The article “Is there a God?” was written by Russell in 1952 at the request of a London magazine; however, it was not published (547-548). Russell, an advocate of science, was known for his unconventional views and social criticism (“Irvine”). This article came at a time when science was finally establishing significant ground. Discoveries in the 20th century such as the theory of relativity, evolution and quantum mechanics meant that people were finally looking towards scientists for answers (Polanyi). People in Western society deferred easily to the authority of science since empirical evidence, unlike religious claims, cannot be refuted (Polanyi). Russell was an analytic philosopher and hence, placed more emphasis on logic and empirical evidence (Irvine). Russell, being a mathematician as well, incorporates more logic than conventional philosophers (Irvine). This article is a profound example of how Russell deals with conventional subject matter. The apparent purpose of this article might be to debate the existence of God; however, Russell’s purpose is polemical. Russell analyses various perspectives on the existence of a deity in the context of 20th century.
In this article, the historical origins of monotheism are explored since it is the most prevalent of all forms of deity worship. Then the various arguments by theologians in favor of existence of a God are considered. Russell narrates the history of philosophy pertaining to the existence of a God. The question of existence and its various implications are tested against scientific claims and evidence. Finally, the moral arguments in favor of deistic worship are considered.
The analytical tone is evident from the start, particularly where the history of monotheism is discus...
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...am, Marcus. "Millennials Losing Faith In God: Survey." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 June 2012. .
Irvine, Andrew David. "Bertrand Russell." Stanford University. Stanford University, 07 Dec. 1995. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. .
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and R. J. Hollingdale. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and No One. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1969. Print.
Russell, Bertrand. “Is there a God? [1952]”. The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, Vol 11: Last Philosophical Testament, 1943—68. Routledge. pp. 547-548
Polanyi, Michael. "The Growth of Science in Society." Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. 28 Oct. 1965. Web. .
Historical theodicy has been approached to answer evil. Theodicies have traditionally been a theistic response to atheistic
...objects and gods differ only in degree and not in kind''. From a Logical Point of View (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1953), p. 44.
During the 1800th century, William Paley, an English philosopher of religion and ethics, wrote the essay The Argument from Design. In The Argument from Design, Paley tries to prove the existence of a supreme being through the development of a special kind of argument known as the teleological argument. The teleological argument is argument by analogy, an argument based on the similarities between two different subjects. This essay purposefully attempts to break down Paley’s argument and does so in the following manner: firstly, Paley’s basis for the teleological argument is introduced; secondly, Paley’s argument is derived and analyzed; thirdly, the connection between Paley’s argument and the existence of a supreme being is made; and lastly, the supreme being is compared to the supreme being in Western Philosophy, God.
In this paper I will be exploring two arguments on the topic of the existence of God. In particular, I will focus on Saint Thomas Aquinas’s efficient causation argument for God’s existence and an objection to it from Bertrand Russell. After an analysis of Aquinas’s argument and a presentation of Russell’s objection, I will show how Russell’s objection fails.
Evans, C. Stephen and Manis R. Zachary. Philosophy of Religion, 2nd Ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009. Print.
Under all religions there are common attributes associated with god. God is known to be all good (omnibenevolent), all powerful (omnipotent) and all knowing (omniscient), which together form t...
The controversial topic involving the existence of God has been the pinnacle of endless discourse surrounding the concept of religion in the field of philosophy. However, two arguments proclaim themselves to be the “better” way of justifying the existence of God: The Cosmological Argument and the Mystical Argument. While both arguments attempt to enforce strict modus operandi of solidified reasoning, neither prove to be a better way of explaining the existence of God. The downfall of both these arguments rests on commitment of fallacies and lack of sufficient evidence, as a result sabotaging their validity in the field of philosophy and faith.
The stories which humans tell about their origins are always cherished and held in high regard. In fact, no culture has existed which has not created or attempted to create some story of origins. Every culture has had some means in which to say this is where we came from. Especially in cultures where religion found itself prevalent, the mythology of origins became not only a status or anthropology but also a theology. In which case, we find that Christianity is not alone in this struggle, though our struggle may be unique in kind. For our case, we find that the foundation of theology, specifically practical theology, finds its basis in our story of creation and origination. “One of the central affirmations of the Christian faith is the claim that human beings are created in the image of God.” Because the creation story, as cited above, claims that humanity was made in the image or likeness of God, and we affirm that the Bible is the witness to Christ, who being in human form was also made in the image of God, then it is logical to conclude that the theology of human nature rests on this imago dei and therefore the discussion of Karl Barth’s relational view of imago is critical to dissect in order for a reasonable theology to be constructed.
Theology is an intentionally reflective endeavor. Every day we reflect upon the real, vital, and true experience of the benevolent God that exists. We as humans tend to be social beings, and being so we communicate our beliefs with one another in order to validate ourselves. Furthermore atheism has many forms, three of the most popular atheistic beliefs include: scientific atheism, humanistic atheism and the most popular one being protest atheism. Scientific atheism is the idea that science is the answer for everything and god is not existent. The humanistic approach states that society is self-sufficient; therefore God is not needed for survival. Therefore how could he exist? The position that I will argue in this paper is the pessimistic idea of protest atheism.
Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991.
The existence of God is quite controversial issue. God has different names in the world, and a lot of people, strongly believe in his existence. While, on the other hand, there are also people who don’t believe in his existence. In their discussion entitled “Does God Exist?” William Lane Craig, who is the supporter of the idea of existence of God, debates with Austin Dacey, who is an atheist, on the idea of existence of God. They provide the strong arguments and their debates are quite interesting, and innovative (not similar to those arguments, we usually read about in book). These are the fresh views on the question of existence and non-existence of God.
Although explicated on many occasions and by many different authors, the teleological argument for the existence of God provides the best springboard from which to launch contemporary convictions of faith. In the revised edition of his earlier The Existence of God, Richard Swinburne constructs a solid outline that reveals the exact structure of the teleological argument. He presents both forms of the teleological argument , holds each under the light of skeptical review and then provides insight and defense that allows for careful philosophical review.
This paper will try to discuss the three Philosophical Positions on the Existence of God namely, the Theism, Agnosticism, and Atheism. Why do they believe? Why don’t they believe? How do they believe? What made them believe? Who helped them believe? These are just some of the questions that this paper will try to give answers and supply both believers and non-believers the enough indication that whatever their position may be, the responsibility in their hands of whatever reason they have must be valid and intellectual.
This paper's purpose is to prove the existence of God. There are ten main reasons that are presented in this paper that show the actuality of God. It also shows counter-arguments to the competing positions (the presence of evil). It also gives anticipatory responses to possible objections to the thesis.
The author argumentatively explains his opinion as to why the concept of god and religion is erroneous, why religion contradicts every fundamental aspect of...