Question 1

According 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.

Accepted Answer

Kant argued that while morality is based on rationality and the categorical imperative, the existence of God provides a necessary postulate for the assurance of justice in the afterlife, linking morality to the hope of happiness but not making belief in God unnecessary for moral action.

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.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard argued that total commitment to God is a leap of faith that goes beyond rationality and does not require a plausible conception of God, emphasizing the subjective nature of faith.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

This is true. Anselm's ontological argument is based on the assumption that we have an idea or concept of God as an infinite and most perfect being.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

In ancient religions, different cultures and societies often had their own unique pantheon of gods and goddesses, although there were sometimes similarities or shared deities among neighboring cultures.

Question 6

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.

Accepted Answer

Pascal's famous wager argument states that if we wager that God exists and live a virtuous life, even if it turns out that God does not exist, we would have lost nothing of value. On the other hand, if we live a sinful life and God does exist, we risk eternal damnation. Therefore, according to Pascal, it is a safer bet to live a virtuous life and believe in God.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard believed that true faith in God required a personal, subjective commitment and relationship with God, rather than simply accepting a logical argument for God's existence.

Question 8

According to the problem of evil,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.

Accepted Answer

The problem of evil argues that the existence of evil in the world is incompatible with the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God. It suggests that if evil exists, then either God is not powerful enough to prevent it, not knowledgeable enough to be aware of it, or not benevolent enough to care about it. Therefore, the statement that either God can't do anything about it, God doesn't know about it, or God doesn't care about it is a summary of the problem of evil.

Question 9

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.

Accepted Answer

Martin Luther rejected the idea of intermediaries between the individual and God because of his belief in God's direct accessibility to believers through faith.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Leibniz believed that in every possible world, evil could exist, but God chose to create the world with the least amount of evil. Therefore, the presence of evil in this world does not contradict the idea that it is the best of all possible worlds.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

Both Akhnaton and Hartshorne believed in the concept of "process theology," which holds that God is constantly self-creating and evolving through interaction with the world.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Voltaire made fun of the ontological argument...

Question 13

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.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true because religious beliefs are usually based on faith and personal conviction rather than empirical evidence or logical reasoning. Therefore, religious arguments may not be able to provide definitive proof or convince skeptics who base their beliefs on different premises.

Question 14

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.

Accepted Answer

Aquinas believed in the concept of God as the first cause, which includes God being the cause of the universe's existence and its preservation in existence from moment to moment.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

Hegel believed in the unity of absolute Spirit and human beings, and argued that human beings act as agents of the absolute Spirit. However, he did not view the absolute Spirit as separate from human beings, but rather as manifesting itself through human consciousness and culture.

Question 16

If human actions (such as those that produce the green house gases that cause global warming)were part of the cause of a natural disaster,like Hurricane Katrina,then the suffering caused by that natural disaster could have some features of moral evil.

Accepted Answer

If human actions are contributing factors to a natural disaster, then the suffering caused by that disaster could have some features of moral evil. This is because the actions that led to the disaster were voluntary and could have been avoided, making the resulting suffering more morally problematic.

Question 17

Buddhists hold that we can be liberated from suffering through belief in God.

Accepted Answer

Buddhists do not believe in a God or deity that can provide liberation from suffering. Instead, they practice the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path in order to achieve enlightenment and end the cycle of rebirth.

Question 18

According to John Hick,ordinary believers report an awareness of God as existing in isolation from all other objects of experience.

Accepted Answer

John Hick argued that ordinary believers experience God as part of their overall experience of the world, not in isolation from other objects of experience.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Hume's criticism is that the design argument does not necessarily prove the existence of an all-powerful and benevolent deity, as the design could be the work of a lesser being or even a flawed or malevolent deity. Therefore, it is possible that the world could be subject to ridicule or oversight from higher powers.

Question 20

Theodicies are any attempt at showing that the existence of God is compatible with the existence of evil.

Accepted Answer

Theodicies are indeed attempts to reconcile the existence of God with the presence of evil in the world.

Quiz 3: God