Quiz 4: Philosophy and God

The belief in a personal God who is the creator of the world, present in its processes, and with whom we may come into contact, is A) Theism B) Monotheism C) Agnosticism D) Atheism

Anselm developed a version of the A) Cosmological argument B) Argument from design C) Ontological argument D) Teleological argument

Who argued that the concept of an absolutely necessary being is not proven by the fact that reason apparently requires this? A) Aquinas B) Kant C) Anselm D) Guanilo

Which distinction does Hicks draw on to defend Aquinas' first-cause argument? A) Between a regress of events and a regress of explanations B) Between a regress of events and a regress of questions C) Between a regress of explanations and a regress of questions D) Between a regress of explanations and a regress of results

Who, in 1802, presented a version of the design argument? A) Paley B) Pascal C) Hume D) Hicks

Which argument for the existence of God is accepted by George Ellis, J. A) The ontological argument B) The cosmological argument C) Polinghorne, and Holmes Rolston? C) The argument from first cause D) The argument from design

Who said that many people believe that God is basically there to make us happy? A) Immanuel Kant B) John Hicks C) Nicholas Smith D) William Craig

What aspect of our nature did James say we should rely on when faced with living, forced, and momentous decisions? A) Prudential B) Rational C) Spiritual D) Passional

Kierkegaard's distinction between the objective and the subjective thinker is essentially a distinction between A) Passion and prudence B) Reason and faith C) Idealism and materialism D) Sense and sensibilia

The chief proponent of radical theology in our time is A) William Craig B) John Hicks C) Christopher Hitchens D) Paul Tillich

"The Road" is a parable told by John Hick.

Ninian Smart suggests that religion has four dimensions.

Anselm offered a version of the ontological argument.

Aquinas offered a version of the cosmological argument.

Paley was the first to develop the argument from design.

One objection to the design argument comes from the theory of evolution.

Dembski argued that anything with "specified complexity" has to be produced by an intelligent being.

Ernest Nagle rejected atheism.

By "option" James meant a choice between beliefs that may be proposed to us.

The Third Noble Truth concerns the ending of samsara.

Aquinas contended that there could be no ____________________ ____________________ in the casual sequences of the universe.

The argument from design is often called the ____________________ argument.

____________________ denies the major claims of all varieties of theism.

The view that the morality of an action is determined by the happiness or unhappiness that it produces is called ____________________.

The mystical consciousness of the holy is termed ____________________ ____________________.

Tillich is a proponent of ____________________ ____________________.

Tillich contends that instead of viewing God as a being we should view him as ____________________ ____________________.

Hindu thought has been primarily influenced by Bhagavad-Gita, or ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________.

Samsara ends with ____________________.

The Second Noble Truth identifies the source of the suffering that we experience in living as ____________________.

Outline Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God. Do you believe that Kant's objection to this argument is successful? Explain your answer.

In what ways might it matter how we define religion? In answering this question this question think of the special status that we often afford religious beliefs and their accompanying practices, as opposed to non-religious moral beliefs and practices.

In what way does evolution pose a problem for the design argument for God's existence? What other forms of non-designed order can you think of? Would these also pose a problem for the design argument?

Outline the Problem of Evil. Is this a problem for all religions, or not? Explain your answer. Do you think that this Problem can be met by the adherents of those religions that you believe it to be a problem for?

Do you believe that religion should be reason-based, faith-based, or experience-based? In answering this question take care both to justify your view, and also to explain what the differences between these approaches are.