If the gods can have their disputes about piety and impiety, then how would we ever know what exactly is the right course of action? Despite the fact that Socrates did believe in some kind of religion, he was still seen as impious or
Joseph Smith: A Lasting Effect on America Joseph Smith is a very important man in American history. He was a controversial religious leader who inspired many, and had a lot of followers. The religion he created now has just fewer than 6 million American followers. Overall, Joseph Smith was a man who alienated many, but has influenced many people not only during his time, but now. He published the book of Mormon, the essential piece of writing in his religion.
Outline two key objections to the Ontological Argument and explain the responses made to them. The ontological argument was first introduced by Anselm in the ‘Prosologian’. It is an a priori argument as it is not based on empirical evidence but id deductive and analytic in that it allows one to use logical reasoning to reach a logically necessary conclusion which, in theory, cannot be disputed. Anselm defines God as ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’ (TTWNGCBC) and states that everyone, theist or not, can accept this definition. He argues that ‘the fool’ in Psalm 53 can conceive of God but fails to believe he exists.
Hume was an empiricist, and therefore believes that for something to exist, there must be evidence that can be accessed by the senses. As Descartes' argument is an a priori argument, there is no empirical evidence to support his definition. Davies agreed that existence can be derived from a definition. Davies claimed that both arguments misuse the language of the argument. For example, Descartes' argument states that 'God IS a being with all perfections' and
Religion is designed to establish an understanding of the world by combining aspects of ritual, morality and creation. This too can be said of Myth. It is when Mythology disconnects itself from these traditional religious story telling aspects that it may become simply a fable or a legend. The fact that the most common type of stories in Mythology are of creation tells that myth must hold significance across that world. These stories of creation are not necessarily historically accurate or literal, but they are believed by many to convey profound truths from the beginning of oral story telling to when variations of the tales were recorded such as with Greek mythology by Hesiod and Homer.
These questions were asked by a man called Epuicurus, who lived between 341BC and 270BC, yet they still have not been answered. I feel this is the perfect example that God does not exist because if God truly existed he would make it possible, especially for those who are skeptical, either by demonstration or by sound logical argument. He would know exactly what it would take to “open the heart” of every non-believer. Yet for more than two millennia the greatest philosophical and scientific minds of humanity - presumably inspired by God - have offered nothing more than circular and illogical arguments. Furthermore he is completely illogical.
In William L. Rowe’s essay The Ontological Argument Rowe carefully details an argument that, upon first read, appears to convincingly prove that God does not exist. His argument has, however, been even more carefully torn apart and examined by some of the worlds greatest philosophers and is often criticized. In my essay I will prove that Rowe’s argument although seemingly perfect comes nowhere near disproving the existence of a God. Quote #1 “…Anselm insists that anyone who hears of God, thinks about God, or even denies the existence of God is, nevertheless, committed to the view that God exists in the understanding.” I will use this quote to support the idea of God. This quote does not prove his existence but it does prove that
A myth at its root level is a legend or story without any determinable basis in fact (Random House Dictionary). This is why a number of religions are quite muffled when we refer to the basis of their ideology as myth. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. To me a myth is a story or tale believed to be true it is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it, without any physical evidence that it might be true.
He is almost certainly sure that no God exists, but says that he would change this view if he were confronted with empirical evidence that suggested otherwise. However, Dawkins’s declaration that he is not a fundamentalist could be questioned by examining other parts of his book. Dawkins seems to focus more on the evidence that religion lacks opposed to the evidence that his evidence-based worldview contains. He also holds Darwinism in a very high esteem. One might say that Dawkins’s view of Darwinism is a strict set of basic ideas and principles, embodying the definition of fundamentalism.
In J.P. Moreland’s, Christianity and the Nature of Science, he discusses some of the basic presuppositions of science and points out how science alone is unable to explain the universe. 3 Therefor, nonbelievers contradict themselves by believing the universe has a natural cause despite the lack of observational evidence to support their theory. Moreland seems to wish for a world in which religion and science can completely understand each other, however it might be a detriment to Christian faith if such were true. The majority of the Bible depicts natural occurring events, however the Christian God is capable of miracles and phenomena that should not be understood further than His all-knowing wisdom and power. Therefor, the Christian response to scientific investigation should be to examine and understand to the extent of