The Existence Of God Flashcards
Who proposed the Cosmological Argument?
Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas was a significant figure in Philosophy and Theology.
What is another name for the Cosmological Argument?
The First Cause Argument
What was Aquinas’s aim in proposing the Cosmological Argument?
To use reason or logic to persuade people that God existed.
Which philosopher strongly influenced Thomas Aquinas?
Aristotle
Name two of Aquinas’s best-known writings.
- Summa Contra Gentiles
- Summa Theologica
What does Aquinas believe about the study of nature?
The study of nature is to study God.
What does the Cosmological Argument claim about the universe?
Because the universe exists, someone or something must have ‘caused’ it to exist.
What is the term Aquinas uses for the first cause?
Uncaused Cause
According to Aquinas, can there be an infinitely long chain of cause and effect?
No, there must be a first cause.
What analogy does Aquinas use to explain the chain of cause and effect?
Like dominos, where something must push the first domino.
What must the first cause be, according to Aquinas?
Eternal (has no beginning)
What do Theists argue regarding the Cosmological Argument?
It is a credible argument.
What do Atheists argue against the Cosmological Argument?
It does not explain where God came from.
Fill in the blank: The Cosmological Argument states that something cannot come from _______.
nothing
What does Genesis 1:1-2 state that relates to the Cosmological Argument?
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’
How is the Cosmological Argument often viewed in relation to the Big Bang theory?
Some see it as incompatible with the existence of a creator.
What is the logical principle that Aquinas’s argument relies on?
Everything in existence has a cause.
True or False: The Cosmological Argument claims the universe came from nothing.
False
ARGUMENT 2: THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN
(also known as the TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT)
This argument comes from the idea that the world is so complicated and intricate
that it must have had a designer. It could not have come around by chance or
solely as the result of a ‘cosmic bang’. One philosopher who proposed the
Argument from Design was Rev. William Paley (1743 - 1805). His work was one
of the most influential philosophical texts during The Enlightenment Period (17th
and 18th Century: the move towards rational thought and scientific reason).
The world ‘teleological’ comes from the Greek word telos
which means end or goal
this later came to mean the view
that everything has a purpose. Therefore
the Teleological
Theory is one that comes from looking at the world in a
certain way. It is a theory that maintains our world has
been designed. William Paley believed that his Teleological
Argument from design proved that there was a God. Paley
used the example of the workings of a traditional wind-up
watch to present his argument for the existence of God.
In crossing a heath
suppose I pitched my foot against a stone
stone came to be there; I might possibly answer … it had lain there forever. But suppose
I had found a watch upon the ground
and it should be inquired how the watch
happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given
that for anything I knew
the watch might have always been there … There must have
existed
at some time
the watch] for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its
construction and designed its use.
Paley’s argument demonstrates how someone
would be impressed with the complexity of a
traditional mechanical wind-up watch and that
person would notice the technology that
enables the watch to work. Each part of the
watch must work perfectly in order for it to be
able to tell the time. He said that the natural
conclusion to studying the watch is that it must have been made by a watchmaker and that no-one
would conclude that it came about through random chance. Using the illustration of the watch
Paley notes that the world also is too intricate and complicated to believe that it came about
through random chance. Therefore
the universe must also have a designer who is God.
The flow chart below demonstrates Paley’s Teleological Argument..
A watch has certain complex teatures (it consists of parts
each with their own function and
they work together for a specific purpose).
Anything which exhibits these features must have been designed.
Therefore
the watch has been designed by a designer (watchmaker).
The universe is like the watch as it possesses similar features on a larger scale.
Therefore
the universe
Theist argues that the only logical conclusion for the designer
is God.
ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST PALEY’S TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
This argument is consistent with the teaching found in the book of Genesis
that God
designed and created the intricate components of the earth:
Then God said
“Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the
land that bear fruit with seed in it
according to their various kinds.” And it was so … And God
saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12
It is also consistent with the message from Genesis 1:27 that God designed and created humans
“in his own image’.
