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H - The Existence of God & Revelation (Hindu philosophy, First Cause…
H - The Existence of God & Revelation
Hindu philosophy & design argument
rta
- natural order ,, the unchangeable force which keeps everything else in its proper order
divine presence
first, 'proper order' based purely on physical observations: things happened in natural world in certain way & everything lived in harmony - this is how things must always happen
later, idea of physical force developed into 'divine presence' which established moral order as well as natural order in world
theist
- a person who believes in God
athiests
- people who think there's not enough evidence to believe in God
design argument
- God designed universe because everything so intricately made it couldn't have happened by chance
Ultimate reality
H's try to understand 'self' - leads to understanding of 'God within'
H's willing to accept that all theories offered contain some part of 'eternal truth'
Hindu philosophy, First Cause argument & existence of God
First Cause Argument
- (also called Cosmological argument),, has to b an uncaused cause that made everything else happen, otherwise there would be nothing now
God was the First Cause of everything else that came into the world - only thing which doesn't need starting off is God
Brahman caused the universe to come into being
Vishnu or Brahma cause new beginnings
God is seen as impersonal energy in the cosmos, the inner spirit of each living being & personal deity. As supreme being, God must be in control - it must be this God who set the worlds in motion & governs the cycles of time
Strengths of First Cause argument:
H cosmology agrees with the argument & when two well-known groups agree with each other, the argument is stronger
if believe in Big Bang, who created it? God must have
Aquinas - nothingness remains nothing unless something causes it to come alive
Weaknesses:
something must have caused God to exist - must be force stronger than God
Big Bang can be explained by science and by matter in a particular state - not planned by God
religious views of God are just stories made up to explain something people don't understand
Evil; argument against existence of God
H's refer to 'good' as 'knowledge', 'evil' as 'ignorance'
One cause of evil - when atman turns away from God
Durga - killed evil demon Mahish and restored harmony on the earth
Hindu scriptures teach...
although the sun = source of everything in solar system, no darkness resides in it. When self turns away from sun, it sees darkness as its own shadow. Atman ignoring the Divine = cause of all strife & suffering
MAIN ARGUMENT
........................................................................................................................................
why does evil exist if God cares about us
if God is
omnipotent
(but can't destroy evil),
omniscient
(but not aware how evil is destroying his creation),
omnibenevolent
(but allows evil to bring damage & chaos to world) and
all-loving
(but also allowing humans to sin)
Why is evil present?
- H's believe it creates balance and harmony in the world
Suffering; argument against existence of God
counter-arguments to: why does evil exist if God is etc?
isn't all powerful (may want to stop suffering but can't)
suffering is just an illusion
God knows reason for suffering but doesn't reveal it to humans
God wants to teach humans a lesson
God sends suffering to test people's faith
expects believers to trust Him even in times of suffering
Arguments for athiests view: evil proves God doesn't exist............................................
only athiests would accept the fact suffering proves God doesn't exist
if he is all-powerful, He must be able to control suffering
can't accept God selfishly pursues a plan without considering their feelings
if suffering is a way to test criminals, God is cruel
thinking of suffering as illusion = only helpful to ascetics (he should love everyone)
God allowing suffering wouldn't be action of all-loving God
H's teachings about suffering - must be endured and mustn't affect a person's spiritual growth or ability to show compassion
Miracles; argument for existence of God
A nature miracle
- some murtis (statues) of Ganesha and other Hindu gods appeared to drink milk which was offered to them on spoon in temples - thousands went to see what was happening - scientists tried to explain how it happened scientifically
H's believe prayer and devotion can relieve suffering
Girl was seriously ill and rushed to hospital, grandmother prayed to Shiva (her special deity) and did what she was told - took her to temple at Ochira and washed her in the water with a priest chanting - she was cured
General revelation
revelation
...............................................................................................
enlightening experience
divine/supernatural experience where God shows himself to believers
special revelation
- God making himself known through direct personal experience or unusual specific event
general revelation
- God making himself known through ordinary, common human experience e.g. seeing a beautiful sunset
H began with holy men who lived thousands of years ago experiencing truths of Brahman and passing on what they heard/learnt - these truths =
Hindu scriptures, the Shruti
- 'that which is heard'
Hindus read the scriptures (e.g. Rig Vedas, Upanishads), explain them to others -> giving enlightenment
Shruti
- oldest Hindu scriptures thought to be revealed by God, such as the Vedas, Upandishads
Smriti
- remembered Hindu scripture, commentaries on the shruti texts, part of Hindu tradition
Enlightenment as source of knowledge about Divine
enlightenment
- the gaining of true knowledge about God or self through devotion, meditation and self-discipline
enlightenment gained by 4 paths - duty, knowledge, self-discipline & devotion
ideas about Divine:
if God seen as impersonal, how can believers approach him and relate
some prefer to see God as all-powerful and not involved with day-to-day (want him to be stable and unchangable)
helpful to know God is constantly at work in world, ready to help (here God is being
immanent
)
some believe the antaryami is most powerful aspect of God
Special revelation - visions as source of knowledge about Divine
Ramakrishna
(example)
Bhaktivinoda Thakur, a Vaishnavan reformer
(another example)