Moreland develops a ground breaking, rigorous, systematic case against naturalism and for theism in light. Not simply for the purpose of speaking to nonbelievers. Smart observed, the greatest danger to theism at the present moment does not come from people who deny the validity of the arguments for the existence of god. By marilyn adamson just once wouldnt you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for god s existence. Thus god exists in the understanding, even if not in reality. On two different occasions i wish it were more, but god knows best i have heard god speak to me. Consciousness and the existence of god is a useful, single volume that reflects a synthesis of my perspective on the argument from consciousness. The kalam arguments underpinning is the impossibility of an actual infinite andor the traversing of infinite time, which is what distinguishes it from other cosmological arguments as was mentioned such as that of thomas aquinas, which rests on the impossibility of an essentially ordered infinite regress, and that of leibniz and clark, which. There is a vast sea of immaterial being in which god, angels, and, perhaps, abstract objects exist. The characteristics that point to divine authorship are. Does god exist the debate between theists and atheists by j.
Moral arguments for gods existence form a diverse family of arguments that reason from some feature of morality or the moral life to the existence of god, usually understood as a morally good creator of the universe. If souls exist, they would have to be inserted from above, since. God gave moses signs to prove to israel that god had sent him and to prove to pharaoh that the god of israel was the one true god ex 4. There is a huge movement of scientism in our culture that denies the reality and existence of the soul. Moral arguments are both important and interesting. Opinions on god are everywhere, but answering the question does god exist. Moreland, a leading christian philosopher and ethicist, and kai nielsen, one of todays bestknown atheist philosophers, went headtohead over these questions. Lets talk about gods development, because god has certain stages, because you didnt exist forever, and now theres a sphere of existence in which jp moreland exists.
Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. Many people believe that there are thousands of gods, not just one. Lets talk about god s development, because god has certain stages, because you didnt exist forever, and now theres a sphere of existence in which jp moreland exists. Possibly, were it not for the miracles of jesus, christians would not believe, and. They are interesting because evaluating their soundness requires attention. It is to say, for example, that nazi antisemitism was morally wrong, even though the nazis who carried out the holocaust.
Does god exist the debate between theists and atheists kindle edition by moreland, j. Discoveries in astronomy have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. The earths perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, dna, the number of people who attest to knowing god, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to. Does god exist the great debate james porter moreland, kai nielsen, j. There is the evidence of the created order itself testifying to the wisdom.
Moreland argues that it is rational to believe god exists backed by his arguments from cosmology, design, experience, the existence of morality, the existence of the mind, and the historical account of jesus and the bible. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read consciousness and the existence of god. Moreland is a substance dualist, and also defends libertarian free will, as well as life after death. But i am the way, the truth and the life, so god must exist as truth. Well, theists like myself would gladly and readily do so. Does god exist things to consider once youre ready to ask the question, does god exist. Whether god exists is the most important question any person can consider. James porter moreland is an american philosopher, theologian, and christian apologist. God is conceived as a being than which none greater can be thought, and even the nonbeliever can grasp that idea. He is an old earth creationist who is a critic of fideism in 2017, moreland signed the nashville statement.
However, one can provide an educated answer to which is the most likely answer. Third, christianity entails a worldview according to which the physical world is not all there is. Moreland, is an american philosopher, theologian, and christian apologist. The following section contains works which argue for the uniqueness of christ as distinct from other founders of world religions or.
His engagement with contemporary naturalism is vigorous, thorough, and fair. One of my favorite teachers when i was at talbot school of theology was dr. Moreland naturalism is the view that the spatiotemporal universe of entities postulated by our. Does god exist the debate between theists and atheists kindle. You can commit a category fallacy about something even if that thing does not exist, as long as you have a concept of what the thing would be if it were to exist. Moreland has defended the existence of angels and demons, arguing that he knows they exist due to both christian doctrine and personal experience. Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that god exists. Consciousness and the existence of god spiritual minds. The argument from consciousness is an argument for the existence of god based on consciousness. James porter moreland born march 9, 1948, better known as j. For example, unicorns do not exist, but we have a concept of what a unicorn would be if it were to exist, namely, a onehorned horse. Moreland develops a ground breaking, rigorous, systematic case against naturalism and for theism in light of the evident reality of consciousness. So, in god s perception of things, god has changed, or god has, i would say improved, because jp moreland has come into.
Available formats pdf please select a format to send. The debate between theists and atheists veritas forum. Moreland theist and kai nielsen atheist on the questions does god exist. An argument for god software engineering last updated. Reassurance that christianity is a faith committed to the reasonableness of its propositions. Moreland, peter kreeft, antony flew, william lane craig, keith parsons, dallas willard on. We are making this bibliography available to anyone who would like to have it for further study. In defense of atheism skeptics bookshelf series, etc. To understand god makes him exist mentally, and we then see that actual existence must be one of his characteristics.
The existence of god richard swinburne university of oxford. The cosmological argument for the existence of god tries to show that because anything exists there must be a god who brought it into existence. It was popularized by william lane craig in his book, the kalam cosmological argument 1979 the arguments key underpinning idea is the metaphysical impossibility of actual infinities and. Moreland argues that the existence of finite, irreducible consciousness or its regular, lawlike correlation with physical states provides evidence for the existence of god. To say that there are objective moral values is to say that something is right or wrong independently of whether anybody believes it to be so. Prometheus books 59 john glenn drive buffalo, new york 142282197 isbn 0879758236. So, in gods perception of things, god has changed, or god has, i would say improved, because jp moreland has come into. In my case, i have chosen to concentrate my discussion on producing a probability value that directly answers the question of whether god exists. Michael martin and the moral argument for gods existence. Here are six straightforward reasons to believe that god is really there.
Ultimately, what we see in human experience, science, logic, and history leads to a confident answer. Outline the four classic proofs for gods existence. Does god exist 6 logical reasons to conclude there is a god. In fact, the hypothesis of the existence of god makes sense of the whole of our experience, and it does so better than any other explanation that can be put forward, and that is the grounds for believing it to be true. He is the author, coauthor, or contributor to over ninetyfive books, including does god exist. God is something of which nothing greater can be thought. Kai nielsen born 1926 is professor emeritus of philosophy at the university of calgary. Anselms proof is an attempt to demonstrate that god must exist necessarily and rationally. In the beginning god created the heavens and the earth gen. The kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of god. If god does not exist, objective moral values do not exist. Moreland is distinguished professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology, biola university. John porter moreland born 1948 is professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology at biola university.
Your author, john clayton, was a science teacher who began his. Anselm is best known for his ontological proof for the existence of god, so named because ontos in greek means being and it is an argument on gods being or existence. The craigflew debate william lane craig and antony flew met on the 50th anniversary of the famous coplestonrussell debate to discuss the question of gods existence. Moreland, a leading christian philosopher and ethicist, and kai nielsen, one of todays bestknown atheist. Does god exist the debate between theists and atheists. By marilyn adamson just once wouldnt you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for gods existence. On various other occasions again, not as often as i would wish i have experienced gods presence the numinous, as rudolf otto would put it. The core of this book contains the edited transcript of that debate. It is currently being defended by professional philosophers william lane craig and j. Its possible for god to exist without the universe, but it is not possible for the universe to exist without. This form of the argument relies on the premise that existence is a necessary part of. In this lecture i shall try to show you how it makes sense. This argument states that since we can conceive of god, he must exist because we cant conceive of things that dont exist.
The interview below is heady stuff but very important. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in god bothered me greatly. If god does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist. On march 24, 1988, at the university of mississippi, j. Some of my earlier publications reflect work on this argument e. But if objective values cannot exist without god, and objective values do exist, then it follows logically and inescapably that god exists. God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. God exists, 100% beyond doubt, because this is impossible to do either way. I counter that i know that god does exist, and i have experienced him personally in my own life. Atheism is obligatory in the absence of any evidence 6 for more on this, see paul copan, the naturalists are declaringthe glory of god. In other words, believers in a god of some sort outnumber unbelievers. Truth must exist, because to deny truth would be to affirm one truth truth does not exist. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.
In other words, without god to create it, nothing would or could exist. Not only does this provide powerful historical corroboration that its possible to survive after the death of our physical body, but it also gives jesus great credibility when he teaches that we have both a body and an immaterial spirit for a short description of the evidence for the resurrection, see gary r. For example, you might say that you can imagine a giant octopus or king kong and they dont exist. Apr 26, 2010 consciousness and the existence of god. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting.
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