Author:
Wade A. Tisthammer
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Date Posted: 05/24/02 5:21pm
In reply to:
tenuousgrip
's message, "A few questions, if no-one minds." on 05/14/02 11:44am
I’m a theist, so perhaps my answers will be more helpful.
>Hi. Looking at a christian web chat page i saw Ben
>mention his page, so I came to have a look. There are
>some very interesting discussions. I am currently
>studying some theories for proving/disproving
>christian style religions and was wondering if someone
>with knowledge of these religions would answer some
>questions:
>
>For what specific purpose did god create us?
One possible answer is that he wanted creatures with free will that would freely accept/reject Him and His commandments.
>To go to heaven, what must one do/not do?
There has been some talk on faith vs. deeds to justify oneself in the eyes of God and thus go to heaven. Some people believe that since you’ve got faith, you don’t have to worry about good deeds. But that’s probably not the way it really works (if Christianity is a correct religion). If you define faith as accepting certain truths, such as believing that God exists, then such faith is useless (see James 2:14-26). Even demons (if they exist) believe that God exists! Legitimate faith in God requires love, faithfulness, and reverence for the Almighty. Thus, any genuine faith will produce good deeds. Faith and actions work together, and faith is made complete by what we do (James 2:22).
>Is the only source of 'proof' of god the bible?
No. Other sources of rational support are the ontological argument (maybe), the cosmological argument, the design argument, and so forth. To use an example of a design argument, the universe operating in highly sophisticated mathematical patterns might be expected if a rationally orderly God created the universe, but there’s no a priori reason to expect this from atheism. This isn’t a rigorous proof, but it does offer at least some degree of rational support in favor of theism. The cosmological argument is also a good start, so I suggest you check out the kalam cosmological argument (a modern version of the cosmological argument) and rejoinders to some of the criticisms against it. What I most recommend however, is this web page on the cosmological arguments.
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