temporal form of the argument, McCloskey's objection seems less substantial. According to Evans, temporal arguments assume that the universe had a beginning in time (Evans, p
McCloskey suggests that, "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" (McCloskey, 1968, p