Enlightenment thinkers in 1700s have reached an impasse in which the sacred and the transcendent are observed in a groundbreaking way and this perception is most debated between the ideas of William Paley and John Wesley. One of the most phenomenal scientific revolutions in human history made religion difficult for people of the United Kingdom to accept without reason. Explanations on the sacred and the transcendent, prominently Christianity at the time, became even harder to accept with only the Bible as its major source. For William Paley, the creation of the world and all of its inhabitants was undoubtedly connected to the transcendent being called God in his analogy to watches. However, for thinkers such as John Wesley, Paley’s way of
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The watch represents the world and because of its intelligent design, there must be an intelligent designer. Paley argues that “observed and understood–the inference we think is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker–that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer, who completely comprehended its construction and designed its use”. By unraveling the watch to find different gears and chips within indicates that this is not like a rock that was broken off the ground, but was specifically made by someone or something. After concluding intelligent design, he reasons that the watch can only produce itself if and only if the first watch had an artificer, so his argument still stands. Understanding how articulated his ideology is demonstrates how important and deep the scared and the transcendent is within the mind even during the enlightenment …show more content…
Reason should hold importance in religion as it “is built upon the prophets and the Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone…of what excellent use is reason, if we would either understand ourselves, or explain to others, those living oracles” (Wesley). Reason is very beneficial in society and allows humanity to progress past previously held ideals, but reason can only go so far. He also goes on to explain that reason cannot produce faith, hope, or love in God and although it does well to try and reason through Christianity, these things cannot be produced. Wesley argues that reason “is incapable of giving faith, or hope, or love; and, consequently, of producing either real virtue, or substantial happiness”. These are gifts from God that can only be given with or without evidence of His existence. Even without reason for the existence of God, the sacred and the transcendent is still maintained and does not need to be reasoned in order to produce hope, faith and love for
The watch represents the world and because of its intelligent design, there must be an intelligent designer. Paley argues that “observed and understood–the inference we think is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker–that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer, who completely comprehended its construction and designed its use”. By unraveling the watch to find different gears and chips within indicates that this is not like a rock that was broken off the ground, but was specifically made by someone or something. After concluding intelligent design, he reasons that the watch can only produce itself if and only if the first watch had an artificer, so his argument still stands. Understanding how articulated his ideology is demonstrates how important and deep the scared and the transcendent is within the mind even during the enlightenment …show more content…
Reason should hold importance in religion as it “is built upon the prophets and the Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone…of what excellent use is reason, if we would either understand ourselves, or explain to others, those living oracles” (Wesley). Reason is very beneficial in society and allows humanity to progress past previously held ideals, but reason can only go so far. He also goes on to explain that reason cannot produce faith, hope, or love in God and although it does well to try and reason through Christianity, these things cannot be produced. Wesley argues that reason “is incapable of giving faith, or hope, or love; and, consequently, of producing either real virtue, or substantial happiness”. These are gifts from God that can only be given with or without evidence of His existence. Even without reason for the existence of God, the sacred and the transcendent is still maintained and does not need to be reasoned in order to produce hope, faith and love for