The Existence of God - Nature of Reality

Question 1

What are the 4 main arguments for the existence of God?

Answer 1

• Anthropic Principle
• Design Argument
• First cause/ cosmological argument
• Moral Argument

Question 2

What is the design argument?

Answer 2

• The world is too complex and intelligently designed for human life that it cannot have happened by coincidence and a chain of random events
• An intelligent being: God, must have designed it
• William Paley (1743-1805) - used the example of the complexity of a watch.

Question 3

What did John Stuart Mill say?

Answer 3

• Disagreed with Paley
• Cruelty is part of natural order, e.g. predator-prey, natural disasters
• This is seen as a bad design
• Therefore if God existed, he would be a cruel God
• He argued that people can’t or won’t want to worship an evil God.

Question 4

What is the anthropic principle?

Answer 4

• F.R Tennant
• Argued that the universe is so perfectly structured it ensured life would be present.
• Argued that evolution was because of God - evolution has a purpose, to develop complex life forms, they become more intelligent and morally aware, showed evolution was guided by God.

Question 5

What is the first cause argument?

Answer 5

• Thomas Aquinas
• Every event has a cause
• Cosmological argument suggests the universe must have a cause
• God is the first cause, who has no cause, but causes all things including time and space. Because he is the first cause, he is eternal and unchanging.

Question 6

What is the moral argument (John Newman)?

Answer 6

• When humans do sin, they feel guilt which is God speaking through their conscience teaching them good from bad. God helps people see right from wrong
• Some ignore their conscience due to free will
• God’s voice within us reminded us that we are responsible to him.
• Humans would not know right from wrong without God.

Question 7

What was Immanuel Kant’s argument?

Answer 7

• Humans know what to do in any situation with a moral dilemma
• Even if they try to do a good thing, they may not get rewarded in life.
• Therefore, a fair God must exist to reward humans in an afterlife when they haven’t been rewarded in this world.
• Believing in God and justice after death is why humans live a good life.

Question 8

What was John Hick’s argument?

Answer 8

• Life behaviour was linked to death, suffering and evil is a lesson and an opportunity for learning,
• He said that people would become more like God through learning, perfect.
• After death this process would continue.
• Some Christians reject this argument as it doesn’t fit with God judging them.