the existence of God.
the battle between science and faith.
nature of God.
personal agent
exists outside of (independent of) the universe
has dominion/power over the universe
4 arguments
1.) cosmological argument
2.) design argument
3.) argument from mind (consciousness)
4.) argument from religious experience
1.) cosmological argument
1.) everything that begins to exist has a cause
2.) the universe began to exist
3.) therefore, the universe has a cause
the universe began to exist
the universe is expanding
2nd Law of Thermodynamic
Guth-Borde-Vilenkin Theorem
what kind of cause?
eternal (no beginning)
outside the universe
created the universe (dominion)
personal agent
2.) design argument
1.) design of the universe due to design, chance, or
necessity
2.) not law or chance
3.) therefore, the universe was designed
2.) design argument
Gravity; must be fine tuned to 1 part in 10^36
(10000000000000000000000000000000000000)
2.) design argument
Cosmological Constant; 1 part in 10^53
2.) design argument
ng Force:Increase by 2% = No atomsDecrease by 5% =
2.) design argument
Fred Hoyle, astronomer and former atheist
“. . . A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a
superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with
chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth
speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the
facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion
3.) argument from mind
if we are merely made of physical material, then why we
would we have conscious experience?
matter does not have it...
where does it come from?
two views of the mind
physicalism - the human person is merely a physical
body.
dualism - human person is composed of two
fundamental things; a body and a soul.
problems with physicalism
no personal identity over time.
conscious experiences have properties that physical
objects don’t have.
3.) argument from mind
God is a mind, so He could create minds.
matter could not create minds
4.) argument from religious experience
had to start to think of God.
God made us know him.
knowledge of God.
6For
God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his
light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 corinthians 4.6
3His
divine power has given us everything we need for life and
godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his
own glory and goodness. 2 peter 1.3
arguments against God
the problem of evil
1. If God exists, He would not create or allow pointless evil.2.
Pointless evil exists.3. Therefore, God does not exist.
is there pointless evil?
reason for evil
free will
the butterfly effect
questions?