Religious Philosophy Test review
Of the following, which is an example of logical contradiction?
A round square
What is Plantinga's solution to the problem of evil?
God created the best world logically possible that accounts for human freedom; evil is thus a result of human misuse of human freedom
Of the following, which is NOT true of the Western philosophical concept of God?
God is bound to history
In "Rebellion," what did Ivan's rebellion consist of?
He rejected the invitation to heaven even if God sends him a free ticket to it.
Clifford says that it is wrong to hold unjustified beliefs, not merely wrong to act on the unjustified beliefs. Of the following, which is NOT a reason offered by Clifford?
He says that it is okay to hold some unjustified beliefs as long as there is a high reward if these beliefs turned out to be true
One of the important contemporary philosopher, this thinker asserted that the salvation involves moving away from Self-Centeredness to Reality-Centeredness. S/he claimed that when various major religious traditions are studied empirically without bias, such movement is asserted in each of them and adherents of each of these religions pursue it. Who is this thinker?
Hick
Of the following, which is a consequence of accepting "God commands an act because it is good"?
If God commands an act because it is good, then God is not needed to find the universal moral principles
According to Hick, why did God first created human beings with an epistemic distance from God?
If humankind had been initially created in the direct presence of God, they would have no genuine freedom in forming a relationship with their Maker.
What is this argument form: If A, then B. Not B. Therefore Not A?
Modus tollens
This thinker proposed a design argument by comparing an organism to a watch. Who is he?
Paley
One of the most important contemporary philosophers, this thinker asserted the right of a religious believer (particularly a Christian)to reject the claims of other religions. Who is s/he?
Plantinga
A stance on religious diversity, this stance holds that all religions are valid paths to the same goal. The different religious teachings are usually explained as arising from the inability of human beings to escape/transcend the cultural/linguistic/historical filters that limit the encounter with the Ultimate Reality. What is this stance?
Pluralism
While there are many different versions of this stance on the issue of religious diversity, all these versions affirm that all (at least major) religions are different paths to the ultimately the same goal. Different versions argue for this stance differently, but the version we have looked at holds to the following 2 main points: 1) the Ultimate Reality in itself is something beyond human grasp so that different religions are different manifestations of limited human encounters with the Ultimate reality, and 2) all major religions show rough parity is the moral fruits. What is this stance?
Pluralism
Following is Hick's definition of a concept: "An ultimate ineffable Reality which is the source and ground of everything, and which is such that in so far as the religious traditions are in soteriological alignment with it they are contexts of salvation/liberation. These traditions involve different human conceptions of the Real, with correspondingly different forms of experience of the Real, and correspondingly different forms of life in response to the Real." What does he call this?
Pluralistic Hypothesis
One of the traditional arguments for the existence of God, this inductive argument asserts the existence of God by using an analogy between the world/living thing and artifacts. What is this argument called?
Teleological argument
How does James define "hypothesis"?
anything that may be proposed to our belief
According to the Soul Making Theodicy, how were human beings originally created?
as intelligent animals endowed with the capacity for immense moral and spiritual development
What does the Soul Making Theodicy say of natural evil and moral evil?
both are necessary aspects of the process through which God is gradually creating perfected finite persons
According to Clifford _________________________ is a father to the liar and the cheat because it fosters and encourages others to lie and cheat. What is it?
credulity
Of the following, which best describes the following option for most students in this course: "I am sitting in this room right now, or I am on the moon"?
dead option
Of the following, which best describes the following option for most students in this course: "going to the Space Station or not going to the Space Station"?
momentous option
Of the following, which means "all knowing"?
omniscient
According to the Soul Making Theodicy, what is God's purpose in creating the world?
person making in which free beings, grappling with the tasks and challenges of their existence in a common environment, may become "children of God"
According to Hick, what two criteria must a theodicy pass?
possibility (logical coherency) and plausibility
According to Hick, the Free Will Defense theodicy is logically incoherent. Why does he say so?
rationally and morally perfect beings (humans and angels) prior to the Fall is logically prohibited from misusing their freedom to cause the Fall
Of the following, which is a Live Hypothesis for most students in this course?
"I will pass this course"
According to James, there are certain propositions that we cannot choose to believe. Of the following, which is NOT an example of such a proposition?
"My mom loves me"
______________________________ is an inductive argument in which an arguer compares two similar things/events. Of the two compared, the arguer knows more about one than the other. And, since the two things/events are similar, the arguer then concludes that the same is true of the thing/event the arguer knows less about. I.e. X has properties 1, 2, 3, and 4. Y has properties 1, 2, and 3. Therefore, Y probably has the property. What is it?
Analogical argument
The official doctrine developed during Vatican II allows Catholics to affirm the salvation of non-Christians insofar as their lives showed fruits that match the good that can only come from Christ. For, all good stems from Christ, it asserts, and it is impossible to do good if the spirit of Christ is not present. What does this doctrine call these people who have gotten salvation but not explicitly Christian?
Anonymous Christians
While discussing his ship owner example, Clifford says that even if the ship made the trip safely, the ship owner was still not right in holding his belief. Why?
Because he had no evidence to hold the belief that the ship was seaworthy.
Why is Ivan not satisfied with the appeal to the heavenly hope?
Because it does not account for the suffering of those who experienced evil
According to Hick, why is the Free Will Defense not very plausible?
Because it is based upon the pre-scientific understanding of the origin of the universe which contradicts our scientific findings, it loses its plausibility
Paley imagines a watch that can reproduce. But he says that even if such a watch exists, we would not say that the watch was the creator to the one it gave birth to. Why?
Because the design of the watch cannot be accounted for.
Why does Mavrodes say that the following question contains a logical contradiction: "If God is all powerful, can he create a stone that he cannot lift?"
Because the very idea of a stone too heavy for a omnipotent being to lift contradicts the meaning of omnipotence
Why does Rachels say that holding to "the Good is what God commands" leads to morality being arbitrary?
Because whatever we may feel morally culpable would have to be accepted as being good insofar as God commands it
This thinker, before writing the essay you read, was a Christian. Afterwards, he became a staunch agnostic. Who is he?
Clifford
What religiously based ethical system holds that the Good is what God commands?
Divine Command Theory of Ethics
He is the author of "Rebellion," a chapter in Brothers Karamazov. In this chapter, one of his main characters, Ivan, struggles with the problem of evil. Who is he?
Dostoevsky
In the dominant Western religious traditions, how is evil understood?
Evil is unnecessary suffering
A stance on the issue of religious diversity, this stance holds that one's religion is the only correct one. While acknowledging that other religions may promote some similar truths and moral fruits, this stance holds that the matter of one's eternal destiny is not a matter of morality, but of faith in true revelation. What is this stance called?
Exclusivism
According to James, an option that is living, forced and momentous is a(n) ________________. What is it?
Genuine Option
What is the problem of evil?
Given the characteristics of God, why is there evil?
A stance on the issue of religious diversity, this stands holds the validity of other religious faiths insofar as these religions teach, practice and promote virtually the same moral fruits. After Vatican II, this is the official stance of Catholicism. What is this stance?
Inclusivism
Hick appeals to one of the Church Fathers in developing his Soul Making Theodicy. To Whom does he appeal?
Irenaeus
What is agnosticism?
It is a stance that withholds judgment concerning God's existence because there is neither evidence for nor against it.
What does Clifford say of our appeal to authority in holding our beliefs?
It is justified in certain areas (like science and history).
According to Hick, why is the Soul Making Theodicy more plausible than the Free Will Defense?
It is more consistent with scientific facts we have gathered than the Free Will Defense
How does James define an option that is not genuine?
It is trivial, dead or unforced
One of the founders of American school of philosophy, pragmatism, this thinker defended the right to hold religious beliefs without evidence. Who is s/he?
James
Of the following, which is NOT true about the teleological argument?
The argument holds that since nothing can move itself except when it is moved by something else, there must be an unmoved mover in the past as there is movement in the world now.
In analyzing the concept of God, we noted that God cannot change. Why?
The concept of God notes that God is perfect. A perfect being cannot change because it would imply either that God was not perfect before the change, or that God became less perfect after the change. Either way, change implies that God would become less perfect or more perfect.
A term coined by Leibniz, this is an attempt to answer the problem of evil. What is this called?
Theodicy
According to the Soul Making Theodicy, how many stages did the Creation take place?
Twice
Why can there logically NOT be two perfect beings?
Two beings of equal power can limit each other. But, if a perfect being can be limited, it is no longer perfect since being perfect means being unlimited
