Philosophical Perspective on Religion
Essay Paper Assignment Instructions
1.By Module 5, you should have chosen a topic for your paper, performed initial research, and compiled your list of sources.
2. The paper submission link is located in Module 7.
3.Paper must be typed and submitted in a Word document (doc or docx).
4.Paper should be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced, using 12-point font. Title page, works cited, and appendixes will not be counted towards towards the page requirement.
5.Use at least four sources (the textbook may be used as one of these sources). Sources should include at least TWO journal articles or books available through the Ivy Tech Virtual Library.
6.Please DO NOT cite any online reference encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, Britannica, or Encarta.
7.All sources must be cited (must have an end note or a foot note) and the source listed in a bibliography. Paper must be written in MLA or APA format (your choice).
8.A TurnItin report will be generated to help identify plagiarism concerns. The higher the percentage, the greater the amount of highlighted text in your submission matches with information in Turnitin's repositories. Your goal is to stay within the blue or green range (<24% similarity). Academic honesty issues will be addressed by your instructor.
The paper must be based upon YOUR CHOICE of ONE of the following topics:
1. Discuss your own philosophical perspective on religion in comparison with ideas shared in Chapter 7. Include a discussion of TWO OR MORE of the following topics: Theistic and Non-Theistic Religions; The Problem of Evil; The Existence of God; Faith and Religious Experience.
2. Compare and contrast TWO views on reality that are discussed in Chapter 6. Discuss some strengths and weaknesses of each of these positions. Which perspective aligns best with your own? Explain your answer.
3. When it comes to ethics, which philosopher among those that we have studied makes the most sense to you? Discuss their ethical ideas in relation to your own.
4. Compare the Buddhist Simile of the Chariot with Plato's Chariot Analogy. Discuss their similarities and differences.
5. Compare and contrast the ethical theories of Kant and Mill, as outlined in Chapter 9. Discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these theories. Which theory makes more sense to you? Explain your answer.
6. Discuss the rights and freedoms essential to a just society. Is a social contract is required to preserve justice? Incorporate the theory of society of Plato, OR Aristotle, along with the social contract thinking shared by Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Mill, OR Rawls.
Philosophical Perspective on Religion
Author’s Name:
Institution of Affiliation:
Course Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Date:
Philosophical Perspective on Religion
Over the years, there has been a discussion regarding religion, where some individuals believe in a superpower, influencing the nature of their faith and worship. Even though most people believe in religion, there has been a great discussion regarding religion since there are a variety of religions. Each group is, therefore, trying to prove that it has the best religion compared to others. Therefore, these different beliefs have caused different people to give their perspectives and why they support their religion. Some areas that have caused varying perspectives of religion include the existence of God, the problem of evil, and theistic and nontheistic religions.
One common topic that has caused many arguments is God's existence. Some religions that support God's existence are using the cosmological argument. In this argument, they are arguing that everything that exists must have its existing cause. These individuals are, therefore, arguing that God was the one who created the universe, which the individuals are currently witnessing since the universe must have the cause of its existence. However, based on this argument, some people have been questioning it, asking if everything must have its cause of existence to exist. Who created God? Some individuals, therefore, highlight that if the creator of the universe has been exempted from requiring a creator, they highlight that, similarly, the universe did not require a creator. Therefore, this argument makes sense since if the individuals are using the argument of needing a creator to prove that God exists, they should also be able to prove who created God.
The other argument that religious people use to highlight that God, as the designer, exists is about the world's complexity. For example, these individuals highlight that all the human-made objects we see were designed to attain a certain purpose. The other argument these individuals use is that the universe is usually too complex compared to human-made objects, highlighting that a more powerful superpower created it. These individuals are, therefore, using nature mysteries and environmental intricacies to prove that God exists. Even though many individuals have believed this argument, some gaps still should be addressed. For example, even though there are still some mysteries, the world is still far away from being perfect if there was a deity who created it. This perception highlights that if the deity created it, it could be inferior.
Similar to the individuals who have used some arguments to prove the existence of God, other people have used varying approaches to disapprove of it. One common argument to disapprove of is Russell's teapot argument. In this argument, he highlighted an instance in which the teapot could be floating in an orbit around the sun, which the individuals could not detect. He highlighted that as long as the person cannot see it, the individual cannot prove or disapprove of its existence. He, therefore, highlighted that everyone making the claim should be in a position to prove that claim. Based on this claim, all the people who claim that God exists should be able to prove their claims without feeling discriminated against. Furthermore, they should be able to answer all the questions from the individuals who doubt it since failure to answer them would discredit their claims.
The other topic regarding religion that has attracted huge discussion is the problem of evil. One of the common arguments that religious people believe is that God is sacred and people should not engage in evil (Oord, 2019). However, one of the common question that the individuals who oppose religion claim are that if God does not have the power to prevent evil, then God has a limited power. In different scenarios, these individuals have been asking why God, being a creator, could not create a situation where the individuals did not have to commit evil. These individuals are, therefore, questioning whether God cannot prevent evil or is unwilling to prevent it. The individuals highlight that if God is willing but unable to prevent evil, it negates the claim of God being omnipotent. On the other hand, if God is able but unwilling to stop it, it renders God evil.
Some individuals are, therefore, using the problems of evil that have occurred in the past as one of their different proofs that God does not exist. For example, individuals are questioning why God could allow the horrors of the Holocaust and WWII despite the negative impacts of this evil on most people. For example, these individuals have questioned what could be the reason which could cause God to allow evil to happen to innocent people.
One of the counterarguments regarding evil that has been used is free will. So...