Section 6.3Faith and MeaningBelieving the Unbelievab.docx

Section 6.3
Faith and Meaning
Believing the Unbelievable
McGraw-Hill
*© 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.
*
The Leap of Faith“Faith,” by definition, is “belief that does not
rest on logical proof or material evidence.”Kierkegaard argues
that belief in the Christian God must be a matter of faith
because the notion of an immortal being becoming mortal is
absurd.
*
Kierkegaard on BeliefKierkegaard claims that you can make
something objectively true by believing it passionately
enough.Objection: This is self-contradictory—a proposition and
its negation could be believed passionately by different people,
but both propositions couldn’t be true.

*
Kierkegaard and Russell on BeliefKierkegaard: “Whoever is
neither hot nor cold [who doesn’t believe passionately] is
nauseating.”Russell: “There is something feeble, and a little
contemptible, about a man who cannot face the perils of life
without the help of comfortable myths.”
*
EvidentialismOnly beliefs based on evidence can be
justified.Some claim that you have a moral obligation to
proportion your belief to the evidence.
*
Clifford and Huxley on Belief“It is wrong always, everywhere,
and for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence.” –
W. K. Clifford“It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of
the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce
evidence which logically justifies that certainty.” –T. H. Huxley

*
Thought Probe: Blanshard’s BeliefsAre Blanshard and Clifford
correct in claiming that we have a duty to proportion our beliefs
to the evidence?Can you think of a counterexample, a case
where it would not be right to proportion your belief to the
evidence?Should people who don’t proportion their belief to the
evidence be ashamed of themselves? Why or why not?
*
James on the Will to BelieveWhen a belief can be decided on
intellectual grounds, it’s wrong to believe on faith.When a
belief is a genuine option, and when believing it to be true can
make it true, it’s permissible to believe on faith.For example:
By having faith that someone likes you, they may come to like
you.
*
Problems with the Will to BelieveBeliefs don’t bring about
changes in others, actions do.The knowledge that acting as if we
like someone can help make them like us is based on
evidence.Believing in God can’t help bring about the existence
of God.

*
James on the Affirmations of ReligionFirst: religion says that
the best things are the eternal things. “Perfection is
eternal.”Second: religion says that we are better off if we accept
the first affirmation.James claims that accepting the first
affirmation will help us have a more personal relationship to the
universe.
*
Thought Probe: James and PandeismPandeism, like pantheism,
claims that the universe is God.Unlike pantheism, however, it
claims that the universe is a person.James claims that viewing
the universe as a person would help give meaning to your
life.Do you agree? Why or why not?
*
The Meaning of LifeSome believe that our lives can be
meaningful if and only if they are part of a divine plan.

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Thought Experiment: God’s PlanSuppose that God created us to
serve as food for some more advanced creatures.Would it make
our lives meaningful to be eaten by those creatures?
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Thought Probe: Meaning and MoralityIt’s wrong to use people
merely as a means to an end because that violates their
fundamental right to self-determination.If God created us for a
purpose, it would seem that he is using us merely as a means to
an end.Is it immoral for God to create people in order to achieve
a particular purpose?
*
ExistentialismAccording to Existentialism, “existence precedes
essence.” Humans exist prior to and independently of any notion
of who they are or what they should do.Humans define
themselves and create their own meaning by making choices.
*

Sartre on the Human ConditionAbandonment: no one can make
our choices for us.Aguish: we have to choose.Despair: we have
to live with the consequences of our choices.
*
Barnes on the Human Condition“No humanistic existentialist
will allow that the only alternative is despair and
irresponsibility.”“The individual life may have an intrinsic
value…whether the universe knows what it’s doing or not.”
*
Thought Probe: Meaning and PurposeSome believe that their
life can be meaningful only if they were created for a certain
purpose.Others believe that meaning can only come from
within, that it can’t be imposed from without.Which do you
believe?
*

Religion Without GodThose who have a religious orientation
toward life share four characteristics:A sense of the
numinous.Deep feelings of love, joy, and peace.A distaste of
vanity and greed.A desire to help others.One need not believe in
God to have these characteristics.
*
Section 6.2
When Bad Things Happen
to Good People
God as Troublemaker
McGraw-Hill
*
EvilEvil is something that is a cause or source of suffering,
injury or destruction.
*

Types of EvilMoral—evil that sentient creatures suffer at the
hands of other persons.For example: Murder, assault, robbery,
etc.Natural—evil that sentient creatures suffer at the hands of
natureFor example: Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes,
disease, famine, etc.
*
Necessary vs. Unnecessary EvilNecessary evil is an evil that is
necessary to prevent a greater evil or promote a greater
good.For example: Chemotherapy.Unnecessary evil is an evil
that is not necessary to prevent a greater evil or promote a
greater good.For example: Torturing innocent children.
*
The Argument from Evil
There is unnecessary evil in the world.
If there were an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good being, there
would be no unnecessary evil in the world.
Therefore, there is no all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good being.
*
Thought Experiment: Rowe’s FawnSuppose that in a distant
forest, lightning strikes a tree, causes a forest fire, and burns a
fawn to death.How can an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-

good being allow such unnecessary suffering?
*
TheodicyA theory that seeks to justify belief in God in the face
of all the evil in the world is known as a theodicy.Many
different theodicies have been proposed over the years, and all
seek to defend the claim that the evil in the world is necessary.
*
St. Augustine and the Free Will DefenseEvil is necessary for
free will.Objections:It’s possible to have free will and not
choose evil, e. g., God, Mary, Jesus.If God’s creation was
perfectly good, how could evil enter into it?The evil caused by
humans (moral evil) is only one sort of evil. There is also evil
caused by nature (natural evil).
*
Adam and Eve and Original SinThe forbidden apple contained
the knowledge of right and wrong. So before they ate the apple,
Adam and Eve couldn’t have known eating it was wrong.But if
they didn’t know it was wrong, was it right to punish
them?Even if it was right to punish them, was it right to punish
all of mankind throughout eternity for what they did?

*
Is God’s Justice Different from Our Justice?Voltaire: “How,
you mad demoniac, do you want me to judge justice and reason
otherwise than by the notions I have of them?”John Stuart Mill:
“I will call no being good, who is not what I mean when I apply
that epithet to my fellow creatures.”If God is not good in our
sense of good, then it is false to call him good.
*
Thought Probe: KarmaAccording to the law of Karma, whatever
evil we do in this life will come back to us in another
life.Hindus claim that Karma can explain natural evil—those
who suffer evil at the hands of nature had it coming to them.Is
this a better solution to the problem of evil than those offered
by Christians?
*
Thought Probe: Is There Free Will in Heaven?Heaven is
supposed to be a place where there is no sin and thus no
evil.But according to the free will defense, there cannot be free
will without evil.So how can there be free will in heaven?
*

The Knowledge DefenseEvil must exist in order for us to know
good.Objections:It’s possible to know evil without experiencing
it, for example, Adam and Eve.There is far more evil in the
world than is necessary to give us a knowledge of it.
*
Contemporary Responses to the Indian Ocean Tsunami
“This is an expression of God’s great ire with the world. The
world is being punished for wrongdoing.”
--Rabbi Schlomo Amar
“The tsunami is a warning from God to reflect deeply on the
way we lead our lives.”
--Catholic Bishop Alex Dias
*
Contemporary Responses to the Indian Ocean Tsunami
“The tsunami was divine punishment for America’s cloning,
homosexuality, trying to make homosexual marriages, abortion,
lack of God in the schools, and taking Jesus out of Christmas.”
--Jennifer Giroux—founder, Women Influencing the Nation
(WIN)
*

Thought Probe:
Wrath of GodThe 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed
more than 200,000 people, is a classic case of natural evil.Some
see this as evidence of God’s wrath.Would an all-good, all-
knowing, all-powerful being kill 200,000 of his children to
punish them or teach them a lesson?
*
The Ideal Humanity DefenseEvil is necessary to improve the
human race.Objections:There is little evidence that humanity
has improved.This conflicts with the principle that humans are
infinitely valuable and thus should not be used as means to an
end.
*
The Soul-Building DefenseEvil is necessary to make us better
people.Objections:Suffering often does not necessarily improve
one’s character.Forcing others to do something against their
will, even if it will benefit them, is a violation of their
rights.There is much more evil than necessary.
*

The Finite God DefenseEvil exists because God lacks one of the
traditional properties associated with Him such as being all-
powerful or all-good.Objections:If God is not all-powerful, He
cannot perform miracles.If God is not all-powerful, He may not
be worthy of worship.
*
Thought Probe: God’s GoodnessAmerican revolutionary patriot
Thomas Paine claims that the Bible is so filled with cruel and
vindictive acts, “it would be more consistent that we called it
the word of a demon rather than the Word of God.”Is Paine’s
assessment a fair one?
*
Thought Probe:
What If God Died?If God is finite, it’s possible for God to die.
In the trilogy Towing Jehovah, Blameless in Abaddon, and The
Eternal Footman, science-fiction writer James Morrow explores
this possibility.Suppose God died. How would the universe be
different? How would we tell that God no longer existed?
*

The Invisible GardnerSuppose two explorers come upon a
clearing in the jungle in which there are many flowers and many
weeds.One says that there must be an invisible, undetectable
gardener, and the other says there is no gardener.How does an
invisible, undetectable gardener differ from an imaginary one?
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Chapter 6
The Problem of Evil and
the Existence of God
McGraw-Hill
*
The Problem of Evil and the Existence of GodHow is it possible

for there to be an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God
given that there is so much evil in the world?What evidence is
there that such a God exists?Must we be created by God in order
for our lives to be meaningful?
*
Types of Beliefs in GodTheist—one who believes in a personal
god who rules the world.Agnostic—one who neither believes
nor disbelieves in god.Atheist—one who disbelieves in
god.Deist—one who believes that god created the universe and
then abandoned it.Pantheist—one who believes that the universe
is god.
*
Thought Probe: Biblical TruthsModern archaeology has failed
to find confirming evidence for many of the Bible’s historical
claims.Does this undercut the credibility of its non-historical
claims? Why or why not?
*
Thought Probe: Deluded BelieversNo major religion is believed
by more than about 25% of the world’s population.That means
that over 75% of the human population is mistaken about the
true nature of God.How do you know you’re not in that 75%?

*
Thought Probe: Holy ScriptureSuppose you’re a space explorer
who lands on a planet where there are a number of different
religions.Each religion is based on a holy book supposedly
written by God.To determine which, if any, of these books was
written by God, what would you look for?Do any of our holy
books possess these characteristics?
*
Section 6.1
The Mysterious Universe
God as Creator
*
Cosmological Arguments for the Existence of GodCosmological
arguments for the existence of God attempt to derive the
existence of God from the existence of the universe.
*

The Traditional Cosmological Argument
Some things are caused.
Nothing can cause itself.
Therefore, everything that is caused is caused by something
other than itself.
The chain of causes cannot stretch infinitely backwards in time.
If the chain of causes cannot stretch infinitely backward in time,
there must be a first cause.
Therefore, everything that is caused has a first cause, namely,
God.
*
Problems with the Traditional Cosmological ArgumentEven if
there is a first cause, it doesn’t have to be God.The notion of an
infinite string of causes is no more self-contradictory than the
notion of an infinite string of numbers.So the universe itself
may be eternal.
*
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
The universe began to exist.
Therefore, the universe had a cause, namely God.
*

Problems with the Kalam Cosmological ArgumentModern
physics recognizes that some events have no cause.The “big
bang” could have been the result of a prior “big crunch” either
in this universe or some other.
*
Thought Probe: Why a Universe?God is eternal, but the universe
seems to be only about 15 billion years old.Why, after an
eternity of time had passed, did God decide to create a
universe?
*
Teleological Arguments for the Existence of GodTeleological
arguments for the existence of God try to derive the existence of
God from the design or purpose of things.
*
Thought Experiment: Paley’s WatchSuppose you were walking
across a meadow and came across a watch.Could you believe
that the watch had always been there?Wouldn’t it be more
reasonable to believe that someone had designed it for the
purpose of keeping time?

*
The Analogical Design Argument
The universe resembles a watch.
Every watch has a designer.
Therefore, the universe probably has a designer, namely, God.
*
Problems with the Analogical Design ArgumentIf God needs a
universe to accomplish his ends, he is not omnipotent.Even if
there is a designer, it need not have any of the other attributes
traditionally associated with God, such as omniscience or
omnibenevolence.The universe is as much like a living thing as
a mechanism and living things reproduce without need of an
external agent.
*
The Best-Explanation Design Argument
The universe exhibits apparent design.
The best explanation of this apparent design is that it was
designed by a supernatural being.
Therefore it’s probable that the universe was designed by a
supernatural being, namely, God.

*
Problems with the Best-explanation Design ArgumentApparent
design can also be explained by evolution.Evolution is a better
explanation than the God-hypothesis because it is simpler, more
conservative, has greater scope, and is more fruitful.
*
Irreducible ComplexityA structure is irreducibly complex when
it would cease to function if one of its components were
removed.According to Michael Behe, irreducibly complex
structures “cannot be produced directly” by the processes of
evolution.Most biologists reject Behe’s claim.
*
ExaptationThe process by which a structure that originally
served one function comes to serve another.Darwin himself
recognized that many systems are composed of parts that
originally evolved for other purposes.Thus irreducibly complex
systems can arise naturally.
*

Self-organizing StructuresStructures that acquire structure
without input from outside the system.Some self-organizing
systems, like the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, are
irreducibly complex.Thus irreducibly complex systems can arise
naturally.
*
Thought Probe: Intelligent DesignEven if life on Earth is the
result of intelligent design, the designer need not be God.The
Raelians believe that life on Earth is the result of a science
experiment that was conducted by advanced aliens.Which
hypothesis – the God hypothesis or the extraterrestrial
hypothesis – is the better explanation? Which does better with
respect to the criteria of adequacy?
*
The Fine-Tuning Argument
The universe seems to be fine tuned for life.
If certain physical properties like the charge of the electron or
the mass of the proton were slightly different, life couldn’t
exist.
The probability of these properties arising by chance is
infinitesimally small.
So they must be the product of a designer.
*

Problems with the Fine-Tuning ArgumentAccording to Hawking
and Spinoza, it may be logically impossible for the universe to
have different properties.According to Smolin, the laws of
nature could be the result of natural selection.Many physicists
have shown that life could exist in universes with very different
properties.
*
Supernatural vs. Natural ExplanationsAccording to Duane Gish,
“We do not know how the Creator created, what processes He
used, for He used processes which are not now operating
anywhere in the natural universe.”You can’t explain the
unknown in terms of the incomprehensible.
*
Evolution, Freedom, and MeaningAccording to biologist
Kenneth Miller, only if evolution is true can we have a
meaningful relationship with God.“Always in control, such a
Creator would deny his creatures any real opportunity to know
and worship him—authentic love requires freedom, no
manipulation.”
*

Thought Probe: Human Design FlawsFrom an engineering point
of view, human beings do not seem to be very well-designed—
we get bulging disks, fragile bones, torn ligaments, varicose
veins, cataracts, hearing loss, etc.Is this evidence against an
intelligent designer?
*
MiraclesMiracles are a violation of natural law by a
supernatural being.
*
The Argument from Miracles
There are events that seem to be miracles.
The best explanation of these events is that they were performed
by a miracle worker.
Therefore, there probably is a miracle worker, namely, God.
*
Thought Probe: Parting the Red SeaAn oceanographer and a
meteorologist have shown that the Red Sea could have parted
naturally as a result of a wind of the sort described in the
Bible.Does this undercut the notion that it was parted by God?

Why or why not?
*
Problems with the Argument from MiraclesThe miracle worker
may not have any of the properties traditionally associated with
God.Something may seem to be a miracle simply because we are
unaware of the natural laws at work.
*
Thought Probe: Jesus’s MiraclesMany of the “miracles”
associated with Jesus were of the same kind performed by
magicians of his day.Origen claimed that they would have been
fraudulent if used to make money but since Jesus used them to
inspire religious awe, they must be real.Is Origen’s reasoning
cogent? Why or why not?
*
Thought Probe: The Fivefold ChallengeFive miraculous events
recorded in the Bible are unconfirmed by archaeology:(1) the
parting of the Red Sea, (2) the stopping of the Sun, (3) the
reversal of the sun’s course, (4) the feeding of thousands, (5)
the resurrection of saints.Is the fact that they are unconfirmed
reason to believe that they didn’t occur?

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The Argument from Religious Experience
People have experiences that seem to be of God.
The best explanation of these experiences is that they are of
God.
Therefore, it’s probable that God exists.
*
Thought Probe:
Religious ExperienceMichael Persinger has discovered that
religious experience can be generated by activating the temporal
lobes of the brain.Does the fact that religious experience can be
produced electronically undercut the claim that they are
produced supernaturally? Why or why not?
*
Problems with the Argument from Religious
ExperiencesReligious experiences can be explained as the result
of abnormal states of consciousness brought on by drugs,
meditation, sensory deprivation, etc.These explanations are
better than the God hypothesis because they are simpler, more
conservative, more fruitful, and have more scope.

*
Anselm’s Ontological Argument
God, by definition, is the greatest being possible.
If God exists only in our minds, then it is possible for there to
be a being greater than God, namely a being like God that exists
in reality.
But it is not possible for there to be a being greater than God.
Therefore, God must exist in reality.
*
Thought Experiment: Gaunilo’s Lost IslandConsider the most
perfect island imaginable.If it only existed in our minds, it
wouldn’t be the most perfect island imaginable.Therefore, the
perfect island must exist in reality.
*
Existing in the UnderstandingTo say that something exists only
in the understanding is to say that the concept of the thing
doesn’t apply to anything in reality.Contrary to what Anselm
would have us believe, this doesn’t involve a logical
contradiction.
*

Descartes’s Ontological Argument
God, by definition, possesses all possible perfections.
Existence is a perfection.
Therefore, God exists.
*
Problems with Descartes’ Ontological ArgumentThe argument is
circular because premise 1 assumes that God exists.Premises 1
can be rewritten:1’. If God exists, then He possesses all
possible perfections.But then the conclusion becomes:3’. If God
exists, then He exists
*
Thought Experiment: Edward’s GangleSuppose someone
discovers a new animal—a gangle—that has eleven noses, seven
blue eyes, bristly hair, sharp teeth and wheels in the place of
feet.Suppose now that someone says that, in addition, gangles
exist.Do we learn something new about the nature of gangles?
*
Problems with the Ontological ArgumentExistence is not a

property of things.Existence is not always a perfection. (It’s not
always better to exist than not to exist.)
*
Thought Probe:
One More GodBy some estimates, humans have worshipped
more than three thousand different gods.So monotheists
disbelieve in many gods.The difference between atheists and
monotheists, then, is not that great: atheists believe in one less
god than monotheists.If monotheists are rationally justified in
not believing in thousands of other gods, are atheists equally
justified in not believing in the god of the monotheists? Why or
why not?
*
Thought Experiment: Pascal’s WagerIf you wager that God
exists, and He does, you win everything.If He doesn’t, you lose
nothing.So you should wager that God exists.
*
Problems with Pascal’s WagerGod may not care whether people
believe in Him.God may punish those who believe on purely
selfish grounds.God may not like gamblers.It may not be true

that we lose nothing by believing in God.
*
Thought Probe:
The Best BetHerb Silverman claims that if God exists, He
would prefer to be with intelligent, honest, rational people who
base their beliefs on evidence rather than faith.So he proposes
Silverman’s wager: “If God does not exist, one will lose nothing
by not believing in Him, while if He does exist, one will lose
everything by believing.”Is this a better bet than Pascal’s?
*
Thought Probe:
Alien ReligionSuppose that we are visited by aliens from outer
space and find that they have no religion and have never heard
of any of our gods.Would this undermine the credibility of our
religions?Would it be appropriate to try to try to evangelize the
aliens and convert them to one of our religious? Why or why
not?
*
God and ScienceThe traditional arguments for the existence of

God invoke God to explain various natural phenomena.St.
Augustine claims that’s a mistake: the Bible is a guide for our
salvation, not a science text.To acquire salvation, all that is
needed is faith, not science.
*
Gould’s Non-overlapping MagisteriaHarvard biologist, Stephen
J. Gould, agrees with Augustine: science and religion are non-
overlapping magisteria.Science is in the business of explaining
the natural world, religion is in the business of providing
meaning and value to life.Thus, religion and science should not
be in conflict.
*
Thought Probe: Goulder vs. AugustineAnglican Priest and
Professor of Biblical Studies, Michael Goulder, became an
atheist because “God no longer has any real work to do,”
meaning that He is no longer needed to explain
anything.Goulder, contrary to Augustine and Gould, believes
that religion should be in the business of explaining the world,
but that the explanations it offers are not worthy of belief.Do
you agree? Why or why not?
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