Introduction into Natural Theology:

Introduction into Natural Theology:

Consider this definition:

“God is the infinite & perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support, and end.”

~ Augustus Strong, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 55.


“God is the infinite & perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support, and end.”

~ Augustus Strong, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 55.


“An eternal, uncaused, independent, Necessary Being, that hath life, power, wisdom, goodness, and whatsoever other supposedly excellency, in the highest Perfection, in and of itself.”

John Howe Bancroft, Systematic Theology, 60.

Natural Theology:

Witness of Creation Witness of Human Design Witness of Conscience Witness of God-ward Longings Witness of Consequences

Natural Theology:

Psychology of Romans 1:

1. Exposure to the Truth Leads to Triage: What will you do?

2. Suppression of the Truth

3. Substitution of the Truth

What is a Syllogism:

Anything logical may be expressed in syllogistic form. A syllogism involves three aspects:

1. A Major Premise: All mortals things will die.

2. A Minor Premise: All men are mortal.

3. A Conclusion: All men will die.

Lecture # 4:The Cosmological Argument:

A Cause at the Beginning. The universe had a beginning caused by something beyond the

universe (vertical argument):

1. The universe had a beginning.2. Anything that had a beginning must have

been caused by something (someone) else.3. Therefore the universe was caused by

something (someone) else.

The Cosmological Kalam Argument:Time cannot go back into the past forever, for it is impossible to pass through

an actual infinite number of moments. If so, then time must have had a beginning. If the world never had a beginning, then we could not have reached now. But we have reached now, so time must have begun at a

particular point and proceeded today. Therefore, the world is as a finite event after all and needs a cause for its beginnings.

1 . Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being.

2. The universe began to exist.3. Therefore, the universe has a cause for its

coming into being.

The Cosmological Kalam Argument:

This argument was formulated by the Arab philosophers of the Middle Ages and employed by Bonaventure (1217-1274). The contemporary Christian

thinker William Lane Craig has widely published on it.

1. An infinite number of moments cannot be traversed.2. If an infinite number of moments had to elapse before today, then

today would never have come.3. But today has come.4. Therefore, an infinite number of moments have not elapsed before

today (i.e., the universe had a beginning).5. But whatever has a beginning is caused by something else.6. Hence, there must be a Cause (Creator) of the universe.

Anselm’s Cosmological Argument: From Goodness to God:

1. Good things exist.

2. The cause of this goodness is either one or many.

3. But it can’t be many, for then there would be no way to compare their goodness, for all things would be

equally good. But some things are better than others.

4. Therefore, one Supreme Good (God) causes the goodness in all things.

The Teleological Argument:Since the universe is exceedingly more complex in its operation, there must be a Maker of the universe (e.g., Psalm 19:1-6; Acts 14:15-18).

1. All designs imply a designer.2. There is a great design in the universe.3. Therefore, there must be a Great

Designer of the universe.

The Cosmological Argument:

A Cause to continue existing. Something not only caused the world to come into being (Gen. 1:1) but something causes it to continue to be (cf. Col. 1:17:

1. Every part of the universe is dependent.2. If every part of universe is dependent, then

the whole universe must also be dependent.3. Therefore, the whole universe is dependent for

existence right now on some Independent Being.

The Ontological Argument:“The ontological argument seeks to show that once we grasp the concept of God as the greatest conceivable being, then it becomes clear that God must exist.” ~ J. P. Moreland & William L. Craig

1. God is by definition an absolutely perfect being.

2. But existence is a perfection.3. Therefore, God must exist.

The Ontological Argument:Psalm 13:1 “fool says in his heart, there is no God.” Why? Upon what basis? Anselm’s argument (an a priori argument; reductio argument; assume the opposite of what you trying to prove and so a self-contradiction occurs). God = that than which a greater cannot be conceived. Argument from Proslogion 2 by St. Anselm

1. God exists in the mind but not in reality.2. Real existence (as well as mental) is greater than mental existence alone.3. God’s existence in reality is conceivable.4. If God had real existence he would be greater than he is (from 1 & 2)5. It is conceivable that there is a being greater than (from 3 & 4).6. It is conceivable that there is a being greater than the being than which is none greater

can be conceived (this is self-contradictory)7. Therefore, step 1 is false (i.e., it is false that God exists in the understanding but not in

reality.8. God exists in reality.

The Ontological Argument:The perfect being. The mere concept of God as an absolutely perfect being demands that He exist. It argues from the idea of God to the existence of God. If God did not exist, then he would be lacking one perfection, namely, existence. But if God lacked any perfection, then he would not be absolutely perfect. But God is by definition an absolutely perfect being.

1. God is by definition an absolutely perfect being.

2. But existence is a perfection.3. Therefore, God must exist.

The Ontological Argument:The Necessary Being. The very concept of a Necessary Being demands its existence. For the very idea of a Necessary Being demands that it must exist. For if it did not exist, then it would not be a necessary existence.

1. If God exists, we must conceive of Him as a Necessary Being.

2. But by definition, a Necessary Being cannot exist.

3. Therefore, if a Necessary Being can, then it must, exist.

The Ontological Argument:God’s existence in reality is conceivable.Alvin Plantinga uses modal logic (s5) whereby this proof is logically cogent. Modal logic is a standard system of logic by contemporary philosophers.

1. It is possible that there be a maximally perfect being (assumption).

2. It is necessary that there be a maximally perfect being (result).

The Moral Law Argument:The roots of moral argument for God are found in Romans 2:12-15 in which humanity is said to stand unexcused since there is “a law written on their hearts.” Moral laws don’t describe what is, they prescribe what ought to be.

1. Moral laws imply a Moral Law Giver.2. There is an objective moral law.3. Therefore, there is a Moral Law Giver.

Beauty:

Beauty implies a mind of Beauty.

There is objective beauty.

Therefore, there is an objective Mind of beauty.

In the same way..

How had I got this idea of beauty and ugliness? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing object X with when I called it ugly?

Straight Line = Standard

The Standard of Validity

The Religious Need Argument:Is the desire to believe in God an illusion, human wishes, purely psychological, or is it factual? The desire for God does exist, not as a psychological wish, but from real existential need. This is a psychological argument.

1. Human beings really need God.2. What humans really need, probably

really exists.3. Therefore, God really exists.

Sake of Clarification:1. This argument does not mean everyone gets what they want

(e.g., I need a red lamborghini);

2. This argument does not mean everything gets what they need (food and water during a famine);

3. Rather, this argument is declaring that what we actually need, really exists (e.g., water, food, oxygen, etc.).

1. Human beings really need God.2. What humans really need, probably

really exists.3. Therefore, God really exists.

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Jean Paul Sartre

“Even when one feels nearest to other people, something in one seems obstinately to belong to

God…-at least that is how I should express it if I thought there was a God. It is odd,

isn’t? I care passionately for this world and many things and people in it, and yet …what is

it all?” There must be something more important one

feels, though I don’t believe there is.”

~ Bertrand Russell, Letter to Lady Ottoline 1872-1970, Bertrand Russell

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Atheist Walter Kaufmann:

“Religion is rooted in man’s aspiration to transcend himself….Whether he worships idols

or strives to perfect himself,man is the God-intoxicated ape.”

~Critique of Religion and Philosophy, 355, 359.

~Walter Kaufmann

1871-1947, Walter Kaufmann

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Jean Paul Sartre

“I need God …. I reached out for

religion, I longed for it, it was the remedy. Had it been denied me, I would have

invented it myself.”

Jean Paul Sartre (Words, 102, 97).

1905-1980 Jean Paul Sartre

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Sigmund Freud

“Freud stated that religion is an “illusion,” but—

He admitted, “it would be very nice if there were a God….”

He admitted “a sense of man’s insignificance or impotence in

the face of the universe.”

He referred to “our God Logos [reason]…” So, here he

substitutes a personal God for “reason.”

Why the need for any “god”?

~ Sigmund Freud (The Future of an illusion, 52, 88). 1905-1980 Jean Paul Sartre

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Erich Fromm

He denied a theistic God, but – He affirmed a humanist religion.

In fact, he used the name “God for his object of

devotion to the whole of humanity.

~ The legacy of Erich Fromm (Psychoanalysis and Religion,

49, 54, 87).Erich Fromm, 1900-1980

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Victor Frankl: All Seek God

“Man has always stood in an intentional relation to transcendence, even if only on an unconscious

level.”If understood correctly, all

men seek the “Unconscious God.”

(~ Victor Frankl, The Unconscious God).

Is this not similar to the “unknown” God in Acts 17?

1905-1997 Victor Frankl

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: William James:

“In a general way, then on the whole… our testing of

religion by practical common sense and the

empirical method, leave it in possession of its towering

place in history…. Let us be saints, then, if we can,

whether or not we succeed visibly and temporally”

~ James, The Variety of Religious Experience, 290.

William James, 1842-1910

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Nietszche:

“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How

shall we, the murderers, of all murderers,

comfort ourselves?”

~ “The Madman” in Gay Science,125.

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Nietzsche:

“I hold up before myself the images of Dante and Spinoza, who were

better at accepting the lot of solitude. Of course, their way of thinking, compared to mine was

one which made solitude bearable; and in the end, for all those who somehow still had a

‘God’ for company…. My life now consists in the wish that it might

be otherwise…. And that somebody might make my ‘truths’

appear incredible to me…”

~ Letter to Overbeck, 7/2/1865.


Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Nietzsche:

“Thou lightening-shrouded one! Unknown one! Speak. What wilt thou, unknown-god?... Do come back With all thy tortures! To the

last of all that are lonely, Oh, come back!... And my heart’s final

flame-Flares up for thee! Oh, come back, My unknown god! My pain! My last-happiness!”

~ Thus Spoke Zarathrusta, part Four, “the Magician”,


Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Albert Camus:

“For anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of

days is dreadful”

~ The Fall, 133.

Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: Albert Camus:

“Despite the fact that there is no God, at least

the Church must be built”

~ The Rebel, 147.

Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Evidence for the first premise that everyone needs God-consider the following: John Dewey:

“Here are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race. Such as faith has always been

implicitly the common faith of mankind. It remains to

make it explicit and militant.

~ A Common Faith, 87.John Dewey, 1859-1952

Consider this quote:

The following is from the cover of Time Magazine, European edition from 1978:

“God is dead; Marx is dead, and I am not feeling too well either.”

Consider this quote:

Atheists speak of ‘loyalty,’ ‘devotion’ and ‘love’ of the truth. But these terms make proper sense only when used of persons.“The joy and wonder which men feel in the search for truth is the same kind of feeling we know best when there is real communication between two finite minds”

~ Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of Religion, 115.

The Argument from Joy:Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger; food can satisfy.

1. Every natural innate desire has a real object that can fulfill it.

2. Human beings have a natural, innate desire for immortality.

3. Therefore, there must be an immortal life after death.

Transcendental Argument: dependence strategy:

1. If I raise doubt whether (b), I must grant (a) is true.

2. But if I grant (a), then (b) [this is the embedded transcendental argument].

3. So if I raise a doubt whether (b), I must grant (b) is true.

For the skeptic, he cannot rationally doubt.

Innate Idea Argument: Knowledge of God is Innate (Rom. 1:19-21, 32)

1. All people have some knowledge of God. This knowledge is constitutive to the human framework.

2. The mind perceives certain things to be true without proof and without instruction.

There is no instruction or use of senses needed to have some knowledge of God…it is intrinsic knowledge (e.g., the deaf/blind know possess within themselves some knowledge of God) within man.

3. Related to the Moral Law argument in that there is this sense of dependence and accountability to a being

higher than themselves which exists in the minds of all people.

Applying the Innate Argument using the: dependence strategy for God’s Existence:

1. If I raise doubt whether (b) I have an idea of God, I must grant that (a) that I recognize that I doubt.

2. If (a) that I recognize that I doubt, then (b) I have an idea of God.

3. So if I raise a doubt whether (b) I have an idea of God, I must grant (b) that I have an idea of God.

For the skeptic cannot rationally doubt!

Another look at the Innate Argument:

1. We have ideas of many things.2. These ideas must arise either from ourselves or from things

outside us.3. One of the ideas we have is the idea of God-an infinite, all-

perfect being.4. This idea could not have been caused by ourselves, because

we know ourselves to be limited and imperfect and no effect can be greater than its cause.

5. Therefore, the idea must have been caused by something outside us which has nothing less than the qualities contained in the idea of God.

6. But only God himself has those qualities.7. Therefore, God Himself must be the cause of the idea we

have of him.8. Therefore God exists.

Argument from Miracles:

1. A miracle is an event whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God.

2. There are numerous well-attested miracles.3. Therefore, there are numerous events

whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God.

4. Therefore, God exists.

Argument from Consciousness:

1. We experience the universe as intelligible. This intelligibility means that the universe is graspable by intelligence.

2. Either this intelligible universe and finite mind so well suited to grasp it are the products of intelligence or blind chance.

3. Blind chance cannot be the source of our intelligence.

4. Therefore, this intelligible universe and the finite minds so well suited to grasp it are the products of intelligence.

Argument from Religious Experience:

1. Many people of different eras and of widely different cultures claim to have had an experience of the “divine.”

2. It is inconceivable that so many people could have been so utterly wrong about the nature and content of their own experience.

3. Therefore, there exists a “divine” reality which many people of different eras and of widely different cultures have experienced.

Argument from Common Consent:

1. Belief in God—that Being to whom reverence and worship are properly due—is common to almost all people every era.

2. Either the vast majority of people have been wrong about this most profound element of their lives or they have not.

3. It is most plausible to believe that they have not.

4. Therefore, it is most plausible to believe that God exists.

Pascal’s Wager:This is not a proof for God’s existence but is helpful in considering

God in the “absence” or “lack” or proof: As originally proposed by Pascal, the Wager assumes that logical reasoning by itself cannot decide for or against God’s existence; there seems to be good reasons on both sides. Now since reason cannot decide for sure, and since the question is of such importance that we must decide somehow, then we must “wager” if we cannot prove. And so, we are asked: Where are you going to place your bet?

Pascal’s Wager:

If you place your bet with God, you lose nothing, even if it turns out that God does not exist. But if you place it against God and you are wrong and God does not exist, you lose everything; think about it: God, eternity & heaven with those who did wager correctly. “Let us assess the two cases: if you win, you win everything, if you lose, you lose everything.”

“If there is a God of infinite goodness, and he justly deserves my allegiance and faith, I risk doing the greater injustice by not

acknowledging Him.”

Closing: Consider the following: by David Hume:

When we analyze our thoughts or ideas, however compounded or sublime, we always find, that they resolve themselves into such simple ideas as were copied from a precedent feeling or sentiment. Even those ideas, which, at first view, seem the most wide of this origin, are found, upon a nearer scrutiny, to be derived from it. The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise, and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom. ~ Enquiry concerning Human Understanding 2. Of the Origin of Ideas.6.

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Introduction into Natural Theology: