Reason and the Existence of God Denys Turner University of Cambridge Contents Preface Acknowledgements Part I The ‘shape’ of reason 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clarifications and issues Negative theology and natural theology The darkness of God and the light of Christ Intellect Reason and rhetoric The ‘shape’ of reason page ix xvii 3 26 48 75 89 108 Part II Univocity‚ ‘difference’ and ‘onto-theology’ 7 8 9 Univocity and inference: Duns Scotus God‚ grammar‚ and difference Existence and God 125 149 169
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First Thomas Aquinas argues that our existence in itself is proof that God exists‚ as we would not be “in motion” had God not been the “first mover” and put us in motion. If I correctly understand Aquinas he is saying that life would not exist had there not first been a creator‚ and with out first a creator life would not have come to be. Secondly Aquinas argues that life is a series of events that could not have brought itself in to being. Theretofore God must exist to begin the series‚ he is the
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philosophy conceived by the seventh century He was a mathematician and French philosopher. Pascal argued that a rational person should reside in as though they live and attempt to believe that God does exist. A lot of philosophers think Pascal is the most fragile of all disagreements for believing that God does exists. Pascal thought it was the strongest and he was one of the most dubious philosophers whoever wrote. In order to understand Pascal’s Wager you have to be aware of the setting of the
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Evil comes in many forms‚ and likewise‚ for philosophers‚ possess many problems especially the existence of God. The problem of evil is also referred to as the problem of suffering. First‚ there is what is called the logical problem of evil. Like all rational people‚ theists can’t help but acknowledge that the world is filled with evil. Here we are understanding evil as being all forms of bad stuff. It is everything in the vast spectrum of badness from small thefts to plagues and everything in between
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The debate of whether God exists or does not has been going on from the time of the ancient philosophers such as St. Aquinas and St. Anselm‚ who both supported the existence of God‚ whereas‚ many years later there were those who tried to disprove the arguments presented. Some of these disbelievers include Immanuel Kant‚ Friedrich Nietzsche and David Hume‚ all whom argue that God does not indeed exist. Although God is considered dead and nonexistent by many‚ he does indeed exist because something
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The existence of God and problem with evil Today the news is filled with coverage on various natural catastrophes and other related causalities that people face daily. Anyone can look into their lives or even their neighbors and see the presence of misfortune that surrounds our world. This problem has brought up the issue of God’s existence in religious philosophical discussions. For centuries‚ many have tried to dismiss the existence of God on the basis of the existence of evil. Let’s
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cannot be proved; and (3) it can defend the principles of Christian faith against their detractors. True philosophy cannot conflict with Christian faith but it can fall short of it--e.g.‚ the existence of God as efficient cause of the universe can be established by reason alone‚ the full meaning of "God" can only come from faith. Aquinas is not the only‚ but he is the most important‚ medieval thinker who tried to incorporate many of Aristotle’s ideas into Christian philosophy. He goes as far towards
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case for God‚ so therefore they should be abandoned because this way he can use that term to make the argument that God exists less plausible. Specifically‚ the cosmological argument‚ teleological argument‚ and arguments of design in general cannot be proven and cannot point to an end‚ but they do provide possible arguments that God does
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God has always been an abstract subject for me. Throughout the entirety of my life I have never had a clear understanding of what God is‚ or even if there is a God. However‚ even though I never had a clear understanding of God or how we could even know of him‚ Descartes and Paley suggest that we can know God and that he is within our understanding. Throughout the readings they describe and argue how we can now the existence of God and the attributes that are associated with him. However‚ David
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The age old debate for theism is obviously whether or not God exist. But more so‚ theists seem to have trouble when proving their argument for the existence of a necessary intelligent being. Not only do atheists have the governing laws of science‚ but it seems they have logic on their side. For theists can present countless arguments without presenting any intelligible proof. We are rational‚ sentient human beings and we need logic in order to accept a premise. It is contradictory to human nature
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