Pojman 2009

Question 1

[if theism is true] 1) we have a satisfying explanation of the origins of the universe.

Answer 1

we are not the product of chance and necessity or an impersonal Big Bang, but out of a Heavenly being who cares about us

Question 2

[if theism is true part one] we can take comfort in knowing that the visible world is part of a more spiritual universe

Answer 2

from which it draws its meaning and that there is, in spite of evil, an essential harmonious relation between our world and the transcendent reality

Question 3

[if theism is true part one] upon an unstable foundation, a secure edifice

Answer 3

can not be built, and from nothing you derive nothing

Question 4

[if theism is real part two] Theism holds that the universe is suffused in goodness and that

Answer 4

good will win over evil. we are not fighting a desperate battle alone, but God is on our side- or rather, it is possible to be on God’s side in the struggle

Question 5

[if theism exists part two] if theism exists, all will be well, all will somehow remembered

Answer 5

nothing will have been in vein

Question 6

[if theism exists part three] God loves and cares for us. His love compels us, so that we have a deeper motive for morally good actions, including high altruism

Answer 6

we live deeply moral lives, not out of fear of hell, but out of deep gratitude to One who loves is and whom we love

Question 7

[if theism exists part three] we live not by impersonal rules but in relation with a cosmic lover, one who has our

Answer 7

best interests in mind and is powerful enough to ensure that we are as happy as we are good. secularism lacks this kind of love.

Question 8

[if theism exists part four] theists have an answer to this question Why be moral? Why?

Answer 8

because of the love of God and because love guarantees justice so that you get what you deserve. good for good and bad for bad

Question 9

[if theism exists part four] secular ethics have a real problem with the question why should I be moral when I can profit from

Answer 9

wrongdoing (cheating, lying stealing, harming another)?

Question 10

[4] when I can advance myself by being an egoist, why should I obey moral rules?

Answer 10

the question is quickly satisfied by theism: a kind of karma- what you do to others will be visited upon you

Question 11

[4] if you do evil, you will receive evil

Answer 11

immorality is really imprudent and self-interest and altruism collide

Question 12

[5] cosmic justice reigns in the universe. the scales are perfectly balanced

Answer 12

so that everyone will get what they deserve. there is no moral luck (…) each will be judged according to how one has used one’s talents

Question 13

[6] all persons are of equal worth. since we have all been created in the image of God and are His children, we are all brothers and sisters

Answer 13

from perspective of intelligence and utility, Aristotle and Nietzsche are right, there are enormous inequalities, and why shouldn’t the superior persons use the baser types to their advantage?

Question 14

[7] grace and forgiveness- a happy ending for all

Answer 14

all’s well that ends well (the divine comedy). the moral guilt which we experience, even for the most heinous acts, can be removed, and we can be redeemed and given a new start.

Question 15

[8] there is life after death. death is not the end of the matter, but we shall live on, recognising each other in a better world

Answer 15

we have eternity in our souls and are destined for a higher existence

Question 16

if theism is false and secularism is true then there is no obvious basis for human equality no reason to treat people with equal respect

Answer 16

no simple and clear answer to the question, why be moral even when it is not in my best interest? no sense of harmony and purpose in the universe

Question 17

add to this that theism doesn’t deprive us of autonomy that we have in non theistic systems. we are equally free to choose the good or the evil whether or not

Answer 17

God exists (…) then it seems clear to us that the world of the theist is far better and more satisfying to us than one in which God does not exist

Question 18

of course, the problem is that we probably do not know if theism, let alone our particular religious version of it is true.

Answer 18

[pascalean argument] that is, unless you think that theism is so improbable that we should not even consider it as a candidate for truth, we should live in such a way as to allow the virtues of theism to inspire our lives and our culture

Question 19

religion gives us a purpose in life and a basis for morality that is too valuable to dismiss lightly

Answer 19

it is a heritage that we may use to build a better civilisation and one which we neglect at our own peril.