A more recent version of the design argument is based on the apparent fine-tuning of the cosmos. “A God’s Eye Point of View: The Divine Ethic.” In. He is simply a cog in the karmic justice machine. We need to think in terms of a category rather than in terms of “kinds of…” that fit into that category. This leads back to the issue of whether it is ever reasonable to believe that an exception to the usual processes in the natural world has occurred, and also whether it can be established that God has directly acted in the world. Furthermore, an explanation must at some point come to an end—a brute fact. In fact, in some cases, suffering seems to predictably diminish the sufferer. [49], More recently, in The Invention of Religion in Japan, Josephson has argued that while the concept of religion was Christian in its early formulation, non-Europeans (such as the Japanese) did not just acquiesce and passively accept the term's meaning. (2) So there is a possible world in which a maximally great being exists. What we have in these accounts, then, are second-person stories relating God’s personal interaction with his creatures. It is easy enough to create a list of different religions by name but to lump them all together in a single group (religion) and then try to describe or define what that group is, can be a rather perplexing task. An important figure who had much influence on the development of religious non-realism was Ludwig Wittgenstein. There are different types of cosmological arguments, and its defenders include some of the most prominent thinkers spanning the history of philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, Maimonides, Aquinas, Descartes, and Leibniz. Here is a video that summarizes much of what is discussed above: The challenge of developing a good definition is to be short and sweet. REL 100: Introduction to the Study of Religion, http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel100/resources/DefiningReligion.htm, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gb_fruit.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Polypropylene_Chair_with_Stainless_Steel_Structure.JPG, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polypropylene_Chair_with_stainless_steel_Brazil_Rio_de_Janeiro.JPG, It should not define religion in a way that leaves out some manifestations of religion, Nor should it leave out any specific religion. Given these claims, (1) and (2) would be logically incompatible. According to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religions, there is an experiential aspect to religion which can be found in almost every culture: […] almost every known culture [has] a depth dimension in cultural experiences […] toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life. It is from within this context that Stephen Wykstra developed a response to the evidential argument, a response that is referred to as “skeptical theism” (not to be taken as being skeptical about theism). [34], Echoes of James' and Durkheim's definitions are to be found in the writings of, for example, Frederick Ferré who defined religion as "one's way of valuing most comprehensively and intensively". But despite this orchestrated opposition arguing the falsity and incoherence of theism, it has proved rather resilient. One objection to Stump’s defense is that, in many cases, suffering seems to produce no growth or goods in the individual who is suffering. Gratuitous evils appear to be in abundance. progressive Christians are excluded by Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). “Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists.”. Defining religion is not a matter of a “right” or “wrong” definition. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'religioustolerance_org-medrectangle-3','ezslot_1',321,'0','0']));Defining the word "religion" is fraught with difficulty. For Augustine, God is perfect in goodness, and the universe, God’s creation, is also good and exists for a good purpose. But many theists maintain that some evils are not justified, that some horrors are so damaging that there are no goods which outweigh them. Furthermore, with this theodicy a positive doctrine of life after death is central, for there are cases in which difficulties in an individual’s life breed bitterness, anger, and even a reduction of virtuous character. Thus the full scope of the considerations and evidences for and against theism may well raise the probability of God’s existence above that of taking into account only a part. (4) Since a maximally great being is necessarily maximally excellent in every possible world, that being is necessarily maximally excellent in the actual world. areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of An important difference between the religious relativist and the pluralist is that, for the relativist and not the pluralist, truth itself is understood to be relative. Or something like that. This idea was first raised by Wilfred Cantwell Smith in his 1962 book, The Meaning and End of Religion. And Chad Meister, eds., Draper, Paul the killing of something for the person the process! Treatment of illness or disease by prayer and other beliefs might fit this definition, being merely descriptive, not... Point come to an actual infinite set of events, such as these statement... 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