H Apologetics: Unit 2 Natural Apologetics

Which three groups make up our audience in Natural Apologetics?

Atheists, Agnostics, Materialists

Atheist

A person who denies the existence of God

agnostic

Person who believe that they do not know or cannot know if God exists

Materialist

A person who believes that money, possessions and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values in life

What are our two main sources for our argument in Natural Apologetics?

The natural world and universal human experience

Proof

Evidence or argument; gives compelling reason to accept an argument as true

Coincidence

The act or condition of coinciding

Miracle

An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs; an extreme lying outstanding or unusual event

Is it possible to know that God exists by reason (creation) alone?

Yes- we may not have sense experience of God, but we do have sense experience of the things he made

How can we "reason our way to God's existence" in Creation? What's the comparison

We can reason our way to God's existence the same way we can reason our way to a light source when we see light: from effects (which we do not see) to a cause (which we do not see)

Pascal's Wager

Either God exists or He doesn't. If we look at these options as a kind of "bet", its clear that one of these bets is the more reasonable option

-Bet "A": I act as if God exists where the potential gain is infinite reward of eternal happiness and the potential loss is finite/none

-Bet "B": I act as if God doesn't exist where the potential gain is finite/none and the potential loss is infinite loss of eternal happiness

If one is unsure of the existence of God, it is more reasonable to act as though he doesn't exist?

No it is not because the potential gain from acting as though God exists in nothing while the potential loss is everything

What are Aquinas' 5 proofs

-The Unmoved Mover

-The Uncaused Cause

-The Necessary Being

-The Argument from Degrees of Perfection

-The Teleological Argument

The Unmoved Mover

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed"; Things move by something but there has to be an "unmoved" mover who began all the motion in the world- We know this mover as God

The Uncaused Cause

Things exist; everything that exists is brought into existence by something else but an infinite regression of this is impossible so there must be an uncaused cause to begin all that exists- we know this causer as God

The Necessary Being

Things come into existence and out but this is not out of necessity (contingent); contingent things receive their existence from other things and they can then lose this existence but if everything were contingent, nothing would exist because why would it need to- a necessary being must exist because it cannot not exist; we know this being as God

The Teleological Argument

All natural bodies in the world act towards ends and these objects are unintelligent but these objects still act towards an end- a characteristic of intelligence; therefore an intelligent being must exist that guides all natural bodies towards their end- this being being God

The Argument from Degrees of Perfection

Everything in the world comes in degrees- best and worst; when we compare we measure against a highest maximum (standard); so there must be a highest degree of goodness, truth, and perfection to compare things to- this ultimate standard of perfection is what we call God

How do coincidences support the existence of God?

The occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident seem to have some connection but this casual connection requires something more than coincidence- they point to high being

How do miracles support the existence of God?

Miracles point to a higher being because they are things that cannot be explain by the natural law of science

How does the joy of saints support the existence of God?

We cannot ignore the continued witness of men and women who have lived virtuous, joyful lives in the face of adversity- all of them citing their dependence on God as the source of their strength and joy

How does the existence of the Apostolic Church support the existence of God?

There exists a church which has lasted for centuries found on the testimony of 12 men claiming to have witness the Resurrection of a man called Jesus; if this is not true... what did they stand to gain by saying it happened

What are the three pieces of mental evidence?

-Argument from the Human Brain

-Argument from Conscience

-Argument from Desire

What are the three possible causes of mental evidence for the human brain? Which one is the most logical based on our tendency to trust our intellects?

The human brain is the most complex design in the universe, mirroring the computer; there are three possible options of the cause of the brain: it happened by chance, it was designed by intelligence (good/evil intelligence), someone designed it

-If it was by chance or by intelligence, we have no reason to trust anything we do because unless the brain was designed by someone good, honest, and trustworthy, we have no reason to trust our thoughts

How does the argument of conscience support existence of God?

We have a deep knowledge that we should do good and avoid evil- we have a conscience that makes moral demands and we obey this conscience entirely otherwise followed by guilt; the only possible source of absolute authority is an absolute perfect will- we know this perfect will as God's will

Argument from Desire

Nature does not act in vain; the existence of an organ points to the existence of an object to satisfy it; the universal experience of man is that of a consistent appetite which no experience in this world satisfies- these desires are the transcendentals

angel

Ambassadors and messengers of god

Can we prove that angels absolutely exist? What can we show?

By reason we can't know that angels absolutely do exist, but we can show that it is possible and fitting that they exist

How do we know that it's possible that angels could exist? What principle can be used here?

Using Principle of Non-Contradiction it is reasonable that the whole of creation, visible and invisible, would display the same fullness as visible creation; thus if all possible combination of things exist/have existed in visible world, the same holds true for the invisible word

How do we know that it's fitting that angels exist?

There would be a gap in the fullness of creation; not all possibilities would exist

What is the office of the angel? What is the nature?

The office (what a thing does; its job) is angel and the nature (what a thing is) is spirit

How do angels "know" and how is it different from how humans know

Unlike human intellect which gets information gradually through our bodily sense, angels have infused knowledge, given to them all at once; their intellects are powerful, but they are not omniscient (all knowing)

How do angels "choose and how is it different from how humans choose

Unlike our free will which makes many choices spread out in time, angels make one choice that "fixes" their wills for all eternity (because they know so much); angels have "inflexible will" while humans have "flexible will"

How do angels "live" and how is it different from how humans live?

Angels live forever but they aren't eternal (they have no body and are created); angels don't occupy space- they can be present to any "place" simply by thinking and willing to be there

What are guardian angels? What is their purpose?

Humans have their own personal angels to help battle evil attacks; their intellect is available to us if we ask for their help- they help us to seek truth and love more perfectly

Hell

a state of selfish distance from God

What explanation does Thomas Aquinas give for why demons tempt and torment man kind

The assault itself is due to the malicious of the demons who through:

-envy endeavor to hinder man's

-through pride usurp a semblance of Divine power

How did demons come to be if God did not create them?

God created all angels good with a perfect intellect by which they could know, love, and choose; by giving choice and freedom, self-serving angels choose themselves and became demons

What are our guardian angels to guard first?

Guardian angels are to guard our souls first, that is their main task

How can harm still come to humans despite the aid of guardian angels?

Guardian angels try to protect us from what we allow to enter our hearts and minds; they don't have control or influence over others which is how harm can still come to us

How do angels affect us?

Angels know if something is bad for us even when we don't; so angels speak to us by putting images in our minds and feelings in our hearts where we can choose to accept of reject their influence

Soul

"Life"; what "animates" the body

Nutritive Soul

Power: Alive but no movement

Ex. a tree

Sensitive Soul

Power: Movement

Ex. An animal

Rational Soul

Power: Movement, intellect, and will

Ex. a baby

Where does the soul exist within the body?

The soul is in you body in whatever is alive

can spiritual/immaterial reality cause a change in material reality?

Yes through the principle of cause and effect (there must be a sufficient reason for every event)

Ex. the idea (spiritual reality) of an ice cream causes the sensation of hunger (material reality)

Why is it that science cannot study the soul?

Some would say that man is nothing more than molecules; there is no material difference between a corpse and a man, yet there is definitely still a difference

how does the difference between a corpse and dead body support the case of the existence of the soul?

The man is capable of certain activities which a corpse lacks; no material source of these activities can be detected, so there must be a non-material source

If the soul exists what can we conclude about it's immortality?

Because the spiritual soul isn't composed of parts, it cannot become or "die"; it is either destroyed by the same spiritual power that created it or it has life beyond that of the body

how does the existence of the soul point to the existence of an infinite spiritual being>

The creator of a spiritual soul must itself be spiritual; the creator must be able to bring something out of nothing which requires infinite power

What is the problem that evil presents about God?

If God were all good and all powerful then evil wouldn't exist

-If God wants to remove evil, but he can't, then he isn't all powerful

-If God can remove evil but doesn't want to, then he isn't all God

Why can it be argued that the problem of Evil poses the greatest threat to belief in the existence of God

-The experience of evil is universal; no one is untouched by suffering in death, natural disaster, and corruption

-The distribution of evil seems unjust and unreasonable; bad things happen to good people

What is the origin of evil?

The abuse of free will- in the selfish, grasping choice to turn against God

What is the free-will argument explanation for evil's existence?

God created all that there is but he created it good with an inclination towards the good; this includes free will and in order for our wills to be free to choose the good there must be a choice

Evil

The absence of good- a privation

Privation

An absence that ought to be present

why does god tolerate evil when he has the power to completely destroy it?

Because he can bring a greater good out of it

Why does denying God's existence make the problem of evil worse?

This is because there would be no way out; our hatred of evil is evidence that supports the existence of God

How does St. Aquinas explain God's interaction with a broken heart?

"Sometimes in life, it feels as though your heart is being ripped open, over and over again; the whole keeps getting larger. This is because God is making room for an incredible gift to fill that space"

What does God reveal about those who choose evil and those who suffer in Revelations 21:7?

For those who suffer God will "wipe every tear from their eyes. there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away"; for those who choose evil "they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur- this being the second death"