lOMoARcPSD|21126671
Phil 201 Essay
Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (Liberty
University)
lOMoARcPSD|21126671
Essay
Alexander Trča
Liberty University
Philosophy 201
Dr. Kevin Scott
Smith
October 1, 2019
lOMoARcPSD|21126671
1. Compare and contrast the three readings: what are some philosophical similarities and
differences?
In the reading The Absurdity without God written by William Craig, the reading outlines all
of the ways that our society and life itself would crumble if we all held to atheistic/non-
theistic values and morals. If we were to follow through with all that entails with the
rejection of God, there would be no meaning or purpose to our lives and there would be no
reason to live. “If there is no God, and there is no immortality… life itself is absurd, it means
that the life we have is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose.1”
In Thomas’ article Suffering: Richard Dawkins Contra Jesus, Thomas discusses the issue of
evil, specifically how evil displays itself within suffering. In this article Thomas discusses the
differences between a Neo-Darwinist’s opinion of suffering as opposed to the Christian view
of suffering.
Lastly but not least, Habermas in his article The Plight of the New Atheism: A Critique
outlines the differing critiques he has of Harris’ work. Habermas logically discusses why
Habermas disagrees with Harris’ work and the reasons why they have differing views they
have on evil. Harris’ work defends atheist ideals and values while Habermas defends
Christianity and its values and beliefs while this article primarily discusses Habermas’ point
of view.
2. Can life have objective meaning without God? Defend your answer making reference
(pro or con) to the reading(s).
Before we begin this discussion I must reiterate that everyone’s beliefs, values, opinions, and
ideals are just as valid as mine and just because what I believe is drastically different than
someone else does not discredit the validity and importance of respecting anyone else other
than myself. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and needs to be treated as
important as they are in Jesus’ eyes.
1 Craig, William Lane, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, 2009.
lOMoARcPSD|21126671
I do not believe that life can have objective OR subjective meaning without God because of
multiple reasons. According to what I know, believe, and find to be true, Jesus Christ, God,
and the Holy Spirit are the center of the universe and are the creators of this earth. (Genesis
1) If this were not to be true, then everything as we know it would be obsolete and
meaningless. “If God does not exist, then both man and the universe are inevitably doomed to
death… but a spark in the infinite blackness.”2 But as we can see within the argument of
atheism, there are values and ideals within atheism that point towards an existence of a higher
being. “…objective morality backfires into a probable argument for God's existence.”3
3. Could life be “good” without objective meaning? Defend your answer making reference
(pro or con) to the reading(s).
In short, no. Life cannot be good without objective meaning within atheism because
there is no basis for what is meaningful or not. “…objective moral standards cannot be
expected to result from an atheistic, evolutionary system grounded in the impersonal prin-
ciples of the improbable but chance development of life.”4
This question also poses another issue of definition because of the discrepancy found
within the question of ‘How can you know what’s good without knowing what is bad?’. How
can you ask the question of whether something is good if there is no standard for what is bad?
If you truly hold to an atheistic lifestyle then nothing matters, and everything is obsolete so
the question left unawswered is what is keeping you or me from plundering everyone and
taking what we want. You could ask any person the question ‘is rape/murder wrong?’ and the
universal answer would consequently be ‘yes’. Regardless of this person’s nationality, race,
gender, religion or any other defining feature, this universal answer is unanimous. This is true
because there is something intrinsic about our natures as humans that makes us feel a certain
way towards these issues. But rather, if you are an atheist then this question would be
2 Craig, 2009.
3Habermas, G. R., The Plight of the New Atheism: A Critique, 2008.
4Habermas, 2008.
lOMoARcPSD|21126671
meaningless and there are no morals to follow.
4. What effect do your conclusions regarding the problem of evil have, in your view, on
the philosophical case for God’s existence? Explain how and why.
The effect of the philosophical case for God’s existence is just a small part of why I continue
to pursue choosing God over everything else every day. The problem of evil uses logic as we
know to be true from our standpoint as humans but God transcends space and time and goes
beyond this logical problem of evil. We are unable as humans to understand God as a whole
because our minds are limited and for good reason! There are questions and answers that we
will never understand such as the question “Why, oh why, did the cancer have to strike my
child?’ Why did my innocent child go blind? Why was my mother taken from me?”5 There
are so many questions I have about God but that is exactly where faith and trust come into
our lives pertaining to God. If we knew everything and every way that our lives would play
out, then what would be the point of trusting or having faith in God? As an American
Christian my life is very comfortable, and I do not ‘need’ God per se. I am not
physiologically dependent upon Him for food or shelter because I’ve never worried about
where my next meal came from or where I would lay my head that night. God is good and
continues to be good throughout my life and continues to teach me in so many different ways.
So the answer to this question would be yes, there is an effect with regard to the problem of
evil but ultimately it is obsolete because of how He continues to reveal himself to me every
day.
5Thomas, T., Suffering: Richard Dawkins Contra Jesus, 2019.
lOMoARcPSD|21126671
Resources
Craig, William Lane, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, 3rd Ed., Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Books, 2009, 71-90.
Habermas, G. R. (2008, May 14). The Plight of the New Atheism: A Critique. Retrieved
October 1, 2019, from
http://garyhabermas.com/articles/J_Evangelical_Theological_Soc/habermas_JETS_Pl
ight_of_new_atheism_critique.htm.
The Holy Bible
Thomas, T. (2018, September 19). Suffering: Richard Dawkins Contra Jesus. Retrieved
October 1, 2019, from
https://www.moralapologetics.com/wordpress/2018/9/19/suffering-richard-dawkins
contra-jesus.
