Alternative Realities? The God Debate
A Vocabulary
Here's Dr Brendan Devitt's super-fast guide to some terms you'll come across as you investigate the "God Debate":
Metaphysics – is about the nature of reality.
Naturalism – is the belief that the universe is all there is.
Ontology – is about what ‘being’ means when applied to God or humans.
Transcendence – refers to realities beyond the physical world or universe.
Immanence – typically refers to the divine presence in creation.
Humanism – is moral and intellectual life independent of religious revelation.
Atheism – is the conviction that there is no God or gods.
Agnosticism – is the view that we cannot be sure whether there is a God or not.
Deism – the belief that God created the world but is not available for comment.
Theism – is the conviction that there is a God or gods.
Cosmological Argument – asks why there is something rather than nothing.
Ontological Argument – says the concept of God is so compelling he must exist.
Teleological Argument – suggests that universe seems to have been designed.
Rationalism – is the belief that true knowledge can only come through thought.
Empiricism – argues that the root of knowledge is based on experience.
Analytical Philosophy – highlights good or bad arguments through linguistics.
Continental Philosophy – looks at life in the wake of our finitude and mortality.
Pantheism – is the idea that God and creation are indistinguishable.
Panentheism – is the belief that God contains creation but is not identifiable with it.
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