Arguments for and against God Flashcards
What are the different for and against God ?
(exestential related)
- Feuebach
- Karl Marx
- Cosmological argument
- Teleogical argument
- Pascal’s wager
- Problem of evil
- Occam’s razor
Who said:
“God is just a physcological crutch”
Feuebach
Quote on God by Feuebach
“God is just a physcological crutch”
What is the cosmological argument?
- Every cause has an effect, every effect has a cause
- No effect can cause itself
- The chain of cause and effect go on forever
- There must be a first cause
- First cause is God
What are the counter-arguments to the cosmological argument?
- If cause and effect go on forever, then God must have a first cause
- If God doesn’t have a first cause, then why can the Big Bang not have a first cause?
- Because the cause and effect loop cannot go forever, human’s understanding on causes and effects must be wrong
What is the:
Teleological argument?
A designed object must have:
1. Purpose - as to not come by chance
2. Intricacy
3. Harmony - parts work together
4. Intent
Which all objects have, and as there are loads of designs, there must be a designer. Made by William Paley who famously used a watch example
Counter arguments to the Teleological argument?
- Everything could be made by chance. This is backed up by theories such as the Big Bang and evolution due to natural selection
- If God is omni-(benevolent, potent and scient), all the designs made would be perfect, which is not the case.
- God would not want to design an organism that spreads misery and carries viruses
- Inductive argument
Counter Counter arguments to Teleological argument
The chances of everything being made by chance are very small
Imperfections are the price of free will
What is:
Pascal’s wager?
Pascal’s wager is that there are two choices: believe in God or do not believe in God. If there is no God, nothing happens. If there is a God, infinite gain, heaven, if that God is believed in, or infinite loss, hell, if not
Counter arguments to Pascal’s wager
- Chances of being a God with x personality makes the God you believe in nearly infinitly unlikely to exist
- If X personality God, the God will not like you worshipping a different
- Can get to heaven by living a good life
- Even if it is that God, less likely to send you to heaven because the reason of choosing to believe in the religion is not faith, but Pascal’s wager which is trying to outsmart God
What is Occam’s razor?
Most likely is probably true. Can be used to argue for and against God
What is:
Feuebach’s argument?
- Religion is perfect to humans and therefore subconciouslly made-up by huamns to fit all their needs.
- Religion is both positive and negative and is nuanced on the topic
Counter arguments to Feuebach’s argument?
Doesn’t disprove the existence of God, but only attacks people’s perception on religion
Karl Marx’s argument?
Religion was made by the upper class to control the masses and keep them opressed. This is backed up by:
1. Bible outlines clear sins which are punsihable by Hell making the opressed less likely to revolt
2. Distracts the opressed from their horrible life
3. A form of escapism
4. A purpose
5. A source of happiness and hope
6. Powerful figures can use religion to their advantage by making people do things. e.g. crusades. Adittionally, the bible used to be in Latin, so priests could manipulate the bible’s message to their advantage to Christians.
Marx’s argument is relatively similar to Feuebach’s, but a bit different and Marx is clearly against religion
Karl Marx quote on religion
“Religion is the sigh of the opressed creature”
Know definitions of Faith, Rational, God, Corroboration, Belief, Proof, Religious experiences
What is the definition of:
Miracle
An extraordinary and welcome even that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency.
Who is David Hume
A philosopher who argued that it is rational to accept the least crazy alternative, which is never/nearly never a miracle.
Who made the cosmological argument?
Thomas Aquinas
What are the counter-arguments to the cosmological argument?
- If cause and effect go on forever, then God must have a first cause
- If God doesn’t have a first cause, then why can the Big Bang not have a first cause?
- Because the cause and effect loop cannot go forever, human’s understanding on causes and effects must be wrng
