Nature Of Religion Essay

Superior Essays
Noetic structure and the nature of God
According to Nash, “The philosophy of religion is the branch of philosophy that studies questions arising out of philosophical reflection about religious claim, beliefs, and practices.” (Nash, 13).
This is important to note because philosophical views on religion allows us to take note and inferences and place them in context. Nash clearly notes that in order to understand the philosophy of religion there are some kinds of questions encountered in the philosophy of religion which would include the following: What is the nature of religion? What is the nature of God? What does it mean to say that God is omnipotent or omniscient? What is faith, and how it is related to reason? (Nash, 13). Nash explicitly
…show more content…
Why such a claim challenging to the nature of faith? There are several factors that can be held accountable to the contrary. Nash states, “Many disagreements between individuals, societies, and nations are often clashes of competing world-views…Growing number of conflicts between secular humanist and religious believers.” (Nash, 25). Hence, the Christian worldview on the nature of God, is the strong values and beliefs held which according to Nash “the doctrine of the Trinity reflects the Christian conviction that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct centers of consciousness sharing fully in the one divine nature and in the activities of the other persons of the trinity.” (Nash, …show more content…
These characteristics are symbolic because they are the virtues to which mankind finds comfort in the gospel. The church holds a tremendous role in appropriating the importance is important in nature and in that it sends a clear message.

Citations
````Bailey, Tom. 2010. "Analyzing the Good Will: Kant 's Argument in the First Section of the Groundwork." British Journal for The History Of Philosophy 18, no. 4: 635-662. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 2, 2016).
VAN IMPE, STIJN. 2014. "KANT 'S MORAL THEISM AND MORAL DESPAIR ARGUMENT AGAINST ATHEISM." Heythrop Journal 55, no. 5: 757-768. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 2, 2016).
Hare, John E. 2011. "Ethics and Religion: Two Kantian Arguments." Philosophical Investigations 34, no. 2: 151-168. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 2, 2016
Murphy, Frank J. "The Problem of Evil and a Plausible Defense." Religious Studies 31, no. 2 (1995): 243-50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20019739. Conway, David A. "The Philosophical Problem of Evil." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 24, no. 1/2 (1988): 35-66.

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In accordance with Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, I will argue that ethical actions should be judged by good will alone. By comparing the theories of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill, I will conclude that Kant’s theories are more realistic in regards to the nature of humans. Immanuel Kant argues that one’s good intentions should be the deciding factor in judging their actions no matter the outcome. What is beneficial about this is that it allows for the expression of the intrinsic values of a person. Since every person has different virtues and opinions, they can act in any way they choose.…

    • 1510 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper, I’m going to explain Boethius’s (the author) attempt to solve the problem of evil in my own words, and then give my insight on whether or not his solution is successful. The problem of evil in the world is a haunting thought that reside on everyone’s heart once in their lifetime. For years, great thinkers, philosophers and theologians tried to come up with answers to why evil exist in our world. Among these great thinkers is Boethius, a Christian theologian and a philosopher.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Immanuel Kant On Duty

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Philosophy is a discipline that studies how one ought to live, as well as study reality, nature, existence, etc. However, there are a number of philosophers who propose differing sets of morals and have different ideas of living life to its fullest (Singer v. Mill). Kant proposes that moral actions are defined by the motivation of an action, and later on explains that moral actions are duties through reason, rather than inclination. This essay will explain the validity of Kant’s argument by first explaining Kant’s view on duty, then analyse his view of duty as an object of good will, which pertains to motivations without the slightest selfishness, then argue for moral duties motivated by duty instead of inclination based on reason. It is difficult…

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When you hear the word evil what thoughts pop-in your head? Do you believe an evil can exist if there’s still a higher power or God? In this essay, I will be discussing Williams Rowe’s argument for atheism based on the Well-Known argument “The Problem of evil and Some Varieties of Atheism”. The problem of evil questions the existence of a God based on the evil in the world. In this paper, I will discuss his reasoning for atheism, I will explain in depth what he means by each premise.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In my paper I will be discussing that Kantian Ethics can make decide to do the wrong thing sometimes because of Kant’s maxims, his view on good will and also and also will be discussing the FEI and treating humanity merely as a means, also will be discussing his views on reason vs. desire. With these reasons come objections can refute his belief by stating good points, this objection is the murderer at the door. Even though there are objection to Kantian ethics I will respond to these objections in such a way that Kant would respond to anyone with these objections. Therefore because of Kant’s maxims, his views on good will and also using his ideas on using a person merely as means and also the FEI and his views on reason vs. desire.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When he [Kant] begins to deduce from this precept [i.e. CI] any of the actual duties of morality, he fails, almost grotesquely, to show that there would be any contradiction, any logical (not to say physical) impossibility, in the adoption by all rational beings of the most outrageously immoral rules of conduct. All he shows is that the consequences of their universal adoption would be such as no one would choose to incur. Here Mill considers of consequences in moral action, as we will see, Mill’s consequentialism rather than Utilitarianism is the direct charge made to Kant, these two notions are not same, the utiitlirms principle is seek happiness and avoid pain, precisely moral action would be conducted on maximizing happiness and minimizing…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What makes the good pure and evil bad? You are just about to find that out. We shall find the basis supporting this argument on the researches of three scholars who conducted an in-depth analysis on the subject. Each of these authors has their different contributions which must be not be ignored, to understand the existence of man in the universe, and things that control him. We shall look at the works of three researchers, who are Bertrand Russell, in his contributions on why I am Not a Christian, Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis, and finally, The Age of A reason.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mackie Free Will

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages

    From the moment man stepped foot on the porous soil of earth, an inner-voice began to awaken from within the confines of cerebral tissue; a compelling force that enables man to chose between both what is right, and that which is not. Is it a higher power, or the complex mechanics of evolution that is to blame for the establishment of this subconscious observer? Did the creative force bestowing mankind with such a powerful tool know the extent to which it would be used? As impossible as these questions appear to answer, it is evident that this concealed power is a seemingly inherent motivating influence in human decision-making. For the sake of argument and the purpose of this paper, this intuitive metaphysical force will be regarded as free-will,…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss a particular objection to the problem of evil—that which states that good cannot exist without evil. I will introduce and lay-out the problem of evil, discuss two variations of this objection that Mackie puts forth, and offer a third variation to test the stregnth of the problem of evil against this particular objection. The problem of evil aims to expose the apparent inconsistencies of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic formulation of God. That is, a God that is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.…

    • 1708 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Evil is a complex issue within the Catholic faith. It is difficult to put a definition to what evilness is because it is not something that can physically be touched or seen. Philosophers such as, St. Augustine and Boethius, have proposed ideas that transform the way Catholics view evil, and help to give a better understanding of faith and God. These two philosophers have expressed their opinions on this very controversial topic in depth in Augustine’s Confessions and again in the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. The philosophers shared certain ideas, but have come to them each in different ways.…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the movie My Sister’s Keeper, Sara and Brian Breslin make the decision to conceive their daughter Ana through in vitro to donate compatible organs to their daughter Kate who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. The ethical issue in this movie is the decision Ana’s parents made to go through with genetic pre-implementation with the specific goal of saving their older daughter Kate. The moral agent, Ana, faces moral obligations to save her sister by serving as an organ bank. She is at the center of an ethical dilemma as she has to decide what is best for her and her family.…

    • 1649 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most persistence questions we as thinking having often tends to challenge the existence of God. That question is, ‘if God is good and made us in His likeness, then why is there evil in the world?’ This question has plagued both theist and philosophers alike. I personally have encountered this very question in both Religious Quest, as well as Philosophy. While the latter concentrates on the logical problem of evil in order to argue that there can not be a perfect God who could then allow evil, the theist believes in an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Where the beginning of Morality came from has been a huge debate among people for hundreds of years now. Morality can also be called the goodness in people or the desire to be good. Theists believe morality comes from God. Atheists believe that morality comes from our own conscience or reason. In this essay we are going to focus on proving that morality could not have come from God in view of the following reasons, 1: You can be good without God, 2: The Bible is not a clear guide for direction on morality, 3: There are many things that religious people do not agree with, and 4: The problem of evil.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religion occurs where ever societies exist, from the Sumerians and the Ancient Egyptians right through to modern society religion is everywhere. This essay will look at religion from a sociological perspective and try to answer whether or not Britain is becoming a more secular society. When it comes to religion sociologists, unlike theologists and philosophers, are not as interested in the details of religions themselves, but in what effects religion has on its particular society. The sociological study or religion is separate from the philosophical approach, which is concerned with such questions as the nature and existence of God and the relationship between God and science (William Alston, 1967), in that it does not seek to answer whether or not there, is any validity to religious beliefs. Sociologist Peter L Berger (1967) coined the term ‘methodological atheism’ to describe the process needed in comparing the different beliefs of various religions.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moral philosophy tries to explain the difference between right and wrong so that people can make good decisions. However, finding out what makes an action right is not so easy. For this reason, several different theories have evolved while trying to explain this issue. One of those theories is deontology, or duty-defined morality. Probably the most famous and influential spokesman of this theory is Immanuel Kant.…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics