Philosophical Underpinnings to Religion

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Read: 

  • Polytheism:
    • Fairbanks, A. (1898). Literary Influence in the Development of Greek Religion. The Biblical World,11(5), 294-305. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3137300
      • Read the entire Polytheism and Monotheism Lecture at Gifford Lectures: https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/attributes-god/iii-polytheism-and-monotheism
    • Humanism:
      • Watch Professor of Sociology Frank Furedi’s 18-minute lecture on Humanism.: Furedi, F. (2013). Alternative lectures: What is Humanism (Part 1). [Video File]
      • Watch his 19-minute follow-up as well. Furedi, F. (2013). What is humanism? Part 2. [Video File]
      • A collection of short definitions of Humanism can be found at https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/definition-of-humanism/ : read through these and prepare to share your thoughts.
    • The problem of Evil and Suffering to Religion: 
      • Read the entire entry (all 11 sub-sections) from the IEP entry for the “Logical Problem of Evil” available at http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/
    For the paper:
    • Pick one of the three following and present a Research Paper on them, their views, and their specific Philosophical underpinnings to religion using the rubric below.
    • Please look briefly at each and pick the one that will give you the most rewarding experience to learn more about. 
    • Free Will vs. Omnipotence
      • How can we have Free Will if God knows everything that has or will happen, and therefore it has already happened or couldn’t be known?
    • Evil and Suffering
      • How does a purely good God allow evil to happen to good people?
    • Thomas Paine and God
      • Although a humanist, Paine believed in God and the afterlife. Explain his logic and offer your own.

     

    In the paper, identify your topic of choice in the title and opening sentences.

    From there:

    • Describe the challenge through the open-minded lens of philosophical inquiry
    • Give several examples of the arguments for and against the prevailing logic, for example:
      • For Free Will, for example, you may wish to discuss the ramifications of Free Will vs. a God who knows everything
      • For Evil and Suffering, you may want to explore why evil is necessary or could be argued to be so
      • For Thomas Paine, you may want to discuss how a humanist could also believe in a God and still be an actual humanist
    • Why is it still something modern students of philosophy are compelled to study? Why is this topic still important to the philosophy or religion?

    Be sure to use in-text citation and provide references for your sources, including textbooks.