INTRODUCTION In presenting these arguments, Christians bore the burden of proof or evidence. FIVE OBJECTIONS ANSWERED GOD’S APPARENT “HIDDENNESS” In our blog on God’s “hiddenness,” we discussed atheism’s assertion that, if there were a God, he would make his existence more obvious to us, perhaps by printing “made by God” on every molecule in the universe or by putting a … Read More
Burden Of Proof: How To Avoid The Unpleasant Task Of Presenting Evidence For “Atheism” — Should We Re-define It?
INTRODUCTION When we listen to debates on the internet, this is exactly what many of them are like. Sometimes the excuse is “You can’t prove a negative.” Sometimes they claim that “Since we don’t want to present any evidence for atheism, let’s just make atheism the default assumption.” Well, that would certainly be convenient for atheists. How about the recent … Read More
Summary Of Five Reasons And Their Accompanying Arguments For The Existence Of God
FIVE EXCELLENT REASONS TO BELIEVE IN GOD In any conversation with friends who are atheists, it’s very common to hear the refrain “there’s no evidence for God’s existence.” ______________________________________________________________________________________ FIVE ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
God’s “Hiddenness”: If God Exists, Why Doesn’t He Make It More Obvious And End Unbelief In The World?
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED SO FAR: GOD EXISTS We now want to address a third objection that atheists raise concerning “God’s hiddenness.” Keep in mind that agnosticism merely says “we don’t know,” but atheism makes the claim “we know that God does not exist.” As they explain why this alleged “hiddenness” is a defeater of the arguments we’ve presented, we would … Read More
God’s “Origin”: Is The Question Of God’s Origin An Effective Argument Against His Existence?
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED SO FAR: GOD EXISTS As Christians, we’ve already borne the burden of proof in presenting five arguments for God. In raising their objection about God’s origin, it is atheism’s turn to bear the burden of proof and make their case that not knowing God’s origin somehow proves, or at least makes it more probable, that he does … Read More
Ontology (Part 3) – The Ontological Argument: Is There Additional Confirming Evidence For The Concept Of A Maximally Great Being? (for those interested in philosophy/theology)
TERMS • “Maximal greatness” exists in any being who possesses these properties in EVERY possible world. “Maximal greatness” is the same as saying “greatest conceivable being.” • “Possible Worlds” refers to various descriptions of reality that could conceivably or potentially exist. Each description is comprised of a set of propositions. Propositions must be true and must not conflict with one … Read More
Ontology (Part 2) – The Ontological Argument: Is It Possible That A “Maximally Great Being” Actually Does Exist? (for those interested in philosophy/theology)
ONTOLOGICAL CONCEPTS THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE Now that we understand the concepts of a “possible world” and a “maximally great being,” let’s examine the ontological argument: PREMISE 1 OF THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT It is an interesting fact that premises 2 through 5 are not very controversial, but premise 1 is where the controversy resides. If you can make … Read More
Ontology (Part 1) – The Ontological Argument: “Possible Worlds” And A “Maximally Great Being”
ANSELM In the 1,000s AD, Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, England used natural theology in an attempt to prove the existence of God. Using an ontological approach, Anselm began with the concept of God as the “greatest conceivable being.” Anselm believed that once people understood the concept of God, they would realize that such a being must exist and so recognize … Read More
Cosmology (Part 5) – Leibniz’s Contingency Argument: Is It True That “Something Must Exist But No One Thing Exists Necessarily”? (for those interested in philosophy/theology)
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION GUIDING PRINCIPLE Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason: “Nothing happens without a sufficient reason.” LEIBNIZ’S CONTINGENCY ARGUMENT PREVIOUS BLOGS ESTABLISHED THE TRUTH OF PREMISES 1 AND 2 Everything has an explanation of its existence, either by the necessity of its own nature or by an external cause. According to Arthur Schopenhauer, the universe cannot be an exception. … Read More
Cosmology (Part 4) – Leibniz’s Contingency Argument: Would It Be Impossible For This Particular Universe Not To Exist? (for those interested in philosophy/theology)
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION GUIDING PRINCIPLE Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason: “Nothing happens without a sufficient reason.” LEIBNIZ’ COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE PREMISE 2 In our last blog, we presented atheism’s argument against premise 1 and concluded that everything must have an explanation of its existence, either by the necessity of its own nature (necessary beings) or that it … Read More
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2