...Define “Creatio Ex Nihilo.” In Latin, “ex nihilo” literally means “out of nothing.” It often appears along with the concept of creation, as in “creatio ex nihilo”, meaning “creation out of nothing.” It contrasts with the phrase “creatio ex materia” (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with “creatio ex deo” (creation out of God.) Christians all believe that the world is created ex deo, however, whether the universe was created “ex nihilo” or from already present material is still a topic of discussion today among Christians and people of other beliefs alike. There is evidence in the bible supporting both creatio ex nihilo and ex materia. Despite the simplicity of defining the concept of “nothingness” (a pronoun denoting the absence of anything), it is still difficult to understand nothingness as a concept. It is very hard to describe something, without saying it is something. Therefore, even saying that a certain thing is nothing is technically describing it as something, which gets confusing after a while. For example: Blue is a colour, as are yellow and red. All three of these colours make up every colour tone we see. Theoretically, there was an absence of colour, what would be in its place, white or black? It is very difficult to imagine this, as all our life we have been able to distinguish what we have seen because of their colour(s). Even when we try to imagine a world without colours, it becomes impossible not to end up labelling the absence of colour...
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...Zummuna Davis October 3, 2012 When you ask a human how the universe evolved some will say that man created the universe. Next question, how can man create something in outerspace? Now the room is silent, why is that? How can you answer a question that cannot be answered. So why do you need proof that God exist, what will that prove, that people are actually worshipping God, instead of a what people say is an inanimate object. In the beginning God created the heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2). There are many traditional proofs for the existence of God, and we will look at three, the argument from design, the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. There are many ways that the universe might have been, it might have had different arrangement of planets and stars; it might have begun with a bigger or smaller big bang; the vast majority of these universes would not have existence of life. We are fortunate indeed to have a universe that does. The argument of design, picture looking at a rectangular skyscraper and examined the structure within it, you might think that this intricate structure was not the outcome of mere chance, but had been designed. Now look at the universe, is it possible that such an intricate stricture, from the orbits off planets around the sun to the cells in your bloodstream could...
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...of my mind or is this all a dream? Do I really have will power or the freedom to choose? What is my meaning to life? These are all topics that depending on where you are from and how you were raised will all affect your theories and/or beliefs behind your answers. With an open mind; however, these questions can open a whole new world of possibilities and maybe what you have thought to be right your entire life, to be viewed as completely wrong. How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole Go? I am sitting in a black desk chair typing this paper, feeling my fingers strike the keys. Looking at the screen but still completely aware of all my surroundings, hearing my neighbors annoying dogs bark as I type. I am feeling a little bothered. I know all of this because I am using my senses to let me know where I am and what I am doing. So the question now gets deeper…How do I know what a chair feels like, what a computer looks like, or even know what a dog is? Is there even a chair? Is all of this real? Or is this all in my mind? Nagel brings up some fascinating points in Chapter 2. How do we know anything? Everything in our lives up to this point is based on what you believe, whether it’s what a dog looks like, what a computer is…absolutely everything you know about anything has all been an experience you’ve had or something you’ve thought of. What if there was no world at all? What if all of this was in your head like some sort of...
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...source, and they have tides and currents that come in and go out. The waters of the rivers mix and merge to such extent that the temperature and fish populations are pretty much the same no matter where you go. The people of the world use the rivers for food, water, recreation, power and transport. They go upstream and they go downstream, they build damns, boats, and irrigation systems. You can think of Globalization as this entire system of rivers, structures, people, products, ideas, and all the processes that help or hinder the mixing of the metaphoric 'waters'. Two major aspect of globalization are; grobalization and glocalization. We can use the analogy of the rivers to explore these aspects. Imagine a world in which there are only a handful of very large mountains. These mountains are the sources of water for most of the world. The water that begins in their peaks has a very powerful current as it flows in a downward motion to the rest of the world. At first in mighty rivers that are so strong they have washed out smaller mountains in their path, they have toppled water reservoir towers and engulfed lakes and eventually come together into just one mega river that reaches entirely around the world. This river then branches out into all reaches of all the lands so that there are very few places to get water other than from this mega river. Now imagine that the people of this land no longer think much about seeking water from digging wells or other such places, but instead...
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...What is true and how do we determine this? Although these questions offer great similarity, they are two completely different questions. In order to determine what is true, we must evaluate what is considered the truth. Absolute statements are often relative to context such as language, setting, culture, and belief, however, although absolute facts might exist in theory, do we really have access to them? I believe that Absolute occurence is indeed irrelevant, just because something happens it doesn't mean it's true and that maybe something that didn't or hasn't happened yet is actually the truth. Human Actions such as exaggeration, perception and a sense of trust come into play when determine the truthfulness of something being told. First of all, absolute occurence is indeed irrelevant. Truth as it seems, doesn't exist. Tim O’Brien has attempted to tackle this subject in his book The Things They Carried. Readers often wonder if this book is true, is it based on facts, or is it real. Even if the occurrences in this...
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...changes, there was a clash between Parmenides and Aristotle. The Greek philosopher Parmenides said, “Reality is one and stable,” [3] that means there cannot be any change. In other words, “In reality there is no change at all; all change is mere appearance; because reality is one, which is unchanging.” [4] Because Parmenides believed that there are only two possibilities, they are ‘being’ and ‘non-being’. According to Parmenides if there is something then only something comes out and if there is nothing how can you expect something? The problem was that later he said that from being no being comes because He has no idea of potentiality in being. However, Aristotle says, every being has potentiality therefore there is change in everything. Since Aristotle said about the change, he had to bring out the proper arguments. Therefore, He began to explain by giving theory of four causes and the problem of change. Aristotle begins his arguments by saying that “If something comes to be it must be rooted in something. It cannot be rooted in nothing. But also it cannot be...
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...ultimate origin of the universe. This remains an area of active research and some of idea current ideas are discussed below. That said, BBT is nevertheless about origins In addition to being a theory about the origins of the basic building blocks for the world we see today, Given the nature of the subject matter, it is also frequently discussed with heavy religious overtones. Young Earth Creationists dismiss it as an "atheistic theory", dreamt up by scientists looking to deny the divine creation account from Genesis. Conversely, Old Earth Creationists (as well as other Christians) have latched onto BBT as proof of Genesis, claiming that the theory demonstrates that the universe had an origin and did not exist at some point in the distant past. Finally, some atheists have argued that BBT rules out a creator for the universe. What is the Big Bang theory? a) Common misconceptions about the Big Bang In most popularized science sources, it is often described with something like "The universe came into being due to the explosion of a point in which all matter was concentrated." There are several misconceptions hidden in these statements: The BBT is not about the origin of the universe. Rather, its primary focus is the development of the universe over time. The origin of the universe was not an explosion of matter into already existing space. The famous...
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...stresses the importance of the other as if your relationship with the other helps you fulfill your being a person. That is really true if you will live it. Another philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas says what is real is being “that which exists” wherein his essence and existence is a participation or came from the Pure Act/ God who acted his act of existence. On the other hand, Heidegger makes a turn of these Western views of metaphysics. Heidegger claims that what is real is that the nothing which makes being possible and reality is the unfolding and keeping of Being. Thus, for Heidegger reality is whole and dynamic. This is compared to Buddhistic view of reality. Buddhism believes that reality is interdependently arising which is impermanent and no separation. Moreover, Derrida adds something. He believes that meaning is impossible for no matter how you process to signify the meaning of something, you could not really get the meaning of that something. So, what one can do is just to let this process of signification and one will observe that meaning is impossible. However, these views of philosophers though different have something in common in terms of the foundation of their views. I observe that all of them refer first to what they experience or perceive before rationalizing and cultivating these perceptions. Even Parmenides...
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...for belief in the existence of God. (21) The cosmological argument, also known as the first cause argument, is a classical argument for the existence of God. The word cosmological comes from the Greek for order and it is an inductive argument as the premises are true but the conclusion may not be, and it is also synthetic where the truth is determined by experience and needs to be proven. It is also a posteriori and also based on natural theology. The Cosmological argument finds its answer for the start of the universe through causes, meaning everything is caused by something, or everything is dependent on something else. The argument attempts to find proof for God’s existence stating that as something cannot come from nothing God must exist in order for anything and everything else to exist. The origins of the cosmological argument come from Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Plato 428-347 BC records one of the earliest versions of the Cosmological arguments in his book of ‘Laws’. Plato writes about the argument through an exchange between an Athenian and Clianis. The Athenian attempts to prove the existence of the gods by arguing that, of all the different types of motion, the motion “which can move itself” is “necessarily the earliest and mightiest of all changes”. It is clear from his argument that infinite regress does not exist therefore implying that there must have been a first cause. This first cause must be able to cause itself it must be ‘an uncaused causer’...
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...three arguments are all a posteriori (based on the evidence in the universe around us). The unmoved mover is the concept that, in theory (is logically acceptable even for an atheist), that nothing can be in motion without something first putting it into motion. This argument is very similar to Aristotle’s, which is the idea that everything that changes shape, temperature or simply into something else must be changed by something. Aquinas argued that one thing leading to another infinitely, must be wrong. Something must have been there to cause the first movement. This is why Aquinas rejects the idea of infinite regress, as he believes, that something must have set the whole chain of reactions off, for example something has to push the first domino for the chain reaction to start, and this being for Christians is the unmoved mover or in other terms God. However, many atheists reject this theory as they believe that the idea of infinite regress is very plausible. For example Aquinas argued that for something to make something else hot, the thing that is doing the causing must be hot in the first place. On the other hand Anthony Kenny states that the thing that does the causing does not necessarily have to be hot, the heat that is caused could come from friction or an electric current that can create heat. Both of these points are very valid, but one could argue that...
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...Agony Article What makes a relationship fresh? Hi my name is Sandra I come from a town close to Sheffield which is called Rotherham it’s a small town which can only hold a few thousands. I am aged 25 and I have recently met this Gentlemen aged 27 I have fell in love with him he was is so sweet to me and kind and I have always trusted him for the past few years he’s been miserable please tell me how to make him love me again? Imad Says: Take advantage of new technology; text and send e-cards. With so many of us pressed for time, why not use technology to “keep in touch” during the day. A compliment, an affection or a quick “Hello, You are being thought of” via text can spark anyone’s day. E-cards are fast, and convenient. There are many sites that allow you to send them for free. You can find any type of sentiment from cute and funny, to serious and romantic or teasingly sexy. The bonus is that you can include a personal message along with it if you’d like. Hold hands, hug and give quick kisses often. Nothing is as good for the soul and the emotional health of a person as the human touch. As teenagers, we hold hands, give quick kisses as hello and goodbye and cuddle as we sit close. Why not keep that sense of youth no matter how old we are or how long we have been have together as a couple? Holding hands keeps a connection and closeness, no matter what we are doing. An enthusiastic hug uplifts us; a quick kiss says “glad to see you”. You must convince your husband to take you...
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...humanity looks into the world they have two options to choose from. Did I come from a rock, or did I come from divine intervention? This will affect every piece of their life from relationships to personal growth and beyond. When a person finds their identity in God, it defines their relationship to the rest of the world and those within it. Natural World If you do not have a clue as to where it all began you cannot possibly know where you are going. The progressive nature of the world humanity lives in positively shows evidence of design. Simple logic shows humanity that laws exist. But how did these laws happen? Human reasoning should tell us that laws do not just snap into existence without reason. Somehow they have to have been created. Physical laws of science, themselves, give evidence that something started the law into motion. If law exists than a law maker should exist as well. Ray Comfort uses this example “When I look at a building, how can I know there was a builder? You can’t see them, hear them, touch them, taste them, or smell them…..Well the building is absolute scientific 100 percent evidence there was a builder.” (Comfort) The fact that humanity has any form of morality gives credence to something greater than man in this world. Human Identity When you are trying to identify who you are as a human being your origin is of extreme importance. If humanity came from nothing then humanity is technically nothing. No value. No meaning. No purpose. But if God created man...
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...It seems a part of human nature to believe or want to believe that something greater than the human race is out there. Religion, philosophy, and even science work to connect dots and draw conclusions to support the existence of a supernatural being. Many philosophers have made their attempts to justify the existence of God but one of the most fascinating is the modern cosmological argument made by Dr. William Lane Craig which is based on the premise that the universe is finite. In this paper, I will describe his argument for the cosmological argument and oppose his argument. The original concept of the cosmological argument originated with a Muslim theologian named al-Ghazali who lived in the 12th century as a response to Greek philosophers....
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...“How we can Encourage Others to Dedicate Their Giftedness in Serving Others.” It is my personal belief that we all have been born with gifts and talents. Some of us have the ability to sing, dance or play an instrument. Some of us are gifted with a natural instinct to help and encourage people through tuff times. Others are gifted with the natural ability to light up a room with charisma or cause people to burst with laughter at an instant. Regardless of background, pedigree or age I believe we all have gifts from God. These gifts were given to us to use for the exhortation of God and the building of his kingdom. Unfortunately we still have a major problem with getting people to lend their gifts to the house of God. Many people just don’t have an interest, or feel compelled to serve. They often times come to church year after year and do nothing. They have no interest what-so-ever to serve or assist in any capacity or manner within the ministry. No matter how many times we announce the need for ushers, greeters, children’s church teachers, camp counselors or choir members they have no desire to serve, even though they thoroughly enjoy the benefits of those ministries themselves. Someone once said people come to church with a SERVE-US mentality instead of a SERVICE mentality. This statement is truly echoed and brought to life when people are selecting churches in this modern day climate. People are no longer concerned about the mission of the church, the goals or the church or...
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...especially those who have nothing, are willing to do anything or even sacrifice himself just for the sake of someone he loves. The movie, “The Hunger Games,” is all about friendship, family, problems of the society and being you as an individual. Nowadays, it is very obvious that most of us want an equality which can never be happen. In the movie, I saw that there’s a barrier between rich and poor. Rich people make the poor ones as their entertainment while poor people do nothing but to follow. Like our government, it is visible to us that having a position in government makes them superior. In just a blink of an eye everyone follows, everyone becomes a slave, and everyone is powerful when you are in a position. Wrong doing becomes a trash when it pertains to our government. They do nothing but to buy anything even the service of our dear servants. Money is very powerful, where it can buy anything. As a citizen we have the rights to fight for what is right! We should know how to act for something that we want to accomplish. Come to think of it, without us government officials are nonsense. We are the reason why they are in that position that’s why we are responsible for their good doings. Not because we’re poor they have the rights to do anything they want. Those corrupt government officials must be jailed. They don’t deserve to be respected because the stole some of the money that is not for them. Instead of doing different projects, which can help the Filipino citizens...
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