- #251
dekoi
Design Argument
-everything in the world is suited to the function if performs; everything shows evidence of having been designed
-a watch was made by a Watchmaker, an eye was made by the Divine Watchmaker
-other things are even more ingeniously constructed than just a watch, further showing the extreme power of the Creator
Criticisms: Weakness of Analogy
-although there is some similarity between a watch an eye, it is only a vague similarity, and a conclusion based from this argument of analogy will therefore correspondingly be vague or unclear
Criticisms: Evolution
-Charles Darwin (1809-1882) demonstrated that by a process of the survival of the fittest, animals and plants which best suited their environment lives on and passed these traits to their offspring
-Darwin’s theory does not disapprove God’s existence, but it weakens it because it creates an argument without ever mentioning the existence of the Divine Watchmaker
Criticism: Conclusive
1.) -the Design Argument, in no way, proves the existence of one God
-why couldn’t the universe be created by a group of gods?
-a watch might be made by a group of Watchmakers, then from the argument of analogy, couldn’t the universe also be made by a group of Divine Watchmakers?
2.) –the Design Argument doesn’t prove God is all-powerful; the universe has several design flaws (human eye tends to have short-sightedness due to old age)
-perhaps these flaws are due to a group of weak gods, or one weaker God, or maybe a young god experimenting and making a mistake
3.) –Problem of Evil
The Anthropic Principle
-the chance of human survival during human evolution was so small, that it can conclude that the world is the work of a divine architect; God must have created the perfect conditions for this kind of complex life to evolve
Criticism: Lottery Objection
-if you win a lottery in which millions of people competed, you agree that it was nothing more than a random selection; you would disagree with the notion that somehow, your ticket was “chosen” by a higher power
First Cause Argument
-arguments based on direct observation of the world are empirical arguments; arguments based only on the existence of the universe are Cosmological Arguments
-this argument states that everything has been caused by something prior to it
Criticism: Self-Contradictory
Criticism: Not a Proof
-if it is possible to have an infinite series, why then shouldn’t the effects and causes extend backwards into the past to infinity?
The Ontological Argument
-a perfect being would not be perfect if it did not exist; thus, because a definition of God exists, God could therefore be said to exist as well;
-therefore, this argument is based on the notion that for there to be a “being”, it must also exist
I included both arguments and counterarguments, so you can understand my conluding point. Personally, i feel that humanity and life is a search for a higher goodness, a higher 'power' if you will. I have recognized that all of humanity has a desire or hunger for the trancendentals (good, truth, beauty, justice, unity). However, i think the magnitude of the idea of a higher power (God or gods) is much beyond our current thinking level, and thus, we can not solve the mistery of God in simple, materialistic words. I think, like Tolstoy, that the only argument for the existence of God is our search for initially belief, and in the end, faith. When we recognize what we are believing in and how we will go about it, and when we truly understand our belief, God (gods) will grant us faith. And when one is granted with faith, they will no longer worry about the burdens of society and life, as they will be in salvation.
-everything in the world is suited to the function if performs; everything shows evidence of having been designed
-a watch was made by a Watchmaker, an eye was made by the Divine Watchmaker
-other things are even more ingeniously constructed than just a watch, further showing the extreme power of the Creator
Criticisms: Weakness of Analogy
-although there is some similarity between a watch an eye, it is only a vague similarity, and a conclusion based from this argument of analogy will therefore correspondingly be vague or unclear
Criticisms: Evolution
-Charles Darwin (1809-1882) demonstrated that by a process of the survival of the fittest, animals and plants which best suited their environment lives on and passed these traits to their offspring
-Darwin’s theory does not disapprove God’s existence, but it weakens it because it creates an argument without ever mentioning the existence of the Divine Watchmaker
Criticism: Conclusive
1.) -the Design Argument, in no way, proves the existence of one God
-why couldn’t the universe be created by a group of gods?
-a watch might be made by a group of Watchmakers, then from the argument of analogy, couldn’t the universe also be made by a group of Divine Watchmakers?
2.) –the Design Argument doesn’t prove God is all-powerful; the universe has several design flaws (human eye tends to have short-sightedness due to old age)
-perhaps these flaws are due to a group of weak gods, or one weaker God, or maybe a young god experimenting and making a mistake
3.) –Problem of Evil
The Anthropic Principle
-the chance of human survival during human evolution was so small, that it can conclude that the world is the work of a divine architect; God must have created the perfect conditions for this kind of complex life to evolve
Criticism: Lottery Objection
-if you win a lottery in which millions of people competed, you agree that it was nothing more than a random selection; you would disagree with the notion that somehow, your ticket was “chosen” by a higher power
First Cause Argument
-arguments based on direct observation of the world are empirical arguments; arguments based only on the existence of the universe are Cosmological Arguments
-this argument states that everything has been caused by something prior to it
Criticism: Self-Contradictory
Criticism: Not a Proof
-if it is possible to have an infinite series, why then shouldn’t the effects and causes extend backwards into the past to infinity?
The Ontological Argument
-a perfect being would not be perfect if it did not exist; thus, because a definition of God exists, God could therefore be said to exist as well;
-therefore, this argument is based on the notion that for there to be a “being”, it must also exist
I included both arguments and counterarguments, so you can understand my conluding point. Personally, i feel that humanity and life is a search for a higher goodness, a higher 'power' if you will. I have recognized that all of humanity has a desire or hunger for the trancendentals (good, truth, beauty, justice, unity). However, i think the magnitude of the idea of a higher power (God or gods) is much beyond our current thinking level, and thus, we can not solve the mistery of God in simple, materialistic words. I think, like Tolstoy, that the only argument for the existence of God is our search for initially belief, and in the end, faith. When we recognize what we are believing in and how we will go about it, and when we truly understand our belief, God (gods) will grant us faith. And when one is granted with faith, they will no longer worry about the burdens of society and life, as they will be in salvation.
