[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Judeo-Christians understand God as a being that is perfect in knowledge (Ps. 147:5), power (Job 42:2), presence (Ps. 139), acts (Ps. 18:30) and has none greater (Heb. 6:13) nor equal (Ps. 40:6). Following Anselm’s: … [Read more...]
Conceptual Arguments
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Augustine Argument from Absolute Truth Augustine purported that we are in contact with objective absolute truths that transcend us. These absolute truths (such as mathematical formulas) are superior to the human … [Read more...]
A Presentation of the Ontological Argument
Over recent months I have given special attention to the ontological argument for the existence of God [1], drawing upon a framework first purposed by St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109). In this post, I hope to deal with Anselm’s argument in an explanatory manner as well as deal with in some length on the nature of modal logic and its application to this argument. Robert … [Read more...]
Kant's Critique of Anselm: Can Existence be a Predicate?
One of the most famous (and supposedly devastating) criticisms of Anselm’s ontological argument comes from Immanuel Kant. It is virtually undisputed by those who mention the argument. One hears this criticism even on the Internet. In nearly every instance in which I have encountered this objection, an explanation is never provided. What is this criticism, and what does it … [Read more...]
The New Atheism and Five Arguments for God
Reprinted with the gracious permission of William Lane Craig. Are there good arguments for God’s existence? Have the so-called New Atheists shown that the arguments for God are no good? Copyright © 2010 by Christ on Campus Initiative (CCI) It’s perhaps something of a surprise that almost none of the so-called New Atheists has anything to say about arguments for God’s … [Read more...]
God is Logically Impossible — Or Is He?
In 1974, George H. Smith wrote a little book called Atheism: The Case Against God. In it, he made an ontological argument against God's existence. I found it intriguing, since I'm currently studying the ontological argument for God's existence. So let's take a look at it in reverse. To be is to be something as opposed to nothing, and to be something is to be something … [Read more...]