The existence of god is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture a wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of god can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society. It encourages us to build faith in god, not by blindly believing religious assertions, but by using our power of reason and mental perception. This extract is a transcript of a radio debate between f. Dawkins summarises the main philosophical arguments on gods existence, singling out the argument from design for. These arguments, while not proving the existence of god, do nevertheless provide insights that may be used to show evidence of his existence. This basis, or claim for the existence of god, is personal experience. How an atheist found god why the change what facts led. They are interesting because evaluating their soundness requires attention. An imaginary vision where something that strengthens faith is seen. Swinburnes argument from religious experience conservapedia. In the strictest sense, almighty god jehovah has in the past communicated with humans through individual men and women who all spoke in agreement when speaking about a particular subject. He calls the book the varieties of religious illusion, a nod to william jamess.
It is difficult to find a common theme with religious experiences due to the variety but you can divide them into two basic groups. The argument from miracles is based first and foremost on the premise that there exist events which must be explained by supernatural causes in short, some sort of god. Many people have been led to believe its impossible to prove the existence of god, but nothing could be further from the truth. Can a religious experience show that there is a god.
Howard wettstein examines the significance of religious experience. The best arguments for gods existence dont challenge. The answer will be yes, god exists, as human beings in the twentieth century, we certainly can reasonably believe in god even more so in the christian god and perhaps even more easily today than a few decades or centuries ago. On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is certitude that god exists and 7 is. We might assume that it can mean anything from saying a prayer, to attending a service at a place of worship, to hearing the voice of god. God is the condition of the possibility of anything. Apr 10, 2014 book report for new proofs for the existence of god, contributions of contemporary physics and philosophy, by robert j. While you may try to account for truth, knowledge and logic without god, the rest of the site will expose your inability to do so and the christians justification for them with god. Were available to take your call monday through friday, 11am est 7pm est. Religious experience, argument for the existence of god. Mar 07, 2017 indians found god through yoga of meditation. Lots of authors in philosophy of religion focus on the question of belief in god. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of god.
Religious experiences can be characterized generally as experiences that seem. Religious experience argument the existence of god. Its not like perception because saying that the object had to be there in order to be seen puts too narrow a definition on it, because to admit that others had a religious experience would be to grant that the object of their experience say, jesus or krishna existed. A compelling new work makes the case that most modern arguments against belief are attacking the wrong god. I explain proof, doubt, legitimate evidence for god s existence and against god s existence. They would usually use his name,jehovah, promote true worship now includes jesu. This firsthand experience is utterly convincing to that person. If god exists, and shows himself to some people in religious experiences, then. If the hypothesis succeeds in offering a simpler, more powerful, comprehensive explanation that has the best fit with our background knowledge, then this book provides a powerful argument for the existence of god. Those who have had such an experience count it as the ultimate proof of the existence of god. Moreland argues that it is rational to believe god exists backed by his arguments from cosmology, design, experience, the existence of morality, the existence of the mind, and the historical account of jesus and the bible.
I was one of those guys who was able to do anything i put my mind to. Yet, for most religious believers, metaphysical claims about god are not the most important aspect of their religious life. Argument from religious experience 1291 words 123 help me. The simple fact of the matter is that the skeptic lives in a christian world and uses the tools given to him by god to deny god. A religious experience may make a believer of you but it may not prove god exists as your. Philosophy of religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The one theology book all atheists really should read. Ludwig feuerbach and sigmund freud both noted how religious belief tends towards wishfulfilment. Arguments for the existence of god have taken many different forms over the centuries. However, we may still wonder whether the existence of god is the best explanation of religious experiences, or whether some other explanation is. Does religious experience prove that god exists answers. The term religious experience can conjure up a wide and diverse series of images.
Religious experiences are subjective of course, meaning there is no way to analyze the experience, measure it, quantify it, etc. In fact, god is the most powerful reality there is. That reality can be an individual, a state of affairs, a fact, or even an absence, depending on the religious tradition the experience is a part of. Religious experience is a good pointer to the existence of. See also religion and articles on individual religions. In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of god involves the disciplines of epistemology the nature and scope of knowledge and ontology study of the.
Jan 07, 2011 robert spitzers new proofs for the existence of god hereafter npeg presents in rigorous detail, five arguments for the existence of god, a section discussing the plausibility of multiversestring universe scenarios, and some philosophical discussion on methodology. List of books and articles about religious experience. After that first book, i found other books with more scientific evidence. In fact, in early 2006 only sam harriss book the end of faith 2004, and. A complex book looking at the issue of proofs of god s existence very thoroughly. Everybody has a story, and im no different in that respect. Copleston catholic priest and religious believer and bertrand russell philosopher and nonbeliever, broadcast in 1948 on the bbc. To others, such emotionbased beliefs can only reflect crowdinduced illusions or personally generated delusioneach the triumph of hope over reason.
Arguments for the existence of god and refutations. He also cohosts the awardwinning television program way of the master, airing in almost 200 countries. On our total evidence theism is more probable than not. Atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind. The difficulty in defining religious experiences is a seemingly insuperable obstacle to using them as the basis for an inductive argument for the existence of god.
Cosmological argument considering the existence of the universe. Ray comfort is the founder and ceo of living waters and a bestselling author who has written more than 90 books, including god has a wonderful plan for your life, how to know god exists, and the evidence bible. Conclusive scientific proof stated as 10 proofs that god exists and the bible is a reliable source of truth. Dec 10, 2015 religious experiences are subjective of course, meaning there is no way to analyze the experience, measure it, quantify it, etc.
Sep 16, 2011 hello, it does not, since what people call a religious experience can be all sorts of things. Theologians make the distinction between religious experiences and paranormal phenomena. There is lots of good, hardhitting stuff about the imbecilities of religious fanatics and frauds of all. What proves god s existence at least to me is the evidence of him the bible and the world around you. I found that the bible is one of the ways god communicates with mankind. A religious experience proves that god exists do you. The one theology book all atheists really should read news. William james argument religious studies revision world. Book report for new proofs for the existence of god think. Religious experiences prove the existence of god do you. Dawkins prefers to move on to parodic proofs that he has found on the. Direct religious experiences are also open to alternative, non religious explanations. A christian could have what he or she regards as a religious experience and a hindu could have a very similar religious experience. Im a christian, and im saying god experiences dont prove god s existence.
Philosophy of religion proofs for the existence of god an. Also, testimony about the experience may even provide grounds for belief in god for those who do not have such experiences themselves. In the west, throughout grecoroman philosophy and the medieval era, philosophical reflection on god, or gods, reason and faith, the soul. He also cohosts the awardwinning television program way of. After over 40 years of not believing that god exists, i was dared by a christian friend to read a book. One can only perceive that which exists, and so god must exist because there are those that have experienced him. Outline the four classic proofs for gods existence. The one theology book all atheists really should read news the.
Armstrong founded the worldwide church of god in the late 1930s, as well as ambassador college in 1946, and was an early pioneer of radio and teleevangelism, originally taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from eugene, oregon. How do religious experiences prove that god exists answers. Reviews of books with scientific evidence that god exists. Religious experience stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The author rightly rejects a priori deductive proofs of god s existence and non existence as necessarily flawed, and thus the ontological proofs, the 5 ways etc. The best way for me to show you what ive learned about the spiritual side of trading is to describe to you what i found out. Does the fact that people have reported religious experiences prove the existence of god. Apart from conversations with god, religious experiences include miracles and other hardtoexplain phenomena.
A person may say they had personally seen, heard or felt god. Teleological argument considering the apparent order of the universe. The existence of god by richard swinburne goodreads. This book shows, in simple ways, how proof of god and the bible are backed by science and logic.
That kinda sums up the typical disagreements found on the forum though. You know, i dont think we could have really good conversations if you werent a good listener as well. Moral arguments for god s existence form a diverse family of arguments that reason from some feature of morality or the moral life to the existence of god, usually understood as a morally good creator of the universe. A religious experience could be a dream or vision where god speaks to a person, or it could be a miraculous healing. A religious experience has significance for the person who experiences it.
Revelation humans experience the deity through an act of the deity in which the deity reveals itself. Does god exist, and how can we prove that he does or does not exist. In the first section, the argument from contingency, copleston argues that god must exist because the universe requires a necessary being to explain it, but russell argues that the universe is a brute. People have so many definitions of god so it is hard to prove that god exists.
Mar 14, 2008 no, because there is such a thing as people who are insane, and also there are people who misunderstand the world around them. The existence of god is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture. A religious experience proves that god exists do you agree. List of books and articles about existence of god online. The four classical proofs of god s existence attempt to argue from both experience the cosmological, teleological and moral arguments and reason alone the ontological argument, with all of them, but especially the latter being open to critical analysis. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoismthus is my nature divided eightfold. After all, scientific rationalists are supposed to care deeply about evidence. I mean, real evidence that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a god. Probably every religion has had miracle claims and so the promotion and apologetics for every religion have included references to allegedly miraculous events. Truth, knowledge, and logic are all necessary to prove anything, and you assumed and admitted to all of them by reaching this proof. A lawyers case for disbelief in god the how common legal principles show no just god exists. A religious experience sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. Most of what we call religious experiences are the mind picking out connections where none really exist due to the minds extraordinary ability to see patterns. Names for god in the old testament various names for god are used.
The best arguments for god s existence are actually terrible. I hope youre ready, chris, because todays the day you promised to answer my big question. And, if you would like to understand how a person can arrive at faith in god, i would invite you to sign up for a 7email series that i wrote, the spiritual adventure pack. Spitzer has an extensive background in physics, metaphysics, and philosophy. Reviews of books with scientific evidence that god exists x.
The argument from religious experience arguments for the. As travelers along lifes way, its our goal to make sense of things, to try to understand the way the world is. In my opinion, no it doesnt prove anything to the world in general. The question arises as to how humans can be sure that the spiritual being, the supreme being actually exists. The argument from religious experience the argument many people have experiences they identify as religious. To some, personal religious experience is the best evidence of the existence of god. Understood in this way, one cant even say that god exists in the sense that my car or mount everest or electrons exist. The existence of god what we call religious experience can differ greatly. It holds that the best explanation for religious experiences is that they constitute. An intellectual vision brings knowledge and understanding such as a revelation from god. This book addresses a fundamental question in the philosophy of religion. All your questions are big to me, sal i take them seriously. If i decided on something it just sort of happened.
Have you ever asked yourself where the universe came from. He has to sit in gods lap in order to slap him in the face. Arguing the existence of god from religious experience. Religious experience essay a2 religious studies blog. Religious ecstasy, on the other hand, is the result of neurotransmitters being released during certain events. Includes new scientific, logical, experiential and statistical evidence. Jan 04, 2017 the skeptic presupposes a moral standard every time he claims that the god of the bible is evil with no basis for the objective moral standard he uses. In the short clip below, which is a segment from a longer interview on the various arguments proofs for the existence of god, he discusses an additional basis for knowing that god exists apart from rational bases for believing in god.
In combination with other evidences for god s existence, direct religious experience and testimony about such an experience may provide strong motivation for believing in god. Religious experience does it prove the existence of god. Theologians have posed several lines of proof to argue for gods existence. Understood in this way, one cant even say that god exists in the sense. Religious experiences can be characterized generally as experiences that seem to the person having them to be of some objective reality and to have some religious import. The god delusion is a 2006 book by english biologist richard dawkins, a professorial fellow at. George explains in more detail how philosophers and theologians define a religious experience. For me, it was proving to my own not anyone elses satisfaction two things. Jan 14, 2014 god is what grounds the existence of every contingent thing, making it possible, sustaining it through time, unifying it, giving it actuality. Those arguments to prove the existence of god based on experience are. Learn about and revise the way christians see god and explore christian ideas of truth with bbc bitesize gcse religious studies. Moral arguments are both important and interesting. Either way, the god concept becomes real to the person doing the believing.
Oct 07, 2015 5 reasons atheists cant know that god does not exist. Religious experiences can be characterized generally as experiences that seem to the person having them to be of some objective reality and. The hypothesis that god exists makes sense out of a wide range of the facts of experience. It is an aposterior argument, so relies on evidence from the. A direct experience of god makes them certain that god exists so many people claim to have experienced god that his existence must be proved, since they cant all be wrong some religious experiences create a huge change to a persons life eg. The main point of the book, that god does reveal himself to the world, but not on our. One reason that modernday debates between atheists and religious believers. Teresa of avila, who had divine visions and felt god s presence this made her overwhelmed with. Aug 30, 2014 in fact it is more reasonable to believe that god exists than not to believe he exists. These experiences seem to suggest that he either exists or that he exists by suggestion. Jan 10, 2018 there are individual arguments, such as the uncaused cause argument from st. Some reports exist of supernatural happenings that it would be difficult to explain from a rational, scientific point of view.
The existence of god based on religious experience essay sample. Opponents of the religious experience argument claim that religious experiences involve imagination rather than perception, and point out that there is always the possibility of fabricating artificial experiences of god, or that the experiences may not actually be religious at all but are merely interpreted that way by religious people this would go some way towards explaining why it seems. The existence of god based on religious experience essay. A complex book looking at the issue of proofs of gods existence very.
The argument from religious experience a level philosophy. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for the existence of god based on religious experience. Eerdmans publishing company, published 2010, isbn 9780802863836. Is it possible to prove or disprove god s existence. God, divinity of the three great monotheistic religions, judaism, christianity, and islam, as well as many other world religions. Religious experience can be used as evidence for the. Analyse the essential ideas in the argument for the existence of god based on religious experience.
Do religious experiences prove the existence of god. Swinburnes classic attempt to apply bayes theorem to the hypothesis god exists is a masterful example of inductive argument. Philosophy of religion existence of god attributes of god god as creator ultimate destinies. Yes, the bible provides compelling evidence that god exists.
Explore topics arguing god s existence philosophical arguments for god experiential arguments for god arguments against god. William james was a philosopher and psychologist from new york city. The argument from religious experience the argument from religious experience is the argument that personal religious experiences can prove god s existence to those that have them. Religious experience refers to the moment in which a believer has a revelation from god or another religious figure. But, an experience with god, for the believer, settles that question, for them, and at the end of the day, thats really all that matters.
From the outside looking in people might not have seen that about me because i kind of made it a point to stay in the middle of the pack where i was comfortable and didnt excel in any given area. A religious experience is an encounter with the divine which is said to be beyond ordinary and worldly experience which cannot be proved by empirical explanations. According to the argument from religious experience are, the selfauthenticating witness of god s holy spirit or other mystical experiences constitute direct evidence of communion with god or other supernatural beings. One must have knowledge and experience of ultimate realities to speak with authority about ultimate realties. In both cases, this proves no more than that they are. Just as 911 has raised questions about islam and how science has challenged creationism, geoff j. I was surprised to find that there was scientific evidence for the existence of god. The argument merely indicates the probability of god and this is of little value to a religious believer. Religious experience, argument for the existence of god arguments from religious experience show remarkable diversity, a in the sorts of experience taken as data for the argument, b in the structure of the inference itself, and c in the alleged conclusion, whether to a vague presence, an infinite being, or the god of traditional christianity. The argument from religious experience is an argument for the existence of god. Thomas aquinas which adequately prove the existence of god, but beyond that the whole body of classical philosophy from socrates, plato, aristotle, down to aquinas etc, proves the point that for our world to exist and make sense as it does, there must be a. Apr 24, 2008 dallas, tx prweb april 24, 2008 a texas lawyer echoes albert einsteins remarks that the bible is childish in his upcoming book. The god whose impossibility of existence i set out to prove and have, in fact, proved is the god of all religions, the god creator, the god governor and judge, the god infinitely wise, powerful, good and just whom the clergy claims to represent on earth and whom it wants us to worship. Many people have religious experiences and the outcome is not always construc.
1517 1326 735 791 234 1122 210 619 369 1287 1258 648 614 792 233 196 332 725 991 451 1313 234 783 433 515 1249 960 566 536 512 1042 1072 1364 290 849 815 1275 1341 236 431 865 1082