PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS

WITH ALL YOUR MIND

PART ONE: MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE

CHAPTER TWO: COME LET US REASON (Part 2)

Nathan, would you explain for us the ontological argument for God's existence, Tim, the cosmological argument, Courtney, the teleological argument, and John, the moral argument?

Limitations of the Arguments

p. 47
According to Woodfin what is the crucial issue regarding these 4 classical arguments of God's existence?

bottom of p. 47
For those who already believe in God, what is it about the 4 classical arguments that they find offensive?

p. 48
Etienne Gilson for example criticizes Descartes' argument for God's existence. What kind of God has Descartes produced according to Gilson?

According to Paul Tillich these arguments have lost what?

All this is to say that the 4 classical arguments do not produce a personal kind of God. God in these arguments appears to be more like a principle, an abstract concept, rather than a living, personal God you would ever want to encounter.

Woodfin quotes Tillich at length. According to Tillich if I have to prove that something is true, what have I admitted?

Bottom of p. 48 and top of p. 49
According to Woodfin there is a paradoxical weakness in the basical methodology of the 4 arguments. What is that weakness?

p. 49
Regarding the teleological argument whereas you can correctly surmize that the existence of a watch out in the field means that one day a watchmaker did make the watch, can you then necessarily surmize that the existence of a well-designed universe means that there exists a Designer of the universe? Simply because it is true in one case, is it necessarily true in another case?

p. 49
What do all of the 4 arguments about God's existence assume? Is it logical or necessary that we assume this?

p. 50
What do men experience which makes the teleological argument credible?

How does Sturch's use of the cosmic card dealer call into question the teleological argument?

p. 50
What is the most formidable obstacle confronting all 4 of the arguments for God's existence?

In this paragraph what is the problem with the ontological and moral arguments? (You'll need to know what he means by circular or tautological arguments.)

What is the problem with the cosmological and teleological arguments?

p. 51
David Hume, famous Scottish philosopher, uses the illustration of the balance to show that the 4 arguments don't necessarily prove an infinite God exists. For example, we say that the ontological argument proves that an infinite God exists. If a scale has 10 ounces of materials on it on one side and something invisible on the other side of the scale, if the invisible is so much heavier than the 10 ounces that the scale tips completely in its direction, does this prove that the invisible object has infinite weight? How much could it weigh?

middle of p. 51
Do the four arguments all necessarily point to the same God? Do they necessarily prove that only one God exists? How does Occam's Razor apply to this?

bottom of p. 51
Do the 4 arguments necessarily point to a personal God? What kind of God could they point to?

Yet what must be true of God if man is to have a satisfactory religious experience?

p. 52
If we reject the 4 arguments because of their methods, what might we also be rejecting?

Contributions of the Arguments

After all the criticism which has been levelled against them, what is the most astounding thing about the 4 arguments?

If these 4 arguments are more popular and forcible today than they have ever been, especially after all the attacks they've weathered, what might be true about them?

p. 53
Those critics who reject these 4 arguments must ultimately account for what?

According to the Bible (biblical revelation) why do men universally believe that God exists?

p. 54
In our first study we talked about how we know something to be true. The second channel was pragmatism, realistic, that is, does it work. That is, can we build our lives confidently upon perfection, causality, design, and morality?

Woodfin says that these concepts are not only valid, they are also "_________________ indispensable for an understanding of our experience."

Some reject the concept of design because of the world that it has produced. Can you really conceive of a better world than the one we live in? (The illustration of the spread of disease is important here.)

Structural Affiniities with Biblical Revelation

p. 55
What verses in the Bible harmonize with the ontological argument for God's existence?

p. 57
What are some of the verses in the Bible which harmonize with the cosmological argument (causality)?

bottom of p. 57
What verse does Woodfin quote that harmonize with the teleological argument?

p. 59
What are some verses which harmonize with the moral argument for God's existence?