The God Question

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The God Question

• Homer Hey, I got a question for you. (pulls out
  a piece of paper) Could Jesus microwave a
  burrito so hot that he himself could not eat
  it?Ned Well sir, of course, he could, but
  then again... wow, as melon-scratchers go that's
  a honey-doodle.Homer Now you know what I've
  been going through.- The Simpsons, "Weekend At
  Burnsies" (S.13,E.16)

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Background

• Reasons for belief, etc.

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Whats at Issue?

• Q Is there a God(s)?
• Possible Positions
• Yes Theism
• No Atheism
• No answer Agnosticism
• Types of theism
• Monotheism there is one God.
• Polytheism there are many gods.
• Pantheism everything is God.

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What is God?

• Western monotheistic conception of God
• God is omnipotent (all-Powerful)
• God is omniscient (all-Knowing)
• God is omni-benevolent (all-Good)
• (Creator)
• Why these properties?
• Worthy of worship, of the title God
• Whats common in major religions in the West

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Why these Properties?

• Whats common in major religions in the West
• Worthy of worship
• Required for the title God

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Christian, Muslim, etc. God?

• Not our concern
• Just the general omni-God
• Is there a god? (in this class) Is there a
  being with the 3 omni properties?
• Specific Christian or other God requires further
  argument

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What is it to Believe?

• Belief an attitude toward a proposition
  (claim/statement) in which one represents that
  proposition as true.
• Believe in God believe that there is a God
• I hold the attitude of belief (assent think
  true) toward the proposition that there is a God.
• Just like
• I believe the earth isnt flat.
• Not like
• I hope the earth isnt flat.

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What is Faith?

• What does I have faith in God mean?
• I hope that God exists?
• I believe God exists (based on evidence)?
• I believe God exists (regardless of evidence)?
• Usually, people mean 2 or 3.
• Well only talk about belief in God.

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Reasons for Belief

• Seeking either
• a good reason to believe that there is a God
  (i.e. for theism)
• or a good reason to think there isnt (i.e. for
  atheism)

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2 Kinds of Reason for Belief

• (Merely) Explanatory reason something that
  provides a mere explanation (typically causal)
  for the belief.
• Ex The reason Kyle doesnt believe in Jesus is
  he was raised by Jewish parents.
• Justifying reason (good reason) something that
  provides justification (possibly also an
  explanation) for the belief.
• Ex The reason Kima believes Omar will keep
  smoking even though he said hed quit is that
  Omar has failed many times before.

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2 Kinds of Justifying Reason

• Pragmatic reasons for belief a consideration
  that counts in favor of having the belief by
  showing that it is merely useful.
• E.g. Eccentric billionaire case
• Epistemic reasons for belief a consideration
  that counts in favor of having the belief by
  showing that its evidence for the truth (or
  likelihood) of whats believed.
• E.g. Testimony about mental states

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Pascals Wager

• Pascal You should believe in God because its
  in your self-interest (youre most likely to gain
  the most rewards by believing it).
• Problem not an epistemic reason wrong kind of
  reason.
• The Upshot only care about epistemic reasons
  here.

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3 Famous Arguments for Theism

• The Cosmological Argument
• The universe had to come from somewhere.
• The Ontological Argument
• The very concept of God (as a perfect being)
  shows that he exists.
• The Teleological Argument
• a.k.a. Arg. from Design
• You cant get a universe by accident.

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Famous Argument for Atheism

• The Problem of Evil
• How can there be a God when there is so much
  senseless evil, pain, suffering, etc.?