The universe, Creation and the place of Human Beings Flashcards
What is the design argument?
An attempt to argue God’s existence into being based on the fact the world shows evidence of order and design
What do theists say about the Design argument?
They agree with Aquinas’ theological argument which says that the world is so carefully put together, so it can’t have happened by chance. E.g. Trees take in Carbon Dioxide which humans find poisonous. and give out oxygen which humans need.
Therefore God exists and God created the world
What are the problems with the design argument?
There are some lack of design in the world like earthquakes and hurricanes which don’t seem designed. Darwin’s theory of evolution shows that we exist because of random change and natural selection which gets rid of the need for God. Mill argues that the world has so many design flaws (evil) so does God actually love us?
God doesn’t exist because the idea of design itself can be challenged when applied to our world.
What does the cosmological argument say?
-The world operates via the laws of causer and effect
-There must be a 1st cause who brought the casual chain into existence
-The 1st possible cause must be God, therefore he exists
What is Good about the cosmological argument?
- The world shows evidence of cause and effect
What are the weaknesses of the design argument?
-Some scientists believe there could have been an infinite regress
-Some scientists say matter is eternal e.g. doesn’t need a cause
-If everything needs a cause, who caused God? Why is he different?
-Even if we accept the argument it doesn’t prove the Christian God exists; it should just as easily lead to a committee of God, or an evil God
What does the problem of evil show?
The inconsistent triad highlights how problematic God’s characteristics are in the face of evil (it’s like a maths problem that doesn’t add up) Theists will not give up any of the three ‘omni’ characteristics so where does evil fit in?– Mackie view
This aporia (philosophical puzzle) has led atheists like sartre to say belief in God is like a colossal joke
What is the evidential problem of evil?
Any evil i see that is evidence in the world e.g. ukrain, russia war/ homless crisis
What are Gods 3 characteristics?
-Omnipotent
-Omnibenevolent
-Omniscient
What is moral evil?
Humans intentionally cause pain and suffering like rape and murder
What is natural evil?
Events that cause great harm to humans but not caused by them e.g. hurricanes
DO QUESTIONS OF PROBLEM OF EVIL SHEET 2
NOW
What did Genesis 1 say about how life began?
They believe the world was created in 7 days, and God is the cause of the universe and life began in the oceans. (This is a theist view) “let there be…”
What do Atheists say about how life began?
They believe that life began with the big bang theory, and huge amounts of gases were dropped into the atmosphere which helped provide the condition for planets to form.
Life then began with single-celled amedoa deep under water (ocean) and the mutations and natural selection allowed for species to grow and change.
Adam and Eve were “naked but without shame”
What do liberals think?
They believe that both the bible and science can be true about how life began. Because the big bang had to be at exactly the right moment to create a stable universe so God must have done this
What to conservative believe about how life began?
They believe evolution is wrong and the bible is right. This is called creationism
