Deck 4: Philosophy, Religion, and God

Question 1

Which statement best characterizes John Hick's position?

A) The reason God allows suffering in this life is to punish us when we have gone astray.
B) A good God would make our life completely free of pain.
C) God is dead.
D) A world without suffering would be unsatisfactory and people could not develop into virtuous beings.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In your textbook,one of the refutation's of the argument from design made by David Hume was that

A) the analogy between human creation and the universe is weak.
B) God has all the limitations of human creators.
C) existence is a property that makes a being more perfect.
D) it was logically impossible for the world to have always existed without a beginning.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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

Question 5

In his argument for God,William Paley uses the analogy of

A) a large ball found in the woods.
B) the information found in the DNA molecule.
C) a watch found upon the ground.
D) a perfect pair of shoes.

Question 6

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution raised problems for which theistic argument?

A) the cosmological argument
B) the ontological argument
C) pragmatic justifications of religious belief
D) the argument by design

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

What philosopher argues that religious experiences can legitimately serve as the basis for a belief in God?

A) Stephen T. Davis
B) William James
C) Karl Marx
D) John Hicks

Question 10

An argument by analogy is a(n)

A) deductive argument.
B) inductive argument.
C) valid argument.
D) sound argument.

Question 11

Which argument for the existence of God is accepted by George Ellis,J.C.Polinghorne,and Holmes Rolston?

A) The ontological argument
B) The cosmological argument
C) The argument from first cause
D) The argument from design

Question 12

The notion of "specified complexity" is a term identified with which position?

A) anti-religious evolutionists
B) philosophical Darwinists
C) intelligent design theorists
D) perspectivalism

Question 13

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

Question 14

The chief proponent of radical theology in our time is

A) William Craig
B) John Hicks
C) Christopher Hitchens
D) Paul Tillich

Question 15

Formal fallacies are arguments that are offered as sound logical arguments when in fact they have a(n)

A) valid form.
B) invalid form.
C) deductive form.
D) inductive form.

Question 16

Who,in 1802,presented a version of the design argument?

A) Paley
B) Pascal
C) Hume
D) Hicks

Question 17

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

Question 18

Anselm developed a version of the

A) Cosmological argument
B) Argument from design
C) Ontological argument
D) Teleological argument

Question 19

The ontological argument argues for the existence of God on the basis of

A) the mere idea we have of God.
B) the deep-seated conviction that there is a purpose and meaning to human life.
C) the evidence of design in the universe.
D) the need for a first cause that brought the universe into existence.

Question 20

William Paley's argument from design is usually described as a(n)

A) argument by analogy.
B) argument by innuendo.
C) conjunction fallacy.
D) argument from ignorance.

Question 21

____________________ denies the major claims of all varieties of theism.

Question 22

Ninian Smart suggests that religion has four dimensions.

Question 23

The mystical consciousness of the holy is termed ____________________ ____________________.

Question 24

Anselm offered a version of the ontological argument.

Question 25

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

Question 26

What philosopher argues that a male conception of God has had an oppressive impact on women?

A) Buddha
B) William James
C) Paul Tillich
D) Mary Daly

Question 27

Aquinas offered a version of the cosmological argument.

Question 28

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

Question 29

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

Question 30

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

Question 31

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

Question 32

The argument from design is often called the ____________________ argument.

Question 33

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

Question 34

Tillich is a proponent of ____________________ ____________________.

Question 35

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

Question 36

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

Question 37

Paley was the first to develop the argument from design.

Question 38

Brahman is the Hindu word for

A) evil.
B) the soul.
C) the moral law of cause and effect.
D) ultimate reality.

Question 39

Ernest Nagle rejected atheism.

Question 40

The Third Noble Truth concerns the ending of samsara.

Question 41

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.

Question 42

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

Question 43

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?

Question 44

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?

Question 45

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.

Question 46

Samsara ends with ____________________.

Question 47

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.