Retake overview

Retake overview

1. Cosmological argument

   • St. Thomas Aquinas. Why is there something rather than nothing)
     • A posteriori (based on evidence) and Inductive(most probable like Dad DIY eg)
       • Reject infinite regression
         • Cause and effect idea
     • (Summa theological) 3 ways
       • Motion
         • All things must be moved by something else
           • Unmoved mover
       • Cause
         • Cant be cause of self
           • Uncaused cause
       • Contingency
         • Everything relies on something else
           • God is necessary
             • Universe is contingent so must have a cause
     • Kalam extended Aquinas' ideas
       • Craig
   • Support
     • Liebnez
       • Cant have infinite regression. Things must have sufficient for existing
         • Principle of sufficient reason
     • J.L. Mackie
       • God is the engine that drives forward the train.
     • Coplestone
       • God can not, not exist, or we wouldn't.
         • Russell is dogmatic
     • Swinburne
       • A explained by B, B by C, in the end there's one object upon which all depend.
     • Science
       • Big Bang explains the how, a start but not the why.
     • A posteriori
       • We all experience it, science etc.
   • Criticisms
     • Hume
       • Inductive leap. Premises don't lead to a good answer
       • Why can't universe be necessary?
       • Reinforce belief that's already there
     • Russell
       • Some things just there, brutal truth, can't reach adequate explanation.
     • John Hick
     • Ockham's Razor, simple most viable explanation

2. Psychology of religion

   • Freud
     • Totem and taboo (discredited)
       • Used to order a disorganised world, religion is illusion, we want childlike protection
         • Kill leader then worship them as a totem, religion starts
           • REPRESSED GUILT
     • OEDIPUS COMPLEX
       • Killed father and married his mother.
         • We see father as a rival, repressed guilt at wanting to kill
           • Religion a symptom, we're neurotic
             • INFANTILE NEUROSIS
               • Don't deal with issues we blame others. It explains death and suffering like a protective father figure. Gives purpose. Unhealthy to blame own failings on God.
                 • Libido is sexual repression of desire.
                   • Suckling from mother
     • "Religious faith is an illusion based on wishful thinking rather than reality" "Religion makes hopelessness tolerable"
       • Response to inner guilt/suffering. Benefits of removing religion greater than the pain of removal.
     • Weakness?
       • No truth in hordes culturally, doesn't apply to all
       • Oedipus complex not proved
       • You cant measure happiness. Longer marriages etc. within religion.
         • Light comparison in many cultures
     • COLLECTIVE NEUROSIS
   • Jung
     • Rejected that religion was dangerous, it harmonises Psyche, removal of religion traumatic.
     • Schizophrenics neurosis wasn't repession
     • unconvinced
     • We all have common dreams/images
       • COLLECTIVE UNCONCIOUS
         • Blueprint of images, tendency to see similar images
         • Persona
           • Our mask, public image, how we want to be seen.
         • Shadow
           • Badness within, Dorian Grey, Satan
         • Animus/ anima
           • Psyche's tendency to express it's opposite sex.
             • Animus, masculine side of female. Anima, female side of male.
         • God
           • Religious images, angels etc.
             • Doesn't matter if God exists, we need an idea of God, religion is good for us.
               • INDIVIDUATION
                 • A balance of archetypes or become neurotic.
                 • Religious process, spiritual awareness to be explored, won't become whole as god is a part, so religion is valuable.
                 • Learn when face challenges eg. middle age worried etc. and come to terms with who you are.
       • Personal unconcious

3. Atheism and postmodernism

   • Atheism
     • Negative: Never considered possibility of God e.g. child. Conclude God can't be justified.
     • Positive: Conscious denial, through thought.
       • Some say cant establish, can't prove something to not exist. But burden of proof lies with those who seek it.
   • Agnosticism
     • 'without knowledge' isn't sufficient proof to believe in god or positively believe he doesn't.
       • Jung: Nothing can be seen outside of own psychological experiences.
     • Closer to negative than positive atheism as don't believe in God but unlike them can't deny God.
   • Rise in Atheism
     • Ray Billington
       • Science is supreme catalyst, previous miracles of God have natural explanations.
         • Galileo, Earth not centre of universe. Darwin's origin of the species. Freud psychoanalysts.
           • Religion squeezed out with each new discovery. 'GOD OF THE GAPS' soon will be filled with scientific discovery.
     • Empiricism
       • Know reality through 5 senses, how things are proved right/wrong. Knowledge gained through experience.
       • Basis of science- observation and experimentation.
       • John Locke tried to prove God empirically but Hyman said God was purely non-empirical.
       • Hume, conclusions from known phenomena, no knowledge but physical, can't justify metaphysical God.
       • Ayer, verification principle, unless can verify statement it's meaningless, and illogical to make if can't prove it. Only way is empirical evidence.
     • Problem of evil
       • Aquinas aware of threat, ,God means infinite goodness... if God existed there would be no evil discoverable'.
       • Omnipotent? Can't be or would be able to end all suffering.
       • Omniscient? Should know how to stop suffering.
       • Omnibenevolent? All loving God would stop suffering.
       • Evil exists so must not be powerful/loving or not exist.
         • Religious: evil for punishment, lead to greater good, not all loving?
           • Phillips: Can never justify hurting that level of people to help.
       • 21st century growing media, see world wars and famine.
         • Karamazov in a novel: refuse belief, innocent children suffer outweigh promise of heaven.
     • Rebellion against moral absolutes
       • Now rebel against absolutes, 1960's new freedoms and acceptance influence atheism rise.
       • H.P.Owen: 'It's impossible to think of a command without also thinking of a commander'
       • Kant: God required for moral law to make sense, rejected rational proofs of God's existence.
       • Cultural relativists: right/wrong determined by attitude of our culture only think something wrong when culture disapproves. Removes laws and objective reason.
       • threatens belief
         • Undermines moral absolutes without God
         • Moral commands large part of religion, destroy trust in scripture e.g. 10 commandments removing reason for belief.
         • Reject God's authority to set absolute laws, not omnipotent, omniscient or omnibenevolent.
     • Awareness of other faiths
       • Increased dialogue between faiths,
       • John Hick: 'If what Buddhism says is true must not what Islam says be largely false'
         • Truth les with atheism: 'More reason for believing it false than true'
           • Hume
             • Christian truth claims: Christianity miracles destroy validity of Islam.
         • Contradict, can't be all true.
     • 'God is dead'
       • Nietzsche: god no longer relevant to society
         • uttered by madman who sees what others don't realise. Science and philo. holds answers we looked to god for. Modern society makes God irrelevant, must find own ethics.
     • Religious response
       • Reject, God's word more reliable than human who discredit God for own purposes.
       • Science: Compatible, shows physical reasons why, God could be behind them.
       • Empiricism: Ayer's verification itself can't be verified. Cosmological and design argument are evidence. Religious experience (stigmata) metaphysical, Religion beyond senses, what about emotional and intuitive knowledge?
       • Evil: Human free will. St Augustine, free will+ consequence of sin. Hick: God want genuine loving, a choice, without possible suffering no meaningful love.
       • Rejecting moral absolutes: Not threat unless in extreme, Relativism compatible if rejects specific absolutes.Joseph fletcher: rejection caused by atheism, doesn't cause it. Only absolute 'love thy neighbour' (Situation ethics, most loving consequence not right/wrong)
       • Religious pluralism: Hick: All major religions based on reality many call god, differ but collectively see truth is beyond humanity.
   • Postmodernist view of religion
     • Era after modernism, rejecting their ideas (single truth reached through reason/experience) meta-narratives. Fundamentalist religion and atheism is meta-narrative.
       • Postmodern: reject trust in religion,experience,absolute truth/knowledge.
         • Andrew wright: meta-narratives+claiming to understand structure of reality invalid. Our words don't signify any reality beyond themselves.
     • John Caputo: challenge Atheism as fixed decisive denial of God, leave possibility of belief open.
     • Cultural constructs
       • We create words so claims mean nothing beyond them, can't offer external knowledge.
         • Lyotard: meta-narratives local interpretations of nature of reality by individual/culture. eg. Hebrew, God protects because were slaves. Relative/compatible not exclusive/absolute claims.
       • Durkheim: religion product of society, what community wants, bring together social group.
     • No right or wrong religions
       • reject ultimate truth/absolutes rejects religions claims to be exclusive truth
         • Guinness
           • 'there is no grand narrative on human progress only countless stories of where people and cultures are now'
     • commitment to religious pluralism and tolerance. Accept diff. values, cultures, spiritual and religious idea, don't have to conform. Denial of right/wrong, genuine agnosticism if move closer to meta-narratives close self from other.
       • Promotes 'religion without religion' 'we do not know what we believe in or to whom we're praying'
     • Religion is personal spiritual search: with no right/wrong we select own mini meta-narratives. Use images from trad. religion ('modern supermarket of faith' James Beckford) eg. new age spirituality. religious/secular blurred.
     • Cupitt: anti-realist, God idea within believers not external objective being.
     • Living religion: way of life, faith isn't fact, can't base religion on it, 'god a deed not a thought'
     • Affirmation of religion.
       • isolated aspects fit with religion, living out one's faith practically.
       • Quakers don't conceive god as personal being.
       • Trad. God omnipotent and transcendent, god not contained in bounds of human knowledge, faith/belief goes along with postmodern embracing mystery.
       • Atheism needs deconstructing, more accepting of religion.
       • Christian mysticism fits. William James: ineffability key feature of religious experience, intuitive.
     • Threat to religion
       • can't access universal truth: contradict key trad. teachings. Even religious pluralism say there is ultimate truth.
       • Cupitt: anti-realist idea closer to Atheism
       • practical religion goes with intellectual.
       • Reject ultimate truth claims hard to declare a faith/ethical codes. Threaten moral absolutes in religion
         • Pick and mix: no courage/faith, religion not another commodity.
       • postmodern methodology: saying there's no absolute truth claim is one itself, enforcing realist outlook.
     • Religion threat to modern world: church attendance decline, monarchy symbolic, increased divorce, many govs separate to church.

4. Religious experience (may not do this section)