Preview

Vergote: The Eight Motives Of Unbelief

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1438 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Vergote: The Eight Motives Of Unbelief
Eight "motives of unbelief"
Vergote is - founding his views on many observations and experience - described the origin and formation of atheism under these eight aspects:

1. Man's spirit in the universe primarily encountered something lofty, mysterious and sacred (which is discussed in R. Otto). The sacred is something extraordinary for us, horrible and attractive at the same time. Man seizes the holy fear and joy. This double feeling from quite different before the Holy See, before the numinous - the Divine, may result in or acquiescence to God or separation from God. Instead of confidently into the hands of "desirable and attractive" (Father, for example), someone will frighten the thought that the holy and awful at the same time but will
…show more content…
This builds the last eighth psychological motive, which Vergote interprets the birth of atheism. It is a critique of the idea and the reality of God the Father. He thinks he is the center of all the objections against religion, because there played the deepest man's accounts. The man calculated with that other, which also occurs in grace, and in the notice and claims as a father. If contemporary atheism stronger emphasizes human autonomy, the more emphatically rejecting any of God "interference in the internal affairs of man." (As Nietzsche humpback injured, as well as small Sartre, what God looks into the depths of the soul and conscience!) Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher, reproached the Christians that God has placed in the Unknown, not in the spirit of universal human (as Hegelians? ); reprimanded them what fear of collapse and egotism in life are not crushed by true love. In addition, he says, hiding behind faith in God the Father, who is too old-fashioned and conservative. The father is the law, strict judge, who will be seeking only his glory and does not give enough freedom human heart. Is there space for human freedom, the joy and the infinite love? Instead of guilt, anxiety, masochistic and sadistic elements of man seeks freedom. Removes prayer and obedience, they shut the victims and humility, a man is keen to mythical demiurge and Promethean types, and for his followers and companions enter the fight against the father. Freud explained how every man wants in some way be a father myself, and that means the last authority. This confusion stems from a poor knowledge of God, especially God the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In William L. Rowe 's paper "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism" he sets out to accomplish two main goals. The first goal is directed toward theists, while the second attempts to reach the very wellspring of an atheist 's heart. Foremost, Rowe sets out to show that there is "an argument for atheism based on the existence of evil that may rationally justify someone in being an atheist" (335). After he has effectively addressed this first issue he moves on to try and convince the atheist that in light of all the evidence that theists are rationally justified (just as much as the atheist) and therefore that atheists should subscribe to what Rowe calls "friendly atheism."…

    • 1206 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    chp 5 Dr.Beckers book

    • 18144 Words
    • 73 Pages

    After briefly introducing the concept of revelation within Christian theology, this chapter first explores the problem of talking about God in our secular world, particularly about the objections to God-talk, especially from the atheistic position. The chapter then proceeds to discuss what Christian theologians call "the general revelation of God." This type of revelation is based on the natural knowledge of God which is generally or universally available to all human beings. The chapter investigates various objections to such knowledge, most especially those within atheistic critiques of both religion and God. The chapter then describes the principal positions that Christian theologians have taken regarding the possibility of a natural knowledge of God.…

    • 18144 Words
    • 73 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freud focused on the brain and how that thought processes worked on different levels. One of these levels was called the ‘super-ego’ which was responsible for how we chose and understood the difference between right and wrong; thus suggesting that a divine moral law giver, such as God, may not be responsible for how we act morally as intelligent beings.…

    • 563 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good 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
  • Good Essays

    Freud was a neurologist and is known as the founding father of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that religion is used as a protective system that man should ‘disregard in its relation to reality’. Freud saw to origins of religious belief lying with primitive tribes. The tension between the dominant male and the subordinate males (sons) culminates to over throw the father (this is a manifestation of the Oedipus complex). However, the guilt that the son then feels because of this is alleviated only by worshiping his father. The super-ego (the part of your subconscious that encourages you to act morally it represses anti-social impulses such as killing, and by inducing fear and guilt, it is crucial for civilisation) then takes the place of the father as a source of internalised authority, which is derived from the family, education and Church. God is a father substitute and a projection of the super-ego. Freud believed that man is dependent on religion to ‘make his helplessness tolerable’ and whilst he maintained this dependency he could never truly be happy. Freud realised that a feeling of helplessness in the face of external dangers, inner impulses and death and society, were at the route of religion. He observed that many religious rituals were similar to obsessive rituals. These are to protect the ego (the more primal part of your subconscious) from fantasies, desires and especially sexual impulses which, are normally repressed.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In February of 1968, H. J. McCloskey’s published an article called, “On Being an Atheist.” In this, he argues that atheism is a more comfortable, logical and realistic than theism. He mentions the evil that is in the world and how it doesn’t make any sense to find comfort in a God that purposely causes pain, disease and natural disasters. McCloskey also mentions it is unreasonable to live by faith in this world. In this article, he argues the three theistic proofs including, the argument for design, the teleological argument and the cosmological argument.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Brown, Neil. "The New Atheism and The Existence of God.” Compass, 46, no. 3, 2-5. Kensington, Australia: Compass, Spring 2012.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this analysis paper I will talk about incorporating God throughout everyday life, whether it be through materialistic things or one’s own self perception of how it is to live and pattern after Godly ways . In “A World Split Apart,” Alexander Solzhenitsyn infers that there is a higher power than man; a lack of spirituality can harm ones afterlife. Through a higher power all things are possible he says, “If, as claimed by humanism, man were born only to be happy, he would not be born to die. Since his body is doomed to death, his task on earth evidently must be more spiritual: not a total engrossment in everyday life, not the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then their carefree consumption.” Whereas in “A Voice from Russia’s Past,” by Jack Fruchtman Jr. he simply argues that Solzhenitsyn is speaking from Slavophiles point of view, which stands as a group of Russian philologists and nationalists interested in the origins of the Russian language. Fruchtman also stated that Solzhenitsyn echoed this theme at Harvard when he noted that the philosophical foundation of the West has historically rested on a “rationalistic humanism,” by which he meant “the proclaimed and enforced autonomy of man from any higher force above him. (Fruchtman 44)” My last and final source will come from “Presenting Humanism” by Jende Huang. Huang speaks from a humanist view and states that our society has been so socialized to accept the idea that believing in God is something that is "good," and even for a religious liberal, there may exist, an unconscious desire to hold onto that. The realization that you don 't need a god to live your life is a difficult one and one that cannot be easily acknowledged.…

    • 1651 Words
    • 48 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
  • Better Essays

    Final essay proposal

    • 832 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Existentialism dwells on the concept of absurdity in life. It focuses on the conflict between the constant and intense search for meaning and the inability to find it. Existentialism also admits that the world is dominated by pain, frustration, sickness, contempt, malaise and death. (Barnes 1962) This is the main ideology behind Jean-Paul Sartre’s work, “Existentialist Ethics”. The existentialist ideology began to flourish during the Second World War. However, the existential system of thought can be traced back to earlier thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. Who is a German philosopher and considered as one of the most provocative and influential thinkers of the late nineteenth century who challenged the foundations of Christianity. (Robert Wicks, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Nietzsche 's philosophy is that ' 'God is dead ' ' and he calls for a ' 'revaluation of all values ' ' in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both Nietzsche and Sartre are atheistic existentialists and agree that “God is dead”, and that human beings must take responsibility for their own actions. The philosophers have a lot of parallels between their thought, and also many differences. The purpose of the final essay is to show that although Nietzsche and Sartre are atheist philosophers, they have different interpretations of the death of God. The paper will also examine how both thinkers share a similar understanding of human freedom and the meaning of life.…

    • 832 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Response Paper

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages

    H. J. McCloskey, a renowned philosopher in the mid 20th century, wrote a provocative article in 1968 titled, “On Being an Atheist”. McCloskey argues for atheism as the preferred and better belief system based upon his refutation of the theistic arguments. He argues against the existence of God by attempting to refute the cosmological and teleological arguments; as well he endeavours to discredit a God based upon the presence of evil. In doing this, he extends the boundaries for arguing God, whilst opening the floor to debate free will and the apparent comfort of the atheistic belief system. However, through careful analysis of the arguments for God, and an insight into the mysterious free will that God has given man; we see that a theistic belief is logically more sound and preferred.…

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    counselling theory essay

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dr Sidmud Freud saw human behaviour as a result of give and take between three parts of the psyche (personality). The three parts are the id which is pleasure, too much of everything and instance gratification. The ego is the sensible side of us and try’s to find ways of satisfying the id in a way that the super ego will agree with, and that is also in line with reality. The super ego is the moral part of the psyche; its punitive comes from our parents, teachers and society. It uses anxiety and guilt to prevent us from acting on the id’s impulses.…

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In recent discussions of love and hate, a controversial issue has been presented: can true love conquer all adversity? On one hand, some argue that love has its limitation. From this perspective, many will claim that familial love cannot conquer a violent home with a violent father. On the other hand, however, others argue that love can conquer any obstacle that appears in a relationship, whether material or natural. In the words of one of this view’s main proponents, “Come live with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove that valleys, groves, hills, and fields, woods, or steepy mountain yields (Marlowe 777).” According to this view, love is enough to move mountains. In sum, this issue is whether love can conquer all adversity or if love has its limitations that cannot be overcome.…

    • 2031 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better 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

    Webster’s dictionary defines diversity as, “the condition of being different: variety.” The United States of America is very diverse. We have had some influential people that have helped steer us in the ways that we know diversity today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was very influential in changing the way many white Americans looked at African- Americans during the 1960’s. Long before Dr. King marched on Selma, Alabama and gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., Abraham Lincoln tried to change the culture of America by freeing the slaves in 1865 with the Emancipation Proclamation. However, one hundred years later, African-Americans still did not have the same rights as white Americans. They could not ride in the front of the bus, enter the same door of a restaurant, drink from the same water fountain, or attend the same schools as whites. Because of Dr. King’s determination and leadership, the culture of America began to change. In 2008, we saw the greatest example of this change with the election of the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays