Existence of God Flashcards
(23 cards)
Nature of God:
God is the Creator
God made the universe from nothing in 7 days. Humans have a duty of stewardship to take care of the world.
Nature of God:
There is Only 1 God
e.g Shahadah, a core pillar in Islam, says that Allah is the only God
Nature of God:
God is Eternal
God will exist forever with no beginning or end.
Nature of God:
God is Transcendent
God is beyond human limitations
Nature of God:
God is Immanent
God is present in our time and space and wants a relationship with us.
Nature of God:
God is Omnipresent
God is everywhere at all times. He sees all.
Nature of God:
God is Omnipotent
God can do anything. Nothing is beyond His control.
Nature of God:
God is Omniscient
God knows all, past, present, and future
Nature of God:
God is Omnibenevolent
God is perfect, always right, just, and merciful
Nature of God:
God is Perfect
God is without flaw. God’s perfection is evident in His character, word, and actions
Cosmological Argument
- A posterior (proved by our experience) argument by St. Thomas Aquinas
From motion: - Nothing can change/move by itself
- If we are going to have change, we need a changer
- This chain cannot go on forever
So, there must be an unmoved mover to start the chain
From cause: - Everything has a cause…even a cause has a cause.
- This cannot go on forever.
Something had to make that first cause happen. - That uncaused cause is God
From contingency:
*There must be an uncaused, necessary (not dependent on anything else) thing that has its cause within itself and that caused all other contingent (based on something else) things - This must be God
Cosmological Argument: Strengths
- Based on scientific principle that everything has a cause
- Starts off by saying ‘the universe exists’, which is true
- Supported by scientific evidence that shows that the universe had a start (e.g cmbr) and compatible with Big Bang
- Occam’s razor. Simple = Best. Ts simple
Cosmological Argument: Weaknesses
- There could be many gods, not just 1
- Even if there was a cause, doesn’t mean that cause still exists
- David Hume said why does the 1st cause have to be God?
- It’s contradictory to say that everything needs a cause except God
- Complicated, goes against Occam’s razor
Teleological Argument
- Argument for the universe having an intelligent designer, God
- Paley’s watch analogy
Design qua purpose: - Everything in the universe has a specific purpose eg bird’s wings are made for flying
- This suggests that there is a purpose behind the design of these elements in nature
Design qua regularity: - The universe is filled with patterns eg the way planets orbit around the sun follows specific laws of physics
- This consistency suggests that there is an intelligent force that organises and maintains the universe
Teleological Argument: Strengths
- based on things we can observe eg patterns in nature
- Simple and straightforwards (Occam)
- Fits with human reason, encourages study of nature, gives purpose to the universe, strengthens faith
- Fits with understanding of nature of God eg omnipotent, omniscient
Teleological Argument: Weaknesses
- J.S Mill said the presence of suffering and evil in the world suggests a cruel designer
- Kant said the order and complexity we see in the universe might just be human perception
- Evolution and natural selection suggests complex organisms rose through genetic mutation and not design
Theory of evolution
*Presented by Charles Darwin - a theory which describes the development of life on earth.
* Life began with a single cell organism and then developed into more complex life forms.
* By chance these mutated and developed into more complex life forms over millions of years
* Those more suited to their environment survived and were able to pass on their genes (Natural selection or survival of the fittest.)
e.g. peppered moths, finches, tortoises
Theory of evolution: Strengths
- There is strong scientific evidence eg fossils.
- Gives life purpose without God, says purpose of life is to pass on genes to the next generation, be happy and live life to the fullest
- not incompatible with religion, could be seen as proof of an ever-working God (Pope agrees)
Theory of evolution: Weaknesses
- There are some missing links eg missing fossils
- scientific theories often change and are sometimes disregarded altogether
- theory of evolution doesnt have an answer to why life developed and what its purpose is
Big Bang theory
- 13.7 billion years ago the universe was contained in a singularity where everything that exists now was held.
This singularity was incredibly hot (so hot it contained only energy) and unbelievably small. - An expansion occurred and after 1 second the universe filled with a dense fog. After 400,000 years the fog settled to form atoms.
- Vast clouds of gas floated around until after 1 billion years one cloud became so dense that the first star was born.
- Stars grouped into galaxies and the night sky came to look as it does today.
- 4.6 billion years ago our sun and planets in our solar system formed.
Evidence for the Big Bang
- galaxies/stars are born and die, suggest that the universe was born and will die
- Red shift of distant galaxies suggest they are moving away from us, proves expanding universe
- CMBR can be detected, radiation left by the heat of the early universe
- abundance of light elements like hydrogen and helium fits with these being formed en masse in the early universe
Big Bang Theory: Strengths
- Physical evidence to support it eg cmbr
- independently checked by multiple scientists
- does not prove or disprove God, works with religion
Big Bang Theory: Weaknesses
- Temperatures at different ends of the universe should be the same but they aren’t
- The universe is curved, how would Big Bang produce a curved universe
- Some of the math pertaining to the early universe doesn’t add up
