Week 2 Bible Reading
Everyday Series: Hindson
Chapter 2
• 4 main arguments: prove God’s existence
1. Cosmological argument
2. Teleological argument
3. Moral argument
4. Experiential argument
•reasoning describes arguments about creation’s existence, creation’s design, universal morality, and
personal experience
Cosmological argument
oThe universe has a cause and therefore must have creator
oLeibnizian cosmological argument
1. There is an explanation for the existence of anything that exists.
2. If there is an explanation of the existence of the universe, that explanation is God.
3. The universe exists.
4. Therefore, there is an explanation of the existence of the universe.
5. Therefore, the explanation of the existence of the universe is God.
suggests that for anything that exists, there must be an explanation of how it exists
the only explanation can be God
Nonliving things cannot produce life, which implies that the living world is the creation of a living
being
One of the most important aspects of the cosmological argument is that it provides purpose for
creation
purpose to creation
Teleological argument
oargues that the universe is so well designed and finely tuned that only a creator could have
made it
oIrreducible complexity is the idea that many molecular machines are simply too complex to have
formed via evolution
oThe universe is an obvious product of design whose only adequate explanation is .God
Moral argument
othe moral argument suggests that without God, there can be no true source of morality
othere must be an ultimate moral lawgiver
1. If God does not exist, objective morals do not either.
2. Objective morals do exist.
3. Therefore, God exists.
oTypical argument against -> the primary argument against this view is that there are morals that
are relative to culture
oThe moral argument only declares that a universal, objective morality exists because humankind
was created with a sense of right and wrong, instilled in every person by the most moral of all
beings, God.
Experiential argument
oIt simply comes from personal experience, rooting itself in the experiences that people have had
with God. If a person has had an encounter with God, then this encounter is evidence that God
exists
o2 Corinthians 5:17
Chapter 5: The Trinity
Arius was deemed a heretic for denying the deity of Christ
The Trinity is a unique doctrine of the Christian faith. It is the belief that there is one God
expressed in three eternal and coequal persons.
“Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen
what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27
The concept of the Trinity is used to explain the deity and unity of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit
Biblical concept- tri-unity
Tritheism falsely views the Trinity as three separate but cooperating gods.
Monotheism: belief that there is one God
A biblical worldview adheres to the idea that there is one God and that to believe otherwise is
heresy and deliberate disobedience to the first two commandments
Israel’s essential creed was that God is one
Based on old and new testament, the Bible teaches monotheism
God defined
1. Eternal
2. Self-existent
3. Infinite
4. Transcendent
5. Omnipotent
6. Omniscient
7. Immutable
8. Sovereign
9. Holy
10. True
If those closest to Jesus believed He was God in the flesh why should we not do the same? If He
is a liar who deliberately deceived others, He is not worthy of our worship. If He is a lunatic, self-
deceived, and out of touch with reality, He is not worthy of our devotion, but if He is indeed
Lord, we have no choice but to worship Him. –C.S. Lewis
the Holy Spirit is also God
God simultaneously exists in three different persons at the same time
Holman Quick Source: Powell
Chapter 2: Does God Exist?
The word “ ” is a Greek word that refers to cosmos everything that exists—the universe itself and
all its constituents
There are three basic kinds of cosmological arguments; Kalam, Thomist, and Leibnizian
It is possible for God to exist without the universe, but it is not possible for the universe to exist
without God
The Kalam
oThe Kalam argument tries to show that the universe is not eternal-that it had to have a
beginning
ofirst formulated by Christian philosophers, but it was not until medieval Islamic thinkers
devoted attention to the argument that it found its full force
oKalam is an Arabic word meaning “talk” or “speech”
oTwo kinds of infinities: potential infinities, actual infinities
oThe Kalam argument takes what we can know about these infinite series of numbers and
uses that knowledge to demonstrate that the universe must have had a beginning
oPotential infinites are never actually infinite
oActual infinites are sets of numbers to which no increment can be added
oactual infinites do not exist and cannot exist in the physical world
oThis demonstration of the non-existence of actual infinites can be applied in two real-
world areas, time and causality
oThe Kalam argument tells us that the universe had a beginning and that the beginning
was caused by an uncaused cause
oeither the cause was personal or it was impersonal
The Thomist
oThomas Aquinas gave three forms of the cosmological argument in his Summa
Theologica as a part of his “five ways” of proving the existence of God
1. demonstrate God's existence from motion
“Whatever is moved must be moved by another.”
2. Based on existence or what he calls “efficient cause.”
Everything that comes into existence owes its existence to something
else
There must be a first cause to explain why any cause exists
3. Aquinas based an argument on the possibility of existence
not all beings are merely possible, but there must exist something the
existence of which is necessary
The Leibnizian
oWhy is there something rather than nothing? (philosopher G. W. F. von Leibniz)
othere must be a sufficient reason for the existence of the universe
oeverything that exists has a reason outside of and prior to its existence
othe universe cannot provide a sufficient explanation for its own existence or state of
affairs
o“Self-explanatory…(and) logically necessary.”
ojust as there can be no infinite chain of causes, there can be no infinite chain of reasons
The Doppler Effect says that if sound is emitted from an object moving toward you, the sound
waves are compressed or shortened.
If the universe is expanding, it must have a point of origin from which it was expanding
So, because the universe had a beginning, something must have initiated it. It did not start itself.
The cause of the universe must be found outside of the universe; it must be transcendent.
Chapter 3: The Design Argument
Formally called teleological argument
Telos: Greek word meaning purpose or ultimate end
teleology is the study of a thing's purpose or design
Three examples of arguments:
1. fine tuning of -the universe (order as design)
2. DNA (order as information)
3. irreducible complexity (order as complexity)
Anthropic Principle (fine tuning)
oThe extraordinary balance and precision exhibited by each of the above parameters
demonstrates an order that points to an orderer, a being that designed the universe with
a specific purpose
Information Theory and DNA
oSpecified order, unspecified order
oContingency is the chief characteristic of information
oInformation is communication between minds
oThe idea is that specifically complex signals (such as the first twenty-five prime numbers
in a row, as in Carl Sagan's novel Cosmos ) can only come from an intelligent agent
wishing to communicate.
oinformation is not intrinsic to naturally occurring physical objects
oThe best explanation for the information found in DNA is that it was imposed on the
DNA by a mind
oWorldview Naturalism-- all things are a product of random, non-directed forces
Some things are as simple as they could possibly be and still function
The different approaches to the design argument all try to show the same thing: that naturalism
can only account for so much; at a certain point its explanatory power fails. But it is not this
failure that points to an intelligent designer (the so-called “God of the gaps” theory)
Finding Your Worldview: Weidner
Chapter 2: Thinking Critically
It is a common practice we do every day, but we may never even be aware of it.
Conflict
does our view "conflict" with another's view
What a person believes is important and being able to critically think and to intelligently
challenge incorrect thinking is essential in the process of making wise decisions in life
Critical thinking is a self-guided, selfdisciplined process which directs individuals to think
correctly about themselves and the world around them.
investigation, analysis, and self-corrective decision-making
critical comes from the Greek word kritikos- critic
homo sapiens= thinking man
1. Rehearse: You must evaluate the evidence and "so-called" opinions.
2. Reflect: You must reflect on the meaning of statements and ideas.
3. Reason: You must test the reasonableness of statements and ideas.
Rehearse
oeveryone has a right to an opinion, but that does not make every opinion accurate and
correct
oif a person who wishes for their opinion to be adopted by another, their view must be
formulated based upon sound evidence, and not just emotions and/or individual
perspectives
oeach person who desires to think critically must be committed to asking the
"Who/What/Where/When/Why/How" questions
Reflect
ointentional about reflection
oReflection is necessary for a proper response
Reason
oCritical thinking is the process of evaluating the reasonableness of statements and ideas
before acting upon them or passing them along as truth
To become a critical thinker you should develop some positive daily activities that will become
habits over time
Chapter 3: Asking questions and Making Arguments
Approaches on making decisions
1. Indecision
2. Passive Decision-Making
3. Active Decision-Making
Indecision
oNot making a decision is making a decision
Passive decision
owhen a person chooses not to evaluate what they see or hear
Active decision
oprocess of asking the right questions of yourself and others to come to the best possible
conclusion
oSpiritually, an active decision-maker understands that a decision needs to be made
about their religious belief system
An argument is an attempt to offer evidence to demonstrate the soundness of an opinion
An opinion is a personal belief or a conclusion about an issue or a topic
Result of critical thinking or just emotions
Purpose of argument? intended to change another person's beliefs
Evidence is the basis or cause of a belief
King Agrippa said to Festus and Bernice, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or
imprisonment"
A critical thinker should investigate the quality of the support to determine if the evidence is
legitimate
Multiple types of evidence= sound conclusion
Ad hominem = to the man
Appeal to ignorance is used when a person claims something is true simply because it cannot be
disproved, or that something is fictitious because it cannot be proven to be true.
The Bandwagon argument is used when a person justifies a course of action because "everyone
else is doing it peer pressure . Used when causes person to defend actions
Begging the question argument is sometimes referred to as "circular reasoning."
A false analogy occurs when an argument is formulated on the basis of a comparison of
unrelated things
A false dilemma occurs in an argument when a person oversimplifies a complex issue to make it
appear that only two alternatives are possible
A hasty conclusion occurs when one makes a judgment on the basis of one or even a few
samples
The is/ought or naturalistic fallacy occurs when a person comes to a conclusion about the way
things ought to be on the basis of how things are or are assumed to be.
An overgeneralization argument is when a judgment is made about an entire group of people
based upon the behavior, usually undesirable, of a few in that group.
An oversimplification argument is to conclude that an effect has only one cause when in reality it
is the result of multiple causes.
A red herring argument is raising an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the primary issue.
Selective perception, which is also known as one-sidedness or special pleading, is arguing a point
by selecting and presenting only the evidence that supports one's current position or opinion. It
omits the evidence against it.
The Slippery Slope argument is used when a person argues against an action on the unsupported
assertion that it will lead to a worse condition.
The straw man fallacy occurs when a person presents another person's argument in a weak,
misrepresented, or exaggerated form in order to win the argument
