The answer is “42”
It’s all mind over matter. If you don’t mind it don’t matter. :-)
Hebrews 11:1: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.
“I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen, not because I can see it, but because by way of it, I can see everything else.” - C.S. Lewis
What do you believe, regarding ultimate reality?
God?
Matter?
Something else?
First of all, the assumptive premise of the first question is incorrect for a believing Christian, since there is no ‘ultimate’ that must be differentiated between “God” and “Matter”. To a believing Christian, they are both one and the same in terms of ultimate “reality”. It is the old ‘trick’ question... “When did you stop beating your wife”.
Do you believe in God? If so, why? Why are you here on earth, and where are you going, for eternity?
If you believe in God, what is the most convincing evidence, for you personally? Is there any possibility that you may be wrong about the existence of God? If so, what are the consequences of being wrong, and believing in a God who doesn’t exist?
If you do not believe in God, why not? If you do not believe in God, is there any possibility that you might be wrong—no matter how small the possibility? If you are wrong, what are the consequences of being wrong?
What is truth; Are moral values absolute or relative? Are at least some moral values absolute? If so, where do these absolute moral values come from? Is the possibility of evil necessary, in order for human beings to be allowed free will?
Since when did philosophy class become an inquiry into ones beliefs? In my classes, we studied what other folks believed and how they came to believe.
I was graded on how well I had learned. This assignment sounds just wrong.
What do you believe, regarding ultimate reality?
God?
Matter?
Something else?
First of all, the assumptive premise of the first question is incorrect for a believing Christian, since there is no ‘ultimate’ that must be differentiated between “God” and “Matter”. To a believing Christian, they are both one and the same in terms of ultimate “reality”. It is the old ‘trick’ question... “When did you stop beating your wife”.
The greatest proof of God are the miracles, including the resurrection. Only God could suspend the laws of nature in such a way as to, for instance, raise Lazarus after his being four days dead in a hot environment. Consider Jesus’ own reply to this question:
24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,
[From John 10]
If Jesus Himself says the miracles are the key to faith, we can take it to be that was their purpose. Also notice the miracles themselves were never disputed in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees condemned him for working miracles on the Sabbath, while the multitudes flocked to Him in hopes of seeing miracles. When it comes to Lazarus, here is the Pharisees’ & Sadducees’ response:
47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
[From John 11]
Note that no one disputed the miracles—not even the raising of Lazarus. Rather, they realized that if Jesus kept it up, the whole world would believe.
God the Father cited miracles in a similar context:
Numbers 14:11
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?”
If God Himself argued His existence on the basis of miracles/the suspension of the physical laws of the universe, then it is the case that faith is meant to be founded upon them.
In other words, if the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead were not so historically sound, we would not believe. But the evidence for His resurrection is overwhelming, & it is the cornerstone of our faith.
“The Truth Is Out There”
I’ll start. I believe in God as the ultimate reality and first cause of the universe. I believe in God because of the convincing evidence of Christ’s perfect life, given for me, as well as the evidences of my own personal experiences. In addition, I find further support in my belief, from considering cosmological arguments; Everything which begins to exist requires a cause--the universe did not come from nothing.
Why am I here? My answer is that I am here to have a love relationship with God and serve him by serving others. I can only have a relationship with God, through accepting Christ as my Savior.
Where am I going? I have accepted Jesus as my Savior, because I cannot save myself. He is my King, and I will eventually join Him in His Heavenly Kingdom. Without Christ, I cannot save myself, because I am guilty of what the Bible calls sin—anything less than perfection. Not one of us can honestly claim perfection, yet if God allows anything less than perfection into heaven, it would be just as bad as earth. That’s why we need a Savior, Christ. (If you don’t know what I mean here, it is all in the Bible; a good place to start is reading the book of John.)
What is truth? Is there such a thing as moral values that are absolute, for all people? Yes, we all know instinctively that there are moral values that are absolute—every one of us will draw a “moral line” somewhere—usually when it comes to those people that we love. Each of us knows how we would like to be treated by others, although we may have a hard time recognizing when we don’t treat other people right. For instance, which one of us would not object, to the idea of someone breaking into our house and stealing all of our children’s toys? Clearly, there are moral absolutes, such as stealing is wrong—at least when it comes to our own property! (Some people could argue that it is okay to steal if your children are starving, but not if you want a new electronic gadget—but these are exceptions.) Not one of us can claim to be perfect, and yet we all know that certain things are wrong. Ravi Zacharias, in Addressing the Problem of Evil, eloquently and lovingly affirms the philosophical case that the question of evil; the recognition of the question of evil reveals the obvious existence of moral good. Zacharias noted that "When you say something is evil you assume something is good...a moral law...a moral Law Giver."
C.S. Lewis also presents a well-reasoned explanation, here: In Mere Christianity, Book 1, Chapter 1, C.S. Lewis states that "human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it.
Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in." Without the possibility of evil, there cannot be free will, to choose to do evil or good. If we were not allowed free will (the possibility to do evil) and our Creator forced us to do good, then the resulting (forced) good would be an evil. It is clear that this idea of good and evil is in all of us. Stories of good and evil are the mainstay of classic literature. This moral argument points to the existence of a Creator, who I have experienced as the risen Christ.
Great questions. But, more than can be addressed in my short time available. I will take a small stab at one of these...
In the Scriptures, believing in God is not like believing in anything else. It is not like believing in UFOs, or believing in taking care of children, or believing in the principals of the Constitution. These English uses of the word have smeared the edges of the use of the word in the Scriptures.
Within the Scriptures, the use of the word "believe" is more akin to "be persuaded to trust God". It is not "philosophical" belief, nor mere "intellectual" belief, nor is it an "emotional" belief, although it touches all of these when it happens. But, this persuasion to trust Him is a gift granted to those who are called His elect. They cannot hurry it up, they cannot slow it down. It is what we call "faith" and is not a human commodity.
While every human is guilty of rebelling against Him and as such no one begins with "belief" or "faith" in Him, some are granted eyes to see that He exists and are drawn to Him by Him. And, when they are drawn, they find the only God who exists is the Triune God of Israel, the Rescuer of souls, the Great I AM.
The rest will flail about, some manufacturing gods of their own, some denying any existence of God, some wishing that He were there...but unable to find Him. In reality, they are not actually pursuing Him, but they are pursuing (as I believe Luther noted) a relief from the pain in their soul. As Paul wrote, "No one seeks God, not even one." Until He draws a person, they are contemplating imaginary beings, nothingness, errant philosophies, false religions.
This may not be pretty to the whole world, but it is the situation as it exists. And, it is good news to those who are adopted into His family.
OK, it’s great to put on display a BA in philosophy: first, you need to define terms.The questioner needs to define “God”. If God = an impersonal supreme force, all the subsequent questions are meaningless. If God = a personal governing creator, the next question is: does the questioner attribute virtue(goodness) to God or just power. If just power, see question 1. If virtue then, logically, all human decisions either are, or are not, in harmony with God’s virtue. Following that path we exist, and all we do, must reflect God’s virtue (goodness) or reject it.If our lives reflect God’s virtue we choose harmony with God; if not we choose dissonance from God. If we choose harmony with God we live the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. If we choose dissonance, we cut ourselves off from that mystery and from God’s grace.
I believe in God. God created us all, we existed prior to our birth, in heaven with him - as part of the heavenly host. (see Jer. 1:5).
In heaven, we KNEW of God, thus our true nature was influenced. We didn’t truly have the free will to do as we would.
On earth, we have free will. If our souls have tendencies towards evil, we will gravitate to do evil things, we will hurt others, steal, beat and kill. If we are good, we will resist evil and strive to promote evil and will naturally seek the light of Christ (and if not Christ, due to geographic/religious boundaries- we will strive to be righteous).
For our actions on earth, we will be judged. Earth and our time here is a test, our mortal existence is a filter, some will pass - others will fail. But, each will pass or fail based upon the decisions they made and the actions they took of their own free will. Those actions will have eternal consequences - for better or worse.
Personally, I hope God grades on a curve. (that’s humor). All of us will sin, and for those transgressions we depend upon our faith in Christ as well as our actions of goodness to be granted forgiveness for these transgressions - for without them, we are all doomed.
I believe in God. He is the source of all reality and all matter. As you say, everything requires a cause. Nothing can truly be destroyed or created, except by God. We can only convert one thing into something else. Why am I here on Earth? I’m here because God decided to give me life. He has given me the ultimate gift of existence. For eternity, I am going to Heaven. I have absolute faith in what Christ did for me and have absolute faith that I will be forgiven for my sins.
The most convincing case for God is a hard thing to explain, because there is an unexplainable draw to Christ when you read about Him and what He did.
I think one of the most compelling things about it is the lack of the extraordinary that exists in the story of Christ. Yes, Christ walked on water, raised the dead, and was born of a virgin, but he appeared and bled a man. Unlike other faiths, God was never described as some creature of incredible size with multiple arms and the heads of animals. God Himself was a force whose only physical representation was Jesus Christ. Someone who seemed unremarkable to those who saw him in passing glances.He was humble. The King of Kings was unlike any king before Him. Has there been any other figure, let alone a god, who was so selfless, who gave so selflessly for humanity? No. This is what sets God apart from other divine beings. He does not view humanity as an amusement, something to play with. He sees it as an object of devotion. He loves us. That is the sign of a true creator.
For me, I believe in no chance that God does not exist. In his absence, nothing makes sense. Sense is only found through Him. Consequences? What consequences could their be? If you want to take it to a proven, science textbook fact issue, it has been proven that those with no faith are more unhappy than those with faith. Societies built around no faith have all been failures, without exception, and have usually ended in mass slaughter. The consequences of being wrong about God? Ask anyone who lived in Soviet Russia. That is a type of world in which God was just kept behind closed doors and in secret. Imagine a society completely devoid of God. Perhaps too horrific for us to imagine, and impossible, since even in foolish denial, He is here. He is everywhere, at all times.
Morality is absolute. There is no question. Someone once said, without an absolute nature, morality is just a man’s opinion, waiting to be crushed by a more powerful man’s opinion. Morals come from God. Some are hardwired into our nature and hard to override. Most are not. This is due to free will, yes. Man has to make the decision to follow God, to knock on the door. If he is not free to make that decision, his existence is meaningless. It has been said, many will fall and many will deny God, to indulge in the fleeting pleasures of sin. These people may find shelter in moral relativism, and they may find shelter in their disbelief in Satan as well. But then again, the deceiver does not want you to believe in him. If you don’t believe in him, you’re unable to fight him.
An atheist relative of mine once asked me why I believed in God and the afterlife. I told him that if all you believe in beyond this life is the cold, wintery earth, then whichever of us is right, that’s all you will ever receive. And perhaps Hell is not as artists depict it, but is instead a simple absence of existence, no past, no future, no present. Atheists may in fact believe in Hell and not even realize it. I believe in it, I just know I’m not going there.
Interesting topic.
“I yam what I yam and dats all dat I yam!”
Popeye the Naval Gazer....
These are not philosophical questions. By my lights, they are not academic questions, either.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ five proofs of the existence of God.
“Do you believe in God,” Yes, I do, because I have met Him. I believe in His existence just like I would believe in the existence of every other person I’ve met. He entered my soul and revealed Himself to me, so that I not only believe He exists, I know (imperfectly, but truly) who He is.
Yes, because I am made in His image, and so have an innate knowledge of Him.
Yes, because He is revealed in the design of ourselves and all creation. We all testify of Him by our very existence. Life does not create itself.
So many philosophy courses teach abstract sort of ways of belief, yet, belief in Jesus is personal, because He is a person who knows you who you can also know.
To find these answers, read the Bible, attend a good church, and listen.