The teleological argument

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1. The Teleological Argument ‘the argument from design’

2. The argument put simply The world had order, regularity and purpose. The complexity of the universe shows evidence of design. Such design implies a designer. The designer of the universe is God.

3. Design qua regularity Regularity is evident in the universe. For example, rotation of the planets and natural laws.

4. Look at a formal garden. It shows evidence of a gardener

5. In the same way, the universe shows order and regularity, suggesting a designer .

6. The odds of life occurring spontaneously: Imagine a deck of cards… the chances of pulling out an Ace randomly is 54:1 The probability of life coming from non-life is 10 to the power of 40 000 : 1

7. in light of discoveries such as the orbiting planets and universal laws of gravity and motion in the 17 th century, the following was proposed…

8. Design qua purpose The universe is like a machine, with different parts that work together to perform a specific function. The universe is likened to a machine with a designer.

9. William Paley

10. Paley said in the same way, we would conclude there must be a designer by looking at the mechanics of the human body…

11. The eye Paley argued the eye was designed for the specific purpose of seeing. This complex design suggests an intelligent designer.

12. Paley’s second argument Paley argues for design qua regularity, using evidence from astronomy and Newton’s laws.

13. Task Outline Paley’s arguments qua purpose and qua regularity. How successful do you think this argument is in proving the existence of God? Refer to Laplace, Hume and John Stewart Mill

14. Laplace God of the gaps. God fills the gaps science cannot yet understand.

15. Hume How can we conclude the universe is designed when we have no experience of an un-designed world to compare it to? Even if we could conclude a designer, this does not point to the Christian God. It could have been designed by demigods or any other deity. Epicurean hypothesis – from chaos to order.

16. John Stuart Mill Empiricist. Evil and suffering in the world - designer cannot be the Christian God.

17. Evolution by Natural Selection Darwinism. All species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

18. Why do people believe in God? Upbringing

19. What are the main features of religious upbringing ? Being baptised Influence of parents/community Being taught prayers Attending Church School education Having religious ceremonies

20. How can a religious upbringing lead to a belief in God? May seem natural to believe in God if the family does. As a child, why would you question what adults tell you. Seeing people in church doing certain things means you would feel that God exists. Some schools reinforce belief in God.

21. Religious Experience

22. Key words Religious Experience An event where people believe they have had direct contact with God. Conversion When your life is changed by giving yourself to God. Miracle Something which seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done it.

23. Numinous Feeling of the presence of something greater than you. Prayer Attempt to contact God usually through words.

24. Numinous When in a beautiful place or looking at the stars people might be filled with an awareness of something greater than them. Some feel that this is God.

25. Conversion Some have an experience of God and are moved to change their life and commit themselves to God. This process sometimes gives the feeling of being ‘ born again ’ .

26. Conversion to Islam Cat Stevens – Yusuf Islam

27. Miracles Believers think miracles are examples of God acting on earth because they can not be explained by science. Those witnessing the miracle have had direct contact with God. Man stabbed in the head survives! Pregnant woman survives after parachute fails!

28. Hindu Milk Miracle

29. Prayer Religious believers think they can contact God through prayer. They can be formal e.g. in temple, or informal e.g. in private. If they feel God is listening then some class this as a religious experience.

30. How do religious experiences lead to a belief in God? An atheist seeing a miracle may look for a natural explanation. If they can ’ t find one they may start to believe in God. Through a conversion experience they may feel that God is calling them to do something for him and so believe in him.

31. Any religious believer who has a religious experience will use it as evidence to support their belief in God and make it stronger. If a prayer is answered whether they are religious or not may lead to them believing in God. Through a numinous experience they might feel that God is real.

32. Arguments AGAINST God ’ s existence Scientific explanations of the world, agnosticism and atheism

33. Science can explain how the world came about… Matter exists forever, it simply changes shape. 15 billion years ago the matter compressed and exploded (Big Bang) The matter joins together as stars etc. Solar system formed 5 billion years ago Life on earth begins simple and changes. 2.5 billion years ago humans evolved

34. Evidence for the Big Bang Evidence for Evolution Main evidence comes from the Red Shift Effect where the red shift in light from other galaxies is evidence that the universe is expanding. The fossil record shows life developed becoming more complex.

35. How does this lead to Agnosticism or Atheism? Science can explain how things came about without referring to God. Puts existence of God in doubt = Agnostic . Others become Atheist because they are convinced God is not the only explanation for the world. Science for them is proof enough.

36. How Christians respond to Scientific Explanations of the world

37. How Christians respond to Scientific Explanations of the world

38. How Christians respond to Scientific Explanations of the world

39. Unanswered Prayers

40. They may understand selfish prayers not being answered e.g. let me win the lottery. However, if God doesn't answer good prayers e.g. end wars, then they may see this as evidence he doesn ’ t exist. If prayers are unanswered they may begin to question a God who answers some prayers and not others. If people pray and God does not answer them then they might feel frustrated. Or begin to doubt if God exists.

41. Christian responses to unanswered prayers

42. EVIL AND SUFFERING