Is Religion Reasonable? Faith Seeking Understanding

1
Is Religion Reasonable?Faith Seeking
Understanding

• The ontological argument
• The cosmological argument
• The teleological argument (from design)

2
The Ontological Argument
St. Anselm (1033-1109)

• P1 God means the greatest conceivable being
• P2a A being that exists in ones mind and in
  reality (outside of ones mind) is greater than
  one that exists only in ones mind
• P2b A necessarily existing being is greater than
  a merely possible being
• Therefore, God must exist in reality

3
Objections to Anselms Argument

• Gaunilo imagining anything as perfect does
  not make it exist. Reply the non-existence
  of everything other than God is
  conceivable
• Aquinas if there is a greatest conceivable
  being, he exists but we cannot simply assume his
  existence based on our meaning of God. Reply
  what else could we mean?
• Kant A concept of God a concept of his
  existing may be greater than a concept of God
  alone but these are only concepts, not claims
  about existence outside our concepts. Reply why
  cant we discuss such external existence?

4
The Cosmological Argument St. Thomas Aquinas
(1225-74)

• The universe, like all things in it, is
  contingent (i.e., depends on something else as
  the cause of its existence) otherwise, it is
  unintelligible

• If there is no essential cause of the universe
  (that is, if the causal sequence is infinite),
  then nothing would be happening or be
  intelligible here and now. But things do exist
  here and now, so God exists here and now

5
Humes Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument

• No being (including God) exists necessarily
• If God is eternal, why not the universe too?
• Fallacy of composition parts ? whole
• Why should we think that everything has a cause
  or reason for its existence?
• Besides, the argument does not prove that God is
  anything other than a cause of things who might
  not care at all about his creation