Theism
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I INTRODUCTION Theism, from the term theos (Greek
for "god"), belief in one God who is personal and
worthy of worship, who transcends the world but takes
an active interest in it, and who reveals his purpose
for human beings through certain individuals,
miraculous events, or sacred writings. A theistic God
is personal if he can be understood by analogies drawn
from human experience and if human beings can enter
into a personal relation with him and petition him in
prayer. Such a God is considered worthy of worship
because he is believed to be morally perfect and
infinitely powerful.
Broadly speaking, theism is the belief in any god or
gods. However in its typical philosophical and
theological usage, theism is a form of monotheism, the
belief in only one God. In contrast to theism,
pantheism is the view that God is identical with the
world or is completely immanent, pervading everything
that exists in the world. Deism is the belief that God
created the world but then had no further connection
with it. Theism should also be contrasted with atheism
and agnosticism, both of which have several
variations. In the broadest sense, positive atheism is
a disbelief in all gods including the theistic God,
whereas negative atheism is simply the absence of
belief in any god. Negative atheism is compatible with
agnosticism, the denial that a person can know either
that God exists or does not exist. Some agnostics draw
the conclusion that one should suspend one's belief, a
view known as agnostic atheism. Other agnostics choose
to believe in a theistic God on the basis of faith, a
view known as agnostic theism.
II SCOPE OF THEISM
Three of the major world religions-Christianity,
Islam, and Judaism-are primarily theistic and today
comprise about 3 billion followers. Theistic strands
can also be found in Hinduism, although this religion
usually interprets God in an impersonal and
pantheistic way. Several other Eastern religions,
including Theravada Buddhism and Jainism, reject the
theistic idea of God as creator of the universe.
Although it is uncertain if the ancient Chinese
philosopher Confucius believed in some kind of God, it
is clear that a theistic God plays little, if any,
role in Confucianism, the moral, social, and political
practices associated with his name.
The theistic religions of Christianity and Judaism,
and to a lesser extent Islam, have greatly influenced
the laws, morality, science, culture, and political
institutions of the West. However, the rise of modern
science and scientific Biblical criticism beginning in
the 17th century has put theistic religions on the
defensive. Theistic religions have been challenged to
integrate a belief in miracles, divine purpose, and
revelation with an increasing acceptance of a
scientific worldview and with the acknowledgment of
inconsistencies and errors revealed by Biblical
scholarship.
III FAITH AND REASON
In Western theistic religions, especially
Christianity, faith is often contrasted with reason.
The precise nature of this contrast varies from
denomination to denomination and from theologian to
theologian. In the 13th century, Italian theologian
Saint Thomas Aquinas maintained that the truths of
faith are compatible with and supplement the truths of
reason. He held that while one can prove the existence
of God by reason, doctrines such as the Trinity (the
doctrine that God exists as three persons united in
one being) must be accepted on faith. Aquinas also
argued that since the doctrine of the Trinity is
derived from the Bible, and because there is good
reason to believe the Bible was divinely inspired,
such acceptance is reasonable. On the other hand,
19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard
argued that it is inappropriate to base belief in God
on reason. Instead Kierkegaard emphasized the
necessity of irrational leaps of faith. He claimed
that religious belief is a passionate and
unconditional commitment to God that not only
transcends reason and evidence but also stands in
direct conflict with it.
IV ARGUMENTS FOR THEISM
Despite Kierkegaard's skepticism about the value of
reason in supporting belief in God, many philosophers
have attempted to demonstrate the existence of God by
rational argument.
A The Ontological Argument
One of the most important attempts to demonstrate the
existence of God is the ontological argument of Saint
Anselm, an 11th-century theologian. Anselm's argument
maintains that God, defined as the greatest being that
can be conceived, must exist, since a being that does
not exist would by virtue of that fact lack an
attribute that contributes to its greatness. Critics
have questioned, however, whether existence actually
contributes to a being's greatness.
B The Cosmological Argument
Another important attempt to provide a rational
justification for the existence of God is the
cosmological argument, also called the argument from
first cause. This justification was expounded by
Aquinas and 18th-century English philosopher Samuel
Clarke, among others. One important version of this
argument contends that to explain the existence of the
contingent universe it is essential to postulate a
necessary being, a being whose existence is not
contingent on anything else. This necessary being is
God. Critics have argued that the existence of the
universe might be a brute fact-a fact without any
explanation. They assert that proving the existence of
a necessary being is not the same as proving the
existence of God. A necessary being might lack some of
the properties considered essential to God, such as
being all good. In a version of the cosmological
argument found in contemporary scientific cosmology,
God is postulated as the explanation for the big bang,
the theory that a gigantic explosion created the
material universe. Although contemporary theists, such
as American philosopher William Lane Craig, maintain
that a first cause is necessary to explain the big
bang, critics contend that recent scientific theories
indicate that the universe could have arisen
spontaneously.
C The Teleological Argument According to the
teleological argument for the existence of God-also
known as the argument from design-the universe is
analogous to a machine. The best known exponent of
this view is 18th-century theologian William Paley.
According to this theory, because machines are created
by intelligent beings, and because the universe may be
thought of as a single, highly complex machine, it is
likely that the universe was created by a great
intelligence, understood to be God. The classic
critique of this argument, presented by 18th-century
Scottish philosopher David Hume, maintains that the
analogy to a machine is weak and that other analogies
are just as strong. For instance, the universe may be
thought of as a living organism, in which case the
universe would have been created by reproduction
rather than by design.
D The Moral Argument The moral argument for the
existence of God was developed by 18th-century German
philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant maintained that the
highest good includes moral virtue, with happiness as
the appropriate reward for this virtue. He held it is
humanity's duty to seek this highest good and that it
must therefore be possible to realize it. Furthermore,
Kant claimed that this highest good cannot be realized
unless there is "a supreme cause of nature," one that
has the power to bring about harmony between happiness
and virtue. Such a cause could only be God. Critics of
the moral argument counter that it is by no means
clear that the highest good is what Kant supposed.
E Pascal's Wager
Another well known argument for the existence of God
purports to show that even if God's existence cannot
be known through reason, it is still practically
advantageous to believe in God. Thus, 17th-century
French philosopher Blaise Pascal held that belief in
God is a better wager than nonbelief because there are
infinite rewards to gain and little to lose by
believing versus infinite rewards to lose and little
to gain by not believing. Critics have argued that God
might reserve a special place in Hell for people who
believe in him on the basis of Pascal's wager.
V PROBLEMS FOR THEISM
Two significant problems that arise in connection with
theism are the existence of evil and the apparent
inconsistencies in the concept of God. The existence
of seemingly gratuitous evil makes the existence of a
theistic God unlikely, critics reason, because if God
were all powerful he could eliminate evil, and if he
were all good, he would want to do so. Critics of
theism have also charged there are inconsistencies in
God's attributes. For example, if God were all good he
could not sin, but if he were all powerful he could.
Other paradoxes connected with God's alleged
omnipotence may be generated by posing questions such
as whether God is powerful enough to create a stone so
heavy he could not lift it.
Of the many contemporary philosophical defenders of
theism, two of the best known are British philosopher
Richard Swinburne and American philosopher Alvin
Plantinga. Using induction, Swinburne defends versions
of the cosmological and teleological arguments by
attempting to demonstrate that God's existence, if not
necessary, is probable. He also points to the
seemingly genuine nature of religious experience.
Plantinga defends some versions of the ontological
argument and what is known as reformed epistemology
(theory of knowledge). Reformed epistemology earned
its name because its proponents were sympathetic with
certain ideas of the Protestant (reformed) tradition
associated with 16th-century French theologian John
Calvin. According to reformed epistemology, religious
beliefs are basic and therefore do not need to be
supported by arguments.[]
_____________________
Contributed By: Michael Martin
"Theism."Microsoft(r) Encarta(r) Encyclopedia 2001.
(c) 1993-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved.
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I am sorry that I have had to leave so many problems unsolved. I always have to
make this apology, but the world really is rather puzzling and I cannot help
it.
© Bertrand Russell (From The Philosophy of Logical Atomism, Lecture V)
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