In society today, how can the Creation and the Evolution theory coexist?
Manon Mollard MP5a 18.04.05 Biology: One World Assignment In society today, how can the Creation and the Evolution theory coexist? In the film 'Inherit the Wind', there was a clear distinction made between Creationism and Darwinism, even though Henry Drummond, the defending lawyer, tried to show one theory did not necessarily contradict the other one. What are these theories exactly about, and how can they coexist in today's society? According to www.thefreedictionary.com, Creationism can be defined as 'the belief that God created the Earth in exactly the way and timeframe described in the biblical book of Genesis'. According to www.thefreedictionary.com, the theory of Evolution can be defined as 'the belief that the current structure and diversity of life came into being purely through the naturalistic process of variation and natural selection, without the intervention of any deity'. These two theories do not seem compatible. On one hand, the creationist view affirms God created heaven and the Earth and human fully formed on it in 6 days, with no previous related species. On the other hand, scientific evidence shows that the Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago and the first humans date back only a hundred thousand years or so. Also, the father of Evolution, Charles Darwin,
Suffering in Religions of the World
Suffering in Religions of the World The question of suffering is one that all religions have for millennia mystified over. From scholars such as Leibniz and Augustine to the poverty stricken masses in 3rd world countries, the presence of evil and suffering in this world ultimately leads one to ask the question 'why does a loving God allow suffering?' This is a question that transcends time, place and culture and each religion has a different set of doctrines that set out to explain why suffering occurs. The two major religions that deal with suffering in their teachings are Christianity and Islam, and the list of authors who have studied the concept of theodicy in particularly in Christianity is long and distinguished. In the Christian faith the question of 'why does God allows suffering?' is one that was raised centuries ago by Paul and has been central to Christianity ever since. For Christians to comprehend suffering the understanding of the life and death of Jesus Christ is fundamental and to understand this, the concept of original sin that Christians believe is inherent in everyone must be explored. Early explanations of suffering in relation to original sin can be found in the New Testament. Genesis describes the fall of Adam and the need of a mediator to reconcile this separation with God. This need was fulfilled with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by seeing
A religious experience is a memorable event, where an impossible thing happens, which brings forward an argument whether or not God exists.
A religious experience is a memorable event, where an impossible thing happens, which brings forward an argument whether or not God exists. In this essay I will examine particular issues that give a balanced view for the existence of God. I will use evidence to support these issues and analyse them incorporating other viewpoints. If God is so good and powerful (omnipotent), why is there so much suffering in the world? This question, the so-called "problem of evil," is debated, partly because some philosophers believe that the available answers are inadequate and their inadequacy gives reason to deny the alleged existence of an eternally perfect, all-powerful, loving Creator. The following ideas, while they by no means end the discussion, do show a range of possible lines of response. Usually the discussion occurs as a debate, rather than as an inquiry toward greater understanding of the possibilities and limitations of religious thought. . Think of all the different reasons why things happen. Natural processes follow their course, and accidents happen in our world. A flood or a fire should not be thought of as an act of God. 2. Some suffering occurs as a normal consequence of our misuse of human freedom, violating--consciously or unconsciously--principles of health, sanity, morality, or happiness. 3. We must never imagine that this world is the best that God could
Give an Account of the Christian Doctrines of God.
Give an Account of the Christian Doctrines of God. There are many different Christian doctrines relating to God. The most famous attributes, also believed to be true by Judaism, are the following: Omnipotence, which is the attribute of God being all-powerful or almighty. This is quite a powerful proof in the existence of God, as it states that, should God be omnipotent, as it is believed by the Christian (and Jewish) faiths, then there cannot be any higher deity than Him. Another attribute is that of omniscience, which means all knowing. The reason God must be omniscient, believers feel, is that should He not be, then either he is a flawed God, or there is the possibility of one knowing more than Him. God is also believed to be eternal, or timeless. This may be used as a proof of God as the creator, as if He is eternal, then he would have existed before the Big Bang, which scientists believe, was the point of the creation of the universe. If He did exist before this, it allows the possibility He created the Big Bang, and therefore the universe. Another attribute some accredit to God is that He is transcendent, that is, beyond everything. However, this is quite a controversial idea, as, should God be transcendent, and therefore not reside in our concept of time and space, then it is impossible to act within it, which can conflict with ideas of miracles and other supernatural
Discuss the main arguments for the existence of god
Discuss the main arguments for the existence of god In today's society we are constantly searching for truths. This seems to have been the way for many years, but at the fast rate science and technology are advancing humans are demanding proof for the existence of God. It is a subject that that has been the center of debate for many years and will be for years to come. The simple reason that in this age now, it is difficult to find deductive proof for the existence of god. We can never be sure that there is no God but, at the same time we can never be sure that there is a God; it would seem that this is what keeps the very existence of God alive regardless of belief and faith. This leads me onto the ontological argument which favors the existence of God, concerned with being. It argues that the very concept of God implies his existence. St. Anslem an 11th Century Archbishop of Canterbury's view is that if an individual gives total devotion and faith to the object of god then its non-existence is unthinkable, God is a being of which nothing greater can be conceived . The ontological argument defines God as being the greatest possible being and, God exists at least in the mind or understanding. A being that exists only in the mind is not as great as a being that exists in the mind and the body and if God only existed in the in the mind he would not be the greatest possible
Augustine based his theory on his reading of key biblical passages
Augustine based his theory on his reading of key biblical passages. He believed Evil is not a substance- it is a deprivation, sin and death entered the world through Adam and Eve, and their disobedience. This brought about "disharmony" both in our human nature and creation. We all share in the evil nature brought about by Adam and Eve because we were seminally present in them. We therefore deserve to be punished. Natural evil is a consequence of the disharmony of nature brought about by the fall. Human action brought it about. God is justified in not intervening because the suffering is a consequence of human action and that God is perfect. The world he created reflected that perfection. Augustine believed that evil is not from God - God's creation was faultless and perfect, he came up with this conclusion because of the story of Adam and Eve and their "fall" in the garden of Eden. In it the "serpent convinces Eve to pick a fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil/ She picks the fruit and passes some to Adam. In punishment, God had them evicted from the garden. (found in Genisis3) He believed that evil came from within the world and not God because is Romans 5:12-20 St Paul describes the Christian belief that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross wipes out the sin committed by Adam and Eve, Jesus' self sacrifice has made available of boundless gift - the gift of
Examine the view that Religious Language Is cognitively meaningless and is therefore of no value
Examine the view that Religious Language Is cognitively meaningless and is therefore of no value Aniela Baseley 12RG Religious language is terms that we use today in our language, and refer to them when we speak about God, therefore speaking of him with meaning. In the past, traditional philosophers never doubted that it is possible to speak meaningfully of God, but more recently, the 'Logical Positivist' philosophers began to question the way one would speak of God. They linked the meaning of language to empirical observation. They created a statement to judge statements which where cognitively meaningful or not. AJ Ayer was one of these philosophers when the 'verifiability principle' came about. ' ... a statement is a genuine factual assertion if, and only if, there could be empirically observable states of affairs that would show it to be either true or false.' But this is epistemologically incoherent. This means that the definition itself is untrue to the rule it proposes. For example, the statement itself cannot be verified; it is not possible to verify the principle of verification. Flew continued the positivist view point and developed a 'falsifiability principle' saying that religious believers allow nothing to count against their claims, continually modifying and qualifying so that they are not falsified. If a believer states,'God loves us like a father loves
Discuss critically the advantages and disadvantages of accepting that New Testament texts are literal.
Discuss critically the advantages and disadvantages of accepting that New Testament texts are literal. There are many different views that can be taken in interpreting any religious text, with three main categories being the liberal approach, conservatism, and finally the literalist view. Each of which having their own proponents and advantages, but also their disadvantages. However, whether a text is literal or not does not just affect a persons understanding and interpretation of the text, but also, their own belief as to where a person might gain revelation of the nature of God. Books from the Old Testament were first written during the time of the Babylonian exile, when there was concern that the Jewish tradition may be weakened during the time away from the Temple, and the New Testament was finalised in around AD130. Some books were included because of claims of authority, and others because they made sense of the faith of the believers. The idea of a divinely inspired and therefore literal text stems from the idea that a person is consumed by the breath of God at birth, and that breath is surrendered at death, with some people (the prophets, for example) being consumed more than others in order to accomplish the mission which was given by God. Therefore, all the authors of the bible are considered to have been divinely inspired in order to complete their tasks. The
Asses Sartre's COntribution Toward the philosophy of freedom
Asses Jean-Paul Sartre's Contribution towards the Philosophy of Freedom Freedom as a concept is a large branch of philosophy which looks at issues such as restrictions from government in a political sense as well as a more metaphysical definition involving restrictions on our own actions due to the way in which we choose to act; it is the latter of these two issues which concerns existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre. In order to asses Jean-Paul Sartre's contribution toward the philosophy of freedom it is first necessary to look at other philosophers and their influence on this topic. One of the first to comment on the philosophy of freedom, in fact one of the first philosophers in the world, was Aristotle. Aristotle, the most successful product of Plato's academy, devised a four part argument of causality arguing why things come into existence; * Material Cause - The material out of which something is composed for example the material cause for a table is wood * Formal Cause - The idea existing in the first place before an object exists; the formal cause is similar to the idea of forms expressed by Plato. An example is that the formal cause of a table is the idea in the carpenters mind. * Efficient Cause - The agent who brings something into existence, in the case of a table the efficient cause would be the actions of the carpenter. * Final Cause, or 'telos' - The
The Teleological Argument - Examine the Design Argument for the existence of God.
The Teleological Argument A: Examine the Design Argument for the existence of God. (10) The teleological argument argues that the sense of purposeful design we see in nature suggests that the world has a designer (God). The world cannot be here by chance. Many philosophers have come to the conclusion that God exists by studying the natural world. The teleological argument is related to Aquinas's Fifth Way. He used the idea of purpose which links in with causation. Causation gives things their perfections. Aquinas stated 'Something therefore causes in all other things their being, their goodness, and whatever other perfections they have. And this is what we call God.' 'Goal-directed behaviour is observed in all bodies obeying natural laws, even when they lack awareness... But nothing lacking awareness and understanding, the arrow for example requires an archer. Everything in nature, therefore is directed to its goal by someone with understanding, and this we call God.' The world has a purpose therefore somebody has set the world its purpose. At the time of William Paley (1802) there were many scientific discoveries which point to a designer/God. William Paley used the example of the watch. He argued that if someone walking across a heath were to come across a watch and then examine it. You would come to the conclusion that the watch must have a watchmaker because the