Naturalism Versus Christianity

I remember when the Christian faith finally began making sense to me. By the end of my reading of the first book of C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity, “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe,” I began to feel a spark of faith and hope. Lewis’ apologetic is geared primarily toward nonbelievers, and discusses social law as evidence for God, as well as a short glimpse of the Christian faith. Lewis uses the existence of what we a call a “conscious,” or the notion that there are things that people should and should not do to point to the existence of a higher power.

Dinner With Skeptics Defending God in A World that Makes No Sense, by Jeff Vines, Joplin: College Press, 2008. 221 pages. Reviewed by Josiah R. Boyle

Theories like the big bang or God creating the universe are good ideas of how the universe came to be, but both have holes in them. If god created the universe, then who created god? If the Universe was just a big empty void, how is it that big bang can even happen? "If they use the expression "God exists" at all, they understand it as referring obliquely to the speakers own feelings..." (pg 107). Same could be said to which theory a person chooses to believe

Dinner With Skeptics Defending God in a World that Makes No Sense, by Jeff Vines, Joplin: College Press, 2008. 221 pages. Reviewed by Josiah R. Boyle

Secular humanism is a worldview that continues to gain popularity in current cultural thought. For the sake of investigation, this paper will be taking a look at major understandings taught in the worldview of Secular Humanism and how it compares and contrast to the understandings of the Christian worldview. This paper will show that the tenants of Secular Humanism contain self-contradicting arguments, therefore is illogical and inferior to the Christian worldview. This will be accomplished by an investigation of the basic beliefs of the worldview. These beliefs will be evaluated through a scope which examines the coherence, factual adequacy, existential viability, and the intellectual and cultural fecundity of the worldview. In closing, I

During the twentieth century people began to believe that all human knowledge was scientific knowledge. Research either proved or disproved theories of the earth’s origin. People began to question the supremacy of science on the basis of the very premises that brought it to power, namely, objectivity, and rationality. 1. These developments created a resurgence of interest in philosophy as a discipline. For theology as a discipline, it presented an opportunity for acceptance and credibility. While remaining true to the tradition of our faith it is imperative that we theologize in such a way as to bring to Christianity integrity and an intellectual uniqueness that integrates and gives sense to the varied and diverse dimensions of the modern experience. One can exercise critical thinking and still hold fast to fundamental persuasions and ties of faith. To practice one’s faith responsibly, a person requires an understanding of philosophical

I felt throughout this debate on Naturalism versus Theism, both Sean Carroll and William Lane Craig showed very valid evidence on both of their stance. However, both explained some theories that I couldn’t really accept or understand. Carroll was on the naturalism side of the debate, he explained how modern science and laws of physics undermine the idea of theism. Craig was on the theistic side, his argument was about how the Kalam Cosmological Argument and the Teleological Argument proved that it was possible a god created the universe. There were times during the debate on both sides where I got confused because of all the scientific jargon, but I feel like I understood the point behind the ideas of both debaters. I want side with Carroll

The Naturalism movement, much like its companion movement of Realism, focuses on depicting life as it is. According to the Norton, Naturalist writers wrote about “human life as it was shaped by forces beyond human control,” and these forces are deemed to be society, heredity, environment or just bad luck or Fate, mostly within the context of lower classes. Darwin’s theory of evolution and Herbert Spencer’s famous quotation of “survival of the fittest” are applied into the vernacular surrounding Naturalism as well, adding to its scientific integrity (10). Naturalists aimed to tell their fiction within these scientific outlooks to present a realistic world that may come more “comprehensible to middle class readers” (11). The Naturalist

        Throughout the centuries there have been various theories that have tried unsuccessfully to account for human dignity and intrinsic value without God.  However, this paper will only focus on the theory of naturalism and its lack of a strong argument for the existence of either.  Therefore there must be a successful accounting of the presence of God within the theory of naturalism to argue the existence of human dignity and intrinsic value successfully according to JP Moreland.

Rampantly proliferating throughout academia, philosophical naturalism presents a significant challenge to Christianity, as the mainstream culture blindly embraces naturalistic assumptions under the authority of science. Consequently, traditional religions are increasingly understood as outdated and culturally irrelevant, sparking an escalation of interest in secular humanism. This paper will outline the secular humanist worldview, demonstrating the substantial failures that emerge during objective testing, while simultaneously establishing Christianity as a categorically superior worldview.

It has been such a pleasure taking your class and getting to know you this year. Your sense of sarcasm and easy-going nature always made class so enjoyable and fun! My faith has never been seriously questioned so studying apologetics this year really changed my point of view concerning atheists and why they believe there is no god. Thanks to you, I feel like I can more adequately defend my faith in my next step in life. I feel like the most appropriate way to write this essay is to highlight a few arguments and ideas that have stuck with me the most. Before this however, I would like to define apologetics and why we study it. Apologetics is the intellectual argument for a belief such as the existence of God. We are studying apologetics not to make others believe in God, but to be able to defend our own belief in Him so that others arguments against his

According to Aquinas arguments, the natural world includes everything that is in existence. This includes ideologies such as motion, God, gravity, solar radiation, and our physical environment as whole. The natural world is not only made up of things that our senses can detect, such as touch and smell, but is also includes things such as God and gravity which are unattainable through the senses. According to Immanuel Kant, the sensible world includes anything that can become known to humans. The sensible world includes things such as time and space. By reviewing the definition of the sensible world, the plausibility of the argument for the natural world is effected positively. Due to the fact that the natural world consists of things that the human senses can detect, along with anything that is within the world, this argument goes hand in hand with the ideology of the sensible world.

We are living in a time that seemly scientists, and scholars are negating the authenticity of the Bible; it has stimulated the thoughts of some Christians to consider the possibility of scientific data because it operates through the theory of rational facts, yet Christianity foundation is centered on faith. Hebrews 11:6 explains, “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Unfortunately, Christianity is a religion that attracts sceptics from all walks of life, nevertheless, Christians engages in apologetics because the world that we live in produces objections regarding biblical theology and philosophical concepts and percepts.

At the end of this course, it has become apparent to me that a person must know what they believe, but perhaps more importantly, why they believe it. An overarching narrative that stands out from this course is the prominence of practical apologetics. Specifically, in terms of theology and our exploration of many differing theologies, I am convinced of the need of three things. First, there is a need for strong Bibliology with solid hermeneutical reasoning. Second, an understanding of Theology Proper, specifically relating to knowing God as He has revealed Himself. And lastly, a mentor trained in theology that can offer guidance and support. Since we read of several different theologies, I will limit my writing to these areas stressed in the thesis. As to what effect this course will have on my life and ministry, some of the views discussed have made me see a vital need for effective writing against these theologies.

Christian teachings have been challenged by unbelievers since the beginning of history. Today, because the new discoveries of science, the existence of God has been doubted even more, and as a consequence, society has become more selfish, self-centered and self-existent. Questions such as, Does God actually exist? Is there any evidence of his existence? Is it Christianity the only true religion? have been asked by believers and unbelievers through the past centuries. Two philosophers from Boston College, Peter Kreeft, and Ronald K. Tacelli, in their book “Handbook of Christian Apologetics” answer the most common questions about faith and reason, God’s existence, Christ and other Christian doctrines.