Mccloskey Argumentative Essay

Improved Essays
Show More
For many years, Theist and Atheist have attempted to argue their points concerning God’s existence. In both instances, each group appears to constantly attempt to disprove their counterpart. This is done in a variety of ways and some of which we will look at in this paper. Typically, the place that each side begins with is a straight forward question. Is there a God? However, after this question the ones that follow are anything but straight forward. Due to this, there are many people on each side of the aisle that spend their life attempting to prove or disprove God’s existence.
In H J McCloskey’s article On Being an Atheist, McCloskey attempts to make arguments against God’s existence based on a lack of true proofs. McCloskey mainly focuses …show more content…
McCloskey argues that belief in God based on the world we know is not sufficient. “If we argue from the existence of this world to its creator, we must endow this creator with attributes which express how he came to create such a world” (McCloskey). The argument continues and bases the reasoning on the first cause (God) not being able to be explained as being a necessarily existing being. McCloskey seems to believe that one must be able to nail down certain characteristics of God to justify belief in regard to the cosmological argument. According to this view, there is not enough evidence to prove the creator or the creation time frame. However, in Philosophy of Religion, Evans and Manis differs greatly from the view previously mentioned. According to Evans and Manis, God is not a contingent being and if God did have a cause he would not be God. Evans and Manis go on to explain that the cosmological argument prove many of God’s characteristics. However, it does include some of the key elements of a theistic concept of God. “By itself, the argument only seems to show the existence of a necessary being that is the cause of the universe” (Evans and Manis). As a result, this could lead a person to desire to know more about

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Summary Of The Kalam Cosmological Argument
    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Summary Of The Kalam Cosmological Argument

    Nathan Cha Professor Song Philosophical Perspectives 17 December 2015 The cosmological Argument In William Lane Craig’s, “The Kalam Cosmological Argument,” he argues that whatever begins to exists had a cause of its existence, and since the universe began to exist Craig claims that the universe had a cause for existing. Craig furthers his claim by stating that God is the cause for the universe existing. To object to this argument J.L. Mackie brings some questions to the table to unpack Craig’s claims.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Mccloskey On Being An Atheist Analysis
    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mccloskey On Being An Atheist Analysis

    Response to McCloskey’s Article Shamyra Thompson Liberty University Introduction In the short article On Being an Atheist, H.J. McCloskey discusses several arguments pertaining to the whether or no there is a God and what one believes to be evil. McCloskey also refers to the arguments as “proof” as well as implied several times that they can’t define or establish the existence of God. In the light of Foreman’s comments in regards to the question of God’s existence, I felt that he addressed the question by discussing the commonly asked question “Is there a God or if a God exist”. He also discussed what exactly is evil.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Journey To The Master Of Life Analysis
    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Journey To The Master Of Life Analysis

    Have you ever desired for a short, reasonable response that will please both the brain and the soul? In the pursuit of basic human rights, numerous individuals have searched for this fulfillment in religion. Webster defines religious as one`s belief in God, as well as rules used to worship a God. Since the beginning of time, religion was questioned, and it`s origin; consequently, they headed toward the sea to find some answers. Although we are not able to confirm the existence of God, we can provide proof of the power of religion.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mccloskey Argumentative Analysis
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mccloskey Argumentative Analysis

    God is the best explanation, but not necessarily the only explanation. The second important thing to remember is that yes, these arguments are defeasible, meaning that it is possible they could be wrong. However, atheists and McCloskey have yet to provide a defeater for our arguments. We as Christians could be wrong, but someone has yet to prove us 100 percent wrong. The cumulative case approach is the idea that not one argument is the ultimate argument for proof of God’s existence.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    A Scientific Argument For The Existence Of God Analysis
    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A Scientific Argument For The Existence Of God Analysis

    In this paper I will explain and evaluate two popular arguments regarding the existence of God, A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God by Robin Collins and The Inductive Argument from Evil Against the Existence of God by William Rowe; then I will discuss how the conclusions are not compatible with one another due to the conflicting structure of the conclusions as well as how one cannot accept both conclusions without compromising one of the arguments. First I will explain the basis of Collins’ argument, which is one of the most frequently used arguments in favor of theism. In A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God, Collins centers around the observation of how finely tuned the physical constants of the universe are to the ability for any form of life to exist, if any of them were to change even the smallest bit then no life would possibly be able to develop not to…

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Mccloskey Argument Analysis
    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Mccloskey Argument Analysis

    McCloskey tempts the theists to look for answers and reasoning in a different way with his statement. In response, Evan and Manis say that the thrust of the non-temporal argument is that present existence of contingent objects requires that there be a necessary being” (Evans & Manis, 2009). As mentioned McCloskey claims that everything requires a cause for its existence; therefore God requires a cause for his existence. Evans and Manis discuss it this way, the argument assumes that all contingent beings require a cause for their existence; however, God is not a contingent being; only a self-existent or necessary being can qualify for the title of “God.” (Evans & Manis, 2009).…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    'Roundtable Discussion On The Problem Of Evil'
    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    'Roundtable Discussion On The Problem Of Evil'

    In the “Roundtable Discussion on the Problem of Evil”, Meghan Sullivan, Trent Dougherty, and Sam Newlands discusses the Problem of Evil for theism, as well as defences theists have come up with against the problem. All three people do not take the side of a theist or an atheist, but instead discuss the problem from a mostly objective view. The Problem of Evil is also discussed by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and William Craig in God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist, where Sinnott-Armstrong argues from the atheist’s point of view and Craig argues from the theist’s. In this paper, I will discuss the points made in both sources to make my argument: I shall argue that there is a possibility that God could have made different types of evils…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Osmological Argument Analysis
    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Osmological Argument Analysis

    Craig that he is “the one Christian apologist who seems to have put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheist.” In this debate the same will occur for my opponent and all reading. Argument 1: Kalam Cosmological argument (KCA) (Heavily influenced by Dr. Craig’s presentation on the subject) P1: Whatever begins to exist has a cause “Nihil fit ex nihilo” That is to say that nothing comes from nothing.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Anselm's Argument Analysis
    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Anselm's Argument Analysis

    To provide an argument to justify that one’s beliefs are true beyond a shadow of a doubt can be a process in which faces many challenges. There must be a thorough unbiased investigation of what is trying to be discovered or verified which can often lead to one’s conjecture. There are many phenomenon in this world that would prove challenging to explain, and one of those things is the existence of a god. Throughout the history of humanity, there have been many speculations on this topic in particular, which has seemed to point towards many different possibilities. Saint Anselm provides a controversial argument for the rationalization of god’s existence, which requires a thorough analysis.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Cosmological Argument
    • 2037 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Cosmological Argument

    In the middle of the 17th century, thinkers in the enlightenment began to question how belief in the existence of a monotheistic God could be rationally supported. A number of arguments for and against the existence of God emerged at this time, and while the philosophical debate on the existence of God is still in session, the initial dust has settled. At this point in time, it is abundantly clear that a the cosmological argument is untenable at both a metaphysical and empirical level, and that the various versions of the cosmological argument fail to support the existence of God. There is good reason for critically examining the cosmological argument. Theists have made a claim that God exists.…

    • 2037 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Cosmological Argument Of Existence
    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The Cosmological Argument Of Existence

    The first argument McCloskey objects is the Cosmological Argument. The Cosmological Argument is considered the argument of existence. McCloskey argues that the existence of the entire world does not make it a legit reason to believe in a higher being. He suggests the only reason people take this stance behind the Cosmological Argument is because they are reliant organisms within the world.…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Consumptions In Michael Scriven's The Presumption Of Atheism
    • 2556 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Consumptions In Michael Scriven's The Presumption Of Atheism

    In The Presumption of Atheism , Michael Scriven argues that when arguments for the existence of God are unable to provide the evidence required to maintain this conclusion (and Scriven believes this to be the case for all such arguments) the only position that one can rationally maintain is atheism. I will first elaborate the salient points of Scriven’s reasoning in arriving at his conclusion and then attempt to challenge some of the assumptions that Scriven makes in the course of his argument, and provide what I believe to be an example of a case where there can be a retrospective justification for having an arbitrary presumption of theism despite an absence of what would be conventionally considered to be evidence. Scriven begins by addressing…

    • 2556 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Argument Of Good Vs. Evil And The Existence Of God
    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Argument Of Good Vs. Evil And The Existence Of God

    The existence of God, a topic discussed in both William Rowe’s and Robin Collins’ papers, but for two very different reasons. The argument of good vs. evil and the existence of an omnipresent, benevolent being such as God is a topic that many find very difficult to find answers for, and will continue to plague mankind for the rest of our existence. After reading the published works of Mr. Collins and Mr. Rowe, one may find it easier to formulate their own opinion. In the publication by Mr. Collins, he addresses the topic of atheism and theism in respect to physics.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Free Life Of Pi Essays: The Existence Of God
    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Free Life Of Pi Essays: The Existence Of God

    This paper has taught me so many different things about my thoughts on God. When I first started this paper, I did not know if anything would be able to change my opinion. When I started my paper, my goal was to find some proof that there was no such thing as God. Instead, I found many different sides to this complex argument. The Life of Pi tried to make a significant argument of why God did exists.…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Does God Exist Essay
    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Does God Exist Essay

    In the vast study of philosophy, a particular question has baffled even the most intelligent minds. This question is, “Does God exist?” Philosophers have considered the answer to this question for centuries, each coming up with their own argument and reasons behind their thinking. A platform of debate often used is Antony Flew’s parable of the two explorers, who find a garden so beautiful, that one of the explorers is positive that there must be a gardener tending to it, even if he can’t be detected in any way. The other explorer is not so easily convinced that a gardener exists at all.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings