Understood in this way, one cant even say that god exists in the sense that my car or mount everest or electrons exist. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society. Apart from conversations with god, religious experiences include miracles and other hardtoexplain phenomena. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. These experiences seem to suggest that he either exists or that he exists by suggestion. There are compelling reasons for believing that claims of religious experience point to and validate spiritual realities that exist in a way that transcends mater. I interpret science through the lens of the word of god, which presupposes the truth of genesis. Among those who follow this mode of the religious traditions is where we find many saints and re. What do atheists think about the argument from religious. God, santa claus wikimediamilles studio via shutterstock can we prove that god exists. I was surprised to find that there was scientific evidence for the existence of god.
The islamic thinker who proved god exists medieval philosophers dont get much attention these days but avicenna deserves it, says prof peter adamson. God s crime scene brilliantly lays out the case for god s existence based on cumulative evidence from the origin of the universe, the finetuning of the universe, the origin of life, the design of life, our experience of consciousness, free will, and morality. Some reports exist of supernatural happenings that it would be difficult to explain from a rational, scientific point of view. Arguments why god very probably exists the conversation.
God and religious tolerationthe proof of god wikibooks. The argument from religious experience the argument for god, based on personal religious experiences, is an argument that cannot be refuted by others. Now, rebecca newberger goldstein, known to edge readers as a philosopher who has interesting things to say about godel and spinoza. The existence of god what we call religious experience can differ greatly. Moral arguments for gods existence form a diverse family of arguments that reason from some feature of morality or the moral life to the existence of god, usually understood as a morally good creator of the universe. However, the apologetic thinkers were aware that many people held a contrary. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for the existence of god based on religious experience.
We dont look at the world and then say this is truth, therefore we must conform the scriptures to what we see. The argument from religious experience the argument many people have experiences they identify as religious. Richard swinburne is formerly nolloth professor of the philosophy of the christian religion, university of oxford. There is no evidence of higher value or authority than the word of god. The author, a geological engineer, describes the geological systems of the earth, dating methods, including radiometric dating, and shows that the earth was made within thousands, not millions, of years. The best arguments for gods existence dont challenge atheists. Discover librarianselected research resources on existence of god from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. The evidential force of religious experience by caroline franks davis clarendon press, 1999. The existence of god based on religious experience essay.
William james proves that god exists in his book the varieties of religious experience. Religious experience refers to the moment in which a believer has a revelation from god or another religious figure. Moral arguments are both important and interesting. Religious ecstasy, on the other hand, is the result of neurotransmitters being released during certain events. List of books and articles about religious experience. The argument from religious experience arguments for the.
The understandings of religious experience offered by the likes of schleiermacher and otto go with it. The argument merely indicates the probability of god and this is of little value to a religious believer. Philosophy of religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. For most christians, one god is represented by three distinct aspects, which make up the holy trinity. Lee strobel is a journalist who believed science proved there is no god. George explains in more detail how philosophers and theologians define a religious experience. Genocidal noahs ark story, and example of yhvh directing the israelites to extinguish a neighbourin.
But, an experience with god, for the believer, settles that question, for them, and at the end of the day, thats really all that matters. A religious experience proves that god exists do you. The varieties of religious experience pragmatism a pluralistic universe the meaning of truth some problems of philosophy essays library of america. The vast majority of believers dont even read theology, and are barely aware of the arguments for god made by sophisticated theologians. Almost everybody who is religious will claim some sort of religious experience i do not have evidence to back this claim, it is an assumption about which i freely admit i may be completely wrong. Does the fact that people have reported religious experiences prove. Can a religious experience show that there is a god. That reality can be an individual, a state of affairs, a fact, or even an absence, depending on the religious tradition the experience is a part of. Can one believe in the existence of god without following any. Recommended books on the existence of god natasha crain. The one theology book all atheists really should read news the.
Ultimately, what we see in human experience, science, logic, and history leads to a confident answer. The christians experience does not prove that god exists, any more than the hindus religious experience proves that brahma or vishnu exists. Read 101 answers by scientists with 71 recommendations from their colleagues to the question asked by krzysztof trzcinski on aug 1, 2019. After over 40 years of not believing that god exists, i was dared by a christian friend to read a book. Ontological proof and the critique of religious experience. After that first book, i found other books with more scientific evidence.
A religious experience could be a dream or vision where god speaks to a person, or it could be a miraculous healing. A religious experience has significance for the person who experiences it. Religious experience is defined as more or less direct inner communion or encounter with something divine. I mean, real evidence that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a god. In their place, he suggests how we ought to explicate religious experience. Its also known as the argument from first cause, the. God is what grounds the existence of every contingent thing, making it. Under certain conditions, religious beliefs generated by religious experiences are likely to be true.
Reviews of books with scientific evidence that god exists. Debates over the existence of god can be tricky, especially since the burden of proof often falls on the believer. For example, such mystical experiences that can only be explained by. Those who wish to wedge religion into everyones life describe a good experience as religious in an effort to gather in the sheeps. Opponents of the religious experience argument claim that religious experiences involve imagination rather than perception, and point out that there is always the possibility of fabricating artificial experiences of god, or that the experiences may not actually be religious at all but are merely interpreted that way by religious people this would go some way towards explaining why it seems. While others may not have the ability to prove the existence of god, through anothers experiences, they also cannot disprove this existence. The big question is whether god really exists outside the brain, such as the above mentioned apple. They are interesting because evaluating their soundness requires attention. Through a deeper investigation of science he however gradually came to the discovery that science actually proves the existence of god. Religious experience, argument for the existence of god. Einstein believed the problem of god was the most difficult in the worlda question that could not be answered simply with yes or no. People have so many definitions of god so it is hard to prove that god exists. Religious experience stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. In my humble opinion, any one of the books below have sufficient scientific evidence to prove the existence of god.
Scientific proof of god the case for a creator several scientists. What can atheists say about religious people using the. Philosophy of religion involves all the main areas of philosophy. Religious experience is human experience labeled as something different. A person may say they had personally seen, heard or felt god. Learn about and revise the way christians see god and explore christian ideas of truth with bbc bitesize gcse religious studies. Opinions on god are everywhere, but answering the question does god exist. The argument from religious experience is an argument for the existence of god. In my opinion, no it doesnt prove anything to the world in general. We realize that many people, both believers and nonbelievers, doubt that gods existence can be demonstrated or even argued about. This is the best proof that god exists in my opinion. The argument from religious experience a level philosophy.
A religious experience may make a believer of you but it may not prove god exists as your experience may not. A compelling new work makes the case that most modern arguments against belief are attacking the wrong god. David bentley harts the experience of god, published. Many people have been led to believe its impossible to prove the existence of god, but nothing could be further from the truth. Experiences that are part of a religious life include the ups and downs of faith, doubt, sacrifice, and achievement. It holds that the best explanation for religious experiences is that they constitute. Religious experiences can be characterized generally as experiences that seem to the person having them to be of some objective reality and to have some religious import. I can say as others have said that it is circular logic, but let me take a somewhat different spin. The faith of many religions is centred on a god or gods. A religious experience sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. Therefore, my religious belief that god exists is likely to be true.
In my opinion, the best proof that god exists is this. Religious and philosophical views of albert einstein. Richard dawkins and the limits of faith and atheism atheists sometimes argue the. That kinda sums up the typical disagreements found on the forum though. A significant number of people report transcendent experiences of what has been called in the west cosmic consciousness, and in the east samadhi wholeness, satori enlightenment, moksha liberation, or nirvana unconditioned consciousness, etc. List of books and articles about existence of god online. Einstein used many labels to describe his religious views, including agnostic, religious nonbeliever and a pantheistic believer in spinozas god. William james popularised the concept many religious and mystical traditions see religious. While there are a number of religious books, the bible is unlike any other. While you dont owe anyone an explanation for your faith, knowing how to defend. Religious experience does it prove the existence of god. Douglas geivett, professor of philosophy at talbot school of philosophy, biola university. A personal experience that cannot be described in normal language. This firsthand experience is utterly convincing to that person.
Rs aqa as religious experience study guide by katiewestby includes 50 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Either way, the god concept becomes real to the person doing the believing. The cosmological argument is an argument for the existence of god that says that god is the first cause that created the universe source. Philosophy of religion proofs for the existence of god an. When people argue against god s existence with you, share these six proofs. Religious experience, argument for the existence of god arguments from religious experience show remarkable diversity, a in the sorts of experience taken as data for the argument, b in the structure of the inference itself, and c in the alleged conclusion, whether to a vague presence, an infinite being, or the god of traditional christianity. Religious experience argument for the existence of god.
Religious experience argument the existence of god. What if most modern arguments against religious belief have been attacking the wrong god all along. This is the ultimate book on the evidence for god s existence. In this section you will find arguments of many different kinds for the existence of god. The experience cannot be proved, but the individual will be convinced of the reality of what has happened. Theologians make the distinction between religious experiences and paranormal phenomena. This view is a deadly mistake and would lead to atheism.