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Thomas Aquinas proofs the existence of God
Thomas Aquinas proofs the existence of God
Thomas Aquinas proofs the existence of God
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In the article, This is why we are here” the author, John Piper, states, “ …whats true for you is your God, and whats true for me is my God –whatever works is fine”. Basically what Piper is saying, whatever religion you are it does not matter as longest you believe there is a God. According to this statement, I can truly agree there is a God, and regardless of my own opinion, others in society today can also agree it does not matter how you chose to see God, as longest you know God Does Exist. With this being said in the article, “Does God Exist” the author Aquinas begins with two people explaining why they believe God Does not exist. In response to the question Aquinas begins to prove them wrong by giving us five ways in which God Does Exist Such as: God is the cause of change, God is the cause and effect in change, exist to nonexistence, ultimate good, and finally intelligence designs. However the main ones that stands out is the third reason the existence to the nonexistence, and fourth the ultimate good, without these two main points no one would believe God did not exist today...
In his book, An Imperfect God, Henry Wiencek argues in favor of Washington being the first true president to set the precedent for the emancipation of African-American slaves. Wiencek delves into the evil paradox of how a nation conceived on the principles of liberty and dedicated to the statement that all men are created equal was in a state that still preserved slavery for over seven decades following the construction of the nation. Washington’s grandeur estate at Mount Vernon at its peak had the upkeep of over 300 slaves 126 of which were owned by Washington. First, it must be understood that Washington was raised on slavery receiving ownership of 10 slaves at the age of 11 years old and that Washington was a man of his time. However, it must also be understood that Washington’s business with slavery was in the context of a constrained social and political environment. Weincek maintains that this does not exonerate the fact that Washington maintained slavery however; it does help to quantify the moral shortcoming by which Washington carried until his last year of life.
Saint Thomas of Aquainas may have been one of the greatest thinkers who attempted to bridge the proverbial gap between faith and reason. His Sacred Doctrine which was the initial part of his Summa Theologica was the basis for his conclusion about the existence of God. Aquinas tended to align his beliefs close with Aristotle's supposition that there must be an eternal and imputrescible creator. In comparison, Anselm's impressions were influenced largely by Plato. In his text Proslogion he outlined his Ontological argument that regarding the existence of God. It was simply that God was the ultimate and most perfect being conceivable, and that his state of existing is greater than not existing therefore god, being perfect in every way, must exist. This is where their paths divide, and although they essentially reach the same determination they paint the picture quite differently.
“For The Bible Tells Me So” by Daniel Karslake is a documentary style film that focuses on issues about sexuality. The film focuses on the conflict between homosexuality and Christianity and the analysing of several Bible verses about homosexuality. The film attempts to alter the minds of homophobes by using facts, science and several interviews with Christians who also have gay children. The interviews are done with five American, very Christian families and “how they handle the realization of having a gay child” (Karslake, 2007.)
In the first part, Aquinas states that the existence of god is not self-evident, meaning that reason alone without appealing to faith can give a good set of reasons to believe. To support this claim, Aquinas refers to “The Argument of Motion”, proposing that:
The question of God’s existence has been debated through the history of man, with every philosopher from Socrates to Immanuel Kant weighing in on the debate. So great has this topic become that numerous proofs have been invented and utilized to prove or disprove God’s existence. Yet no answer still has been reached, leaving me to wonder if any answer at all is possible. So I will try in this paper to see if it is possible to philosophically prove God’s existence.
Aquinas’ third way argument states that there has to be something that must exist, which is most likely God. He starts his argument by saying not everything must exist, because things are born and die every single day. By stating this we can jump to the conclusion that if everything need not exist then there would have been a time where there was nothing. But, he goes on, if there was a time when there was nothing, then nothing would exist even today, because something cannot come from nothing. However, our observations tell us that something does exist, therefore there is something that must exist, and Aquinas says that something is God.
If God did not exist, he would not be the greatest being imaginable. He is the greatest thing imaginable. Therefore, he does exist. From this argument, God’s existence is viewed. as necessary (Ayer. A. J. 1973).
There are often many mixed views when discussing God’s existence. In Anselm’s works “The Proslogion” and “Anselm’s Reply to Gaunilo” and Gaunilo’s work the “Reply on Behalf of the Fool”, both of their philosophies on the matter are imparted. Anselm’s logic regarding God is correct as he sustains his argument even when it confronted with criticisms and it is comprehensible.
Bertrand Arthur William Russell was a British Philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian and social critic. Russell was a prominent anti-war activist, he championed anti-imperialism and went to prison for his pacifism during World War I. Later, he campaigned against Adolf Hitler, then criticized Stalinist totalitarianism, and he also attacked the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. Bertrand Russell was the recipient of countless awards for excellence during his long lifetime (1872-1970), including the Nobel Prize for literature, which he won in 1950. The range of his critical inquiry is without parallel in contemporary Western culture. Russell described himself as an agnostic, "speaking to a purely philosophical audience", but as an atheist "speaking popularly", on the basis that he could not disprove the Christian God similar to the way that he could not disprove the Olympic Gods either. For most of his adult life Russell maintained that religion is little more than superstition and, despite any positive effects that religion might have, it is largely harmful to people. . In the article the author explains to the reader and stresses upon the opinion as to why the existence of god is a false concept and thus concludes that there is no point in believing in a supreme ruler. The author expressively portrays his argument to the reader through the usage of strong progression of ideas supported with examples, a criticizing yet neutral tone with emotional appeal and rhetorical questions posed at the author with good development of language.
He concludes he did not create the idea of God. A finite being is incapable of creating an idea of an infinite possibility. Therefore, God must have created the idea already in him when he was created. Concluding that God exists. He also touches upon the idea in which he resolves that it cannot be a deceiver.
Plantinga’s (2002) book Engaging God’s World consists of five parts: “Longing and Hope,” “Creation,” “The Fall,” “Redemption,” and “Vocation in the Kingdom of God.” Throughout the work, Plantinga references public speakers and activists, lyricists, philosophers, saints, and authors to help his audience connect to his perspective.
...nough to support the idea of God’s existence, I consider the debate to have no winner, because, the arguments of Dr. Dacey are also strong enough to prove his position. However, in these debates the double answer is not possible, because in reality the existence of God can be true of untrue, without anything in between. In my opinion, God exists, and I strongly believe in His existence. I consider the question “Does God Exist?” to be the issue of faith, and there cannot be true or false arguments, because all the people are willing to decide, whether they believe in existence of God, or not. It is the inner choice of everybody, and sooner or later we will all find out the truth.
It is my view that God exists, and I think that Aquinas’ first two ways presents a
On the other hand, Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church, Italian Dominican friar, Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, and theologian believed opposite of Karl Marx. To begin, Aquinas claimed that the reason why God is considered nonexistent is because people believe that if there is a God, there should be no evil on earth. Since there is evil, people believe that God does not exist, which is contradictory since all evil on earth is created by humans. Also, people assume that all things that appear on earth can be formed through other principles such as nature and other natural ways of production including science. People now produce more for the future and for society; therefore, God does not exist since there are other ways of production.
Life is an interesting journey that every living creature is a part of. Human beings are born into a family they do not pick and society that they do not choose. Within this unit they are taught values and morals, which are ingrained into their daily lives. Ever since I was a child I have been exposed to many different influences, religion being one of them. To this day I can still remember my grandmother saying “God has a purpose for your life, follow Him.” In Introducing Philosophy of Religion, Chad Meister asserts “there are several components (that) seem to be central to the world religion: a system of beliefs, the breaking in of a transcendent reality, and human attitudes of ultimate concern, meaning and purpose” (Meister 6). Throughout my life I feel that religion is one of the core social belief systems that people use to maintain what they feel is a good way to live. Giving them a sense of purpose or fulfillment during their earthly life, most hoping whatever beliefs that have will help them after death. Even though there are many different religions or religious value systems every one has most likely been exposed to one or more. There is only 15% of the world’s population that do not believe in one type of religion or another (Meister, 7). So I assume that humans desire to understand and most of the time follow a religion either because of the culture they grew up in or by searching for somewhere to belong. Do the people who decide to follow a religious belief system need scientific evidence to really belief? I believe that some people need to relate science to religion and some people do not. Three ways Meister argues methods to evaluate the two are: understand the conflict between each one, look at them independently...