... Life isn’t concerned with the afterlife, but living a good life while focusing on immanent or immediate values. Secular humanist like to do so, “without seeking some transcendent, good reference point as one gets in theistic religion.” This allows the Secular Humanist to have a compound worldview that affects their daily lives and eliminates any inferiority outside of the humanist worldview. Noebel had this to say of the secular humanism worldview, “…Secular Humanism is a comprehensive worldview that consists of a theology (atheism), philosophy (metaphysical naturalism), ethics (moral relativeism), biology (spontaneous generation/evolution), psychology (self-actualization), sociology (feminism/homosexualism), law (positivism), politics (globalism), economics (socialism), history (French Enlightenment II), Kurtz acknowledges the three main pillars of any worldview viz., theology, philosophy and ethics.” This general statement, more specifically the theology, philosophy and ethics will serve as the foundation of which I will conduct my evaluation. ...
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...UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A Select Issue in Contemporary Theology: God-Is-Dead Theology Submitted to Dr. Lee Mitchell, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course THEO 510 – B01 Survey of Theology by Kevin Curtis July 1, 2014 Table of Contents Introduction/Thesis Statement 1 The French Revolution 2 Immanuel Kant Albrecht Ritschl Friedrich Nietzsce 3 Bultman Bonhoeffer Van Buren Hamilton Altizer Conclusion 4 Bibliography 5 Introduction/Thesis Statement One of the most difficult questions today posed to Christian believers is to prove the existence of God. It by all appearances seems that the Christian belief, far more than any other is under attack by groups who are opposing not just belief in God but also a direct attack on religious freedom. By religious freedom the author here does not focus on the right to choose your religion, but to practice it openly without fear of legal retaliation or of retaliation of any kind. The God-Is-Dead Theology is not a new belief but has existed since the late nineteenth century with its roots founded in statements made by Friedrich Nietzsche who lived from 1844 and died in 1900. The sole purpose of this paper is to show the historical workings of those “theologians” who created the God-Is-Dead theology, how it got its possible rise stemming from the events of the French Revolution...
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...The Patriarchal Whip of Religion on Society Stefan Colangelo 212275988 Richard Last HUMA 1110 A Thursday March 17, 2016 Colangelo 2 It is accurate to suggest that gender inequality is an ever present problem in today's society. But in taking a deeper look at the substantial issue, is one of its main sources of instigation from religion? There is imbalance in the way in which men and women are treated and respected in the Bible. And despite the blatancy of this concern, studies conducted on the disparity in religion, culture, and gender are still relatively new. In Mallory Nye's Religion: The Basics, Darlene Juschka comments, "it is evident that some fields of study are less receptive to feminist perspectives...The study of religion has been one of those disciplines." There is a lack of recognition and awareness for the issue, mostly due to androcentrism. Although this will be discussed in further detail later on, it is important to understand this concept as a point of reference. Androcentrism...
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...Whether one believes in God or not, a person must have a reason for his or her belief. There must be a rationale, in some form, that supports the belief or thought process which the individual has. For example, philosopher John Searle does not believe in God, arguing there is not enough available evidence about how the world works to justify such a belief. He does not believe in the supernatural either, but holds that there is, among intellectuals of the world today who have become so secularized, a sense where the existence of God or the supernatural would not matter as much as it would have a century ago. He presents a logic as to why he does not Plato, on the other hand, presents his reasoning for believing in God and/or the supernatural through Socrates discussion with a religious fanatic shortly before his trial in the "Euthyphro." Euthyphro is a young, zealously pious man determined to bring a lawsuit against his own father over the death of one of their servants. When Socrates questions the propriety of proceeding against one's father, rebukes him, asserting that the only relevant question is whether the killer has acted justly. concedes that most people will regard prosecution of one's father on behalf of a hired hand as the height of impiety, but he insists that he understands the will of the gods more plainly and precisely than most. This is the presumption that Socrates questions in the dialogue, and defeats. That same presumption that one...
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...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed by simply...
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...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed...
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...Albert Rosales Professor: Gill Intro Philosophy: 213 In writing this paper, I was apprehensive by the immensity of the task that was required of me, having never studied Philosophy and philosophers before this class and not having a good understanding of it. I could not begin to comprehend Metaphysics, Ethics Epistemology etc. if it was not for this course. This may sound ignorant but I had never really given any thought to my worldview. If asked what I believed about something I would give my belief and that was that. What exactly is a worldview? A worldview is what it sounds like. It is the way one may see the world or as Nash puts it in his book Life’s Ultimate Questions “the sum total of a person’s answers to the most important questions in life(392).” Everyone has a worldview whether we realize it or not. How does one get their worldview? Our education, our upbringing, the culture we live in, the books we read, the media and movies we watch, all can help shape our worldview. Nash says, “Worldviews contain at least five clusters of beliefs, namely, beliefs about God, metaphysics (ultimate reality), epistemology (knowledge), ethics and human nature (14).” Using these five sections I will share my worldview. In general my worldview is a Christian one. I believe that there is one God who exists in three forms who created the Heavens and the earth. In the Bible Genesis 1:1 tells of how God is the beginning of everything; he created the heavens and the earth out of nothing...
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...Mr. Amin Ladha 21-833 Scollard Court, Mississauga ON Canada L5V2B4 amin.ladha88@gmail.com 416 823 8487 Faculty of Theology Saint Paul University Office of Admissions and Student Services 233 Main Street Ottawa, ON K1S 1C4 Canada 28th October, 2011, RE: Letter of Intent – St. Paul University Joint Honours Program in Theology and Philosophy Dear St. Paul University Faculty of Theology, I would like to express my interest in applying for the Joint Honours Program in Theology and Philosophy. For as long as I can remember, I have always had an intimate passion with theology and philosophy. As a young teenager still in high school I recall summer days where I would dedicate time to write about theology and philosophy, simply to organize my thoughts. From 2008- 2010 I was a counsellor for the al-Azhar program for Isma’ili youth in the Mississauga area. Historically, al-Azhar draws parallels to the university in Cairo, where during the Fatimid Empire there was a revitalization of philosophy and theology in perfect harmony with science and faith. The program offered a weekly class for Isma’ili youth in grades 11 and 12 in which they were able to engage with their Faith in a modern context. In pre-class development, or lesson planning, our main challenge was to hone in on the key concepts, and articulate them or assist in reinforcing them in a modern context. It goes to say that it was challenging, however at times there were moments of creative genius....
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...Introduction Philosophy and religion have always dealt with the same questions. What is real? How do we know what we believe is real is real? How important are these things that I believe to be real to my existence? Many different philosophers have answered these questions in many different ways as people in today’s society would answer it in different ways as well. Some believe that God, for example, is real. Others believe that the world as we know it can be explained through science, and science alone. First we will look at what Aristotle, one of the early philosophers, view on metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory and then look at a current century way of viewing the world. Chapter 1 Aristotle - Biography Aristotle was born in 384 BCE. at Stagirus, a Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace. His father Nichomachus was court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia, and from this began Aristotle's long association with the Macedonian Court, which considerably influenced his life. At age 17 his guardian, Proxenus, sent him to Athens, the intellectual center of the world, to complete his education. He joined the Academy and studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years. In the later years of his association with Plato and the Academy he began to lecture on his own account, especially on the subject of rhetoric. At the death of Plato in 347, the pre-eminent ability of Aristotle would seem to have designated him to succeed to the...
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...THEO 201-B21 Short Essay #4 Angelology and Satanology When you look throughout culture there is no longer a longing to know about eternal life or what God wants for our lives. People are happy to live their life how they want to without much thought to how there choices impact the world around them. When you think of religious dualism not many things come to mind. Most people would not understand it or have a good guess to how to define it. Religious dualism designates “two parts” and is the position that the universe consists of two opposing principles. These two opposing principles are God and Satan. They both exist in our world today and have an impact on the way we live our lives. They are the two forces battle for the souls of men. These forces are not equal in strength though. God, according to Scripture, is infinitely greater than Satan and will eventually cast Satan into hell. This could not be done if they were equal and opposing forces. Revelation 20:10 “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” It clearly states here the God will have victory and has the ultimate power over Satan. Many disagree on the origin of Satan. They say that God wouldn’t have created such an evil presence in this world if it was up to him. Others say that it is all part of Gods plan for His kingdom and for saving the lost. There are two views...
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...Worldview Assignment Every day is a gift and one we should never take for granted. The way we perceive the world around us takes critical thinking and a strong and faithful framework to help guide us through life. The world we live in gets harder and harder and moral responsibility is constantly being challenged. Having a worldview based on structure and faith is crucial to one’s everyday life. In their book, Consider, Dr. Lew Weider and Dr. Ben Gutierrez explain that a worldview is a person’s philosophy of life, a framework a person brings to decision-making, and a filter or lens which a person uses to interpret life and the world around them. Every one person has a worldview. This can be molded by people who surround us from the time we are born to adults. There are multiple groups of people from different cultural and religious backgrounds craving your attention in hopes to share their worldview with you and persuade you. You have to fully desire to understand the teachings of the Bible and be able to spread the gospel starting from the beginning to end. Everything has an origin from which it is created. Having a Christian Worldview I know there is only creator and that is God. I can remember my worldview being shaped as early as three years old. I remember the days of my youth going to church with my family like it was yesterday. From a biblical worldview you can find truth and meaning in the scriptures Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 139:13-26. We know God created...
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...JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE of Tratkakis, Nick “Replies On The Alleged Failure of Free Will Theodicies: A Reply to Tierno” Department of Philosophy, Monash University, Spohia, Vol. 42, No. 2, October 2003 Theo 525 LUO (fall 2013) Systematic Theology I Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Jeremy W. Allexon (ID# 25923739) September 22, 2013 Introduction The purpose of this piece is to conduct an analysis and re-butt Joel Tierno’s argument “that free will only accounts for choices that issue in evil” But fail to account for evil choices. 1 (Trakakis) The paper begins by breaking down Tierno’s argument in logical fashion A+B=C. As he is breaking down the argument Mr. Trakakis ask a series of questions and does not outright disagree with Tierno but provides another prospective. Brief Summary According to free will theodicists the existence of moral evil is permitted by God so as to preserve human free will, without which a host of significant goods would be unattainable.2 Joel Thomas Tierno ask if such ideas satisfactorily explain and justify God's approval of moral evil 3 & 4 Tierno according to Trakakis fails to understand free will theodicists. 5 Which he goes on to describe well probing Tierno’s argument. Trakakis partitions the piece into sections “Tierno’s ‘Adequacy Argument’ Against Free Will Theodicies” “The Inadequacy of Tierno’s ‘Adequacy Argument’, and ‘The Intelligibility Question’ 6 Critical Interaction Mr. Trakakis talking about two schools...
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...GOD-IS-DEAD THEOLOGY A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO DOCTOR RICHARD ELLIGSON PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF CHURCH MINISTRY BY EL-FATIH J. AJALA (25927535) THEO 510 LUO LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA JULY 21, 2013 Introduction Paul Enns in his book The Moody Handbook of Theology states of theologians who profess this theology, “deny all forms of traditional ontology and allow for no sovereign and unconditioned Being but only a ‘God’ who at some point in the dialectic wills His own self-annihilation” and that, “man must learn to live without God.”[1] The lack of universal truth in our lives in this 21st century can be directly attributed to the lack of morals and moral values begun in the 19th century; and which took root in the 20th century; and might be the death of man in the 22nd century. In stating that God is dead, it has to be shown that: * Is God dead? * Science and technology can solve the world’s problems * God died as a transcendent God when Christ died * The Bible is narrative (i.e. myth) This review of the God-Is-Dead theology focuses on these four questions. Is God Dead? In an article written in the Chicago Tribune in 1963 it is stated that two men (Thomas Altizer and William Hamilton) experienced the death of God. Upon this statement, a “theology” was born...
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...Corey Rivera Dr. Matthew Arbo Phil 201-D20 December 7, 2013 Response Paper Does a belief in an all-knowing, all-good, all-perfect, and all-powerful God provide one with all the answers to life’s inexplicable questions? Conversely, does a belief in atheism offer any insight into life’s inexplicable questions? According to an article titled “On Being an Atheist,” written by the Australian philosopher H.J. McCloskey, atheism seems to do just that. In fact in his article, McCloskey not only bashes the classical arguments for God’s existence using the problem of evil, but also offers it as the reason why one should not hold to the belief in all-knowing, all-good, all-perfect, all-powerful God. However, as seen in the arguments against McCloskey’s beliefs in atheism, such a belief is not only a sin against God, but has devastating effects to all of mankind. McCloskey claims that arguments, named “proofs” in his article, offer no significant evidence to establish a case for an omnibenevolent God, and therefore should be disregarded.1 However, McCloskey is using the classical arguments the wrong way and in a manner they were not designed to be used. The problem with referring to the classical arguments for God’s existence as “proofs” implies a sense of certainty. These arguments were not meant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of God, as McCloskey believes. Rather these arguments take a best explanation approach for the existence of God. They simply argue the best...
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...Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary A Paper Submitted to Dr. Marcus Tanner, LMFTA in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course, Theology and Spirituality in Counseling PACO 507 - D05 Name of Student: John Santiago Student ID: L24473755 Class: PACO 507-D05 LUO Instructor’s Name: Dr. Marcus Tanner, LMFTA Date Submitted: 03/20/2014 Summary Dr. Crabb’s book “Effective Biblical Counseling: a Model for Helping Caring Christians Become Capable Counselors,” (Crabb, 1997), breaks problematic areas up into two categories. The first categories are those resulting from natural or physical causes. The second is composed mostly of problem that are essentially moral. It has been said by some and demeaned by others that Dr. Crabb has a somewhat unique approach to counseling. His Biblical counseling explained in his afore mentioned book and his first book, Basic Principles of Biblical Counseling, extols upon the basic parts and theories of his system, along with many changes in theology and he places an emphasis on his belief that, “. . . the most basic problem of every human being is his separation from God, a gulf made necessary by the fact that God is holy and we are not" (p. 17). Primary Goal: (What is the desired outcome?). Crabb first describes for us what he terms as; “Separate but equal” approach (Crabb, 1977). This approach representitive of those who would believe through Christ, “scripture deals with the spiritual and...
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