...entirely governed by a God or some all powerful government. Now, this is not a representation of our world, because here we have the ability to choose and think on our own. However, because of this, people now have the ability to commit evil acts and cause chaos in people’s lives. In fact, evil is not even caused just by people, it is found within the order of the world itself, things like: weather, animals, natural disasters, etc. This is known as the Problem of Evil, or the idea that evil always exists despite the fact that there is an all powerful, all-knowing, all-good God....
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... Some of the information seemed like it was repeated over and over. The assumptions about Mortality and Religion are interesting. I tend to believe in the assumption that my fear of GOD motivates me to do good. Religious people become more conscientious. I can testify and say that has been very true in my life. When I am focused on my GOD I am very conscious of right or wrong. We fear GOD and we desire a happy after life. Its hard to believe that GOD would create us, and intend for us to just live by what ever natural instincts we have. My GOD knew that humans purpose had to be meaningful, and more then just natural instincts. I believe that nature has a limited role to play in moral theory. Nature can define the limit of our possibilities, for instance gravity doesn't allow our cars to float down the street. Nature can in this way, set the outer bounds of what morality can require. It can not particular, tell us how to live. I also feel strong about the assumption that morality must be created by someone, and GOD is defiantly the only candidate. GOD is the creator of morality, morality is a set of standards we ought to live by. I believe there had to be someone with the right type of authority to create them. Any human being wouldn't be good enough. Humans are imperfect so in that case lack credibility. I can also appreciate the third assumption when it says religious wisdom is the key to providing us with moral guidance...
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...astronomy. He also refused to accept the views of his predecessors, preferring to work out everything for himself. He was the first man to attempt this since Aristotle. There was freshness about his work that had not been seen from any philosopher since Plato. To begin by doubting everything was the necessary first step in order to sweep away all past presumptions and eliminate all issues that were confusing human knowledge. He also isolated only those truths he himself could directly experience and substantiate. This approach of questioning and skeptical nature meant that Descartes was able to make breakthroughs in philosophy not available to earlier philosophers who had accepted other people’s views as true. The existence of God has been a question since the idea of God was conceived. Rene Descartes tries to prove God's existence, and to show that there is without a doubt something external to ones own existence. He is looking for a definite certainty, a foundation for which he can base all of his beliefs and know that they are true. Descartes' overall project is to find a definite certainty on which he can base all his knowledge and beliefs. I totally agree with Descartes belief that there is a God. In this paper I will discuss Descartes basic philosophy, his 3 reasons there is a god, and lack of souls in animals. Almost all things should be doubted, but Descartes introduces his method of radical doubt. His radical doubt is the method of not accepting anything as true...
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...logic, the idea of god or all three and without all three the argument collapses. For example one criticism from Hume which is that there is a lot of evidence (such as natural disasters) to suggest that the world was poorly designed therefore how can a God who is meant to be all powerful and omni-benevolent have designed it. This is an extremely successful criticism because it is attacking the idea of god, also challenging the observation of the teleological argument which stated that our world is so complex and perfectly designed. This destroys the argument because if the world is not perfect then God (the perfect being) could not have designed the world because this means God is not God because he’s wouldn't be omni-benevolent, therefore there’s a possibility that the world is just here by chance. In addition criticism made by Fleu attacks the most important part of the teleological argument and any argument which is the logic. He points out that the argument is circular, the premise assumes the conclusion. The premise that there is evidence of a design, assumes that because of that there must be a designer, and then goes further onto wrongly again assuming that the designer has to be God. Showing that the argument is just a bunch of assumptions that could easily be questioned like for example if the world was designed why does it have to be this one God couldn't it be many Gods or it could even just be one thing however does this thing have to be God?, could it not be another...
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...a triune, personal God. God is both transcendent and immanent. Meaning, He exists independent of His creation and exerts full sovereignty over it but that He is also omnipresent and entirely involved in His world. What are the basic assumptions about the nature of reality? Theism views reality as both material and spiritual. Theism asserts that God is volitional, moral, creative, purposive, rational, and knowable to other persons. Transcendent means that God is distinct form the universe. He is able and willing to interact with the creation, but His existence is not bound by or limited to the universe. Everything that exists is contingent upon God’s creative act. God is both creator and sustainer of all things. God maintains access to the created order and involves Himself with it as he chooses. God designed the universe in such a way that nature follows a recognizable patter. Because God acts with purpose, reality is inherently meaningful. What is a human being? Human nature is both biological and spiritual. Humans are the unique creation of a personal God, and shares His likeness as personal being. Therefore, they have intrinsic worth as human beings. They were created to enjoy and external relationship with our Maker. Our lives have objective meaning and purpose. Because human nature is a composite of external spirit and mortal flesh, the death of the body is not the end of personal existence. They live externally, either in conscious communion with God or under His righteous...
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...since effective counseling requires both a caring attitude and an understanding heart of Christian love of human functioning, than the mature believers in the local churches need to be train in counseling insights and skills (p. 14). Summary: Crabb’s Theory/Methodology In his book Crabb (1977) offered three levels of counseling to be used in the local church. The first one that should be implemented is educating the believers of the local church with the strategies and method of biblical counseling. His second level is exhortation in counseling. He defined exhortation as the requirement of the use of the Scripture and Biblical principles in counseling. The third level of counseling is to promote Christ-likeness that pleases God in worship and service, maturity is defined as obedience and character. Primary Goal (What is the desired outcome?) Crabb’s (1977) primary goal of counseling is to be aware of what they are trying to do which is to...
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...Israelite, Roman Empire[2] Ethnicity Israelite Spouse Joseph[3] Children Jesus of Nazareth Parents (According to the Gospel of James, circa 2nd Century AD): Joachim and Anne[4] Mary (Hebrew: מִרְיָם, Miriam; Aramaic: Maryām; Arabic:مريم, Maryam), variously called Saint Mary, Mother Mary, the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary, Mother of God, and, in Islam, as Maryam, mother of 'Isa, was an Israelite[5] woman of Nazareth in Galilee who lived in the late 1st century BC and early 1st century AD, and is considered by Christians to be the first proselyte to Christianity. She is identified in the New Testament[Mt 1:16,18-25][Lk 1:26-56][2:1-7] and in the Qur'an as the mother of Jesus through divine intervention. Christians hold her son Jesus to be "Christ" (i.e. the messiah), and Muslims regard him as an important prophet of God. The canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke describe Mary as a virgin (Greek παρθένος, parthénos).[6] Traditionally, Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Muslims believe that she conceived by the command of God. This took place when she was already betrothed to Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony.[7] She married Joseph...
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...Biblical theology is a Christian approach in which the theologian studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity and following the fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. Biblical theology is an attempt to articulate the theology that the Bible contains as its writers addressed their particular settings. It particularly focuses on the epochs of the Old Testament in order to understand how each part of it ultimately points forward to fulfillment in the life mission of Jesus Christ. Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. Biblical theology is also study of the Bible that seeks to discover what the biblical writers, under divine guidance, believed, described, and taught in the context of their own times. Biblical theology is an attempt to understand God as He is revealed in the Bible. It seeks to discover what the biblical writers understand, believe and what they are taught. It’s based on the Bible first and then it takes scriptures from the word of God. Biblical theology pays attention to the soil of history. It studies revelation in the progressive sequence in which it was given. Also biblical theology finds its source in the Bible. Relation to Other Disciplines Biblical theology is related to but different from three other major branches of theological inquiry. Practical theology focuses on pastoral application...
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.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Apologetics Application Paper Introduction According to Brown, people everywhere filter what they read and hear through the grid of their own worldview. We all see the world different and the assumptions and prejudices that have about the world have an effect on how we regard the world. The Christian worldview and the Islamic worldview are similar, but they are different in many ways. But, what is a worldview? The ways a person views and understands the world have an effect on everyone. Sire defines a worldview as "a set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.” The Islamic religion is primarily in Africa, the Middle East, South, Southeast and Central Asia, Spain, and Southern Italy. Islamic religion, a monotheistic religion, and presently, the Many people view the Islamic religion as a violent and radical religion driven by a need to rage war on anyone that they believe is an enemy of Allah. According to...
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...existence of God. (18) Ontology is the branch of philosophy that explores the whole concept of existence. Sometimes scientist have to assume that something exists in reality in the physical world even if they have never come across an example of it, because a combination of factors indicate that there must be X, even if we have not found it yet, in order to explain other things. The ontological argument for the existence of God is an a priori argument, working from first principles and a definition in an attempt to demonstrate the existence of God. It is also a deductive argument, using logic rather than depending on the evidence of sense experience. In this way, then the ontological argument is different from other attempts to argue for the existence of God. The ontological argument argues that almost everything, which exists, does so in a contingent way; it depends upon other factors. We as individuals are contingent beings; everything else apart from God exists contingently. God, however, it is argued by religious believers, is necessary rather than contingent, there was no time when God didn’t exist. There is nothing that could happen which would cause God to cease to exist. The ontological argument begins with assumptions about God, without any empirical evidence such as the characteristics of God: Omnipotent, omniscient and omnipotent. This is what makes the argument an a priori argument, as most of the evidence used are based on assumptions of what God is like. St...
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...an appeal to intuitive everyday examples where even regular humans appear to have middle knowledge about what free agents would do in different circumstances. Plantinga's example is that of Curley Smith, a corrupt mayor who accepts a bribe of $35,000. Plantinga asserts that, quite obviously, we can know that if Smith had instead been offered $36,000 he would have accepted the greater offer. According to Adams, this proposition is a “semi-factual” in which the antecedent is false (the offer was in fact $35,000), but the consequent is assumed to be true. The proposition's truth comes from the fact that the consequent, Smith's acceptance of the offer, would not have been “prevented or...
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...of sufficient reason. In this principle an adequate explanation must be a total explanation. The universe requires an explanation of itself as a whole. But many would say, as Russell later told Copleston: “Then I can only say that you’re looking for something which can’t be got, and which one ought not to expect to get.” If you have explained each individual element of a series any explanation of the series as a whole would seem to be superfluous, and besides he says that ‘the whole’ doesn’t really exist anyway – it is ‘an arbitrary act of mind’ that makes things into wholes. What we term the ‘whole universe’ in modern physics may be only a bubble in a larger reality that we have no way of grasping. Also if we are only entitled to talk about causes when we have had experience of them, then this argument would seem to be over-stretching itself in speculating upon what it cannot know. On the other hand, there is of course a problem with stopping at a certain point and saying that we should seek no further explanation, in that it is a basic presupposition of all scientific work. However, even though a principle of rationality is that we can find an explanation for things, it is not a logical requirement – there is no guarantee that there will be one. So, I think Hume significantly weakens forms of the argument that depend on the principle of sufficient reason. However, I think that Hume’s criticisms of a necessary being somewhat misunderstand what is meant by necessity in this...
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...Providence Debate: Personally why should there be a debate about God, and his where about and how and what he can and can’t do? Who is in control? God is! I know to some people this may not be an appropriate way to start this research paper, but it is what it is and I feel sad that this is how the world thinks and appreciate our God, our Father and Friend. It’s all in defining everything, and not just seeing God’s work and taking, God’s word and believing in God for whom he is. Defining God’s Providence, all things happens according to God’s Sovereign Will, “ God is in control. Romans 8:28 “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. When one defines God’s providence it is referring to the way God governs the world. Does God really sit on His throne and dictate or rule the world? It is not surprising that there is some disagreement in the evangelical world concerning the control of God, His dealing with salvation especially as affected by Jesus and the freewill of mankind. Some theologians think that the three are in contradictory of each other. Are they really in conflict with each other’s or can all three exist in full scriptural belief without doing any injustice to the other two? When one talks about the sovereignty of God the actual word is not used in the bible but He is there throughout scripture instructing and directing. Although God is omnipotent and a lot of people constantly states...
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...theories he advanced but his method of approaching questions, and unrelenting scrutiny. With this, he was accused of corrupting the thought of the young people, his students and by failing to honor the gods of the city (Plato p24b, c). 1. What is your initial point of view? No, Socrates was not an enemy of the state. Enemy of the state is usually referred to those who oppose the core values of the system. The Athenians thought that Socrates is against the state and the over-ruling of the government. He strongly believes in living one’s philosophy and the pursuit of one’s belief is necessary for all intelligent man. He was seen as an enemy of the states by criticizing some of the ways of the Athenians in his teachings. He announced himself having doubts about the democracy as an effective form of government, as well as about the authority of city religious system. 2. How can you define your point of view clearly? Socrates developed unique methods and philosophies in seeking knowledge, for which drew much criticism in his life, but which served him as an icon after his death. The Socratic Method was introduced. It was based on cross-examination as a way to uncover inconsistencies in the assumptions inherent in other questions. He believed that by revealing underlying false assumptions, one could provide the means to form truthful conclusions. While that...
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...University Abstract This counseling theory paper combines different aspects of various counseling theories and puts them into one unified theory. This new theory takes in account my personal beliefs and worldview. This theory is not permanent, but is put together to allow direction for future counseling sessions. Although each client has a unique situation, this theory can be a basis on how a counselor would start the interaction between herself and the client. This paper outlines philosophical assumptions, which includes how man is inherently evil, but there is still hope for growth. The next section will then discuss the model of personality, which talks about how man develops. This section combines counseling theories such as Gestalt and behavior therapy. The next two sections discuss psychological health and abnormality. This section looks at how a client will be able to set himself free from symptoms that are harming the client. The next section will conclude by talking about psychotherapy and how a counselor should look at the role of the counselor and client while using certain techniques. This paper will conclude with a discussion of the assignment. Overall, this theory could be used in a Christian or secular setting and is based off of personal beliefs. Counseling Theory Paper Each counseling theory includes various strengths that can be used in a counseling session. Since a counselor should make known that each client’s life situation is unique, a counselor should...
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