Theme C: The Existence of God and Revelation Flashcards
(33 cards)
The Design Argument
The universe is has too much complexity, order and purpose to have come about by random chance; therefore, it must have been designed
A design needs a designer, and the designer of the universe must be God as he is eternal and omnipotent - he is the only being powerful enough to design and create the universe
William Paley’s Design Argument (from purpose)
A watch has complex features arranged in an order so they can all function together for a purpose (telling the time)
Anything that has a purpose must have been designed to have that purpose (e.g. the eye has the purpose of sight), so the universe is like the watch and the eye, except on a much more complex and wondrous scale - therefore the universe must be designed by an all-powerful designer who is God
Strengths of the Design Argument
It is logical
The conditions on Earth are perfect (level of oxygen), so only an omnipotent and benevolent God could create it
It backs up scripture:
“God creates the heavens and the earth” - Bible
“The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” - Bible
Criticisms of the Design Argument
The existence of evil and suffering - A benevolent God would not let these persist in the universe
Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution - Features which seem designed have actually adapted to suit their environments over millions of years
The analogy has problems as we cannot compare a household item with the universe as they are too dissimilar - if we follow the analogy and we compare God to a human designer we assume God is less than a perfect being (this contradicts his qualities)
Nature being complex doesn’t necessarily mean God designed it - it could’ve been anything or it could’ve even come about on its own
The Big Bang theory created the universe, not God
Counter arguments for criticisms of the Design Argument
Some theists might say that the process of evolution was itself designed by God
Arguments supporting evil and suffering - It exists to test humans’ faith (Book of Job), evil originated from the misuse of free will, known as Original Sin (St Augustine), humans were made imperfect as making them perfect would remove their right to free will (St Irenaeus), suffering allows spiritual growth (St Irenaeus), evil exists to punish sinners (this can be countered as evil occurs to innocent people e.g. a young child with a lethal incurable disease)
There are enough points of comparison between man-made objects and the natural world (e.g. the parts of the watch work together to tell the time and parts of the eye work together for sight)
God created the Big Bang
St Aquinas’ First Cause (Cosmological) Argument
Everything has a cause, which can be determined from real-world observations
Therefore the universe must have also been caused at some point when nothing existed (before the beginning of time), and the only being powerful enough to do so is God as he is eternal and outside of time and space
Strengths of the First Cause Argument
Some people use the fact that we are able to measure time as evidence that the universe had a beginning, because to measure time we need a starting point
The Big Bang theory also supports this as it proves that the universe had a beginning (it has not always existed), so God caused the Big Bang as he is outside of time and space, and so is the only being able to create it (nothing, not even time or space, existed before the Big Bang)
Many Christians believe that the argument is supported by the Genesis creation account: “God created the heavens and the earth” - Bible
The logic/reasoning of the argument is strong - If you accept that every effect has a cause and that there cannot be an infinite regression of causes, then the conclusion follows
Weaknesses of the First Cause Argument
Bertrand Russell claims that just because we observe that things inside the universe have causes does not mean that the universe itself has a cause. We have no experience of universes being caused/created after all
Atheists often use the Big Bang theory to reject the existence of God - they argue that the universe resulted from a random spontaneous event, not an action by God, and that religious accounts of creation are just myths (there is evidence for the Big Bang really happening - Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation)
It contradicts itself - if everything has a cause, then what caused God? (can be rebutted using Higgs Boson - something can come out of nothing, so God doesn’t necessarily need a cause)
It depends on the universe having a beginning, and it is possible that the universe is infinite. If God is eternal, why can’t the universe be eternal?
The Higgs Boson particle suggests that something can come out of nothing - so the universe could have formed from nothing
F R Tennant’s Fine-tuning Argument (The Anthropic Principle)
The chance of life existing is incredibly small - all the constants of nature are just right for human life to exist
If the force of the Big Bang explosion had been different by around 1/10^60, life would be impossible
If the gravitational force at the moment when the universe formed had been slightly greater, the stars would have burned too quickly and died, and if the force had been slightly smaller, the stars would have been too cold and would not have formed
Therefore the universe could not have happened by chance and there must have been an omnipotent and benevolent being that created the perfect conditions for life, which is God
Examples of a miracle
Jesus walking on water
Jesus turning water into wine
Jesus healing people
16 people surviving the collapse of the North Tower during 9/11 (they were protected by Stairwell B, which somehow didn’t collapse)
Marie Bailly being cured from apparently incurable tubercular peritonitis at Lourdes in 1902, St Bernadette seeing the Virgin Mary at Lourdes who told her about healing water that cured St Bernadette’s lethal incurable disease (over 70 miracles have been claimed to have happened at Lourdes)
Strengths of the Argument from Miracles
No scientific explanation (e.g. the events at Lourdes cannot be scientifically explained, so there must be an omnipotent and supernatural God who caused them)
God saved 16 people during 9/11 as he is benevolent
Criticisms of the Argument from Miracles
Miracles have been made up, as they cannot be proven by scientific laws
An omnibenevolent God would not choose to save some people over others (e.g. over 3000 people died in 9/11 but only 16 were saved)
Incurable diseases being cured might be a false diagnosis
Miracles might be lucky coincidences (e.g. the 16 who were saved just happened to be under Stairwell B during the collapse of the North Tower)
Strengths of the Argument of Evil and Suffering against God’s existence
The Inconsistent Triad:
If evil exists and God is all-powerful, then he cannot be all-loving
If evil exists and God is all-loving, then he cannot be all-powerful
If God was both all-powerful and all-loving, evil would not exist, but it does, therefore God cannot exist
Criticisms of the Argument of Evil and Suffering against God’s existence
Book of Job - It is a test of faith and loyalty to God
St Augustine - Evil originated from the misuse of free will (Original Sin)
St Irenaeus - Allows spiritual growth, and humans were made imperfect as making them perfect would remove their right to free will, so humans cause evil in thw world
Evil exists to punish sinners
Strengths of the Argument of Science against God’s existence
Big Bang Theory provides alternate explanation for the creation of the Universe
Lourdes is just a placebo effect - no one is actually cured: they only believe they are cured (could be false diagnosis, as incurable diseases cannot scientifically be cured)
Criticisms of the Argument of Science against God’s existence
Holy scripture (e.g. the Qur’an is the infallible word of God: “This is the scripture in which there is no doubt” - Qur’an, so must be correct)
Some events cannot scientifically be explained (e.g. minusucule rarity of life, as argued in the Fine-tuning Argument, Jesus walking on water and turning water into wine)
Types of special revelation
Miracles
Visions/dreams
Direct meeting with God/a holy figure (usually angels - e.g. the Prophet Muhammad receiving the Qur’an from the archangel Jibril)
Worship (can also be general revelation)
Examples of special revelation
Saul down the road of Damascus turning Christian after persecuting them, after being blinded by a light from heaven (God)
Revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad by the archangel Jibril
Examples of enlightenment
The Buddha under the Bodhi tree (becoming one with God, overcoming evil and learning the truth about everything)
Christians and Muslims reading holy books or praying to God (they get closer to God)
Types of general revelation
Nature
Holy scripture
Religious leaders
Worship (can also be special revelation)
General revelation through nature
“The skies proclaim the work of His hand” - Bible
“God created the heavens and the earth” - Bible
“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” - Bible
“The spirit of God hovered over the waters” - Bible
“God created the heavens and the earth in six days” - Qur’an
(God created nature, so a part of him is in it)
General revelation through scripture
“This is the scripture in which there is no doubt” - Qur’an (the Qur’an is the infallible word of God)
God is omniscient
“God is infinite, all knowing” - Qur’an
“He who is the all-knowing, the all-powerful, able to do anything” - Qur’an
God is omnipotent
“Nothing is impossible with God” - Bible
“He who is the all-knowing, the all-powerful, able to do anything” - Qur’an
