"True knowledge of God is revealed in nature" Discuss.

Question 1

1st argument

Answer 1

William Paley

Question 2

2 argument

Answer 2

Aquinas cosmological argument - world consistently moving from potentiality to actuality. Must be an uncaused causer that moved it.

Question 3

3 argument

Answer 3

John Calvin - humans can experience sensus divinitas through reason - we can observe world and see that beauty points to a creator

Ps 19:1 - “the heavens declare the glory of God” creation is a mirror that reflects Gods character. “Sparks of glory”

Question 4

Objection 1 and counter

Answer 4

Karl Barth - human reason is falliable and cannot lead to any knowledge of God; it is arrogance to Believe we can understand absolute and eternal truths

counter - romans 1:20 - Gods qualities understood from what he has made

Question 5

Objection 2 and counter

Answer 5

Augustine - original sin prevents people from being able to know God because their Will has become corrupt

pre-fall human nature contained 3 goods: rationality, original righteousness and an oreintation towards good.

only rational beings can sin. humans can sin, so we are rational.

Question 6

Objection 3 and counter and counter-objection

Answer 6

the extent of the spread of athiesm in the 21th century suggests a sense of God dosent exist. in calvins time it may have been unimaginable that one could not rationally be a believer, as everyone was at the time. in modern times howver therer has been a signidficant philodophical defnece of athiesm.

platinga argues sin has a noetic meaning it changes ones ability to knowledge and insight, which blocks sense of God

the countries with lowest crime, the northern europesn countires are the most athiesistic in the world. for a noetic quality of sin to explain why athiests lack sense of God, athiests would have to sin more than christians - not the case