An argument for the existence of God based on the nature of God’s being Saint Anselm ( CE) relied purely on reason … if we were to conceive of something that nothing greater could be conceived, that being would be God Starts from the position of belief in God: Credo ut Intelligam …. “I believe in order that I might understand”

An argument for the existence of God that claims that there must be an ultimate causal explanation for why the universe as a totality exists St. Thomas Aquinas ( CE) claimed that there five proofs for the existence of God …. The two most important are …..

Everything in the Universe is in motion For everything in the universe to moving there must be a “prime” mover

 Everything in the universe has a cause  Stretching back through the chain of causes to the beginning leads one to God

 An argument for the existence of God which claims that that the order and purpose manifest in the working of things in the universe require God  William Paley ( ) compared God to a watchmaker

 Means “all God”  Alternative to traditional monotheism  Belief that everything is God and God is everything  Baruch Spinoza ( ) claimed that God could not be separated from everything in the universe

Rejection of theism …denies the existence of God because…  lacks scientific proof  the problem of evil Adopts a moral system designed to “realize human potentialities As much a statement of faith as theism Bertrand Russell ( )

 God’s existence cannot be either proved or disproved  Thomas Huxley ( ), Darwin’s Bulldog, advocated the suspension of judgement given the lack of evidence  Is this possible in practice ?

 In the 17 th century the mathematician Blaise Pascal formulated his infamous pragmatic argument for belief in God in Pensées. The argument runs as follows:  If you erroneously believe in God, you lose nothing (assuming that death is the absolute end), whereas if you correctly believe in God, you gain everything (eternal bliss). But if you correctly disbelieve in God, you gain nothing (death ends all), whereas if you erroneously disbelieve in God, you lose everything (eternal damnation)”.  Is this convincing?

William James ( ) explored religion in his book “The Varieties of Religious Experience” Recognizes our “passional” nature …we can never be absolutely sure about anything but we desire truth There will inevitably be a non- intellectual, non-rational element to what we choose to believe Focuses on the word “option”…. i. Living vs Dead ii. Forced of Avoidable iii. Momentous or Trivial Religious belief is a living, forced, momentous option