...Evil, Christianity, and Saint Augustine Sammy Hoag Philosophy 202 Dr. Ryan Murphy December 2015 What is evil? This ‘problem of evil’ and the existence of evil have plagued the minds of people throughout the centuries. It has been one on the most sought after inquiries and one of the most vexing challenges to Christianity, in explaining the existence of God. Many philosophers and thinkers, both secular and Christian, have endeavored to solve this problem. One of the most notable of whom is Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). He is perhaps one of the most influential philosophers in the history of the Christian Church. Augustine spent much of his life trying to solve this ‘problem of evil’ and it proved to be quite an undertaking. This paper will explore the problem of evil and argue how Saint Augustine solidified the ways in which philosophy and religion, specifically Christianity, coincide through his work on the concepts of the problem of and the origin of evil. Understanding the problem of evil is essential to everyone because it affects the manner in which life is lived. Whether defending a belief in God or trying to share those beliefs with others everyone will encounter the problem of evil at some point. According to Ed Miller and Jon Jensen, authors of Questions that Matter:...
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...Islam and Christianity Differences and similarities Introduction In this work I will discuss the differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity. This work will include quotes from both religious texts Both these religions are monotheistic, which means they believe there is only one God. Islam and Christianity are also Abrahamic religions; both religions have spiritual ties connecting them to the prophet Abraham. There are a few common roots and many common elements to Christianity, and Islam-the so-called Abrahamic religious heritage. Belief in God Thou shalt have no other gods before me (The Bible exodus 20.3). Do not associate another deity with God (The Quran 17:22). Both the above quotes show that Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions, they believe that there is only one God. Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God. The affirmation of the oneness of God by Christians is sometimes misunderstood, because Christians believe that the one God is triune (the Holy Trinity). However, this is not a denial of monotheism but an affirmation of the complexity of the Divine Being. The two religions believe that God is the origin and source of all that exists. God cares about the entire creation and desires the well-being of all. God is just and has provided basic rules for our guidance so that we may be good and righteous, according to God's intention. God is also merciful; by means of God's grace we are given strength. Humans These...
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...called samsara. | We are reborn from a previous life until we reach nirvana (extinction of all desire and release from suffering). The cycle of death and rebirth is called samsara. | We are reborn from a previous life until we realize our "oneness" with Brahman. The cycle of death and rebirth is called samsara. | We are made in the image of God and come into the world with the capacity to opt for good or evil. | We are made in God's image but come into the world inclined to sin because of the sin of Adam. Redemption is needed. | Way to Truth | Follow the teachings of Buddha, e.g., the Four Truths and the Eightfold Path. The written Scripture, the Tripitaka ("three baskets"), includes the teachings of Buddha. | Through the study of scriptural texts running to more than five thousand volumes. | Spiritual disciplines like yoga enable one to achieve the enlightenment and truth needed. Suffering and samsara result from ignorance of self-truth. Vedas are scriptures that hold final authority. | Bible (Hebrew Scriptures). Oral Law provides the authoritative interpretation for knowing how to live. Truth is seen in deeds more than in creed, although a cardinal tenet of belief is the Unity of God. | Bible (Old and New Testaments) as divinely revealed. It is final arbiter, although various creeds give expression to its teaching. Y'shua is the ultimate embodiment of truth. | Goal of spirituality | Deliverance from samsara through reaching nirvana. | Deliverance from samsara through reaching...
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...Adherents Demographer Davit Barrett estimates that there are 150 million atheists and 768 million nonreligious people in the world. The combined total comes to more than 918 million people (Barrett). Toward the end of the Renaissance, the modern method of empirical science began to develop. The key players were Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), Johannes Kepler (15711630), and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Although it may seem ironic now, each of these men believed in the Christian God. They viewed science as studying the handiwork of an almighty Creator and discerning His natural laws. Galileo considered God to have written two “books”: the Bible and nature (Hummel, p. 106). Contrary to popular belief, the cause for the diversion between Christianity and science originated not with the Church but with the university professors who were threatened by Galileo’s revolutionary ideas. These professors were steeped in the Greek scientific method, which included observation to a small extent, but mostly explained the workings of nature through rational deduction from first principles, or assumptions, an entire view of the universe had been built up. Consequently, the professors embraced such misconceptions as the sun having no imperfections, the moon being a perfectly smooth sphere that shone with its own light, and the earth alone having a moon since the earth was at the center of the universe. Galileo’s recently invented telescope quickly demonstrated the incorrectness of such assumptions...
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...Monotheistic Religions Paper HUM/130 Dr. Donald Howard David Carradine June 10, 2012 Describe how Judaism understands God. “The term "God" which is used in reference to the Creator is considered sacred, thus according to Orthodox Jews at least, all care and respect should be undertaken towards any paper or scroll which has the term printed upon it. In obedience to Gods Commandment the Jewish faith does not allow any image or icon of God. Consequently the only way that is left to "see" God is through verbal imagery. The issue of conflict between God's Commandment and the use of images within the Torah, which is regarded as God's word, can be explained satisfactorily by Jewish teaching in my opinion. Also it is acceptable within reason to use imagery regarding God, so long as proper decorum, respect, reverence and strict guidelines and understanding are followed by believers. It must be understood however that although the Jewish understanding of God may permit the use of imagery, God must never be represented by any direct image. The roots of this belief, predominant in Jewish beliefs, stems from the book of Exodus, "You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth”. You shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Exodus 20: 3-5). This is an absolute vital Commandment in God's eyes. His law is not to be taken lightly for fear of the consequences; later in Exodus we are sufficiently...
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...Q) The problem of evil, why people suffer and how to deal with it. It is the sort of thing religion was invented for. Discuss this statement. INTRODUCTION The existence of evil and suffering in our world seems to pose a serious challenge to belief in the existence of a perfect God. If God was all-knowing, it seems that God would know about all of the horrible things that happen in our world. If God was all-powerful, God would be able to do something about all of the evil and suffering. Furthermore, if God were morally perfect, then surely God would want to do something about it. And yet we find that our world is filled with countless instances of evil and suffering. These facts about evil and suffering seem to conflict with the orthodox theist...
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...instincts, and the ones we have are quite weak. So we have few specific responses to specific stimuli "patterned" into us. This means that in every situation we have a very large range of options for responding. We are constantly forced to choose how to interact with the world. In Berger's terminology, we must choose how to "externalize" ourselves, which means how to relate to and shape the environment around us. (Berger claims that in this respect we are different from all other animal species. He may well be wrong about other animal species; other animals may be a lot like us. But that doesn't mean he is wrong about human life.) Every time we externalize ourselves we change the environment, which creates a new set of choices to be faced. since the relationship between self and world is always changing, we are always "off balance." What we want more than anything else, according to this sociological view, is to be in balance--to have a permanent stable order in our lives, so that we can predict both the environment and the responses to it that we and others around us will choose. Society's main project is to create this sense of stable predictable order and to make all of us believe in it, although in fact it is always a false illusion. Society does this by "objectivating," which means teaching us (especially when we...
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...abstract the link among Christianity and philosophy. The situation has converted several societies’ circumstances to vision their culture of resistance to foremost characteristics of the common philosophies as rather of which to be humiliated, as well as rather that desires to remain rejected with the intention to convert traditionally liable. Niebuhr debates that Yoder’s forceful analysis of his book has not been offered the extensive revelation it justifies, particularly his reason that Niebuhr's situation is vitiated with a fragile Christology plus an abuse of the policy of the Triad. Niebuhr has initiated vast misperception into the argument by considering the Christ against Culture method as principle imperfect, while the subject remains his personal situation that advances from “Nicene orthodoxy” (Carter, 2003). Culture comprises of the traditions, knowledge, ability, conducts and community relationships that a culture develops. Culture is the contextual in which all individual predictably their daily existence (Atkinson, 1995). The delinquent of “Oscillatory” is generally engaged to define the connection concerning Christians and the fundamental culture in which we reside (GCU, lecture). On the other hand, this disguises a significant opinion: similar when Christians discard their immediate culture, culture itself endures the average of their presence as they generate a Christian culture this essay focuses on “Yoder's and Niebuhr's views, respond to the aforementioned...
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... yields many an individuals personal belief of what is of ultimate concern hardly lending to the general understanding of popular or mainstream religions they hope to accomplish in this text. 4. Explain E. B. Tylor's theory concerning the origin and evolution of religion. What is animism, and to what, "ultimately" and "finally," did Tylor think it evolved? a) E.B. Tylor’s theory regarding the origin and evolution of religion is that primitive people developed a sense of other or soul from their experiences with death and dreams. Animism is the belief that nature, natural phenomena and the universe itself all possess some kind of soul. Tylor believes animism evolved into polytheistic views and ultimately into monotheism. 5. To what does the term "mana" refer?...
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...Name: John M. Mwangi Course Name: Depression and Anxiety Course Number: BC 504 Assignment Number: 2 Audio Number: Project Number: Date of seminar (if applicable): Course instructor for seminar (if applicable): Location of seminar (if applicable): **The Assignment Number, Audio Number (if applicable), and Project Number (if applicable) must be accurate in order to process the lesson and record the grade. The correct information is stated in the Course Study Guide. --------------------------------------------------------------- SECULAR AND BIBLICAL APPROACHES TO DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIOUS PROBLEMS Table of Contents: * Introduction * Dysthymia * Diagnosis * Combined efficiency * Different Views * Sufficient and insufficient of medicine * Conclusion * Bibliography A comparison of the effectiveness of medical vs.non-medical treatments for any of the mood disorders or anxiety disorders listed in the DSM-IV-TR Introduction In order to understand the person that God created am going to use an analogy of a computer in comparison with the human being. Computer has two important sides; the outer part or the monitor and the inner part or the central processing unit (CPU). The Bible teaches us that man is a duplex being with two distinct aspects of a body or the outer person and the spirit or the inner person. The outer person is what everyone looks at all the time and people judge by looking at the outer side and identifies us...
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...Is believing in God reasonable or is he even real for that matter? Why do people choose to believe or not to believe in him? If you do believe is there any true value in doing so? The question of God’s very existence has been discussed throughout time. H.J. McCloskey, an atheist, expounds on this matter in his article “On Being an Atheist.” Of course this article is from the atheist point of view. McCloskey alleges that atheism is a more agreeable explanation of the world than theism, and the very existence of God must be dismissed. He believes this because of the presence of evil in the world and states that without definitive “proofs” God therefore cannot exist. McCloskey refers to arguments for God’s existence as “proofs.” I believe that McCloskey stresses this word to much. The term “proof” comes from the field of mathematics and it implicates certainty. For example 5 + 2 = 7 and 2 + 5 = 7 is a math formula that can be proved. It is a formula that can be proven according to the addition property of mathematics. The reality of God is not that simple. One should not look to prove his existence, but one should look to present the ideal that God is the best explanation for the world and life itself. A theist could do this by overlapping multiple ideas and together there is enough strength to present an argument for God being the best explanation for the world. McCloskey presents the following on the cosmological argument: He claims that “the mere existence...
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... 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 8. 9. 10. The nature and function of worldviews Religion true and false . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1 16 30 The problem of dualism and synthesis in Christianity Major themes in a worldview: Human nature, truth, meaning, purpose . 46 Scripture as the source of a Christian worldview The contours of a Biblical worldview . . . . . . .. . . . . . 59 70 87 104 119 136 157 Structure and direction. Sin and evil. Common grace The task and calling of humankind: to care for the creation . The nature of Christian community. A Christian view of society. The Kingdom of God: God's righteous rule over the whole creation . Bibliography . . . . . . . . ii Introduction The creation of the Father, fallen in sin, is redeemed by the death of the Son of God and is being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the kingdom of God. Herman Bavinck This series of studies is designed to provide a basic introduction to a distinctively Christian worldview that seeks to see the whole gospel applied to the whole of life. This Christian worldview makes a difference, because it is significant for our life in the world. It shapes and directs our lives in important ways, because it is the framework of our most basic beliefs about everything. These studies provide an initial introduction to the idea that Christianity provides a coherent, robust and significant basis for life that is a distinctive and genuine alternative to the prevailing worldviews which currently shape our society...
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...literature of Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity written by author David Entwistle (2010), explains Christianity, and psychology being integrated with one another. David Entwistle says that “Primarily psychology and Christianity are perceived by many people to be in opposition” (Entwistle, 2010). Both psychology and Christianity address both the experiences in human life and angles from different views. The writer also explains, “Christianity being based on the Word of God. Psychology is based on worldly views; it is an empirical foundation, so it does not allow faith to make any adjustments in its teachings.” (Entwistle, 2010) Christianity is based on the belief in Jesus Christ, which takes faith and understanding, the Bible is the teachings and laws that God wants us to abide by, and is the foundation of all truth. The writer of the book states that, “Psychology uses empirical methods of study while theology studies human interpretations of God’s Word.” (Entwistle, 2010) We take a look at the integration of the behaviors. The book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity’s sole purpose is to help the readers understand combining the disciplines of psychology and Christianity. Even though the two always seem to pull against one another, the author gives great examples and issues an insight on how the two can work together. There are various models that view the integration of the two and show how they can be combined to be a marvelous tool together...
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...Claremont depicts the children wearing pajamas, meaning they most likely were chased out of their home. The purifiers followed them on foot to a nearby school and used that property to hang them on a swing set. Claremont choses the swing set because it contradicts its normal symbolism of youthful innocence. By hanging them in this manner, the killers show that they have no regard or respect for young minds. Most of the time, people consider children untouchable when it comes to evil acts, but Claremont expresses once again how values can change when someone is blinded by hatred or discrimination. When the X-men find the bodies, Professor Xavier says “their only crime- that they had been born” (11). Claremont illustrates that the mutants did not choose to be how they are, but Stryker’s purifiers are phlegmatic towards them. Through a schoolyard, the author displays that the only thing discriminatory people want is the extinction of the problem they see, regardless of tarnishing innocence along the...
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...question asked by those surveyed was, without surprise, “Why is there suffering and pain in our world?” The occurrence of evil – demonstrated through suffering, pain, moral wickedness, and other similar things– signifies a challenging subject for anyone desiring to defend the existence of a true God. For non-believers, suffering and evil present an intimidating blockade to ever recognizing the reality of a God whom is both all-good and all-powerful. This is what William Lane Craig states as being “atheism’s killer argument” . For Christians, the issue of pain and evil has great prospective ability to upset the faith of the most proven saint, particularly when pain lands directly on them or their loved ones. How can a God who declares to be the epitome of love, all-good, and all-powerful allow pain and suffering to, ostensibly, have such power on this earth and affect those who seem innocent or those He calls His children? This issue, for the believer, becomes one of not if a God exists, but what type of God exists. While it is uncertain that an easy answer will ever be found that fulfill the human and emotional response to evil, Christian apologists must be prepared to offer responses to those who use the existence of evil to refute God’s existence. For these non-believers, assertively providing substantial evidence for the concomitance of God and evil on this earth will overcome a main barrier that disables them from believing in the One who died for them. For the...
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