Atheism and Christianity on the Conceptual View of God – Vocabulary Flashcards (Video)

Atheism Types

1) Atheistic humanism: man is an end to himself; sole maker and controller of his history.
2) Contemporary atheism: seeks liberation through economic and social liberation; religion hinders freedom by promising a future life.
3) A-theism (A-theism) based on human autonomy and rejecting dependence on God to protect human dignity.

Atheism: rejects or denies the existence of God (CCC 2125).
Strong atheism: asserts there is no God; argues God is a logical impossibility or that evil/suffering proves God does not exist.
Weak atheism: lack of belief in God due to insufficient evidence; may say one cannot disprove God, but one should not believe either.
Agnosticism: makes no judgment about God’s existence; claims proof is impossible (CCC 2127).
Common shorthand: theists answer yes; atheists answer no; agnostics answer I don’t know.
Two types of Agnosticism:
1) Agnostic seeking truth (has not received the gift of faith).
2) Agnostic indifferent to the truth (would not bother to judge).

Pagan myth: gods depicted as super-powered versions of humans.
Ancient Greek: Theos derived from thein, meaning “to run”; sun, moon, earth, stars, sky revered as gods; their fleeting nature reflected in their roles.
Modern view: Moralistic, therapeutic deism (MTD):
- Deism: God created the world but does not intervene.
- Moralistic: He wants us to be good.
- Therapeutic: He exists to help us when we are in need.
Contribution of MTD: makes people reasonable, tolerant, compliant; offers easygoing spirituality about nature, society, family, or pets.
Why Christianity opposes MTD:
- In postmodern age, Jesus is a mascot for favored causes; core gospel is Jesus who lived, suffered, died, and rose again for salvation.
- The Cross is a path into deeper union with Christ; suffering can bring authentic joy (John 15:11).
- Matthew 16:24; discipleship involves denying self and taking up the cross.

Anselm: God is defined as the “that than which no greater can be thought.”
The claim: existing in reality is part of what makes God the greatest conceivable being; a being that exists in reality is greater than one that exists only in the mind.
Knowledge types:
- A priori: knowledge independent of sense experience (reason alone).
- A posteriori: knowledge dependent on experience.
Example of a priori truth: 1+1=2.
Why God is the greatest conceivable being:
1) God is not a creature; His mode of existence is not akin to things that exist in the world.
2) God is pure act; no potentiality; necessary existence.
3) God’s essence is existence; He exists because He must exist; all else depends on Him.

Essence: “what I am” (human nature).
Existence: “that I am” (act of being).
Christianity: God’s essence and existence are united as one simple essence; God is being itself.
God vs creatures:
- Creatures have diverse essences and purposes; finite and contingent.
- God’s essence is existence; He exists by necessity and is not a being among beings.

Feuerbach: God did not make man in His image; we made God in ours (projection of human desires).
Christian reply: We are made in the image and likeness of God; God is being itself, not alien to us (Acts 17:27; CCC 27).
Marx: Religion as the opium of the people; belief in God distracts from life’s problems; liberation comes through economic and social change.

Christian view (two aspects):
1) Essence precedes existence: humans have a shared human nature; existence depends on the realization of that essence.
2) Each nature is ordered toward ends; rational thought and moral awareness define human ends.
Existentialist view:
1) Existence precedes essence: individuals define who they are and their purpose through choices.
2) Sartre: if God exists, true freedom is impossible; since I am free, God does not exist.
Weaknesses in Sartre:
1) Confuses freedom with independence; we are dependent yet capable of choosing.
2) A God imagined as a cosmic ruler would undermine freedom (cosmic fascism).
3) Equates freedom with rebellion; “freedom to say no” is not the whole of freedom.
4) Responsibility: God is not responsible for our choices; we are.
5) Without God, abstract values like “the good” lose metaphysical grounding.

Sartre’s form: If God exists, then I can’t be free; but I am free, therefore God does not exist.
Christian replies (summarized):
- i) God creates the raw material (heredity, environment); we shape our selves through choices.
- ii) God creates what we become (the self), not just what we are.
- iii) God invites us to co-create with Him; He participates in our self-formation.
- iv) God gives only raw material; we finalize ourselves by free choices.
- v) CCC perspective on freedom: Freedom is the power to choose or reject the good, rooted in reason and will (CCC 1731).

Freedom definition: the ability to choose or reject the good; to act or not act with responsibility (CCC 1731).
God’s role: sustains our existence and provides the foundation for the objective good; God does not overwhelm freedom.

Servais Pinckaers:
- Freedom of Indifference: freedom as indifference amid competing values; choosing based on personal inclinations; rules seen as limitations.
- Freedom for Excellence: discipline of desire toward the good; freedom grows as rules and training shape us (e.g., language mastery, athletic skill).
Conclusion: Freedom for excellence with objective rules liberates us toward great goods.