Unit 2: The God Unit

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Unit 2 The God Unit

• Questions to Guide our Studies

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Major Themes of the Unit

• Theism Belief in Higher Power
• Polytheism
• Monotheism
• Atheism Belief there is no Higher Power
• Agnosticism Unsure if a Higher Power exists
• Polytheism/Monotheism

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Concept of God

• Transcendent God is outside this world is
  distinct from our universe.
• Immanent God is identical to the cosmos as a
  whole.
• Pantheism God is everything
• Universal Spirit God is the emotional connection
  inside all humans
• Process God must be understood as a continual
  process (constantly self-creating)
• Transcendent Creator God made world left
• Leap of Faith God can only be known through Faith

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What is God?

• Is God a force or presence?
• Is God an idea created by humans?
• Does God change over time?
• Could you describe God?

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Arguments for God

• Cosmological Argument
• Argument from Design
• Ontological Argument
• Moral Argument
• Pascals Wager
• Irrational Faith

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Are Holy Books from Divine origin?

• Is the Book written by God?
• Can human-translation of the text change the
  Word?
• How can a follower deal with contradictions in
  the text?

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Non-Overlapping Magisteria?

• Stephen J. Gould asserted that Science and
  Religion were two separate, non-overlapping
  magisteria.
• Science, Gould felt, is empirical study whereas
  religion is the study of ultimate meaning and
  morality.
• Do you believe Science and Religion are studying
  separate phenomena?
• Do they ever overlap and address the same issues?
  Which issues?

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Will Religion End?

• When, Why and how will religion end?
• If not, why not?
• Will this be a good/bad event?
• Does this imply religion is necessary or
  superfluous?

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What should this unit teach you?

• 1). To understand the logical and faith-based
  frameworks for Theism.
• 2). How to engage in meaningful discussion about
  religion with people that disagree.
• 3). To recognize how philosophy and the study of
  religion have influenced one another.