Theme C Flashcards
1
Q
Teleological argument
A
- The world is very complex, orderly, awe-inspiring
- It’s unlikely this happened by chance or accident
- There must be an all-powerful and intelligent designer
- God must be real
2
Q
William paley’s qua purpose argument
A
- complex things do not appear by chance, they have to be designed
- the world is a very complex thing
- the world cannot have happened by chance or
- the world must have been designed by an intelligent being
- this is proof there is a God
3
Q
The human eye being evidence of God as qua purpose
A
- human eye is incredibly complex
- paley saw this as proof that humanity had been designed by God - he believed that such a complex organ couldn’t havre happened by chance or accident
4
Q
Paley’s analogy of a watch
A
- if you were walking along and came across a watch on the floor and you had never seen one before and you didn’t know what it was, you would look at all its intricate parts working together to form a particular purpose, you would assume it has a creator, just as the universe has a creator
5
Q
Aquinas’s qua regularity argument
A
- natural objects cannot be ordering themselves in these patterns
- there must be a supernatural being creating this order: God
6
Q
Strengths of teleological argument
A
- coherent with bible: supported by genesis story
- big bang was so unlikely to have happened exactly the any it did and this shows that it is much more likely that was an intelligence behind it: God
- science still doesn’t understand the recurring mathematical patterns that are seen in nature: shows that there must be an intelligent creator, not just chance behind the universe
7
Q
Weakness of teleological argument
A
- theory of evolution shows us how things in nature become complex over time: shows that there is a natural explanation not just God
- complex machinery is usually built/designed by more tan one person, therefore William paley’s argument would therefore suggest that there is more than one God
- nature actually doesn’t appear very well designed at all as there are lots of natural disasters: all evidence that the world wasn’t designed by a loving God
8
Q
Cosmological argument
A
- Everything that exists must have a cause
- The universe exists so it must have a cause
- Whatever is the cause of the universe must be something outside of the universe, something eternal + powerful
- This eternal and powerful first cause must be God
- Therefore God must exist
9
Q
How would Christians use the existence of the universe as evidence for the existence of God
A
- God was the start of he chain of events which led to the present
- if the universe didn’t have a beginning, there would be no adequate explanation for its existence
10
Q
Lourdes
A
- 1858, young girl called Bernadette lived there
- she had many visions from Mary and one of them told her where to dig in the ground. She found running water
- after this, people who drank or bathed in the water claimed to be miraculously cured and the Catholic Church has officially recognised 69 miracles
11
Q
Example of miracle at Lourdes
A
- jean-Pierre: paralysed soldier from ww2
- 1967 travelled to Lourdes, he prayed to God to heal him
- her started to be able to walk again, bullets were gone from his spine
- jean believed God had cured him
12
Q
What did Richard Swinburne believe in
A
Principles of testimony and credulity
13
Q
Principle of testimony
A
- unless we have specific reason not to believe someone (eg. I know they are a habitual liar) then we should believe he things people tell us because people do normally tell the truth
14
Q
Strengths of principle of testimony
A
- humans are quite good at detecting liars so the principle is easy to apply
15
Q
Weakness of principle of testimony
A
- human nature is prone to exaggeration
- lying is more common than Swinburne recognises
- the principle only works if you’re hearing the miracle account first hand
16
Q
The principle of credulity
A
- we don’t usually imagine things that aren’t happening, so if something happens to me which seems unbelievable, I should believe my senses unless i know of a reason why I might be wrong
17
Q
Strengths of principle of credulity
A
- a theist would agree that when extraordinary things happen, there is an ex platoon and God is as likely an explanation as anything
18
Q
Weakness of principle of credulity
A
- the human mind s complex and we don’t fully understand it, so some of our experiences ma be wrong
- science tells us that the ,ind will sometimes generate ideas or visions to comfort itself
19
Q
Objections to the argument of miracles
A
- miracles are no more than lucky coincidences
- they may have scientific explanations not yet discovered
- some miracles are fakes, made up by people who want fame or money
20
Q
Bible miracles
A
- Jesus’ resurrection
- Jesus heals the paralysed man
- Moses parts the Red Sea for escaping slaves
- Jesus walks on water
- Jesus feeds 5000 from 3 loaves of bread and fish
- Jesus heals a man with leprosy
21
Q
Weaknesses of cosmological argument
A
- contradicts itself: everything must have a cause, who caused God ?
- scientists believe big bang was random, not something that was caused
- just because everything we see in the universe has a cause doesn’t mean that the universe has a cause
22
Q
Strengths of problem of evil
A
- uses clear logical reasoning instead of faith. Faith is subjective and fallible. Eg. In arguments for gods existence, there is often a leap of faith made is conclusion. Whereas logical reasoning doesn’t do this
- based on observable evidence around us - suffering is universal - we all experience it whereas evidence for gods existence such as miracles are not universally observable. Therefore, there is more evidence to support the claim that suffering exists - undeniable
23
Q
Weakness of problem of evil
A
Augustine + iranaeus
24
Q
Strengths of argument of science
A
- science is rigorously tested and based on reliable evidence therefore this more likely to be true, whereas arguments for gods existence rely on faith and make a leap of faith to conclude God exists
- the argument shows that belief in God is irrational in todays world because science follows the evidence to a rational conclusion whereas faith has the conclusion first (God exists) and finds evidence for it
25
Weakness of argument of science
- scientific theories may well be proven wrong in the future - there is not always certainty in science so we can’t always use it to reject religious beliefs
- there are many things that science can’t answer, whereas religion can. Therefore, religion is a better way of understanding the world, not science - religion provides sufficient reason for the universe, whereas science does not
26
How does special revelation influence or impact the life of recipient? (William James)
1. Change: the person experiences a significant positive change in their life
2. Elation: the person experiences a feeling of positivity and deep inner contentment
3. Purpose: the person feels a new sense of purpose in their life
27
Alternative explanations for special revelations
- hallucinations
- lying for publicity
- coincidences
- body putting mind to ease
- mentally unstable
- subconscious playing tricks
- under influence of drugs or alcohol
-sleep deprivation
28
What do Christians learn about God through nature
- omnipotent: creator
- omnibenevolent: created for us
- omniscient: knew how/what to create
- immanence/omnipresent: there within nature
29
What do Christians learn about God through conscience
- omnibenevolent: shows God wants what is right and good
- omnipresent: God is intervening in the world
- omnipotent: able to be this voice within us
- shows that God is good and moral
30
Bible as verbally inspired (general revelation)
- the bible is literally word for word from God
- God directly told the bible writers what to write
- the bible is therefore inerrant
31
Bible as divinely inspired (general revelation)
- bible writers may have been inspired by God or faith but they wrote the words themselves
- bible therefore reflects the attitudes and opinions of the time periods in which it was written
- bible is therefore not totally inerrant
32
Strengths of special revelation
- gives definite and precise information about God: from the experience of the burning bush, Moses learnt that God was real and he should follow gods instructions
- for the person, it is totally convincing and undeniable proof that God exists
33
Weakness of special revelation
- it is very rare and doesn’t happen to many people therefore its most likely not real or exaggerated
- there is no evidence that these experiences are really from God. For example it could be a coincidence that the bush caught fire and people could make up that God spoke to them
34
Strength of general revelation
- it’s a type of revelation that is easily available to everyone for example through nature, conscience or Bible
- it might allow you to build a deeper connection with God yourself rather than having to wait for a special revelation
35
Weakness of general revelation
- the ideas and conclusions gained about God are quite vague and open to interpretation for example, the fact that a normal occurrence in nature happens doesn’t mean that this is God revealing himself
- it assumes that we can understand God by ourselves. Some Christians would say we can ever understand God by ourselves because he is otherworldly and impossible to fully comprehend
