Retake overview

Cosmological argument
1. St. Thomas Aquinas. Why is there something rather than nothing)
  1. A posteriori (based on evidence) and Inductive(most probable like Dad DIY eg)
    1. Reject infinite regression
      1. Cause and effect idea
  2. (Summa theological) 3 ways
    1. Motion
      1. All things must be moved by something else
        Unmoved mover
    2. Cause
      1. Cant be cause of self
        Uncaused cause
    3. Contingency
      1. Everything relies on something else
        God is necessary
        Universe is contingent so must have a cause
  3. Kalam extended Aquinas' ideas
    1. Craig
2. Support
  1. Liebnez
    1. Cant have infinite regression. Things must have sufficient for existing
      1. Principle of sufficient reason
  2. J.L. Mackie
    1. God is the engine that drives forward the train.
  3. Coplestone
    1. God can not, not exist, or we wouldn't.
      1. Russell is dogmatic
  4. Swinburne
    1. A explained by B, B by C, in the end there's one object upon which all depend.
  5. Science
    1. Big Bang explains the how, a start but not the why.
  6. A posteriori
    1. We all experience it, science etc.
3. Criticisms
  1. Hume
    1. Inductive leap. Premises don't lead to a good answer
    2. Why can't universe be necessary?
    3. Reinforce belief that's already there
  2. Russell
    1. Some things just there, brutal truth, can't reach adequate explanation.
  3. John Hick
  4. Ockham's Razor, simple most viable explanation
Psychology of religion
1. Freud
  1. Totem and taboo (discredited)
    1. Used to order a disorganised world, religion is illusion, we want childlike protection
      1. Kill leader then worship them as a totem, religion starts
        REPRESSED GUILT
  2. OEDIPUS COMPLEX
    1. Killed father and married his mother.
      1. We see father as a rival, repressed guilt at wanting to kill
        Religion a symptom, we're neurotic
        INFANTILE NEUROSIS
        Don't deal with issues we blame others. It explains death and suffering like a protective father figure. Gives purpose. Unhealthy to blame own failings on God.
        Libido is sexual repression of desire.
        Suckling from mother
  3. "Religious faith is an illusion based on wishful thinking rather than reality" "Religion makes hopelessness tolerable"
    1. Response to inner guilt/suffering. Benefits of removing religion greater than the pain of removal.
  4. Weakness?
    1. No truth in hordes culturally, doesn't apply to all
    2. Oedipus complex not proved
    3. You cant measure happiness. Longer marriages etc. within religion.
      1. Light comparison in many cultures
  5. COLLECTIVE NEUROSIS
2. Jung
  1. Rejected that religion was dangerous, it harmonises Psyche, removal of religion traumatic.
  2. Schizophrenics neurosis wasn't repession
  3. unconvinced
  4. We all have common dreams/images
    1. COLLECTIVE UNCONCIOUS
      1. Blueprint of images, tendency to see similar images
      2. Persona
        Our mask, public image, how we want to be seen.
      3. Shadow
        Badness within, Dorian Grey, Satan
      4. Animus/ anima
        Psyche's tendency to express it's opposite sex.
        Animus, masculine side of female. Anima, female side of male.
      5. God
        Religious images, angels etc.
        Doesn't matter if God exists, we need an idea of God, religion is good for us.
        INDIVIDUATION
        A balance of archetypes or become neurotic.
        Religious process, spiritual awareness to be explored, won't become whole as god is a part, so religion is valuable.
        Learn when face challenges eg. middle age worried etc. and come to terms with who you are.
    2. Personal unconcious
Atheism and postmodernism
1. Atheism
  1. Negative: Never considered possibility of God e.g. child. Conclude God can't be justified.
  2. Positive: Conscious denial, through thought.
    1. Some say cant establish, can't prove something to not exist. But burden of proof lies with those who seek it.
2. Agnosticism
  1. 'without knowledge' isn't sufficient proof to believe in god or positively believe he doesn't.
    1. Jung: Nothing can be seen outside of own psychological experiences.
  2. Closer to negative than positive atheism as don't believe in God but unlike them can't deny God.
3. Rise in Atheism
  1. Ray Billington
    1. Science is supreme catalyst, previous miracles of God have natural explanations.
      1. Galileo, Earth not centre of universe. Darwin's origin of the species. Freud psychoanalysts.
        Religion squeezed out with each new discovery. 'GOD OF THE GAPS' soon will be filled with scientific discovery.
  2. Empiricism
    1. Know reality through 5 senses, how things are proved right/wrong. Knowledge gained through experience.
    2. Basis of science- observation and experimentation.
    3. John Locke tried to prove God empirically but Hyman said God was purely non-empirical.
    4. Hume, conclusions from known phenomena, no knowledge but physical, can't justify metaphysical God.
    5. Ayer, verification principle, unless can verify statement it's meaningless, and illogical to make if can't prove it. Only way is empirical evidence.
  3. Problem of evil
    1. Aquinas aware of threat, ,God means infinite goodness... if God existed there would be no evil discoverable'.
    2. Omnipotent? Can't be or would be able to end all suffering.
    3. Omniscient? Should know how to stop suffering.
    4. Omnibenevolent? All loving God would stop suffering.
    5. Evil exists so must not be powerful/loving or not exist.
      1. Religious: evil for punishment, lead to greater good, not all loving?
        Phillips: Can never justify hurting that level of people to help.
    6. 21st century growing media, see world wars and famine.
      1. Karamazov in a novel: refuse belief, innocent children suffer outweigh promise of heaven.
  4. Rebellion against moral absolutes
    1. Now rebel against absolutes, 1960's new freedoms and acceptance influence atheism rise.
    2. H.P.Owen: 'It's impossible to think of a command without also thinking of a commander'
    3. Kant: God required for moral law to make sense, rejected rational proofs of God's existence.
    4. Cultural relativists: right/wrong determined by attitude of our culture only think something wrong when culture disapproves. Removes laws and objective reason.
    5. threatens belief
      1. Undermines moral absolutes without God
      2. Moral commands large part of religion, destroy trust in scripture e.g. 10 commandments removing reason for belief.
      3. Reject God's authority to set absolute laws, not omnipotent, omniscient or omnibenevolent.
  5. Awareness of other faiths
    1. Increased dialogue between faiths,
    2. John Hick: 'If what Buddhism says is true must not what Islam says be largely false'
      1. Truth les with atheism: 'More reason for believing it false than true'
        Hume
        Christian truth claims: Christianity miracles destroy validity of Islam.
      2. Contradict, can't be all true.
  6. 'God is dead'
    1. Nietzsche: god no longer relevant to society
      1. uttered by madman who sees what others don't realise. Science and philo. holds answers we looked to god for. Modern society makes God irrelevant, must find own ethics.
  7. Religious response
    1. Reject, God's word more reliable than human who discredit God for own purposes.
    2. Science: Compatible, shows physical reasons why, God could be behind them.
    3. Empiricism: Ayer's verification itself can't be verified. Cosmological and design argument are evidence. Religious experience (stigmata) metaphysical, Religion beyond senses, what about emotional and intuitive knowledge?
    4. Evil: Human free will. St Augustine, free will+ consequence of sin. Hick: God want genuine loving, a choice, without possible suffering no meaningful love.
    5. Rejecting moral absolutes: Not threat unless in extreme, Relativism compatible if rejects specific absolutes.Joseph fletcher: rejection caused by atheism, doesn't cause it. Only absolute 'love thy neighbour' (Situation ethics, most loving consequence not right/wrong)
    6. Religious pluralism: Hick: All major religions based on reality many call god, differ but collectively see truth is beyond humanity.
4. Postmodernist view of religion
  1. Era after modernism, rejecting their ideas (single truth reached through reason/experience) meta-narratives. Fundamentalist religion and atheism is meta-narrative.
    1. Postmodern: reject trust in religion,experience,absolute truth/knowledge.
      1. Andrew wright: meta-narratives+claiming to understand structure of reality invalid. Our words don't signify any reality beyond themselves.
  2. John Caputo: challenge Atheism as fixed decisive denial of God, leave possibility of belief open.
  3. Cultural constructs
    1. We create words so claims mean nothing beyond them, can't offer external knowledge.
      1. Lyotard: meta-narratives local interpretations of nature of reality by individual/culture. eg. Hebrew, God protects because were slaves. Relative/compatible not exclusive/absolute claims.
    2. Durkheim: religion product of society, what community wants, bring together social group.
  4. No right or wrong religions
    1. reject ultimate truth/absolutes rejects religions claims to be exclusive truth
      1. Guinness
        'there is no grand narrative on human progress only countless stories of where people and cultures are now'
  5. commitment to religious pluralism and tolerance. Accept diff. values, cultures, spiritual and religious idea, don't have to conform. Denial of right/wrong, genuine agnosticism if move closer to meta-narratives close self from other.
    1. Promotes 'religion without religion' 'we do not know what we believe in or to whom we're praying'
  6. Religion is personal spiritual search: with no right/wrong we select own mini meta-narratives. Use images from trad. religion ('modern supermarket of faith' James Beckford) eg. new age spirituality. religious/secular blurred.
  7. Cupitt: anti-realist, God idea within believers not external objective being.
  8. Living religion: way of life, faith isn't fact, can't base religion on it, 'god a deed not a thought'
  9. Affirmation of religion.
    1. isolated aspects fit with religion, living out one's faith practically.
    2. Quakers don't conceive god as personal being.
    3. Trad. God omnipotent and transcendent, god not contained in bounds of human knowledge, faith/belief goes along with postmodern embracing mystery.
    4. Atheism needs deconstructing, more accepting of religion.
    5. Christian mysticism fits. William James: ineffability key feature of religious experience, intuitive.
  10. Threat to religion
    1. can't access universal truth: contradict key trad. teachings. Even religious pluralism say there is ultimate truth.
    2. Cupitt: anti-realist idea closer to Atheism
    3. practical religion goes with intellectual.
    4. Reject ultimate truth claims hard to declare a faith/ethical codes. Threaten moral absolutes in religion
      1. Pick and mix: no courage/faith, religion not another commodity.
    5. postmodern methodology: saying there's no absolute truth claim is one itself, enforcing realist outlook.
  11. Religion threat to modern world: church attendance decline, monarchy symbolic, increased divorce, many govs separate to church.
Religious experience (may not do this section)

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