In the clues section, we look for clues to the answers to the big questions of God and meaning in life. Each topic discusses the facts and arguments believers and unbelievers use to support their viewpoint - a world of philosophy and ideas in just a few pages!
- clues
- Summary page: hints of another dimension
- truth
- Can we ever know that something is true?
- belief systems
- 4 types of belief systems.
- the universe
- Does there have to be a reason for everything?
- it looks like it was designed
- Fundamental universal laws which are finely tuned for life.
- a rare earth?
- How our Earth is just right for life.
- life
- Are we created or evolved, or both?
- science, faith and rnb
- How rnb has approached these questions.
- evolution and design
- Background information on evolution & intelligent design.
- people
- Are human beings special, or just advanced animals? (Is there anybody in there?)
- are our brains like computers?
- Neuroscience, human-ness & free will.
- right and wrong
- Are some things truly right or wrong?
- evil
- Does an evil world prove there can be no God?
- road tests
- How do different beliefs work out in practice?
- two stories
- Choosing between the two stories that explain everything.
quotes
"Perhaps this is a point at which proponents and opponents of moral arguments for God's existence might agree on. Moral considerations give all a reason to examine the proposition that there is a God very seriously. For if there is no God, morality is a more perilous enterprise than if there is." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
"The central question about moral and ethical principles concerns this ontological foundation. If they are neither derived from God nor anchored in some transcendent ground, are they purely ephemeral?" Paul Kurtz.
"Naturalistic evolution has clear consequences that Charles Darwin understood perfectly. 1) No gods worth having exist; 2) no life after death exists; 3) no ultimate foundation for ethics exists; 4) no ultimate meaning in life exists; and 5) human free will is nonexistent." Professor William Provine, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University.
"Theism and naturalism are contrasted with respect to furnishing an adequate foundation for the moral life. .... on a theistic worldview an adequate foundation exists for the affirmation of objective moral values, moral duties, and moral accountability. By contrast, naturalism fails in all three respects. Insofar as we believe that moral values and duties do exist, we therefore have good grounds for believing that God exists." William Lane Craig, Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology.
"Atheists and theists both agree that prima facie this is a moral universe with objective moral values. Atheists who are moral realists attempt to show how this appearance is not deceptive and that such a universe is possible without God." Michael Martin.
references
B Feinberg & R Kasrils (editors). Dear Bertrand Russell. George Allen & Unwin, 1969. Letters to and from philosopher Bertrand Russell.
C. S. Lewis. The Abolition of Man. Demonstrates a wide range of ethical beliefs common to such diverse cultures as Ancient Egyptian, Old Norse, Ancient jewish, Babylonian, Hindu, Ancient Chinese, Roman, Native American, Ancient Greek and Christian. Lewis's book Mere Christianity includes an extended version of the discussion in this topic.
Hugh Mackay. Turning Point. Pan MacMillan. A study by a social researcher into attitudes of Australians.
The Evolution of Ethics. S E Bromberg.
Theological Basis of Ethics. Larry Pettegrew.
The Biological Basis of Ethics". Peter Singer.
The Philosophical Basis of Humanist Ethics. Victor A. Gunasekara.
Ethics. Wikipedia.
Moral Arguments for the Existence of God. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Indispensability of Theological Meta-Ethical Foundations for Morality. William Lane Craig
Moral Arguments. Secular web - a listing of many papers, mostly by atheists.
links
- To see conclusions on our sense of right and wrong, go to right and wrong.
- Go to clues (to the meaning of life).
- Return to the page you came from.