The Idea of Belief
The amount of information that exists that directly contradicts the belief in religion is astounding. I have no desire to accumulate the amount of information and force feed it into one argument. Not only would it take a great amount of energy, but it would be so long that the thrust of the argument would be lost. The best arguments are the shortest, they are concise and effective in that they say very much with very little. It is thought by many that the group of people that have the most reason, or inclination to be anti-religious are scientists; and of course this is a valid belief given all we have learned through science, and how contradicting science can be towards religion. However, another group of people have just as much or more reason to be anti-religious, and that group of people being none other than historians. Science often deals with complicated matters, most of which have never been addressed by religion, in fact they are too complex and too sophisticated to even be paired with religion. History however, has shown us, through empirical discovery, facts that contradict religion and prove the falsity of religion. They also have gone, and continue to go, to the point that they are showing how religion was created, and perhaps the most interesting of all, why they were created. At this point I should address an anticipated rebuttal- there have been facts proving religion. Any “facts” that have been shown to prove any truth in religion
It is of course possible that an argument for God's existence could provide some evidence for God's existence, in the sense that the argument increases the probability or plausibility of the claim that God exists, even if the argument does not provide enough support by itself for full-fledged belief that God exists. A proponent of the moral argument who viewed the argument in this way might in that case regard the argument as part of a cumulative case for theism, and hold that the moral argument must be supplemented by other possible arguments, such as the “fine-tuning” argument from the physical constants of the universe, or an argument from religious experience. A non-believer might even concede some version of a theistic argument has some evidential force, but claim that the overall balance of evidence does not support belief.
When comparing science and religion there has been a great rift. As long as humanity has believed in a creator there as always been thinkers trying to quantify and evaluate the truth behind religion, trying to disprove or prove a supernatural force.
Knowing that it will always be there even after I die just makes since to me, because you can’t just reword it to make it work for your argument. I suppose that someone could try to argue that the planet earth and moon don’t orbit the sun, but despite this we have scientific evidence to help prove our point to whoever dare to question it. But I like being able to point out the science that proves why somethings in our world are the way they are. Somethings you just can argue and facts are facts and for me you can’t spit off religious beliefs to me if I can have the evidence support my choices.
The question as to what it means to be human is often thought of as being the foundational question for almost all religions. Indeed, it can be argued that the religious impulse itself is first and foremost an impulse to understand the nature the meaning of life, and therefore of what it means to be human. Despite the importance of this question, the Bible provides relatively few answers, other than the idea that to be human is to be in some way close to God and to have been created by Him. This closeness and the nature of having been created has a variety of consequences which this paper will explore. These consequences that can be seen to be intensely positive but which also come with a heavy price and with a strict legality. Finally, they may also be shown to be entirely arbitrary and to position their unfathomable nature on the fact of having the 'created ' nature of a person.
A long time ago, prior to the scientific revolution, it was considered anti-Semitic that reason supported religion. The Counterbalance Foundation website observes that before this time, science that
One argues that today we have a crisis of belief, not a crisis of faith. To explain this crisis, I will briefly examine the relationship between faith and belief, explain why cultural shift is important to note when trying to understand religious issues, go into detail on the three hallmarks of each of the two cultures by showing how they compare to each other, show how Tillich’s notion of correlation deals with this idea of culture and a crisis of belief, and explain how Marsh’s notion of a “theology of negotiation” (33) fits with Lonergan’s definition and allows him to argue that film can help us raise theological questions.
Originally taken from the Latin phrase "Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur”, what is now commonly known as Hitchens’s razor has become the battle cry for new found atheists across the world. “That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence” is an epistemological principle which essentially means if someone makes a claim, it can be “thrown out of the window” if there isn’t a strand of evidence to justify and supplement the claim. Atheists find this razor so appealing because it directly applies to religion and how it can be argued there isn’t any concrete or substantial evidence. Following the principle, it can be dismissed without evidence. Apart from religion this principle has basis in everyday life. Knowledge
In the Article “On Being an Atheist”, McCloskey refers to the arguments defending the existence of God as “proofs”. He also believes that because none of the arguments can absolutely prove the existence of God, that we should deny them all and the existence of God (McCloskey, 1968). Foreman addresses this dilemma in his presentation “Approaching the Question of God’s Existence.” Foreman states that there is no absolute proof of God’s existence but there are many things in the universe that are best explained by the existence of God. All arguments in the defense of the existence of
Chapter four of the Roots of Wisdom describes three primary arguments for the existence of God, these arguments include an Ontological Argument, a Cosmological Argument and a Teleological Argument. All of these aforementioned cases express valid philosophies and rational theories, however they also appear to be incomplete, by that I mean to say, they lack the “hard evidence” in which our scientific community demands as proof that God exists. I could just as easily turn the table in the same direction, demanding that our scientific community present the same “hard evidence that God does not exist, however that course of action would only add to the ambiguous quest for truth and would in the end solve nothing. With that stated, it is my belief
The argument for God, based on personal Religious experiences, is an argument that cannot be refuted by others. While others may not have the ability to prove the existence of God, through another’s experiences, they also cannot disprove this existence. A person’s personal experiences are something that no other person can determine, nor argue. My experiences are my interpretations for the occurrences within my life, therefore, another person cannot determine what my true experiences are, or how they make me feel or believe. Kreeft points out that there really is no need for an argument for the existence of God, based on these personal experiences, since another person cannot determine another’s
What is faith? Faith is something different to everyone. If you asked a hundred different people, it is possible that you would get many diverse answers. Religious faith and non-religious faith are two very distinct terms. Faith holds an extremely complex meaning when discussing it in the context of religion. Faith is a belief. That holds true to every religious and non-religious person. Every faith involves a decision. It is not about what we claim to believe, but what we actually do believe, that is true faith. Throughout this paper, I am going to discuss Christian faith, how it pertains to daily life and Christianity as a whole. I also intend to delve into George W. Forell's discussion of Christian faith and analyze and
It’s the twenty first century. Scientists have found evidence of water on Mars, they have successfully cloned human embryos, and everyday, they are getting closer to finding a cure for cancer. Still, in a world of groundbreaking facts and evidences, where the newest discovery leaves older ones out of commission, we fool ourselves into blindly putting faith on a series of chronicles conceived during the primitive age. Religion probably started out as a result of mankind trying to explain the physical world, but then became a tool to control and oppress, a reason for bloodshed and hate. While religion may have been of great help in
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a
What is Religion? Religion has many meanings; a way of life, belief, and practices. In America people have different views on religion; it was indicated in the constitution. What is the constitution? The constitution is set of laws approved by the state. Religion and constitution are separate. As stated in the constitution of the United State of America, the first amendment, “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” In other words the constitution and religion are not connected. The founder fathers meant when talking about “freedom of Religion,” is that the state and church are separate; because people saw the church as mass control, people were also affected by the English’s monarchies and lastly the Americans
The concepts of religious faith, theology, belief and spirituality are all interconnected and very easy to get mixed up. This is because they all have something to do with the other. Richard P. Mcbrien explains how religious faith, theology, beliefs, and spirituality are all connected. Theology follows faith and belief follows Theology. Faith is our personal knowledge of God through human experiences and our openness to his love. Theology is our understanding of faith as revealed by God and our articulation of it. Beliefs are accepting these theological conclusions as true even without clear and convincing evidence. Spirituality is the practice of these beliefs, letting the spirit guide ones life. Although it’s easy to mix up the meaning of faith and belief or get confused the difference in understanding faith in Theology and being filled by God in your spirituality it’s pretty easy to grasp once you see how each influences the other.