Is Religion a Prerequisite of Altruism?

God cannot determine the outcome of our free choice. So either there is no omniscient god or we are created without free will and therefore are forced/unable to avoid doing evil. Again this shows that god is not benevolent, nor omniscient, therefore he is non-existent. Theists may argue the following reason for god to have granted humans free will. It is possible that god raised homo sapiens to rationality giving the gift of abstract thought, language and disinterested love. And so it is arguable that god gave us free will to allow for love, as free will is necessary for love. Although this may be one of many reasons that god granted us free will, it is one that we may understand. Free will is necessary for both erotic and platonic love. One may argue that evil is only trumped by love. And that the existence of evil, although in its masses is worth it for the sake of

In the documentary A New Eden: God in America, the class was given the opportunity to explore America’s chase to religious freedom and the political challenges it took to achieve such and opportunity where people for the first time were given a chance to seek religious faith that was not imposed upon them, but one that they can personally choose to live for themselves. The problem that would come about during the arrival Catholic immigrants’ as it was thought to believe their arrival would come to oppose the very religious they worked so hard for, while from their perspective they were merely trying to live an average life in America with all it has to offer just like everyone has. The challenge was most expressed in a judicial case of public

In American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, Jon Meacham explores the dynamic relationship between religion and government in America in the hope that contemporary America can learn from the past. The period covered by the book spans from 1620 until Reagan’s presidency in the late 1980s. However, Meacham focuses on the Founding Fathers stances and their continued impact on American politics. More specifically, the book details the conflict over the separation of private religious expression and the more neutral ‘public religion’.

Even when the Constitution establishes a separation between church and state, traces of religion can still be found in public and government environments, such as the Pledge of Allegiance containing the words ‘under God’, American currency having ‘In God we trust’ and other such events and places. Consequently, this prevalence of Christian ideology violates all Americans’ first amendment right to freedom of and from religion and has a negative impact all citizens as it conflicts with their individual beliefs, religious or not.

I have heard some people say that all the bad things that happen in the world prove that God does not exist. How could there be a God, they wonder, who allows so much evil to take place? I would answer these people by assuring them that God does exist and He deeply cares about His children. He cares so much, in fact, that He suffered crucifixion and death so that we might truly live.

As it comes to many people’s attention that America’s spiritual walls have a crack in them, two of the main questions are why and how it may be repaired. There are many documented facts that present the evidence for the reader to conclude his or her own theory. After analysis of these facts and evidence, it is perfectly obvious to most people that the United States of America will be responsible for its own downfall if people do not open their eyes to the reality of their current actions and take the appropriate measures to correct the path of our beloved country.

In “The Benedict Option” Dreher examined the deterioration of previously entrenched Christian morality and social unity in American politics. Cultural fragmentation in American politics began with the controversial Roe v. Wade decision. Affiliation with the Democratic Party became increasingly secular consequently the Republican Party became predominantly religious. Neither bridging this current divide nor returning to previous moral consensus will be possible in the foreseeable future. The Benedict Option is a political strategy introduced by Dreher for Conservative Republicans to promote religious liberty, political solidarity, parallel structures and local government engagement. In “A Common Faith” Dewey portrays a contrasting opinion regarding

I played volleyball every year in high school and I discovered a major problem that was present every year. Almost anyone who has played on a sports team either were or knew the player(s) that would rarely come to practices, if at all, not play in the games, but still celebrate and collect praise whenever their team wins. I have found that this often causes resentment between the players. Also, it creates a bad example towards new players or the dedicated players that do participate and play. This example would be, you can just slack off, but still gain all the rewards. If every player adopts this method, then the team would suffer and most likely lose most, if not every game. This problem can be categorized as a free riding problem. It can be considered free riding because one or more players are profiting off of the efforts of the dedicated players. The current mechanism in place is a form of altruism. It is altruism because the team counts of players to give it their all and work hard out of the goodness of their hearts and for the betterment of the team. This free riding problem have and will torment teams for years unless changed. There are many ways in which the process can change in which players where the majority, if not all free riding players, will participate properly and fully in both practices and in games.

Family and marriage has been a hot topic in government recently. With the Supreme Court ruling that gay marriage is legal the value of God is dimensioning even more with the government and society. As time has progressed the government’s view on family and marriage has changed from a commitment before God to merely a legal contract. Legalizing gay marriage and removing God from the union of marriage and family shows how relativism has impacted decisions in the government.

The family is fading. Religion is falling. Faith is failing. The first right in the First Amendment, the right to the free practice of religion, is being viciously attacked by the citizens of America. The traditional family—an ideal so simple and fundamental that, twenty years ago, any alteration to it would be unfathomable—is now being challenged. Times are changing; society is changing. Among others, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland addresses this change in his speech, “Faith, Family, and Religious Freedom.” In this lecture given at Chapman University in 2015, he focuses on that trend in today’s society: faith, family, and religious freedom, or, more accurately, the decline in it. Traditional family values and religion have degraded at an astonishing rate, he claims; the fact that he devoted an entire speech to the topic proves the severity of said trend. Elder Holland builds common ground, quotes credible sources, and shows irrefutable facts and statistics to effectively convince his religious listeners that action must be taken to prevent the disappearing freedoms of faith, family, and religion, else disastrous consequences take place.

Many sceptics of God and the Christian faith think that it’s hard to believe there is a God that is good in himself and can’t be anything but that. Not only that but many people also believe that he is not good, as so much punishment is shown in the Old Testament and the idea that God created Hell in the first place to punish people who sin. People argue that if God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent he would not let natural disasters to happen, even though Christians say natural disasters happen to punish humankind for our sins.

Your point in addition to John William's adding the fact of America being founded on the Christian perspective is a great addition towards our discussion because America's way of life through our constitutional rights, many laws, even our money says "In God We Trust" in which has all derived from a Christian perspective. Although I completely agree with both of your statements we as Americans must also realize how much America has changed since the foundation of America. Change has been brought upon due to morals, ethics, and different religious beliefs from a variety of people that have migrated to the United States from all over the world.

With the mention of religion, what first comes to mind? Despite the initial thought, image, opinion, or experience that makes itself known, the response likely varies, even across time and place, and this can be reflected in the fact that America has no specific definition of religion. However, to assist in laying a foundation, the definition made clear in Dr. Koch’s Religion in America class lecture is “a discourse, a set of practices, a community, and/ or an institution” in which allows for analysis, discussion, practice, and thought to then take place in order to make sense of how this man made principle was woven into the foundation of American society (Koch). Studying the history of religion in America, a common theme prevails: the relationship between religion and modernization. This theme is still present today as St. Agnes Cathedral Community in Springfield, exhibits the relationship and how religious communities’ are striving to keep their traditional practices alive amidst modern America, creating a subtle contrasting undertone within their church.

“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us,” by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, and “America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity,” by Robert Wuthnow, give different thoughts to religion and politics in the United States. Putnam and Campbell utilize the concepts of shocks and aftershocks to highlight religious changes in the United States. On the other hand, Wuthnow uses observations to focus on the encounters of religious diversity in the United States. Wuthnow compares American Christianity with other popular religions in America and how Christianity has affected the perception of religion. Putnam and Campbell’s “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” is a more persuasive assessment of American religion and politics.

America wastes a lot of time trying to create a democracy completely absent of the moral expectations that our ancestors have put into place. Our founding fathers’ dream of establishing a country in which all people would be accepted has begun to fall. In our attempt to rid our country of a democracy contaminated with any belief in a supreme power, we have rid ourselves of many of our values and morals. Perhaps it is impossible for religion to dominate our political country, but we have misinterpreted the original intent of “separation of church and state” and taken this concept too far.