So with caprice and contempt these laws turn out to be not so important after all, as long as the truth of religion can be proved by their being rendered inoperative. Just let them get to talk about the book. is not just a matter of imposing some sort of organization . "How bio-friendly is the universe". If we assert that the universe has a cause or explanation, we might ask what caused or explains that cause. This perspective does not require the existence of an overarching plan or design, which challenges certain theological concepts of Gods intentional creation. But nor could you as people of faith; you wouldnt dare. The teleological argument: The fine-tuning that is established in the initial conditions of the universe, not to speak of in the biological complexity that then ensued. Ernan McMullin, Anthropic Explanation in Cosmology, paper delivered at the conference God and Physical Cosmology, University of Notre Dame, January 30-February 1, 2003. Why? They argue that Gods role may be seen as working through natural processes or that scientific explanations do not diminish the religious and spiritual significance of life and the universe. We are going to throw it open to the studentswe have a student section up there. In one of the most startling developments of modern science, we now have pretty strong evidence that the universe is not eternal in the past but had an absolute beginning about thirteen billion years ago in a cataclysmic event known as the Big Bang. Historians have reached something of a consensus that the historical Jesus came on the scene with an unprecedented sense of divine authority, the authority to stand and speak in God's place. In a previous article I wrote about fine-tuning in the Universe and the empirical evidence for a Grand Designer that can be found within our reality. Moderator: We now enter the period of cross-examination, which, trial like, allows the questioner to pose and the answerer only to answer and not to repeat the question or to dodge. Examples of evil include natural disasters, diseases, human cruelty, and the immense suffering experienced by both humans and animals. If we assert that belief in God is justified or warranted based on certain reasons or evidence, we can ask for the justification or evidence for those reasons. As the scholar of ancient Greek philosophy, Ian Mueller, writes in Mathematics And The Divine, the realm of such ideals is that of God. And the desire of pro-life persons to champion the lives of the unborn or the lives of the dying isn't a power grab, Mr. Hitchens. Until recently, the scientifically unfathomable quality of human consciousness inhibited the very scholarly discussion of the subject. On the other hand, if I know Biola students, I suspect that a good many of you, when you came in tonight, said to yourself, "I'm going to check my own views at the door, and I'm going to assess the arguments as objectively as possible." It has led to further debates and developments in the field, with philosophers seeking to address the challenges raised by Hume and explore alternative conceptions of causation and induction. Instead, it challenges the coherence of certain conceptions of God in light of the observed reality of evil and suffering. He says moral values are just innate predispositions,[7]ingrained into us by evolution. Weve heard attacks upon religion, Christianity impugned, God impugned, Mother Teresa impugned, but we havent heard any arguments that God does not exist. I became a Christian as a junior in high school, and it changed my entire life. And they calculate the probability of the evolution of the human genome to be somewhere between four to the negative 180th power to the 110,000th power and four to the negative 360th power to the 110,000th power. We're too early in the study of physics and biology, it seems to me, to be dealing in certainties of that kind, especially when the stakes are so high. He claimed that in Himself the Kingdom of God had come, and as visible demonstrations of this fact He carried out a ministry of miracle working and exorcisms. I would agree with that. Have a safe, productive trip home. But I think Russell's point cuts both ways because it's a valid point. Everything is a mystery to them, everything from disease to volcanic eruptions. Most Christians in my acquaintance who are engaged with either scientific or biblical scholarship have concluded that the special creationist picture of the world's formation is not a necessary component of Christian belief." The workings of human consciousness are similarly miraculous. I'll make these lay objections. Jacob Kremer, Die Osterevangelien--Geschichten um Geschichte (Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1977), 49-50. On March 5, 2022, the debate "Does God Exist?" was held in Orlando, Florida, at FREEFLO, which is the biennial conference of the Florida Humanist Association. and locking yourself into an infinite regress? It's a concession made to the need for fact. I just saw a video of him debating four prominent Evangelical theists in Dallas, and it really wasnt fair. . Now which of those do you hold to within this umbrella of ah-theism? 11 Dec. 2013. Well, that sort of concern with efficiency is only of importance to someone with either limited time or limited resources or both. Print. Others suggest that the problem of infinite regress can be avoided by accepting an axiomatic starting point, acknowledging that there may be certain fundamental principles or entities that do not require further explanation. And for ninety-eight thousand years or so, heaven watches this with complete indifference. Dr. Craig: I don't know how many religions in the world there are, so I cant answer. You mentioned things like apartheid and Nazism, well, let me just run it by youpartly this often comes up because people say, What about the crimes and wickedness of the secular world? The apartheid system in South Africa was actually a creation of the Dutch Reformed Church. Unless Mr. Hitchens can show that I'm psychologically deranged or delusional, it seems to me I'm perfectly rational on the basis of my immediate experience of God to believe that God exists, and that therefore this, for me, is a properly basic belief. Hugh Hewitt, yes Hugh Hewitt. Existence exists, and it is God | Religious Studies | Cambridge Core So I don't see that there are any good grounds here for thinking that this provides reason for atheism. At our debate in Dallas the other day, I mentioned the case of Frulein Fritzl, the Austrian woman who was imprisoned in a dungeon by her father for quarter of a century and incestuously raped and tortured and kept in the dark with her children for 25 years, and I thoughtI asked people to imagine how she must have beseeched him, how she must have begged him (and how the children must have), and how they must have prayed. Do you regard any of the world's religions to be false? That is not true! Does God Exist Debate Philosophy Essay Atheists claim there is scientific proof that God is not real. fair enough. It is the best of timesit is the best of times for those who like to argue about God in the public square, largely because of the rise of new atheists such as Mr. Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, my friend William Lobdell and others who have once again put [at] the center of the public stage the question of whether or not God does exist and whether or not Jesus Christ is His son. All right. I don't have to prove awitchism. Epistemic Regress. So Christianity, I would argue, did not disappear as much as it reappeared in many such disguised forms of secular religion.. If you are going to grant this for one religion, it seems to me you have to be willing, not just willing, you may indeed be compelled to make this concession for all of them. I love that! . . Atheists have tried for centuries to disprove the existence of God, but no one's ever been able to come up with a successful argument. And he says the only thing he can think of that would explain this is the empty tomb and the postmortem appearances of Jesus, and thats why Wright concludes that these have a certainty that is comparable to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The only choice we get is what to worship.. In other words, everything can, in due timeif you have enough faithbe made to fit. Now what about my arguments for theism? In Nazi Germany, prayers were said every year on the Fhrers birthday by order of the churches for his survival and well-being. That the very improbability of the thing, the very unlikelihood of it, the unlikelihood that anyone would fabricate such a thingfor example, that a Jew could be brought to believe something so extraordinaryis testimony to its truth. Naturalistic Explanation. These two claims are not just mutually exclusive, but I think they are intended to compensate each other's cruelty and, ultimately, absurdity. I'm not committing myself, nor are historians committing themselves, to the reality of demons. PROGRAM. Hitchens Dr. Craig Mr. Hitchens Q&ACross Examination Second RebuttalDr. And I believe that we're seeing a tremendous groundswell of interest among laypeople as this revolution is beginning to filter down to the man in the street. Well, this event was initiated by the Associated Students of Biola University, and it makes sense that A.S. President, Eric Weaver, should give a quick welcome on behalf of the student body. If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist. Other physicists sought his help in finding a mathematics that would predict the workings of the solar system. So that this isn't an issue between atheism and theism, this is an issue about biblical inspiration and inerrancy, and that's an important issue. In what follows, I will discuss very briefly Kants critique of the ontological argument. I think this is a very serious problem. We don't particularly. | Matt Dillahunty vs Michael Egnor Matt Dillahunty is a seasoned debater, the current president of the Atheist. Its pretty straightforward. The problem of infinite regress in relation to the existence of God can be summarized as follows: Causal Regress. Such predispositions, he says, are inevitable for any animal . So I think the questioner makes a good point. . And what does He do? Mr. Hitchens: Do you regard any of the world's religions to be false preaching? The debate between science and religion over the existence of a higher power often leads to little more than a shouting match. Actions like rape, cruelty, and child abuse aren't just socially unacceptable behavior. Mr. Hitchens: Well, you know, I'm not sure that I would agree. There's nothing particularly new. Barrow and Tipler, two physicists, in their book The Anthropic Cosmological Principle list ten steps in the course of human evolution each of which is so improbable that before it would occur the sun would have ceased to be a main sequence star and incinerated the earth. I want to repeat something Dr. Hazen said, there are stupid questions. The argument is that you need a historically sufficient explanation to explain why the disciples came to believe this, and there isn't one apart from the empty tomb and appearances. His presuppositions determine the outcome. There are injunctions for genocide in the Old Testament. Human beings have existed for thousands of years on this planet before Christ's coming. Humes critique is commonly referred to as the problem of induction. So you have got to get the argument right if you are going to deal with it, and, in fact, I think the only explanation of these facts is the one that the disciples gave that God raised Jesus from the dead. He questions the inference from our observations of causal relationships in the world to the existence of a necessary first cause. Since the 1970s, however, it has become a leading area of inquiry among philosophers. After all, life on Earth would be difficult and far more interesting if the laws of physics were less rigid in their design. The argument from poor design states that if God is perfect, why did he create us and many other living creatures so poorly? Mr. Hitchens: You see the reason I'm pressing you in this is because, I mean, we know from Scripture that Pharaohs magicians could produce miracles. In fact, your handy-dandy program will tell you whats going on right up at the top inside panel. This article delves into the debate surrounding the existence of God, examining various arguments and perspectives put forth by philosophers, theologians, and scientists. (Moscow, ID: Cannon Press, 2008), 52. Let me simply quote N. T. Wright in his recent study of the resurrection. So this I would thereforethis tactic or this style of argument which we've had some evidence of this eveningI would rebaptize, or might I dare say I would rechristen it as retrospective evidentialism. While the question remains inherently complex and elusive, a careful examination of the arguments and evidence can contribute to a more informed understanding of this enduring philosophical and existential inquiry. Analytic judgments are those in which the predicate is contained within the subject, while synthetic judgments involve adding new information to the subject.
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