More handpicked essays just for you.
Atheist arguments for why god doesnt exist
Essay on the arguments against the existence of god
Major arguments about the existence of god
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Atheist arguments for why god doesnt exist
James Williams does not justify religious faith. One argument Williams made for believing in God was: If you believe god and he exists you go to heaven, if you believe and he doesn’t exist you just die. If you don’t believe in god and he exists you go to hell, and if you don’t believe in god and he doesn’t exist you just die. My counter to this is that, what happens if you follow Christianity but the God that exists is the Muslim version of God? Will a Christian still go to heaven? Someone may respond that by just believing in God that is enough and by at least adhering to a religion is enough to go to Heaven. My response is that every religion has core values that are the foundation of the religion, a Christian would not follow the core values
of a Muslim( for example Christians don’t eat Halal) and if God is the Muslim version then going to Heaven is not a realistic option. Williams states that in order to believe you must believe fully or not believe at all. I counter this by that William said if you believe in God you go to Heaven. If a person believes in God but not necessarily the Christian version of God, is that person then not a believer? If it is all or nothing then not believing in the correct religious version of God would mean you do not believe in God at all. The retort would be that if a person fully believes in God which ever version, they still hundred percent believe in God still retaining their faith. I respond if your version of god isn’t the correct version, then you cannot hundred percent believe in the “real” God.
Finding a way in life can be difficult. Following that way can be even more difficult, especially when it goes against someone's origin. In Acts of Faith, Eboo Patel tells his story of what it was like to struggle through finding himself. Patel asks the question of "How can I create a society of religious pluralism?" throughout the book, and raises implications about what our children are being taught in different societies throughout the world.
“Religion Gives Meaning to Life” outlines how life is given meaning through theistic religion in Louis Pojman’s opinion. In this short reading, autonomy is described as in the meaning of freedom or self-governing and argues how it is necessary for ideal existence. By being honest and faithful with ourselves shows how we can increase our autonomy. “I think most of us would be willing to give up a few autonotoms for an enormous increase in happiness” (553) shows our willingness to practice good purpose.
After reading a few of the chapters in "Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith", I feel as if I have learned more in one sitting than many in years of my life. The chapters were not life altering, but simply stated things that I have overlooked. The topics that affected me most were on living with the mysteries of faith, benefits of true rest, and the emotion of happiness. Yes, they are really in no way related, but each of these topics impacted me in a different way, and made me think about what was being presented.
Then he goes on to conclude by saying that, “The lessons learned from observing people and their beliefs support the position that I have defended: rational people may rationally believe in God without evidence or argument” (Feinberg 142). In schools today, students grow up listening to lectures that are subjective and then later are tested on what the teacher thinks and believes. Whether or not the taught perspective is factual or not, it teaches students from a young age to just take what the teachers, adults, and any authority says as truth, as a way to respecting authority. In the same way that it is reasonable to believe respectable authority, it is rational to have belief in God without specific evidence because we are created with the inclination that a higher being exists and God has shown Himself to be true to every generation. Furthermore, God has placed in every human the inkling to believe what is right or wrong, so when it comes to deciding whether to act a certain way, we can rely on our gut feeling if it is a good action or not. It is a very common and suggested thing to trust one's gut feeling when making a decision, even though it does not require any evidence to see if it is actually the right decision to
Rachel Held Evans in “Faith Unraveled” questions every part of her religion, and is not sure how she should be living her life. Evans struggles to fully believe in faith that Christians are supposed to. She has all these questions and doubts, and is looking for answers but struggles to find the answers. Other Christians think what she is doing is unfaithful and she is not a real Christian. She is curious how people who profess Gods’ holy name, but then do not act in a holy way will be judged. Skeptics exist in almost every aspect of life, but when it comes to religion there seems to be a lot more. She struggles to handle some of the questions the skeptics ask and makes her question her religion. Evans also struggles to understand how this
belief is not to produce true belief. Instead theistic belief allows the believer to avoid
In William James” Lecture XX, conclusions” he has argued on various aspects of “Religion”. The whole concept of religion seems to be in accordance to the facts of mankind’s biological operation, still according to him its doesn’t makes it true. Universe itself has a very strong connection to religion of any kind. Nature of Universe is interconnected to human spirit and to the existence of God. James states that “Visible world is part of a more spiritual universe from which it draws its chief significance”, which means that Universe relationship with the religion can be seen through the connection of human and religion. Religion is practically all-inclusive foundation in human culture. It is found in all social orders, over a wide span of time. All the
For centuries religion has played a huge role in the black community. From slavery to freedom, religion has help black folk deal with their anger, pain, oppression, sadness, fear, and dread. Recognizing the said importance of religion in the black community, Black poets and writers like Phillis Wheatley and Richard Wright, use religion as an important motif in their literature. Wheatley uses religion as a way to convince her mostly white audience of how religious conversion validates the humanity of herself and others. Wright on the other hand, uses religion in order to demonstrate how religion, as uplifting as it is can fail the black community. Thinking through, both Wheatley and Wright’s writings it becomes apparent that religion is so complex,
In the article, "The Will to Believe", William James responds to W.K. Clifford who argued
As said by Yale professor of psychology and cognitive science, "Religion and science will always clash." Science and religion are both avenues to explain how life came into existence. However, science uses evidence collected by people to explain the phenomenon while religion is usually based off a belief in a greater power which is responsible for the creation of life. The characters Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's novel, The Scarlet Letter, represent religion and science, respectively, compared to the real world debate between science and religion. Roger Chillingworth is a physician who is associated with science. (ch. 9; page 107) "...made [Roger Chillingworth] extensively acquainted with the medical science of the day... Skillful men, of the medical and chirurgical profession, were of rare occurrence in the colony...They seldom... partook of the religious zeal that brought other emigrants across the Atlantic." The people of the Puritan community traveled across the Atlantic for religious reasons, and because men affiliated with medical science did not tend to practice religion, they rarely inhabited this community. Chillingworth, falling under the category of "skillful men of the medical and chirurgical profession," would not be expected to reside in this community. The narrator through emphasizes this with his rhetorical questioning, "Why, with such a rank in the learned world, had he come hither? What could he, whose sphere was in great cities, be seeking in the wilderness?" These questions demonstrate that it was so strange for Chillingworth to appear in this community because of his association with science. Perhaps, the phrase "with such rank in the learned world" could yield the narra...
This paper will dispute that scientific beliefs are not the right way to accept a belief and it will question if we should let one accept their rights to their own beliefs. In Williams James article Will to Believe, we accept his perspective on how we set and fix our beliefs. This paper will first outline his overview on the argument that someone does not choose their belief but rather one just has them. Following, it will outline my perspective on how we set our beliefs and agreement with purse. Then it will explain how other methodologies such as science cannot conclude to one’s true beliefs. Science has been seen as a way to perceive life and taken to consideration as the truth. This paper should conclude that humans define ourselves by
Many sources define faith as a belief in something not based upon proof, an intangible trust that a person holds close to their heart despite inconclusive evidence. This notion of faith depicts both ones wishes that their favorite sports team will win a match tomorrow and a hope that they will return safely from distant travels. Many also use this same term – “Faith” – to describe an individual’s given religious beliefs. This notion of religious faith infers that faith in God is something exclusively spiritual and nonconcrete – a belief only supported by inexplicable ideas as opposed to facts and evidence. Yet, as one begins to examine faith further, they come to realize that faith reaches far beyond an individual’s spiritual experience. Although many classify faith as intangible and lacking in proof, religious faith is in fact a concrete reality of life that displays the emotional, physical, and experiential aspects of the human soul. In Proverbs 3: 1-12, the author exemplifies how the emotional, physical, and experiential aspects of faith should play out regularly in everyday life.
In many aspects of our lives, the use of faith as a basis for knowledge can be found. Whether it is faith in the advice of your teacher, faith in a God or faith in a scientific theory, it is present. But what is faith? A definition of faith in a theory of knowledge context is the confident belief or trust in a knowledge claim by a knower, without the knower having conclusive evidence. This is because if a knowledge claim is backed up by evidence, then we would use reason rather than faith as a basis for knowledge . If we define knowledge as ‘justified true belief’, it can be seen that faith, being without justification, can never fulfill this definition, and so cannot be used as a reliable basis for knowledge. However, the question arises, what if a certain knowledge claim lies outside of the realm of reason? What if a knowledge claim cannot be justified by empirical evidence and reasoning alone, such as a religious knowledge claim? It is then that faith allows the knower to decide what is knowledge and what is not, when something cannot be definitively proved through the use of evidence. When assessing faith as a basis for knowledge in the natural sciences, the fact arises that without faith in the research done before us, it is impossible to develop further knowledge on top of it. Yet at the same time, if we have unwavering faith in existing theories, they would never be challenged, and so our progress of knowledge in the natural sciences would come to a standstill. Although I intend to approach this essay in a balanced manner, this essay may be subject to a small degree of bias, due to my own non-religious viewpoint.
Motivated by a strong desire for knowledge and truth, you walk into Havergal College with a radiant smile at 8:00 a.m. “Ready to learn!” you exclaim with determination. Seeing the little red ticks in your math homework, you are pretty satisfied with your progress. But suddenly, the little red ticks merge into a huge question mark. Why is your answer true? After all, what is truth? The Oxford English Dictionary tells you that truth is something that conforms with fact or reality (“Truth”). Aha! Your answer is true since it matches the standard answer and is useful in everyday life! Yet, this narrow definition leaves out the most important implications of the word truth as a faith, a covenant, and a virtue.
Growing up I was raised in a religious household, so, of course, I’m a big believer in God and my faith. To me, God is the creator of all and I believe Judgment Day is going to come very soon.The definition of faith is the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My faith and the reason for my faith goes hand in hand because it makes me know the truth and opens my eyes to this world. Also, I get clarity of why I’m in this world which is to make it a better place. But seeing the world as faith with reason or reason with faith has a few challenges and can make things a little bit difficult. Same goes for science and religion which butt heads a lot. Some may feel that the Big Bang Theory created