A belief in God is an important part of many people’s lives. How does God, as an important human construct make a difference when determining the meaning of life? The western religions believe their scriptures are the direct word of God. Hence they use them as the authoritative source for many facets of life. Eastern religions tend to treat their scriptures as interpretations by humans, yet still many of life’s mysteries are accepted at truth in their scriptures. So should these scriptures be a foundation for the meaning of life? Also, what if we assume there is some sort of God but there is no answer to which one is the right one. Does it matter to our purpose in life if there is a God which we cannot identify? These are important questions that this essay will postulate on. As God and religious scriptures are important to many people, they cannot be discounted but should be looked at with a objective eye. Scriptures make up the recorded history and precepts of all the world’s religions. There are literally thousands of written scriptures. Many practitioners of religion when asked...
The Question of God is divided into two parts. The first part, titled: “What Should We Believe” seeks to answer the first half of the questio...
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
He further elaborates the topic by speaking on the idea that God is a Necessary being who has no cause but He is the cause of everything and He is the one who sustained this universe. In conclusion of the chapter, Rachels stated that idea of the existence of God will always remain in the contemplations of religious people and arguments used in this chapter needs more convincing evidence to prove the existence of God in this Universe. The chapter commenced by the most thought-provoking argument that “Is it Reasonable to Believe in God?”. The author to explicit this argument gives the result of Gallop polls and the polls conducted by Pew research center, which indicates that the underdeveloped countries are more religious than the developed countries and specifically in United states only 56% of the people consider religion as the most important part of their lives. Furthermore, the author discussed that no one detects the God existence by ordinary means, however, some people can have the sensation that God is somewhere around them no matter if they cannot see, heard or touch Him.
Sacred texts and writings are integral to a living and dynamic religious tradition. Such texts are materials that can range from verbally spoken stories to writings. Sacred texts and writings provide followers with information on core ethical behaviour, rituals and ceremonies, as well as beliefs. The idea of the texts and writings being sacred refers to the texts encompassing divine inspiration. Christianity’s sacred texts and writings, such as the bible (conveyed as the word of God), are continually studied/interpreted throughout generations. The teachings of the bible and the ‘Ten Commandments’ provide Christians with morally accepted standards of behaviour to live their lives by and thus directly influence the day-today actions of its adherents. Furthermore, sacred texts and writings provide information on beliefs, which assist adherents in understanding and even answering significant enduring questions of life. For instance, the creation story ...
Writings of historical scholars, Josephus, Aristotle, and Plato, to name a few, are taken as truth and fact, yet the writings of the Scripture are constantly disputed. Why? Perhaps because of the ethical imperatives imposed to which people do not want to adhere. Perhaps because of man’s ego and pride that disallows them to submit to a Higher Authority. Nonetheless, The Bible has been, and still remains, the most widely read and revered book of all
Through out history there have been questions of where we come from and how we got here. It all comes down to the question of God’s existence. God’s existence has never been questioned during the times of when Christianity, Judaism and Islam were born. The question of God’s existence comes from our new way of thinking after these religions. Science has made us think of how things work in our world and brings Gods existence into question. There were no scientific studies done during the days of Jesus to prove that God exists, so where did the people in history get this idea of God from? Many philosophers have been questioning and giving their ideas of God and his existence. The ideas that we may have of God is usually connected with religion and our beliefs. One philosopher that touches on this topic is Descartes. Descartes gives his ideas on God’s existence and his out look on our selves compared to God. Most religions believe that there is a God and that he has created everything around us. Everyone has a different answer to this question that they think is the right one. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing God’s existence, while looking at Descartes ideas and through different perspectives of whether or not God exist as well.
23. Why is it important to make a decision about whether to believe or not believe in God? Why is a belief in a merely good life not sufficient to give us real meaning?
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
This essay is a conclusive look at the problems and contradictions underlying a belief in God and the observable traits of the world. This problem is traditionally labelled The Problem of Evil. This essay will be an analysis into the Problem of Evil and a counter rebuttal to objections levied against the Problem of Evil. This analysis will be on the nature of god and the world of evil, the world as a mixed creation, ‘sorting’ into heaven and hell objection, God’s ‘mysterious ways’ objection, the inscrutability of god objection, values presupposing pain objection, inherent contradictions in ‘God’s freewill’ and finally non-human
Religion plays an enormous role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been surrounded by it, and it has directly or indirectly shaped the lives of many individuals. Culture and religion play a large role in developing each other. People’s religion is decided by their culture. The prominence or the lack of religion will develop someone’s religious identity have play a core role in determining what that person believes.
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.
The abstract idea of life cannot be explained by such simple ideas as being animated, breathing, or speaking. Ordinary machines in this century can perform all of these basic functions. The quandary with defining death is not as abstract and elusive as that of life. The problem of defining life and death has plagued philosophers and the religious bodies for thousands of years for one reason; each philosophy or religion has tried to define the meaning of life and death from only their certain perspective. The seemingly appropriate approach to this problem would be to understand the ideas presented in various philosophies and religions and through this knowledge create a new definition for each idea of life and death. The movie Blade Runner has taken this exact approach in its attempt to finally define life and death in a logical and un-spiritual manner. By taking the position that death is a concrete idea that can be explained, Blade Runner accomplishes the task of interpreting the idea of life in terms death. Through this approach, the meaning of life is redefined to accommodate for the existence of the replicants. Also, as a result of this novel notion of life, it is apparent that humans and replicants never actually live, even though they are alive.
Since the beginning of human civilization, Homo sapiens have strived to address the existence of God. In every era, humans have tried to explore the existence of God and presented their own elaborations to the concept of God. Some found Sun to be God, while others try to find “godly” part in other elements of nature like tress, animals, or stars. It can be noted that the existence of God is a concept, which is found in the very nature of human beings. The question of the “seen” or “unseen” is yet another argument, which populates the debate of philosophers. There is no doubt that religions have played a critical role in establishing the existence of God. At the same time, different religions interpret the presence of God in a distinct manner.
The term 'Scripture' refers to the sacred writing of the Old and New Testament. Sacred Scripture are the books which 'contain the truth of God?s revelation and were composed by human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit' (CCC 105). Sacred Scripture is one of the several names denoting the inspired writings which make up the Old and New Testament. The words of the Sacred Scriptures, 'for their part proclaim the works and bring light to the mystery they contain'.
Many people have a stage in their life when they stop for a moment and think “what am I here to do?”. For me that stage in life had arrived a long time ago. I was about fourteen years old, I felt alone, I felt scared, but most of all I felt useless I didn't know in what direction my life was going. I kept asking the Lord to show me, to lead me to what he wants me do to and to shape me into who he wants me to be. When I say purpose most people think about the career I want to have, while having a career is important to me. I feel like that still doesn't complete my purpose. I want to do more for us, for humanity, for our future. I believe my ultimate purpose in life is to help people in need of attention and affection. I think that the Lord has put me through difficult obstacles in life so that I could help the people that went through or are going through the same things that I have left in my past. My motivation for doing this is first of all is knowing that this is what God wants me to do, and knowing that he is blessing me. And then of course is helping the people, seeing their smiles and telling them that they are not alone and that I understand them. And will help them with whatever I can. What I do to achieve my purpose is that I go to many centers, and meet people, mostly children that have been through any kind of abuse.