A positive experince of religion (or a
higher, greater force or power) a feeling
of God, of something Spiritual
The brains creation of what it expects to feel,
emotions that are triggered by expectation
Miracles
A positive intervention form God, that goes
against normal expectations of life or physics
A simple coincidence, If a person is searching for
evidence of God so desperately - they will find it
Prayer
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
Someone who believes in God may view what ever happens in
their life as positive as they believe God is watching over them
Aposteriori - Knowledge from experience
Near Death Experences
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
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
10 quick reasons
Numinous (A feeling that there is
something more) A religious experience
that convinced an induvidual of a Deity
Primary Socialization (Religious
Upbringing) from early
development you are taught and
influenced about Religious Belief
Secondary Socialization, from
Soceity, the media and the
community you are around -
inlfuencing your belief about Religion
Miracles - A life changing experience may
convince an induvidual of a higher power
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
In searching for a beginning for
reasoning for the creation of
everything. If everything is
contingent, who created all?
Cosmological Argument
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
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
Trademark argument - Descartes trademark
argument was the theory that Religion is innate -
that we are all born with the innate idea of God
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
Ontonlogical
-God must be the greatest possible being
as He created all, so all is below him
-If God if the greatest possible being He
cannot be limited - so He must exist in relality
The argument requires no faith, only basic logic
It is Apriori, it is absolut truth by definition
Nota:
Apriori - All bachelor are single men
It cannot be disproved - only rejected
An Atheist cannot reject that by definition God is
the greatest conceivablebeing - God is nessary and
all else is contingent
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
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
It does not prove a Christian God, only a nessary creator
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
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
Cosmological
Argument from Causation
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
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
An Aposteriori observation
Science has prove that our Universe must
have a begining, and an origins of creation
must have required a cause of some kind
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.
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
The argument provides no evidence for a
Christiain God - only a necessary, infinite being.
This fits the characteristics of many Religions Gods.
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
Telelogical
Design Argument
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
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
Issac Newton believed that the
human thumb alone is too intricate
and unique to each person that it
must have been designed
The food chain on Earth is so interdependant
that it cannot have occured by chance
Just as all cogs on a watch must
work perfectly - if one thing falls form
the food chain it all callaposes
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
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
Possible theory of multi-universes
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)
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?
Moral Argument
People all over the world who have never come in contact with each other
often share the same morals
An objective morality would have to have been given to us by God
Therefore, as morals do exist, God must too.
From childhood we all have an innate
understanding of right and wrong
All societies have basic sets of values,
that are very simliar all across the world
The fact that we have a conscience shows that
we have an innate feeling of right and wrong
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
Not all societies do have the same morals - many
have differing views on what is right or wrong - for
example Capital punishment, absortion, adultery
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
Unanswered prayers - If God is Omnibenevolent and Omnipotent, all prayers would be answered
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?
Folk Psychology- God is simply used to blame when there are gaps in our knollege.
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
Presence of evil in a world created by an Omnibeveolent God
Inflicting Characterists of God - How could God be Omnibeveolent
and the Judge of all? How could God be transendent and immanent.
Marxist theory - God is a tool used by those in
power to control the masses of the working class
Could God create a rock so
heavy He could not lift it?
Miracles
A miracle is a positive even that goes against the
laws of science and was directly caused by God
Lourdes, France = 68 Proven Miracles
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
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',
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
Some miracles are phycological - therefore
though the mind they can be overcome
Shock can cause blindness
There may be a chemical in the water that our
science is not advanced enough to prove
Folk Psycology
Jesus's miracles
Moses parting the Red Sea
Jesus's Birth and Ressurection
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
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
Miracles often hold some form of religious signifigance
God does not directy interveen
with our world as he have free will
Faith Healing
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
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
Some view it as blasphemous, claiming that
they have the Lord within them. Many believe
that as humans we are all equal mortals.
Mind over matter - positivity
Simple rush of adreleine leading to temporary 'healing'