Deck 2: God and Religion

Question 1

According to Craig, the kalam cosmological argument establishes that the

A) God of Christianity exists.
B) universe has a cause.
C) Big Bang model is false.
D) universe is uncaused.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Craig says an actually infinite number of things

A) is possible.
B) is meaningless.
C) exists somewhere.
D) cannot exist.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Craig argues that the series of events in time cannot be actually infinite, so we know that the universe

A) is finite in the past and began to exist.
B) is infinite in the past.
C) never is uncaused.
D) exists only in the mind.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to Aquinas, an infinite regress of causes is

A) finite.
B) possible.
C) scientific.
D) impossible.

Question 5

Aquinas says that the first efficient cause of everything is

A) the universe.
B) nature.
C) God.
D) an infinite series.

Question 6

Paley says that every indication of contrivance and design that exists in the watch exists in

A) God.
B) infinity.
C) time.
D) the works of nature.

Question 7

Paley maintains that the key difference between the "contrivance" of a watch and that of nature is that the latter is

A) simpler.
B) more natural.
C) older.
D) greater and grander.

Question 8

According to Paley, we must conclude that a watch had an intelligent designer if the watch

A) runs well.
B) has a structure.
C) shows purposefulness.
D) is engraved.

Question 9

Philo says the analogy that Cleanthes uses to make his case is

A) too complicated.
B) weak.
C) strong.
D) not based on a legitimate method of reasoning.

Question 10

Anselm assumes that a being that exists in reality is greater than a being that

A) exists only in the understanding.
B) is embodied.
C) is worshipped.
D) exists without flaws.

Question 11

According to Rowe, Anselm believes that existence in reality is

A) not possible.
B) beyond understanding.
C) not an attribute of God.
D) a great-making quality.

Question 12

Rowe argues that we can allow someone to define God anyway she wants, yet it will not follow from that definition that such a being

A) actually exists.
B) can be defined.
C) exists in our understanding.
D) exists in our minds.

Question 13

According to Hick, a certain amount of evil in the world is

A) illusory.
B) necessary.
C) caused by a finite God.
D) contrary to divinity.

Question 14

Hick says the idea of a person who can be infallibly guaranteed always to act rightly is

A) coherent.
B) necessary.
C) biblical.
D) self-contradictory.

Question 15

Hick believes that such evils as poverty, oppression, persecution, and war are

A) manifestations of human sin.
B) natural evils.
C) divine evils.
D) unreal.

Question 16

Pascal believes that when it comes to the question of God's existence

A) reason can lead us to faith.
B) faith depends on reason.
C) reason can decide the question.
D) reason can decide nothing.

Question 17

Pascal says that if you bet that God exists, and he does in fact exist, you

A) gain a viable faith.
B) win nothing and lose everything.
C) lose because you abandon reason.
D) win infinite happiness and lose nothing.

Question 18

According to James, a live option is a

A) true hypothesis.
B) forced option.
C) real possibility to someone.
D) dead hypothesis.

Question 19

James says that a genuine option is

A) true.
B) momentous but not forced.
C) live but not momentous.
D) forced, live, and momentous.

Question 20

James maintains that the desire for a certain kind of truth can

A) change nothing.
B) never help to create a fact.
C) bring about the special truth's existence.
D) have no religious significance.

Question 21

According to Kant, to say that something exists is to

A) add an additional property to it.
B) not add any additional property to it.
C) postulate a change in the thing's essence.
D) add a concept to the concept of the thing.

Question 22

Kant says that "Being" is not a real

A) predicate.
B) concept.
C) idea.
D) contradiction.

Question 23

Mackie says that religious experiences are

A) generally indistinguishable from experiences with a known psychological or physical cause.
B) exactly what they seem to be.
C) due to chance.
D) generally recognizable from sensory cues.

Question 24

Rowe's story of the dying fawn in the forest is meant to show that

A) Premise 2 of his argument is true.
B) there is no God.
C) Premise 1 of his argument is false.
D) Premise 1 of his argument is true.

Question 25

According to Rowe, the fact that there are instances of evil which an omnipotent, omniscient being could have prevented without thereby losing a greater good is

A) provable.
B) certain.
C) rational to believe.
D) irrational to believe.

Question 26

According to Hick, a certain amount of evil in the world is

A) illusory.
B) caused by a finite God.
C) necessary.
D) contrary to divinity.

Question 27

According to Hick, the divine purpose could not be forwarded in a world that was designed as a

A) place filled with natural evil.
B) realm of moral evil.
C) place with nature laws.
D) hedonistic paradise.

Question 28

Behe says that an irreducibly complex biological system would be a powerful challenge to

A) theism.
B) direct creation.
C) non-Darwinian evolution.
D) Darwinian evolution.

Question 29

According to Behe, the gradual accumulation of mutations

A) can evolve a biological system.
B) produces higher life forms.
C) is the way that irreducibly complex systems evolve.
D) cannot evolve a biological system.

Question 30

Some design arguments are framed as

A) deductive inferences.
B) ontological theories.
C) inferences to the best explanation.
D) inferences to complexity.

Question 31

According to Swinburne, the simplicity of a scientific theory is a matter of its having

A) a network of many laws.
B) few component laws.
C) no laws.
D) many new objects.

Question 32

According to Philo, since the universe is not perfectly ordered, the existence of a deity is unlikely.

Question 33

Paley says that if we found a watch and examined it closely, we would naturally infer that it had a maker-even if we had never seen a watch made.

Question 34

Hick asserts that it is no limitation on God's power that he cannot accomplish the logically impossible.

Question 35

Paley says that the anthropic principle does not support the idea of intelligent design of the universe.

Question 36

Craig thinks that the cause of the universe must be an accident.

Question 37

Craig believes that the universe is the effect of a plurality of causes.

Question 38

Scientists and philosophers have no explanation for the existence of the universe.

Question 39

If sound, Aquinas's arguments prove that the God of traditional religion (an all-knowing, all-good, all-powerful being) exists.

Question 40

Aquinas accepts the notion of an infinite series of causes.

Question 41

Paley's argument, if cogent, proves the existence of the Christian God.

Question 42

Paley's argument, if cogent, proves that the designer of the world was a single being.

Question 43

Philo declares that this world is the perfect product of a perfect deity.

Question 44

Philo demonstrated that Anselm's argument was sound.

Question 45

Anselm thinks God is a being that exists in the understanding alone.

Question 46

Rowe says that most philosophers who have considered Anselm's argument have rejected it because they believe it tries to define something into existence.

Question 47

According to Rowe, if we grant to Anselm the premise that God is a possible being, the argument is sound.

Question 48

Rowe believes that Anselm's argument fails as a proof of the existence of God.

Question 49

Hick says that it is possible to show that each item of human pain serves the divine purpose.

Question 50

Hick concludes that this world is not well adapted to the purpose of soul-making.

Question 51

The point of Pascal's wager is to prove that God exists.

Question 52

Pascal believes that belief in God is a rational act.

Question 53

Pascal advises those who are unable to believe in God to reduce their passions and act as if they believed.

Question 54

James claims that, if the evidence for God's existence is lacking, then one must refrain from believing in God.

Question 55

James thinks that, in the search for truth, above all else we must avoid being in error.

Question 56

Believing that God exists increases the probability that God does in fact exist.

Question 57

Kant declares that existence is a predicate.

Question 58

Rowe asserts that it is reasonable to believe that God does not exist.

Question 59

In Hick's view, because God is good and loving, the environment that he has created for human life is naturally as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

Question 60

For Hick, soul-making is an essential part of a plausible theodicy.

Question 61

Most scientists agree with Behe.

Question 62

Swinburne rests his argument mostly on the criterion of fruitfulness.

Question 63

Swinburne argues that theism is a very complex hypothesis.

Question 64

According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 1 in 10 adult Americans do not believe in any higher power or spiritual force.

Question 65

The share of Americans who believe in God with absolute certainty has increased in recent years.

Question 66

One feminist critique of western ideas about God is that portraying God as male reinforces the subordination of women.

Question 67

There is no form of Buddhism that conflicts with modern science.

Question 68

What are the premises and conclusion of Paley's design argument? Do you think his argument is successful? Why or why not? How might an evolutionary biologist respond to Paley's argument?

Question 69

Many scientists say that some events (on the quantum level, for example) are literally uncaused, and some say that the universe itself could have been uncaused. If these claims are true, how would they affect the cosmological argument? How does Craig respond to the suggestion that science shows that some events are uncaused?

Question 70

Is an infinite regress impossible, as Aquinas says? Can you conceive of an infinite series stretching back in time or forward to the future? Explain. Why does Aquinas think that an infinite regress is impossible? What is his argument?

Question 71

What is Pascal's wager? Do you find his argument convincing? Why or why not? Critics have accused Pascal of committing the fallacy of false dilemma. What do they mean by this? Is their criticism valid?

Question 72

Can religious experience demonstrate that God exists? Why or why not? What are some criticisms of arguments based on religious experience?

Question 73

Offer a plausible theory for why strong belief in God has declined in recent years. (This is a new question)

Question 74

What is Stephen Hawking's view of the connection between the laws of science and the existence or nonexistence of God? Do you agree with him? What are reasons?

Question 75

What are the three ways that a Buddhist can coherently respond to the charge that Buddhism conflicts with modern science? Which on seems most plausible to you? Why?

Question 76

Why do you think that 72% of the religious "nones" believe in a higher power of some kind? Is it reasonable to believe in a higher power without being religiously affiliated? Why or why not?

Question 77

What is the theory of intelligent design? Which is the better explanation of biological life-intelligent design or evolution? Why?