Preview

Basinger's Argument Of Religious Exclusivism?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
637 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Basinger's Argument Of Religious Exclusivism?
Basinger’s Argument
According to Williams, 2013, religious exclusivism refers to the view that individual’s religious belief is the only appropriate and correct view, where all others are seen as false and wrong. That is, a notion that only one primary theistic system contains the truth, while others are wrong, mistaken, or far away from the truth. Apparently, this sort of thinking connects with religious extremists and fundamentals. One of the philosophers by the name Basinger argues for a middle way stand regarding the religious exclusivism theory, where he maintains that religious exclusivism is a justified and reliable position to stand with only if the quest for truth is acknowledged as the primary epistemic duty.
In his argument, Basinger formulates this epistemic duty with a notion that if a religious exclusivist desires to maximize the truth, avoid or minimize errors, he/she must be under a prima facie obligation to try and resolve any substantial epistemic peer conflict (Williams, 2013). In supporting his stand, Basinger argues that religious exclusivism becomes more practical when individuals consider intra-theistic systems. In his explanation, he gives an example of a disagreement between the Christians on the nature of God’s omnipotence and the nature of the human being freedom that poses a substantial difference with
…show more content…
Reason being, we are all from diverse cultures, with different beliefs, which means, we have differences in religion. However, these differences should not make any group of people view their faith as the best, the one that holds the truth, creating a perception that other people’s beliefs are false and wrong. We all serve one supreme being, our cultural differences are minor, as we all have the same hope and faith of having an eternal life. Therefore, there should not have even a single attempt or assessment to solve any thriving religious

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The aim of this paper is to reduce Swinburne’s Christian centered theodicy into a pantheistic theodicy via modification of Spinoza’s necessitarianism. To begin, I will accept the imperative conditions of Swinburne’s theodicy up to a certain degree. Consequently, the primary condition Swinburne’s theodicy and my proposal each share is the consequentialist disposition of the Divine. However, the noted degree at which these theodicies will deviate is the condition demanding objective moral judgments. In particular, the deviation occurs where Swinburne asserts “the problem of evil does not arise if one denies either the omnipotence or the perfect goodness of God”. And so that is where the central divide between the two views comes into play. The…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world is filled with many different belief systems. All belief systems are different and influence their followers and the society differently. Judaism and Hinduism are belief systems that are great examples of this.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Since the beginning of mankind, man has sought some form of a higher entity and a basis for humanity. Since the beginning, it has always been important to find a greater purpose for human life--to discover life’s meaning. Naturally, due to cultural differences, incongruities arose in man’s interpretation of how best to live and how best to be faithful, and eventually man focused more on those differences rather than the similar theme that was emphasized in each of the Holy Books: to love our neighbors and to love God, or whatever higher entity we chose to worship (Interview). As time progressed, these differences in opinion began to become forms of identification, and man began to use faith and religion to distinguish themselves from one another.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If we all stuck to our own beliefs we would all be alone and feel different from all others. By showing understanding and respect we can learn and respect each other and make for a happier place to be.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It goes without question, that human beings will always question the existence of “God”. Whether these questions are formed in support or denial of an omnipresent creator they are important in helping shape our morality. H J McCloskey and his article “On Being and Atheist” is very critical of theists. It thus presents several arguments on how believers are incorrect in their belief in “God”, cosmological and teleological. McCloskey also focus’s on the existence of evil and how one can find comfort in atheism when facing evil.…

    • 1881 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    George Marsden, University of Notre Dame Professor of History and noted authority on American Fundamentalism, provides a salient series of essays divided into a historical survey of American Fundamentalism to include key events and personalities on the movement, in particular the years 1830 through the late 1980s as well as interpretative essays of the movement focusing specifically on the themes of “politics and views of science.”[1] The overall strength of this work can be observed in Marsden’s apt historical overview of fundamentalism, its continual critique and battles against modernism and theological liberalism, while its only weakness arguably resides in…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Response Paper

    • 1586 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In 1968, a article was published by a man named H.J. McCloskey called “On Being an Atheist”, in which an attempt to present arguments against the existence of God is made. In his work, McCloskey attempts to provide readers with the argument that atheism is more “reasonable and comfortable (McCloskey,1968)” compared to the alternative theistic view. In his article, McCloskey attempts to make arguments against the three typical theistic proofs of God which includes the cosmological and teleological arguments, along with the argument from design. McCloskey uses the existence of evil and the irrationalness off faith against the theistic view of God. At the beginning of the article it seems that an intriguing argument will be made regarding the theistic view point of God, yet as McCloskey continues the argument becomes more biased in attacking spiritual beliefs which questions his validity.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In fact McCloskey places the bar even lower by referring to the “proofs of” rather than “arguments for” God’s existence, thereby overstating the Theist’s claim. With respect to the “proofs” for God’s existence that McCloskey attempts to deal with, namely the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments, McCloskey offers trivial objections that are easily answered. With respect to arguments for God’s non-existence, McCloskey offers the logical form of the problem of evil which, while rich in rhetoric, does not contain enough logic to necessitate its title. McCloskey ends his article with a pragmatic justification of Atheist, stating that Atheism is more comforting that Theism; a point that is stark in its irrelevance.…

    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this paper, I will be making a response to a well-known writer and atheist, H. J. McCloskey, to his article entitled, “On Being an Atheist.” “An atheist is a person who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.” It is very clear to me that McCloskey is a smart and intelligent man but he also seems to be a little on the arrogant side. His purpose for writing this particular article was to inform other people as to why he believes that “atheism is a much more comfortable belief than theism and why theists should be miserable because they are theists.” I believe that everyone has the right to believe whatever they so desire and that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. I am a saved, sanctified, and born-again Christian and I wholeheartedly believe in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am in total disagreement with…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Section 3 demonstrates that the truth of existence of the logical God is a priori. Section 4 pinpoints three logical points of agreement between theists and atheists, and the possible point in philosophy at which if at all, they might go separate ways in peace. Section 5 considers more of the possible conceptual errors of theists and atheists and calls for bridge building. Section 6 contains the concluding thoughts.…

    • 8481 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On Being an Atheist

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The purpose of the paper is to answer several questions arising from an article by H. J. McCloskey entitled “On Being an Atheist”.…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religious exclusivism is an idea that is the complete opposite of religious pluralism. Religious pluralist’s such as John Hick have ideas containing a set of beliefs asserting that multiple religions can not only all co-exist, but they can all also be true within their own beliefs that they hold about the cosmology of the Earth, God, and our existence. And the complete opposite of John Hick’s belief is the idea of Religious Exclusivism. Religious Exclusivism is an idea that is represented by Alvin Plantiga. And what the idea of Religious Exclusivism represents is that whatever religious belief you hold to be true, must be true exclusively, which then deems all other religions to be false. To put plainly, what Hick and other religious pluralists believe is "Belief is highly contingent, therefore we can't assume our beliefs are any more or less legitimate than other people's beliefs." And the belief that Plantiga has, and that other Religious Exclusivists hold is that, "Belief is highly contingent, therefore we have no justification for assuming our own beliefs are less legitimate than other people's beliefs." When you compare the two ideas, the conclusion is that religious exclusivist excludes all religions except his or her own; while religious pluralists, accepts all religions except the exclusivist version of each. Therefore, a religious exclusivist ends up rejecting the views of fewer people.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion is a way of life for much of mankind, and though all religions are not the same, do all religions do the same thing? Can religion be considered as a way to unite mankind, or viewed as a way to segregate them. Lines are drawn by religions even though many look to religion as a way of life. To join again is the linguistic meaning of the word religion. To search or find the divine or sacred is what drives mankind to follow religion in all its shapes and forms. From Christianity to Buddhism, to indigenous religions such as the Native Americans, or Igbo tribes of Africa, while studying religion what components will be deemed critical…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    We have many religions all over the world. Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam: the people who believe in these religions do share many similarities in their beliefs. Some attend church once a week and others go several times a week. All the people who believe in these religions have one thing in common; they all try to be and struggle with being perfect everyday of their existence. However, all religious practitioners are not perfect. They are human and still commit sin. Some of the main sins committed daily that keep religious practitioners from their goals are; jealousy, greed, and lying.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States, there are so many people who follow several different religious beliefs. They pray to different gods and even eat different foods depending on the religion that they follow. Everyone is entitled to believe anything one wants to believe, and this is a right that everyone has in our country. The problem that surfaces with religion is when one thinks his or her religion is better than another’s and should be followed by everyone. It is great to think that everyone can follow whatever religion he or she wants, but in reality, who is given the choice to really choose? Whether it is by parents, friends, or even the missionaries who travel around neighborhoods, there is always someone trying to project his or…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays