Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
12 markers - The Existence of God and Revelation, The Existence of God and…
12 markers - The Existence of God and Revelation
The Existence of God and Revelation (Theme 2)
simplified version
The Argument from Miracles
Arguments for
The only one who could possibly perform miracles are God as they are unexplained by science
Impossible miracles such as water into wine
Miracles must have been caused by an omnibenevolent being
An example is stairwell B where He used his omnipotence to protect people, 16 escaped unscathed
Arguments Against
May only be beyond current scientific knowledge
The prophet Elijah called upon God to burn offerings. It was assumed it couldn't be lightning because of clear skies, but current knowledge proves it could've been lightning (anvil lightning)
The events may be severely exaggerated
David Hume - 'Witnesses to miracles are unreliable as most of them are primitive uneducated people'
Miracle
: a seeemingly impossible event, usually good, that cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws, and is thought to be the action of God.
Features of Miracles
They are always good
Plane crash --> everyone dies
Not a miracle
According to religious believers, God uses His Omnipotence to help because he loves us.
Often very personal; people see the miracle as God showing Himself to them by acting in their life for their good.
Justified conclusion
Survivor-ship bias affects how data is perceived, such as 16 escaping unscathed, contrasted with almost 3000 deaths
Miracles don't have to have been caused by an omnibenevolent being, as they may just be good coincidences, and all unlikely events are simply called disasters when they could equally be the work of God
The First Cause Argument
Arguments for
Everything must have a cause however infinite regression is impossible
'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.'
Bible
The universe must have had a beginning for it to exist right now
This is supported by the Big Bang theory
God must have been the original creator
The Argument
The concept of causation : everything that happens has a cause and a causer
This chain of causes cannot be infinite as infinite regression is impossibe
Something cannot come out of nothing so there must be a first cause which is an
uncaused causer
This must be God as He is transcendent
Arguments against
Why must God be the uncaused causer?
'If God is eternal why can't the universe be eternal?' David Hume
It is absurd reasoning
Brick and Window analogy
Justified conclusion
It doesn't make sense to jump to the conclusion of God being the uncaused causer
The Big Bang was a random and spontaneous event, not an action by God
The Design Argument
Arguments for
The universe appears to have been fine-tuned to accommodate human development
FR Tenants Anthropic Principle
The distance from the sun
The strength of gravity
The amount of water on Earth
The complexity and apparent design within nature
Isaac Newton's Design Argument
Thumbs are complex and intricate as every thumbprint is different and unique
Thumbs are designed to a purpose to allow precise and delicate movements and dexterity
Arguments against
Complexity doesn't prove that something must have had a designer.
Emergent Systems : Intricacy happens because of countless simple or random rules and interactions.
Galaxies form over long periods of time because of gravity slowly gathering more mass together
Evolution. Random mutations filtered by the necessity of survival. Shows how humans can have complex organs without the need for a designer
The world is full of imperfection and flaws
'A flawed world implies a flawed creator'
Poverty - Causes hardship in the lives of many
Natural Disasters - Tremendous casualty counts, kills innocent and evil people alike
Justified conclusion
Design Argument only alludes to the existence of a designer not God
It is absurd reasoning to argue backwards from designer to God
Ockham's razor
'Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity' God is an example of where entities have been multiplied beyond necessity as there are alternative explanations
Revelation and Enlightenment
Revelation
: God showing himself/herself/itself to believers; this is the only way anybody can really know anything about God
As a source of knowledge about the divine
Arguments for
The impacts of revelation are massive
For example Saul on the Damascus road used to persecute against Christians but after his revelation he got baptised
The only being who could have such a profound impact is an omnipotent one such as God
There are so many documented examples of revelation that they can't all be fake
Arguments against
The person may be pretending to have a revelation for monetary gain
Example : Mr/Mrs Bakker - Televangelists who committed fraud
The person may be under the illusion of having seen a revelation . This can happen because of temporal lobe epilepsy / medical conditions
Example : Ellen G White - Only had revelations after head injuries and would have epileptic fits
Justified Conclusion
The many documented examples may be an example of placebo / mass hysteria
This disproves both the massive impacts as well as the many fake documented examles
General Revelation:
God making himself/herself/itself known through ordinary, common human experiences.
Christian Beliefs
Nature + Scripture
'They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them'
Shows his omnipotence as God's work can still be heard
He is able to surpass natural laws as he is transcendent
Metaphorical meaning : The beauty in nature is a display of God's omnipotence and omnipresence
Scripture is interpreted in different ways, literal, non literal, and as myths intended to pass one core truth
Muslim Beliefs
Scripture
Scripture is the direct word of God
The hidden depth of the words allows the presence and power He conveys to be felt
'This is the scripture in which there is no doubt'
Nature
'He sends water down from the sky to restore the earth to life after death'
Nature reveals God as omnibenevolent as He is allowing the world to thrive
Nature reveals God to be omnipotent as he creates complex weather systems
Special Revelation:
God making himself/herself/itself known through direct personal experience or an unsual specific event.
In Islam, there is no concept of special revelation like in other religions.
It is only for prophets and messengers because the human brain could never cope seeing God
"It is not granted to any mortal that God should speak to him except through revelations."
For example, in the Bible, it shows Saul, later becoming known as Paul, receiving a vision on the Damascus road by God.
The vision completely changed his life, making him totally committed to the Christian faith after previously being a Jew.
This strongly indicates that special revelations such as dreams or visions were given to people by God for specific reasons.
Enlightenment:
To understand religious truths