Belief about Deity

Reasons for Belief in God
1. Argument from Religious Experience
  1. Numinous
    1. A positive experince of religion (or a higher, greater force or power) a feeling of God, of something Spiritual
      1. The brains creation of what it expects to feel, emotions that are triggered by expectation
  2. Miracles
    1. A positive intervention form God, that goes against normal expectations of life or physics
      1. A simple coincidence, If a person is searching for evidence of God so desperately - they will find it
  3. Prayer
    1. Prayer can lead to a feeling of connection with a Deity, it may lead to Numinous - or even a miracle - many feel closest to God in prayer
      1. Someone who believes in God may view what ever happens in their life as positive as they believe God is watching over them
  4. Aposteriori - Knowledge from experience
  5. Near Death Experences
    1. At the point of a person being clinaically dead, if a person has a felling of being taken from their body or have a vision of an after life this is called a near death experience. Some claim to have watched their body from above, others floating around rooftops, some see Heaven or Hell. Many believe that this provides evidence for a God, or an afterlife
      1. However others argue against this, and believe these 'visions' may be the result of medication, the bodies reaction to being close to death or dreams
2. 10 quick reasons
  1. Numinous (A feeling that there is something more) A religious experience that convinced an induvidual of a Deity
  2. Primary Socialization (Religious Upbringing) from early development you are taught and influenced about Religious Belief
  3. Secondary Socialization, from Soceity, the media and the community you are around - inlfuencing your belief about Religion
  4. Miracles - A life changing experience may convince an induvidual of a higher power
  5. Hope, a belief that there is something worth living for. In despiration and fear many turn to religion for support. Most Relgious conversions occur during times of fear and war
  6. In searching for a beginning for reasoning for the creation of everything. If everything is contingent, who created all?
    1. Cosmological Argument
  7. Folk Psychology - in trying to fill the gaps of our knowlegde (or science) many have used the idea of God to blame for what we do not understand
  8. Fear of nothing after death - after losing a loved one many cannot cope with the idea of nothingness after death, and so turn to Religion for some form of life after death
  9. Trademark argument - Descartes trademark argument was the theory that Religion is innate - that we are all born with the innate idea of God
  10. Marxist Idea - 'Religion is the Opium of the people' Giving the depressed, working class hope for Heaven while those with power and money go to Hell, helped those in power keep control over the masses of starving working class
3. Ontonlogical
  1. -God must be the greatest possible being as He created all, so all is below him
  2. -If God if the greatest possible being He cannot be limited - so He must exist in relality
  3. The argument requires no faith, only basic logic
  4. It is Apriori, it is absolut truth by definition
    Annotations:
    - Apriori - All bachelor are single men
  5. It cannot be disproved - only rejected
  6. An Atheist cannot reject that by definition God is the greatest conceivablebeing - God is nessary and all else is contingent
  7. Links to the Comological argument - They both are based on the idea that God is nessary and all else is contingent. If one argument is true then so is the other
  8. Although the logic cannot be disprioed - you can reject the whole idea of a God. eg - A circle is round by definition, that cannot be changed - but you can state that you do not believe in the circle
  9. It does not prove a Christian God, only a nessary creator
  10. If God truley is the greatest conceivable being there would not be evil and suffering in the world - however there is, so God cannot exist
  11. Some would argue that a Christian God is not proven by the Ontological arugment as He is split by the Holy Trinity - making Him not the one greatest conceivable being
4. Cosmological
  1. Argument from Causation
  2. Saint Thomas Aquinas stated that 'Nothing can come from nothing so why is there something?'. He believed that everything needs a cause including our Universe, he believed this first cause was God
  3. The Cosmological argument is considered correct by many as no event can occur without a cause. So there must have been something to cause our Universe to come into existance
    1. An Aposteriori observation
  4. Science has prove that our Universe must have a begining, and an origins of creation must have required a cause of some kind
  5. If our Universe does have a creator it must have been created by a necessary being - who has always existed and will continue to - otherwise it would lead to an infinite regress of creators of other creators.
  6. There is evidence for the cause of the Universe - but that was not God. Science has provided eveidence thought Red Shift that the Big Bang may have been this 'first cause' for the creation of our Universe
  7. The argument provides no evidence for a Christiain God - only a necessary, infinite being. This fits the characteristics of many Religions Gods.
  8. The problem of an infinite regress, if everything must have a cause then god himself must have had a cause, and then that cuase must have requies a cause, and so must have that. This leads on into an infinite regress
5. Telelogical
  1. Design Argument
  2. Our science has reveled to us DNA, and when studying it we can see that it is essentially the blueprint for all life. Some say this is evidence for intelligent design - as if all life has been planned
  3. William Paley stated that if something as intricate as a pocket watch requires a watch maker then our vast complex Universe must require a Deity. He stated something so complex cannot simply occur by chance, and must be the result of intelligent design
  4. Issac Newton believed that the human thumb alone is too intricate and unique to each person that it must have been designed
  5. The food chain on Earth is so interdependant that it cannot have occured by chance
    1. Just as all cogs on a watch must work perfectly - if one thing falls form the food chain it all callaposes
  6. Goldilocks effect - this planet is 'just right' for us, so much so that it seems as if it must have been designed precistly for humanity
  7. Some argue that it could simply be chance, even if the chance of something occuring is a million to one - that one chance still remains there
    1. Possible theory of multi-universes
  8. Natural selection. Darwins theory of eviolution states that all life evoluved though tiny random genetic mutations - and then those who fitted best to their envrioment surived to live on and repoduce. This provides evidence that evolution could not be planned (as the theory of Intelligent design may suggest)
  9. Some claim that the horros of nature can prove against the argument of design - as if our world was designed by an Omnibevolvent God then why does it contain natural suffering?
6. Moral Argument
  1. People all over the world who have never come in contact with each other often share the same morals
  2. An objective morality would have to have been given to us by God
  3. Therefore, as morals do exist, God must too.
  4. From childhood we all have an innate understanding of right and wrong
  5. All societies have basic sets of values, that are very simliar all across the world
  6. The fact that we have a conscience shows that we have an innate feeling of right and wrong
  7. Our morals could alternativly come from Evolution - though learning to socialize well and not murder fellow humans, those who behaved morally would have lived on to repoduce and bring up young that all acted the same way
  8. Not all societies do have the same morals - many have differing views on what is right or wrong - for example Capital punishment, absortion, adultery
  9. Due to psycopaths and murders some believe that we do not all have innate morals - or people who are considered 'evil' would not believe that they are doing the right thing
Reasons why God does not exist
1. Unanswered prayers - If God is Omnibenevolent and Omnipotent, all prayers would be answered
2. Euthropho Dilema - If God is truely good and all He does is good, then He must be 'following' what good is - therefore He is not Omnipotent is He is ruled by something. If God IS good - then why is there evil is suffering in the world?
3. Folk Psychology- God is simply used to blame when there are gaps in our knollege.
4. Impuritiy within Gods creations - If God is Omnibenvolent why would He create an Earth with natural disasters. If Humans are made in God's image, why do so many commit evil sins
5. Presence of evil in a world created by an Omnibeveolent God
6. Inflicting Characterists of God - How could God be Omnibeveolent and the Judge of all? How could God be transendent and immanent.
7. Marxist theory - God is a tool used by those in power to control the masses of the working class
8. Could God create a rock so heavy He could not lift it?
Miracles
1. A miracle is a positive even that goes against the laws of science and was directly caused by God
2. Lourdes, France = 68 Proven Miracles
  1. Burnadette saw a vision of Mary - who told her to build a Church there and a spring of water appeared that would cure all who drank from it
3. Our medical knowlege is not advanced enough to say for certain if someone will die - mistakes are made, it could be chance that they are 'cured',
4. It could simply be the power of will and belief that brings people to a state where they believe they will live or be cured
5. Some miracles are phycological - therefore though the mind they can be overcome
  1. Shock can cause blindness
6. There may be a chemical in the water that our science is not advanced enough to prove
7. Folk Psycology
8. Jesus's miracles
9. Moses parting the Red Sea
10. Jesus's Birth and Ressurection
11. Many believe that miracles only strengthen belief already in God - but do not convert - as other may simply see it as a positive event - not an act of God
12. Miracles prove Gods existance as there is no other explaination. In order for something to break the laws of science it must be outside of this world. The only thing that can be if God - who is transendent
13. Miracles often hold some form of religious signifigance
14. God does not directy interveen with our world as he have free will
Faith Healing
1. The belief that a person have to power and love of the Holy Spirit running through them and that though that they can heal the sick
2. Faith 'healing' has been known to even kill some - either from the pressure, adreline, or through their belief that they are healing to they stop taking medication
3. Some view it as blasphemous, claiming that they have the Lord within them. Many believe that as humans we are all equal mortals.
4. Mind over matter - positivity
5. Simple rush of adreleine leading to temporary 'healing'
6. Scam - Method of conversion, money

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Belief about Deity

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	Created by Simon and Kadie over 11 years ago