Deck 3: God

Question 1

According to Pascal, if we wagered that God exists but it turned out God did not exist, then the worst that could happen is that we would have given up a few sinful pleasures that we might otherwise have enjoyed.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The "least of the evils" solution to the problem of evil raises the question about whether it is fair to allow an innocent man to suffer even if he will receive an elaborate reward later on.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

For Kierkegaard, believing in God is not just a matter of intellectually accepting the proposition that God exists.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The fact that religion is usually thought to be a matter of belief and not a kind of knowledge that can be proven means that religious arguments have limits.

Question 5

A ccording to Immanuel Kant, because there is a clear connection between happiness and morality, we do not need to believe in the existence of God in order to be moral.

Question 6

Although Karl Marx believed religion was an illusion, he thought that it was an expression of real suffering and a protest against that suffering.

Question 7

Voltaire made fun of the ontological argument in his novel Candide.

Question 8

The Egyptian philosopher Akhnaton and the American philosopher Charles Hartshorne both believed that God was constantly self-creating.

Question 9

Theodicies are an attempt to show that the existence of God is compatible with the existence of evil.

Question 10

According to Kierkegaard, total commitment to God requires that a person must at least arrive at a plausible conception of God.

Question 11

The problem of evil can be stated as follows: If there is evil in the world, then either God can't do anything about it, God doesn't know about it, or God doesn't care about it.

Question 12

Some Buddhists would say that the idea of a God separate from the universe makes no sense at all.

Question 13

According to Aquinas, God is a first cause, both as the cause of the universe's coming into existence and as the cause of its being preserved in existence from one instant to the next.

Question 14

One thing that all religions seem to have in common is the general sensibility that we call spirituality, the feeling that we are part of something much greater than ourselves.

Question 15

Leibniz's belief that "this is the best of all possible worlds" implies that evil does not exist.

Question 16

In ancient religions, believers tended to worship the same gods and/or goddesses.

Question 17

According to Hegel, absolute Spirit expresses itself and acts through human beings, but is also not different from human beings.

Question 18

Anselm's ontological argument starts off with a single stated assumption, that one has a concept of God, an infinite and most perfect being.

Question 19

Because of his belief in God's transcendence, the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther wanted the church to serve as an intermediary between the individual and God.

Question 20

One of David Hume's criticisms of the design argument is that, even if the world was designed, it might be the work of an inferior deity and is the object of derision to his superiors.

Question 21

Because Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection makes an attempt to explain exactly how a complex world could come into existence over time without assuming a divine creator, it challenges the

A)ontological argument.
B)argument from design.
C)cosmological argument.
D)problem of evil.

Question 22

William Paley developed a version of the

A)cosmological argument.
B)problem of evil.
C)ontological argument.
D)argument from design .

Question 23

The appearance of the Virgen de Guadalupe to a poor Indian named Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City is an example of

A)process theism.
B)deism.
C)religious syncretism.
D)polytheism.

Question 24

The problem of evil only arises because we believe that

A)God is all-powerful.
B)God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good.
C)God is all-good.
D)God is all-good and all-knowing.

Question 25

The aesthetic solution to the problem of evil urges us to view God as a kind of "cosmic artist."   This view is most consistent with

A)a process conception of God.
B)deism.
C)pantheism.
D)polytheism.

Question 26

According to Immanuel Kant, God's existence

A)can be proved, but only through a revised version of the cosmological argument.
B)is neither a matter of knowledge nor a necessary feature of our moral outlook on the world.
C)is not a matter of knowledge, but it is a necessary feature of our moral outlook on the world.
D)is both a matter of knowledge, and a necessary feature of our moral outlook on the world.

Question 27

The Christian conception of the incarnation of God as human, and the idea of a Holy Spirit that infuses us all, both assume

A)polytheism.
B)pantheism.
C)the transcendence of God.
D)the immanence of God.

Question 28

Suppose that Anne believes in God, but like Voltaire, she has a deist conception of God. What then does Anne believe about God?

A)God is a self-creating process.
B)God and the universe are one.
C)God is an initial, impersonal, creative force.
D)God is a personal creator who is infinitely wise, just, and powerful.

Question 29

According to the story of the Book of Job,

A)God made Job the "father of all nations."
B)God allowed Job to suffer because Job did not follow God's commandments closely enough.
C)God punished Job for not going straight to Ninevah, as God commanded him to do.
D)God permitted all kinds of terrible sufferings to afflict Job, who was a good man and believed in God wholeheartedly .

Question 30

That the universe may have always existed and thus does not need to be explained by a "first cause" that created it

A)is an objection to the ontological argument.
B)is an objection to the design argument.
C)is an objection to the cosmological argument.
D)is the so-called "sixth way."

Question 31

The seventeenth-century Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza insisted

A)that God is everything, identical to the universe itself.
B)that God is absolutely transcendent.
C)that pantheism must be wrong.
D)on returning to polytheism.

Question 32

According to Kierkegaard, what is important is not our conception of God, but

A)the passion with which we believe in him.
B)how plausible our conception is.
C)whether we live an ethically good life
D)how convincing our arguments for God's existence are.

Question 33

According to Buddhism,

A)dissatisfaction is not the universal condition of human existence.
B)dissatisfaction is the universal condition of human existence.
C)God is both transcendent and immanent.
D)God is a dynamic force in history.

Question 34

Which of the following is one question that arises if you believe God is transcendent?

A)"How can you know of God's existence, and how can you relate to God at all?"
B)"How can you believe in the unity of God?"
C)"Could something happen that would threaten God's existence?"
D)"Could God create a rock so large that God Himself cannot lift it?"

Question 35

Immanuel Kant challenges the ontological argument's second premise which states that

A)we cannot conceive of God except as an infinite and most perfect being.
B)existence is a "perfection."
C)an infinite series of causes is impossible.
D)there is an analogy between nature and human artifacts, like watches.

Question 36

According to the "least of the evils" position,

A)evil appears to exist but does not actually exist.
B)there is no more evil in the world than is necessary, except, perhaps, for moral evil.
C)evil is a mystery that cannot be comprehended.
D)all evil comes into the world through free will .

Question 37

If, as process philosophy says, God is constantly creating himself and the universe as well, then this means that

A)polytheism may be true.
B)God must be unchanging.
C)"creationists" and "evolutionists" are necessarily at odds with another.
D)t he continuing battle between "creationists" and "evolutionists" may be a false fight.

Question 38

Hegel paints a dynamic and complex picture of God in which we humans are

A)the messengers of God, like angels.
B)the primary expressions of spirit, which acts through us and even uses us for its own purposes.
C)caught between equally strong forces of good and evil.
D)saved by an absolutely transcendent God.

Question 39

If, according to the free-will solution to the problem of evil, God cannot interfere with our actions, then

A)God's power would seem to be limited.
B)God's goodness seems to be limited.
C)God's knowledge seems to be limited.
D)evil and suffering are not real.

Question 40

When people attempt to resolve the problem of evil by claiming that everyone who suffers somehow deserves to suffer, they are

A)claiming that the good outweighs the evil.
B)claiming that evil is part of an aesthetic totality.
C)claiming that all evil is nonmoral evil.
D)denying that evil really exists. ​

Question 41

Write an essay developing a philosophy of religious tolerance. Your essay should start with the discussion of tolerance in Chapter 3. How is tolerance linked with the fact that we can't know whether our religious conceptions are true?   Why doesn't this imply giving up our beliefs in the truth of these conceptions? How is tolerance possible, if not on the basis of belief?   What is your personal philosophy of tolerance? How do experience and deal with different religious faiths in your life?

Question 42

One of the things that makes rituals and traditions of primary, and not merely secondary, importance to religious practitioners is

A)the fact that their superiority can be   rationally argued for.
B)the fact that they induce mystical experiences.
C)their universality.
D)their particularity .

Question 43

Define and give two examples of a  theodicy.

Question 44

The theologian Paul Tillich said that

A)doubt will always be present in the act of faith.
B)p eople cannot be expected to have reasons for their religious beliefs.
C)doubt is the negation of faith.
D)we will give up religious commitments, or we will never learn to be tolerant.

Question 45

W rite an essay critically discussing Immanuel Kant's moral proof for belief in God. What is this moral proof? Do you agree with Kant that one needs to believe in God to be moral?   What is your conception of the relationship of religious belief and morality?

Question 46

W hat is Kant's main criticism of the ontological argument for God's existence?

Question 47

Explain the cosmological, ontological, and design arguments and the moral proof for God's existence. Do these arguments share any points in common? How do they differ?   What are the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of argument?   Develop one objection to each of the arguments. Which of the arguments seems the strongest and why?

Question 48

Explain what Kierkegaard means by the "leap of faith."

Question 49

What is spirituality , and how is it different from religion ?

Question 50

To say that mystical experiences are "ineffable" is to say that

A)they cannot be described or communicated to anyone else.
B)they can be communicated and described to others.
C)while they can be described and communicated, they tend only to be convincing to other mystics.
D)very few people can have them.

Question 51

Nietzsche said of Christianity that

A)it was preferable to paganism because it was a more rational system of belief.
B)its God is the declaration of war against life, nature, and the will to live.
C)it arose as a form of wish fulfillment.
D)it has meaning as an intensely personal, passionate concern.

Question 52

What does it mean to say Western conceptions of God tend to be anthropomorphic?

Question 53

What does Karl Marx mean when he says that "religion is the opium of the people?"

Question 54

W hat is the difference between the concepts of God as transcendent and God as immanent ?

Question 55

Sigmund Freud argued that what really makes belief in God irrational is that

A)God exists, but is ineffable.
B)it is too hard; very few people can successfully walk on "the narrow path."
C)the arguments for God's existence are unconvincing.
D)it is a childish illusion that gives us unwarranted and sometimes destructive attitudes and expectations toward life

Question 56

Write a fictional dialogue featuring two characters who are attempting to grapple with evil, as they witness it in the world.   The substance of the dialogue should be a critical discussion in which the characters describe the problem of evil, as they understand it, and then argue about how the problem is best resolved. As the dialogue unfolds, the traditional problem of evil should be described, and three of the theodicies from Chapter 3 should be discussed-although the characters are not limited to these viewpoints. The dialogue can end in the two characters agreeing, in their agreeing to disagree, or in their arriving at a new viewpoint that synthesizes both points of view. You might also stage this dialogue as an oral presentation to your class, or make a video of it.

Question 57

How does the religious perspective of pantheism make the question "Do you believe in God?" confusing?

Question 58

What, precisely, is the problem of evil? Give two examples of events (real or fictional)that might raise this problem for religious believers. One should involve nonmoral evil, and the other should involve moral evil. Be careful to explain how these two kinds of evil are different. Draw on three of the theodicies, or solutions to the problem of evil, developed in this chapter, and show how they address this problem. How does each solution meet, or fail to meet, the challenge of explaining both kinds of evil?   Which of these theodicies is the most convincing, and which is the least convincing, and why?

Question 59

What are the two aspects of religion that are not simply a matter of belief?

Question 60

How does Aquinas's cosmological argument for God's existence differ from the argument from design?

Question 61

Many people have commented on how many of our conceptions and images of God are anthropomorphic. One version of this is the image of God as an old man. Why can't this image be literally true?   Feminist theologians focus on masculine and patriarchal images of God that involve more subtle patriarchal biases. Some have argued that the conception of God as totally transcendent, all-powerful, unchanging, and all-knowing is especially masculinist/patriarchal and, as a result, exclusionary. Do you agree? Why or why not?   How might conceptions of God as immanent, pantheistic, and in process escape this charge? Are they (in your estimate)superior to the masculinist conceptions?