Existence Of God Flashcards
What is the First Cause Argument?
🌚Everything that happens is caused by something else.
🌝The entire universe is the result of a casual chain through time.
🌚At the beginning of time there must have been a first, uncaused cause that started the process off.
🌝This first cause or prime mover, is God
What is a Religious Experience?
A religious experience is when a person believes they have had an experience of God, or another religious figure.
Religious experiences can range from God actually speaking to a person, to someone being aware of God’s presence, to an experience of another religious figure, or even a miracle.
Problems with religious experiences.
Religious experiences are personal. They can be shared BUT are a matter of personal interpretation as to what occurs.
I may believe that God communicated with me BUT this could be wish fulfilment. Or a hallucination due to drink and drugs.
What is the Design Argument?
💡When we see complexity in man-made objects, it is a sign that they have been designed with a purpose. Design clearly needs a designer.
💡Complexity in the natural world indicates design, thus needing a designer.
💡Hence, God is the designer.
What is Aquinas’ Fifth Argument?
🤖Objects without intelligence move towards a clear end.
🤖They always act the same way for the best result.
🤖This cannot be luck so must be design.
🤖Something lacking intelligence cannot move towards an end without direction.
🤖Direction must come from something with intelligence.
🤖So some intelligent being exists that directs all natural beings.
🤖This being is God.
Arguments against God.
God has been described as the ‘inverted consciousness of the world’ - simply humans take a perfect idea of themselves and project these values onto the ideas of an invisible ‘other’.
What are the problems with the theory of evolution?
Evolution results in properties changing over time, producing objects better fitted to their environment - those not fitted die out before reproducing. This creates the illusion of design.
What is the definition of a miracle?
A miracle is an act of God that defies rational explanation and and has a positive outcome.
However, many events previously thought of as miracles now have rational explanations due to our wider understanding.
What is the Argument from Morality?
🐲Morality is a set of commands.
🐲Commands need a commander.
🐲Morality is ultimately authoritative.
🐲Ultimately authoritative commands need an ultimately authoritative commander.
🐲If God existed, then God would be the ultimate authority.
🐲Since morality exists, then God must exist.
Problem with morality Argument.
It is only on understanding of morality. Others suggest morality is not separate from humans and applicable to all, but is subjective and based on society - we decide murder is ‘wrong’ since it is detrimental to society
