God is the knower of all things past and present and has the divine power to do anything. The problem of evil is that it calls into question these key features of the theistic God. If he possesses these qualities then how could he allow such a great degree of human suffering in the world? Present evil suggests that God either lacks
He basically degrades the entire Bible by saying that there is no fact in the world and everything is an interpretation. He claims the truth is unnecessary to be spoken because it is only necessary to speak the truth when the untruth is so false that it can be detected. Nietzsche shares his belief that a human’s life is 100% controlled by the individual and all success should be credited to that individual. Then he disrespects all Christians by claiming they are a species of weak failures looking for pity that shall parish to the strong-willed all-powerful being. I strongly disagree with almost everything Fredrick Nietzsche writes about in this section of the reading.
The Question of Identity – Is there any difference in me and an animal? Naturalists believe that man is just a more sophisticated animal while Pantheists believe all life is sacred. The real truth comes from Theism. Theists believe God is infinite and man is God’s special creation. Scripture confirms this truth in Psalm 8:5 and Genesis 2:15.
Atheist vs. Theists: McCloskey vs. Me McCloskey in his article "On Being an Atheist" has a strong opinion on not only God but on the beliefs of the theists. According to McCloskey he disagrees with the theists argument on the uncaused cause. The uncaused cause states that a something or someone that has to have been here first to cause the cause to happen. In our case of theology we are saying that God was the "someone" that is the necessary being that had to have always have been here in order for the caused event which in this case is the creating of the universe to happen. He also has some strong opinion on the solutions that the theists have on the resolution to the problem of evil.
This being would be omnipotent or all-powerful, he would be omniscient or all knowing, he would be omnibenevolent or all good, and finally he would be omnipresent or everywhere you could imagine. By definition then if all of these factors make up God then evil will not and cannot exist. Alas there is evil in this world we live in from minor evils like cheating on a test to major evils such as murder and terrorism. A God who is omnipotent has the power to stop all evil from even being conceived. A God who is omniscient would know everyway evil could come into existence and would know how to stop every form of these evils.
How can what is wrong with the world and what is wrong with my life, be fixed?” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 68). He claims that worldviews are “learned more than they are chosen, and our ability to reflect on them is limited” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 67). He endevors to convey the important fact that worldviews affect how we think about everything, therefore, it is important to understand the formation of psychology and theology in order to integrate them. Through brief retellings of the history of Christianity and Psychology by way of lessons in Epistomology, Metaphysics, and Philosophical Anthropology, Entwistle examines the worldviews each have helped to create. Entwistle moves from description of worldviews to the development of worldview through models.
There is evidence of this within the Bible when God causes miracles however there is also evidence of this in the natural world as when God causes natural disasters, he is interacting with his creation. The Prime Mover cannot interact with creation as he necessarily exists and is independent from everyone
As a western thinker Tao is similar to the omniscient God. The main difference between the monotheistic God and Tao is that God is acknowledged as a supreme being whereas Tao is more of holistic conception of the world. Tao by nature cannot be expressed, it is unnamed, unlimited, and indefinable but all physical things in the universe are manifestations of Tao. Tao is considered by most to not be a code of ethics nor a guideline to life but rather it is a functional reality that we as beings encounter at every moment. Throughout Lao-Tzu teachings, he develops a conception of evil that explains the coexistence of Tao and evil.
McCloskey is reminding atheists the ways theists argue for their belief in God. He is reminding atheists the reasons they believe that there is no God. He feels atheism is superior to theism; however; I find that his opinions only strengthen my belief that there is a God. Proof, as he states, carries no weight for a theist. He is half correct in his statement as a theist does not believe in the proofs individually, but finds enough evidence in them to form the belief that God does exist; He is the creator of the universe, and He is morally perfect.
Throughout human history, all humanity faces things in life like war, crime, and power which can cause hatred and problems for mankind to face. In the text, Mencius states that he believed that humans are inherently good. He believed that righteousness was determined by age; whereas, benevolence is internal because it’s a feeling determined by oneself. Hsun Tzu had a very different idea of the nature of humans. Unlike Mencius, Hsun Tzu believed that all humans were born evil.