As the great scientist pursued their work exalting God, more were questioning the religious truths and values? Who had rules of reasoning to discover nature’s law? Who said every person was born with a blank mind or “tabula Rasa,” and believed we gain knowledge from reason, not faith? Who recognized the center of leaders of the enlightenment,
In her book “The Case for God” she writes that religion requires leaps of faith and should accept that there is no scientific proof for the existence of God. For this reason, Karen Armstrong agrees with this claim. Some philosophers, such as Keith Ward, say that religion is non-cognitive and that religion focuses on the way the believer lives their life rather than what you believe. This view on religion does not seem compatible with Aquinas’ Cosmological Argument because Aquinas is trying to find reason behind believing in God whereas Ward would say it doesn’t matter why or how there is a God. Ward believes religion to be existential.
The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was one of the early founders of existentialism. Although Kierkegaard was a devout Christian, he rejected the Christian Church due to its legalistic nature and the false relationship that people were receiving with God as a result. Kierkegaard believed that the key relationship of an individual was with God. He argued that God has given people freedom to make their own decisions and therefore our decisions are not determined. He thought that our existence is not something determined rationally or part of an on-going process but that it is something specific which is created through the choices we make.
P3: It is possible to have an experience of God. C: Therefore God must exist. This shows the inductive nature of the argument as well as the synthetic experiences it is based on. As Swinburne's proof of god through religious experience shows, there is a logical thought process that can systematically prove the existence of god if these premises are agreed upon. Some philosophers such as Ayer argue that experience cannot provide a stable base for the indication of reality because it is the interpretation of the experience that we are hearing for the experiencer, therefore we can never have concrete evidence that that is how the experience occurred.
He would expand on this and argue that all he has proven is that the temporal lobes play a part in religious experience however he is prepared to acknowledge that God may of place them there for means of communication. In stark contrast Persinger would argue that he has dismissed the possibility of God placing them by creating the God Helmet. He is likely to argue that he has done this by re-creating the numinosity of a religious experience; he would present his case studies as evidence and state that over 900 believed that it felt like a genuine religious experience. A theist would counter argument this and argue not everyone felt a change, such as Richard Dawkins. Persinger would argue that his temporal lobes are heightened therefore it cannot be artificially stimulated.
On one hand, the Enlightenment views saw God as a far away figure that did not interfere with the lives of humans. The Enlightenment was a period of intellectual growth that tried to explain the true nature of mankind and how it progresses. One of the most important theorists for The Enlightenment was John Locke. John Locke created a theory called tabula theory, which had important assumptions about human nature and undermined Christian assertion that humankind was inherently sinful. Another person who also criticized some of the religious views was Pierre Bayle.
What did you learn about Augustine's conversion? In the Everett Ferguson’s book, Church History, he says, “ Augustine is a towering figure in church history…. And… Augustine has continued to be a major influence in theology for both Catholics especially in his views on the church and the sacraments and Protestants especially in regard to grace and salvation.” [1] How did Augustine influence in theology especially in regard to grace and salvation? I think the reason is that Augustine’s conversion came from absolute the grace of God not by his deed or endeavors as we know he was far from God. So, Augustine emphasized the grace of God in his theological writings.
“Expressions of secular humanism reject both the minimal Christian elements of its precursors and essential biblical truths, such as the fact that human beings bear the image of their Creator.” (Text Book The popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics) Meaning/ Purpose: Secular humanists never think about God don’t pray, never worry about what God thinks. So they may devote much more time and attention, and their energy to improving themselves, their relationships, and their environment. Morality: “Secular humanists base their morality and ideas about justice on critical intellect unassisted by Scripture, which Christians rely on for knowledge concerning right and wrong, good and evil.” (secularhumanism.org) Destiny: Secular humanists know that the truth of human experience is that certain virtues, practices, and habits of mind and character make for a better life. “It aims to heal this world and glorify man as the author of his own, progressive salvation.”(secularhumanism.org) Contrast: I was not sure if I would like to do this paper since I do not agree with the beliefs of secular humanism. Before I could consider my Christian response to secular humanism, I had to do my research.
Introduction Freud’s explains the meaning about one’s religious practices as serving as a person’s neurotic routine. “However, his speculation of neurosis producing religion is his opinion and does not provide any scientific proof. For example, Entwistle (2004) explained Freud sensed any devoutly religious person was an enemy of his “scientific” advances (p.188). One can begin to understand the history and evolving nature of clinical counseling psychology through Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical personality theory. “This theory is the most influential theory and this theory influences almost all psychological theories today.
Naturalist do not believe in more than just matter, they look at things as if I cannot see it then it is not there. However, as a Christians, I believe in more and I know our God is out there helping us through our lives. Naturalist look at us as machines that all of our emotions and such are just reactions in our brains, but Christians believe that everything we do is the creation of God. Secular humanist and Christians are so different I use my religion to help stay in line. Secular humanist feel that religion is really a negative thing because it gives you rules to follow therefore you never really follow your deepest desires.