Themes C

• Design argument

  An argument suggesting that proof of God's existence can be seen through the evidence of design in the world
• Design argument

  • It is empirically based (based on observation)
  • Examples: complexity of the human eye, regularity of the seasons
  • Idea that these things cannot have happened by chance, so there must be an intelligent designer (God)
• William Paley's watchmaker analogy

  The fact that a watch requires a watchmaker because of its complexity and regularity leads to the conclusion that the world must have a 'worldmaker' (God) because the world is much more complex than a watch
• The Bible (Psalms) says the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands
• Anthropic principle

  The idea that the world has been 'fine-tuned' for human life to develop and flourish, which cannot have happened by chance, so there must be an intelligent designer (God)
• The Quran teaches that God's existence can be discovered through observation of the natural world
• The design argument is challenged by science

  Evolution shows the world was not designed for us, we adapted to it
• The design argument is criticised by David Hume

  The analogy of the world being like a watch is flawed, as the world is more like an organic vegetable than a machine
• Richard Dawkins believes design is an illusion, and natural selection is the 'blind watchmaker'
• The design argument is an attempt to provide empirical proof for the existence of God
• The world was not designed for us, we adapted to it
• Natural selection is the driving force behind evolution
• Design is an illusion, we adapted to the world
• The analogy of the world being like a watch is flawed
• The world is more like a vegetable than a machine
• If a ship takes many men to design and build, then the world would take many gods to design
• The evidence of design does not lead to belief in an omni-benevolent, omnipotent designer
• Flaws in the design, such as natural disasters, suggest the designer is not omnipotent or omni-benevolent
• Nature commits all the crimes for which men would be executed, it is a designedly imperfect world
• Everything in the world has a cause, so the universe must also have a cause
• The chain of cause and effect cannot go back infinitely, there must be an uncaused cause
• Uncaused cause

  The first cause that started the chain of cause and effect
• St. Thomas Aquinas said God is the necessarily existent first cause of the universe
• The Quranic argument (Kalam) says everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began to exist, therefore the universe has a cause
• If everything has a cause, what caused God?
• The fallacy of composition assumes what is true of the part is true of the whole
• Even if there is a first cause, there is no proof it is God
• Christianity is based on the miracle of Jesus' resurrection
• Islam is based on the miraculous revelation of the Quran
• Miracles show God's immanence and concern for the world
• Miracles raise questions about God's omni-benevolence and fairness
• Miracles could be misinterpretations or coincidences, not supernatural events
• There are going to be extraordinary things that happen, but it is all down to chance
• Just because something seems incredible and very unlikely, that doesn't mean it's a miracle
• If it happened to an atheist, they might just say it was really good luck, whereas someone raised in religion would see it as a miracle
• The importance of miracles is that religion is based upon them, they give people hope for life after death, and they confirm the nature of God as caring and immanent
• Evil and suffering challenge the existence of God
• Theodicy

  Religious responses to the challenge of evil and suffering
• The inconsistent triad - three statements that cannot be simultaneously true

  • God is omnipotent
  • God is Omni benevolent
  • Suffering exists
• How evil and suffering challenge God

  • It challenges God's Omni benevolence because the existence of evil suggests God doesn't care
  • It challenges God's omnipotence because the existence of evil suggests God isn't powerful enough to remove it