Relative to theology, Xavier’s Mission statement runs parallel to the mission of theology; a mission to “create a more just and humane society”. As theology serves as a medium between society and the church, Xavier also mediates between the institution and society. In order to understand the function of Xavier’s mission, we must first gain insight into the function of theology. By first grasping a clear understanding of theological function, we may compare the utility of critical reflection in…
and therefore there must be a being who designed it: God. Aquinas describes everything to achieve their end “not fortuitously, but designedly”. This argument for design qua regularity was also spoken about by William Paley in his book ‘Natural Theology’. In particular, he considered the motion of the planets in the solar system, and concluded that they must have had a designer. The relationship between and the effect of gravity on the planets could not have come about without a designer; even…
The argument from evil, supposes that because there is evil in the world, God therefore cannot be omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. These characteristics are used to describe the essence of the God of Christianity, so according to the argument from evil, God does not exist. Because if He did exist as an all-powerful, loving being, He would not allow such evil to prevail. So, does the fact of evil make it irrational to believe in God? No, the fact of evil does not make it irrational to…
In Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan describes how wonderful and loving God is while fighting off the accusations of God being a monster by the New Atheists using the Old Testament. One major point made by Copan is the question of how truly loving or terrible God is. Throughout the Old Testament God shows many different sides. He can be a caring God, or He can be a scary God. There are times when God shows mercy and then there are times that seem like he is letting terrible things happen to…
The Fall “Human Beings are not designed to be alone. None of God’s creatures are,” Chely Wright. This quote means that you are never alone. This is a lesson I learned on a cool summer night in 2013. It was the summer before 4th grade. I was sleeping over at my friend Maddie’s house just a third of a mile down the street from mine. After dinner, we decided to go for a ride on scooters around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful night, cool and quiet. We had stopped at a small spot where we hung…
Theist’s claim that God created the world and continues to support and uphold. Theists also believe that God is perfectly good, all – knowing and all- powerful. But how could there be a God if there is evil and suffering in a world that was created by God? God is said to be perfectly good, all-knowing, and all-powerful. So if God exists then how is there both moral and natural evils in the world? This problem of evil is a very important issue and needs to be solved. The Problem of Evil can be…
The Design Argument is used as argument for God’s existence. It states that the universe as we know it, is comprised of complexity, and complex things do not solely come in to being, but must have been intelligently designed. If the universe and its components are complex, there must be someone that intelligently designed them, therefore, there must be a designer and that must be God. The design argument can be understood as being an argument for the existence of God and it achieves this by…
In Leibniz’s writings, Discourse on Metaphysics , he upheld the view that final causes are everywhere and to not notice them, but believe in God is ridiculous. Since as we know, Leibniz believed that God created the best possible world for us. Now getting to my point, I would like to effectively defend Leibniz against Descartes because in his writings, Meditations on First Philosophy , Descartes rejects final causes. First, I will explain what the connection between final causes and efficient…
Each of the friends exposed the inherent weaknesses of evil people. Though the wicked appeared invincible, they were rotten at the core and God would destroy them. For his part, however, Job saw only their continuing strength and enviable security. Although none of the friends named Job in this cycle, these pointed diatribes formed the basis for round three which turned painfully personal as they accused Job of having engaged in the very same oppressive practices that would make “[the wicked]…
René Descartes is one of the most famous modern philosophers in the world. One of his most reputable works is called Meditations on the First Philosophy. The book is made up of six mediations in which Descartes seeks to prove what knowledge is undoubtedly true. In his third meditation, Descartes attempts to provide evidence for the existence of God. He raises one main argument, followed by a supplemental argument. He sets up his first premise by stating that he, in fact, does have a concept of…