...Atheism vs. Catholicism For some reason or another Atheists feel they need to beat you over the head with their view of creation, laws, the Bible, God, the Constitution and more. They consistently tell Christians that they are wrong. Atheists, agnostics and other nonbelievers will always seem to quote science, scientists, NASA and others. Using scientific theory to disprove the Bible is like using gasoline to put out a fire, The reverse of that would be using the Bible to prove the existence of UFO’s, it cannot be done. The Bible is “the” source of explanatory information about all of the things that the Atheists attempt to debunk with scientific theory. Atheists seem to have a mental block about the reality of the real truth about who is responsible for even their own existence. They are more than willing to put their trust in Charles Darwin who wrote a book 150 years ago titled “On the Origin of Species” and is now commonly known as the Theory of Evolution. Atheists have no problem putting their full trust in the fact that we all descended from a common ancestor, which is what Darwin’s book was really about. Even though there is no proof to this date that Darwin was correct 150 years ago, when labs and science were in their infancy; Atheists believe he was right but they just cannot believe the Bible. The Bible is filled with witnesses to the events describe in it. Additionally, it is filled with witnesses to prophecy; both to prophecy as it was being fulfilled...
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...2. Briefly summarize the problem of evil and suffering. Cite and reference Chapter 9 in the textbook. “Suffering can come in many forms, but, at some point, everyone will suffer deep pain or loss—it is an unavoidable fact of being human (Sharpe, 2014).” The main problem of evil and suffering is why would a good and just God allow so much evil and suffering in our world. If God loves us so much, why would he let bad things happen to good people? 3. Briefly summarize the Christian worldview’s response to the problem of evil and suffering. Cite and reference the lecture and/or Chapter 9 in the textbook. The Christian worldview’s response to the problem of evil and suffering is best explained through the example of Job. Like Job, suffering will come to a person regardless of their social or righteous status, but God cares about every single person’s suffering. Second, it is okay to ask God questions, but it is not okay for us to blame God for the evil or suffering we are going through, nor question his love. It should be sufficient for us to know that our God knows us, listens to us, loves us, and is with us. Lastly, the Christian worldview explains that although we are suffering and in pain right now, eventually everything will come together and we will be with God, free from any kind of suffering (Sharpe, 2014). 4. Imagine that a close friend has just suffered through a great personal loss (death of a loved one, natural disaster, disease...
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...disprove many of the arguments that theists believe and often seemingly ridicules or persecutes those who believe in God. Among the arguments McCloskey attempts to minimalize, there are three common proofs that many, if not all, theists lean on for their belief in God. These proofs include the cosmological proof, the teleological proof, and the argument from design. Furthermore, McCloskey speaks on the problem of evil and how the existence of evil disproves the reality of a God. Near the end of McCloskey’s article, he also insists that atheism is comforting, claiming that it is more comforting than theism. This paper will debate the validity and truth of the three claims that McCloskey seeks to discount in his article and will further debate the problem of evil and disprove the idea that atheism is comforting. PROOFS VS. ARGUMENTS ------------------------------------------------- McCloskey often slights the theistic view as one of vagueness and ignorance. He states, when referring to those who believe in God, “they do not think far enough nor hard enough about the problem of an uncaused cause, who must be a necessarily existing being, to see that this argument is less conclusive than it seems at first sight.”2 Furthermore, his inference of the 1. H.J. McCloskey, “On Being an Atheist,” In Question Journal...
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... The Truth behind Free Will: Luther vs. Erasmus The notion of free will is one of the most complex notions to define and to understand; it is defined differently according to one’s interpretation of the scriptures, especially the Bible. Both Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus, influenced by their faith and beliefs, write respectively against and for free will. Both try to adequately answer the questions: Does man have free will? If yes, why and how? If not, how? Possible answers to these questions given by both authors and some scholars who write against or for each one of these opponents’ arguments highlight, especially, the differences in the conception of man’s free will. Luther and his supporters view free will as an imaginary or impossible and dangerous thing to have; Erasmus and his supporters defend that the existence of man’s free will is irrefutable for it is in human nature itself as the Bible says it. In spite of some of Luther’s good ideas that prove man’s absence of free will and Erasmus’ excellent interpretation of the Bible, neither of them fully responds to the human yearning of knowing the concept of free will. After a thorough and wise analysis of the defense and abnegation of man’s free will of these authors, I find it impossible to fully deny or prove the existence of man’s free will. It is important to take into account Luther’s argument and Erasmus’ before making a decision about the concept of free will. First of all, we...
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...sessions he would ask questions and answer them the best he could. So I wondered, how different would the education system be if we had follow Socrates way of teaching? Socrates is one of the most important people in western philosophy. I found it interesting that we have no writings from his own hand, from his two students Plato and Xenophon. I agreed with Socrates claim that appearance of the body is less important than how it functions and true beauty comes from spirit and character. I questioned if spirit and character is more important than the physical appearance, why do modern society judge an individual based on their physical appearance? Journal Entry 12. Chapter 6: the Theory of forms. Pages 144. Thursday, February 20, 2014. Knowledge Vs. Opinion Plato is one of the philosophers that interest me the most because of his search for knowledge outside his “comfort zone.” Plato left the Athens and wandered for twelve years and during that time he studied mathematics and mysticism. For me, as a math minor, it was interesting to see how mathematics influenced Plato’s philosophy and I wondered, does an individual’s knowledge in science and math affect their philosophy claims and theories? After he finished most of his writing he founded his academy “Academos.” I was fascinated how Plato lectured without notes for forty years. Does knowledge come from the heart and soul? In Plato’s work theory of Forms he attempted to provide a rational explanation on what knowledge really is and...
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...Why Does God Allow Suffering? by David C. Pack ------------------------------------------------- The world is filled with suffering of every kind. Countless millions know little else. Yet God allows it. Why has He not stopped the terrible suffering that afflicts so many? Is there a REASON God has not intervened? Does suffering have a great unseen PURPOSEthat can be understood? Take a long look around the world. Enormous numbers of people are suffering everywhere for every kind of reason. Every day, 200,000 people starve to death—and this is after weeks or months of horrible suffering. Such suffering is not limited to physical pain, but includes psychological and mental anguish of parents often having to watch their children die in their arms. Starvation is so awful that death is actually a blessed relief. Why doesn’t God stop this? Even more people die each day from disease. The very word disease means people are not “at ease.” As you read this article, untold trauma, pain and suffering, due to crippling conditions, infections and disease of every sort, are occurring around the world. Just in Africa, children are orphaned by the millions every year, due to AIDS alone. Why isn’t God intervening? The prophet Daniel spoke of “the TIME OF THE END.” The apostle Peter said, “there shall come in the LAST DAYS scoffers.” Paul said, “In the LAST DAYS perilous times shall come.”… Order Now Now consider poverty, which affects one-third of all people on earth. The lack of...
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...East. The Christian Community is persecuted mainly because of their beliefs. In Christianity, it is believed that “man has inherited "original sin" from Adam. Mankind then is inherently evil and is in need of forgiveness of sin. By given the knowledge of right and wrong Christians choose their actions” (Christianity). Basically, every time someone sins, that person has to go to God for repentance. Their faith is based on the holy trinity. “God is eternally supreme as the creator and preserver of the world. The trinity exists as three beings in one godhead: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Christianity). God is the creator of life, therefore you must submit to Him. Jesus Christ is the son of God and one must believe in Him in order to be saved. The beliefs of this religion cause disagreement and persecution between Christianity and Islam. To continue, the Islamic law has different believes and ideas. In their religion, “man has equal ability to do good or evil. Allah (God) has given mankind free will” (Christianity). So both good and evil can be done. Also in the Islamic religion, Jews and Christians are respected as “people of the book” but Islam is the only way (Christianity). Even though Muslims respect Jews and Christians, they don’t believe that they are correct. Islamic faith is based on...
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...Opposite Ends of the Belief Bench One subject darkly clouded with confusion is religion, and the idea that they are all the same. Mahatma Gandhi, an important Hindu teacher states, “The soul of religion is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms.” Two of the most popular religions in the United States, Christianity and Islam, are facing this problem. I grew up Christian so the subject of religion is very important to me. After 9/11 the American public was on high alert for terrorists, and they still are today. Just recently a US Ambassador to Libya was killed along with two Navy Seals by an Islamic terrorist group. Some people may ask why do they attack, what motivates them it is what they believe. When your Sacred text, the Koran in this case, has verses that say, “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]”, it is seen clearly why there are terrorist attacks ( Koran 2:191-193). Americans live in a culture where acceptance is the goal. Everything is acceptable because everyone has their own opinion. No one can refute that opinion because the refusal itself could be seen as offensive and the offender will likely get sued. As a result, most people keep their thoughts to themselves, creating the opposite of the desired environment. Instead of freedom of speech we have freedom to speak as long as you do not mind being chewed up by the media...
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...foundation of behavior b. Law of the Jungle B. Creationism 1. God created the universe and all creatures 2. Each species was created separate and distinct 3. God created man special in God’s own image IV. Human Nature A. Evolution 1. Survival of the fittest a. Social behavior b. Mating c. Reproduction 2. Behaviorism a. Behavior is a combination of social learning and genetic influencces b. Effect on antisocial behavior on reproduction 3. Biological determinism a. No real basis for free will B. Creationism 1. Humans were made in God’s image a. God is love, justice, kindness, and joyful 2. The Fall of Man separated humans from God a. ‘War’ between good and evil b. Man’s nature is now sinful 3. Jesus the Son of God redeemed human beings a. Death and resurrection of Jesus b. Through God’s grace and his son’s sacrifice, man has the opportunity to accept a higher nature 3. Humans are free to choose between good and evil V. Humans’ Life Purpose A. Evolution 1. Reproduce/Survive 2. Personal purpose is what people make it to be 3. People can find satisfaction if they follow their own desires and mitigate...
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...10:46-52) The story of Bartimaeus is an experience of the healing power of faith that leads to discipleship. It begins in identification with the humiliation of a blind beggar sitting in the dust. It ends with his sight restored as he follows Jesus on the way up to Jerusalem. In a unique way, this story concretizes the power of the faith of persons who are oppressed by physical or mental handicaps, patriarchal social structures, racial discrimination, and economic systems over which they have no control. It is an invitation to allow our own personal and communal humiliation to be seen in the context of Bartimaeus's faith in Jesus as the Christ. The Story And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And many rebuked him, telling him to shut up. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; rise, he is calling you." And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Master, let me receive my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him...
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...two times. I think it is centered on Goodman Brown having a bumpy past and that he wants to go beyond his past and reach heaven. The characters names also show the religious allegory in the story. The names Goodman and Faith are used and the characters are then soon faced with terrifying evil. I think that Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith’s names symbolize that they are good, religious people and that Goodman is making up everyone being evil in his head. I found an essay by Alexa Carlson that described the symbolism in light vs. dark, forest vs. town, nature vs. human, and fantasy vs. reality. In her paper, Essay #1: Young Goodman Brown, she states that “…fantasy vs. reality are employed to reinforce the idea that good and evil have been set up as strict categories into which no one, not even the religious figures of the community, fit neatly.” As she later writes, if Hawthorne was apprehensive about “what he considers right and wrong in terms of human behavior, I think he would have spend more time building up his tragic end.” “Young Goodman Brown” was a pretty sad story because he was happy with all the locals and his faith until the trip came into Goodman Brown’s life. Goodman is pure going into the forest, but in a sense comes out of the forest somewhat evil. He comes back thinking he is better than everyone else and ends up isolating himself to lead...
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...Kyle Jordan Estanislao TREDTWO C37 2/17/2015 The Clutches of Sin Sin as we all know is formally defined as the infraction against the word of God. With every sinful act we commit, it is like we are distancing ourselves from God. Despite this, it seems that nobody could still stay away from the clutches of sin. Nobody is perfect. We live in an imperfect world filled with temptations and bad influences. Unfortunately no matter how hard we try to stay away and fight off these negative inducements, eventually we would succumb to the pull of sin. As my father always quotes from the bible “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Due to this, people have this common notion in mind that if everybody eventually turns out to be a sinner, then why bother trying so hard not to be one. These people would then rationalize that it is ok to sin because God is super forgiving and that by confessing our sins, everything would be ok. It is as if by simply telling someone of one’s bad deeds, it would magically erase all the damages done because of one’s sinful acts. What they don’t realize is that as described in the lecture, sin is a spiral that enslaves us, making us addicted to it. Every time we commit a sin, it opens us to a possibility that we would keep repeating them until it now harms our major social and personal relations. Sin doesn’t just affect oneself, it also affects the people around us. Every time we commit a sin, more likely than not, someone would be negatively...
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...idea” he expresses a proclamation “God is dead.” He was convinced these new customary values presented in the Christian religions represented a slave morality (Class Notes). This was a morality which was created by weak and resentful individuals who encouraged such behavior as gentleness and kindness because the behavior served their interests in the afterlife. I do not believe that Nietzsche's bold ideas and provocative language were not meant to please the aristocratic elite but to free individuals from the solitude of their pathetic lives. When Nietzsche spoke of slavish morality or of contemporary Europe in general, he gave an offensive outlet to his abhorrence at what culture has done in the name of morality. He rejects society's repugnance of the self-contained peoples who point out its hypocrisies of class, ranks, and morals. The solitary is he who challenges society's desire to turn the human being into an animal. Nietzsche’s viewpoint, to fully understand the concepts of Good and Evil vs. Good and Bad, one must first understand certain how moral systems developed and how culture played a role in its development. Nietzsche felt that moral systems were not created by exterior beings. He feels that moral systems are developed from within a society. This claim was one of the reasons his works were so provocative during his era. Nietzsche had a tendency to make outrageous claims and he used an evocative style. As a result, his philosophy caused intense reactions of either...
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...Atheist Professor vs Believing Student "LET ME EXPLAIN THE problem science has with Jesus Christ." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?" "Yes, sir." "So you believe in God?" "Absolutely." "Is God good?" "Sure! God's good." "Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes." "Are you good or evil?" "The Bible says I'm evil." The professor grins knowingly. "Ahh! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?" "Yes sir, I would." "So you're good...!" "I wouldn't say that." "Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could...God doesn't." [No answer.] "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?" [No answer] The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. "Let's start again, young fella.....Is God good?" "Er... Yes." "Is Satan good?" "No." "Where does Satan come from?" The student falters. "From... God..." "That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?" The elderly...
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...Theories Educational Objectives: 1. Explain the type of problem that is addressed by philosophers. 2. Explain how ethical norms help address ethical issues that arise in accountancy. 3. Contrast the views of Mills, Machiavelli and Kant. 4. Describe what is meant by a social contract. 5. Analyze a given situation and tell why it would be appropriate or inappropriate to lie. 6. Explain the views of Kierkegaard and contrast him from other existentialists. 7. Discuss the concept that ethics cannot be based on religion. 8. Explain the use of ethical reasoning and how it can be used in your professional life. Introduction The major ethical principles accepted in the western world follow guidelines and rules that must be universally applied in all situations. These ethical principles are established primarily on the basis of teachings set forth by philosophers throughout the ages, starting with the great Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As you might expect, there have been many alterations 修改 to these moral principles throughout the years. What was considered ethically correct by some was rejected by others and replaced with their own concept of what constituted moral or ethical behavior. A Comment about Philosophy: Philosophy, unlike science, addresses issues that cannot be solved. In fact, some philosophers state that if a problem can be solved, philosophers will not even address the issue, feeling that...
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