To understand how process theologians come to this conclusion I need to establish what process theology is. Process philosophy opposes the timeless reality that was established by most western metaphysical philosophers. For Plato it was form, for Aristotle essence, for Descartes the mind. Any change of a substance was merely aesthetic or temporary. Process philosophy’s centerpiece is change; entities are constantly becoming rather than situated in being. Every instance contains an actual entity, which is “each unit of process; it is a drop of experience which comes into existence through the creative process of concrescence. Actual entities are the ‘final real things of which the world is made up.’ They are the building blocks which, through an essential interconnectedness, make up the composite world of rocks, tress, and people” (Suchocki). These entities merge together and give us the present. God comes in as an arbiter and knower of all the actual entities. God consists of all potentialities of existence for actual occasions and offers possibilities by ordering the relevance of eternal objects. The consequent nature of God (God’s feelings in the world) prehends everything that happens in reality. Prehension “involves emotion, purpose, and valuation. Because of prehension, there is connectedness in the universe.”(Suchocki) This prehension and connectedness to the world is what makes God experience all of reality consciously. The last nature is the superjective or how the occasion has an effect beyond itself, which make God’s synthesis sensible for other actual entities. This connectedness causes God to lose his all-powerful status. Though he has persuasive power and basic non-human properties that would be considered power, Go...
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...f the traditional view. Process theologians attribute the laws of nature to an act of God. For this reason, God knows the extent to which the future is open—what the laws allow and what they do not allow. The process God is also aware of the conditions that creaturely decisions set upon future actualization, opening up some possibilities. Unlike the other characteristics of God, omniscience isn't necessarily required for the argument. Any situation God doesn't see can still be created as intended through the power of semi-potence or omnibenevolence. I gloss over omnibenevolence because it is implied by his interaction with the world. An omnipotent being can be the unmoved mover and then remain entirely devoid of any feeling towards the creation, but a being that participates because of its lack of omnipotence will only do so because of its sympathy towards becoming.
In the article,"An Atheist Manifesto," by Sam Harris he discusses how God does not exisit because if he did exist there would not be any evil in this world. As I was reading this article I found it very intresting how Harris is so negative and believes that everything that happens is God's fault. "....at this very moment that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this?No,.." stated Harris. He should understand that God gave us a gift called "free will," and with that gift it comes with a price that we should live with the consequeces by the descisions we make as human beings. I liked this article because it showed me the other side of the coin
This forms Leibniz’s proof for the existence of God; a version of Aquinas’s cosmological arguments. God, then, is the necessary being which constitutes the explanation of contingent being, why the universe is this way rather than any other. Not only is God the explanation of the baseball scenario but he is also the source of the intelligibility of such concepts as bat, swing and pitch. Leibniz goes further to prove the omniscience of God. If God is the explanation of the intelligibility of the universe, then God must have ‘access’ to that intelligibility, such that God could be said to know what it is that being allowed to exist---that is, God must have the ability to grasp complete concepts. Not only does God constitute the contingent baseball game but he also knows what will take place before it happens. The pitch, swing and hit all take place not because God creates them but because he allows them. There is only one constraint on what God allows to happen, it must not violate Leibniz’s other basic principle---non-contradiction. God could not allow it to happen that the batter hit the ball and the pitcher got a strike. God chooses the universe that is most perfect, therefore the hitter hitting the ball out of he park was the most perfect of all possibilities.
Even without God reaching out specifically for us, nature and the world around us can prove to show man God’s ultimate power and authority. God created humans as the superior being on earth, therefore we have the ability to critically
St. Thomas Aquinas presents five arguments to demonstrate the existence of God. However, this paper focuses on the fifth argument. The fifth argument is regarded as the Teleological Argument and states that things that lack intelligence act for some end or purpose. While the fifth argument satisfies God’s existence for Aquinas, some contemporary readers would argue that Aquinas neglects the laws of physics. Others argue that Aquinas allows a loophole in his argument so that the Catholic conception of God is not the only intelligent designer.
As a matter of fact, Augustine does not realize that if it is as he argues that God foreknows every event in the world, then God created determined creatures that have no knowledge of being determined. Augustine points out that, “…although God foreknows our future wills, it does not follow from this that we do not will something by our own will.” (3.3.7.27). Augustine’s argument here supports my criticism. Namely, what follows from this argument is that humans in reality are not free because every action that they will is necessary, thus already pre-determined by God. What Augustine does not realize is that his argument actually proves that humans have no knowledge of being determined—but they are determined! Therefore, as I shall point out, God could have created a determined world, without evil, where beings act freely not knowing that they in fact are determined.
In philosophy today, free will is defined as, “the power of human beings to choose certain actions, uninfluenced by pressure of any sort, when a number of other options are simultaneously possible.” Philosophers have debated the issue of whether humans truly possess free will since ancient times. Some argue that humans act freely, while others believe that, “Every event, including our choices and decisions, is determined by previous events and the laws of nature—that is, given the past and the laws of nature, every event could not have been otherwise,” which is an idea known as determinism (Barry, #14). This relationship between free will and determinism continues to puzzle philosophers into the twenty-first century. An example of a piece to the free will puzzle, are the schools of thought of Incompatibilism and Compatibilism. Incompatibilism is defined as,
Process philosophy is known as the idea that everything is changing. Over the years, process philosophy has changed the way humans exist and go about their day to day lives. In order to fully grasp the concept of process philosophy we will first take a closer look at process philosophy, as a whole, its history, and the ideas behind this particular philosophy. Then we will discuss the effects process philosophy has had on marriage and family, followed by a brief commentary.
...nature, presenting the power to co-create with that godly intelligence as a universal essence. When evaluating the critical components of using teleology as a means by which to verify God's existence, it is significant to also look at oneself as but a minute component in the overall structure. "From this it is quite clear that, notwithstanding the supreme goodness of God, the nature of man, inasmuch as it is composed of mind and body, cannot be otherwise than sometimes a source of deception" (Descartes PG). Also important to remember is that in agreement with the teleological argument, one's subconscious mind has the obligation to manifest whatever the conscious mind puts its attention upon. God is an entity of His own inventive creation; thus, His existence is a certainty for the very reason that it was His labors that enabled all other entities to exist, as well.
If God is omniscient, he would know how to make this world the best possible world.
Polkinghorne describes as “…see[ing] the world as creation is to believe that the mind of God lies behind its marvelous order and the will of God behind its fruitful history.” (555). He also believes that it is the human mind that makes the necessary and sometimes illogical leaps that has made science possible, and although science cannot explain the mind, it can be explained because humans are made in God’s image. These leaps are made so that humans can have some understanding of the world they live in, and even to see the universe as a creation and see the intelligent design woven into its fabric is not establishing that the divine being that created the universe plays with each part separately. Polkinghorne sees this as assuming God as a “grand Ordainer”, which does not control everything, but instead gives it the potential, within
Many scientists, thinkers and others from history and today come to this conclusion, because they cannot solve the next question, thus filling in the gaps with a God. This cycle of pushing God to the edge of our knowledge is called “Gods of the Gaps”. Today, this phenomenon is called Intelligent Design. In the book, Tyson believes strongly that this type of thinking is a dampener on critical thinking, not only on an individual level, but also on a societal level(Tyson). Take for example, Isaac Newton who, according to Tyson, was “ one of the greatest intellectuals that the world had ever seen”(Tyson,53). Yet, not even Newton could solve every problem, thus turning to God to fit in the pieces where his knowledge failed. Newton was not the only to fall to this type of thinking, many scientists such as Ptolemy, Christiaan Huygens, Galileo and others all followed the same path. These men saw a “clockwork universe” ticking to God’s will. However, as time passed the perfect cosmos that was visioned fell apart. What was reviled later though the advancement in telescopes was a chaotic and zoo like universe that was out to get us. Every time God was placed as the answer he was pushed back further and further to the edges of what is yet to be
In William Paley’s paradigm, the world is perfectly designed by a benevolent God who purposefully created everything and “superadded pleasure to animal sensations” (RP 47 ). Paley strongly believes the existence of a God who is wise and benevolent enough to create everything on earth with happiness and a purpose. For Paley, science is a tool to complement the greatness of religion and prove the importance of Design (RP 46). In order to support his paradigm, Paley illustrates the contrivance and work of God in nature with the methodological assumption of First Cause (the belief in the existence of God) and Final Cause (the belief that a God creates an object with a purpose). Additionally, the metaphysical assumption of a close, active God underlies the paradigm as a premise that influences e...
The concept of God can be a difficult one to grasp especially in today's world - a world in which anyone that believes in God is trying to define exactly what God is. To even attempt to grasp such a concept, one must first recognize his own beliefs in respect to the following questions: Is God our creator? Is God omnipotent (all-powerful) or omniscient (all-knowing) or both? Does God care? Is God with us? Does God interfere with life on earth? These questions should be asked and carefully answered if one should truly wish to identify his specific beliefs in God's existence and persistence.
Heuresis (or invention) comprises, as Richard Lanham notes, "the first of the five traditional parts of rhetorical theory,
The existence of God or rather an intelligent being with define abilities has been a contentious issue of discussion since time immemorial. There are as many people advocating for divinity in the creation of the universe as there are people doubting the existence of this Supreme Being with unique and really frightening capabilities who designed and created the universe. Among the chief advocates of the thought of the existence of God and perfect order in the creation of the universe is William Paley. William Paley brings forth among the best arguments ever brought forward advocating for the existence of God and the nature in which the universe is bordered as sufficient evidence of the existence of this divine being responsible for the materialization of the universe and its exact design. William Paley begins his argument by talking about a scenario, which involves him walking along a path. “During his walk he hits his leg on a rock but pays very little attention to the rock” (Paley, 2000, p.12). This is because at the back if his mind he knows that the rock has been there for a very long time verging on forever. William Paley creates an alternate scenario with him walking down the same path. In this alternate scenario he just so happens to hit his leg on a watch. The reaction to the watch is very different from the reaction to the rock. William Paley says that this disparity to the watch in comparison to the rock is caused by purpose. Thus William Paley introduces the concept of telos. Telos means purpose. It is a term that refers to the exact purpose of a given object in the universe and exactly how this purpose relates to the object as well as the level of perfection and prowess to which this object in question fulfill...