ipl-logo

Atheism And Theism: Which One Is Necessarily Better?

1604 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discussion on the problem of evil

Jung 1
Sangone Jung
Benard Kong
Research and Presentation
23 March 2018
Atheism and Theism: Which One is Necessarily “Better”?
Does a god exist? Everyone in the Earth perhaps has wondered this question in his/her lifetime. Religion is a sore subject for many people. Religion is considered a taboo in most of the conversation. Everyone has different beliefs and values, and often those values clash against each other. The world in which we live in is full of mysteries. Even scientists and priests, who are the experts on atheism and theism, cannot fully explain certain phenomenon and mysteries that are incomprehensible to the general public. Unfortunately, no experts have a clear, perfect, understandable answer to the existence of a higher authority. …show more content…

Unfortunately, given that most people view negatively and pitfully towards atheists, many atheists have an unfair disadvantage when debating about the existence of a higher power. Atheists must penetrate the fear and emotional judgments against the theists (Smith5). Theism, in most cases, works based on fear, especially the fear of “unknown”. Christianity is one of the best example that can be given in this situation. Many scriptures from the bible, a holy book for all christian denomination, utilize fear tactics to denounce the unbelievers and to prey on weak people’ emotions(Russell 22). One of the example can be found in Mark 9:43. “If your hand causes you to commit evil act, sever it from the body. It is far beneficial for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with one hand chopped off than with both of your hand gone into hell.”
Another example can be found in Revelations 20:10 in which it depicts how nether is like.
“T he devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” These two verses share common grounds. They both condemn the unbelievers and inject the fear of …show more content…

However, it is crucial and beneficial for our society to embrace atheism. Atheism challenges the idea of god, and human beings have been slave to the idea of religion for a long period of time. Whether people have faith in god or not is irrelevant, but critically thinking or questioning their belief is a vital skill that society needs. It is skepticism that allowed humans to progress. Atheism creates these skills that are necessary to the development of the future.
On the other hand, confirmation bias and sentiments do not create a better society, but rather they regress the society. As far as the existence of a higher authority is concerned, atheism proves to be more credible than theism since atheism is more focused on skepticism and critical thinking instead of just being subdued and manipulated by faith.
Jung 6
Works Cited
De Cruz, Nichols. Advances in Religion, Cognitive Science, and Experimental Philosophy .
Bloomsbury Academic, 2016
Epstein, Greg. Good without God . Harper-Collins, 2009.
Navabi, Armin. Why there is no God. Atheist Republic, 2004.
Russell, Bertrand. Why I am not a Christian . Lulu.com, 1927.
Smith, George. Atheism: The case against God . Prometheus Book,

Show More
Related

Summary Of The Warren Flew Debate

757 Words | 4 Pages

The Warren-Flew Debate on the Existence of God, Thomas B. Warren, Ramer, TN, National Christian Press, 2004, 5th ed. 253 pp. The book “The Warren-Flew Debate was written by Thomas B. Warren and the National Christian Press publisher and has an almost word for word account of a well-known debate between two of the most intellectual minds of their times though Flew did not look it at this debate. Flew was known for blowing his debaters out of the water.

Read More

Summary Of Battling The Gods By Tim Whitmarsh

1302 Words | 6 Pages

Through these perspectives, Whitmarsh emphasizes the significance of atheism in classical history, with a clear intention of opposing the frequent neglect atheists and atheist history receive from influential historians and educators. To this end, Whitmarsh aims to disprove the misconception that religion is inherently natural in humans, thus recognizing and acknowledging atheist history as equally significant to religious history. Such a platform is consistent

Read More

The Warren Flew Debate On The Existence Of God Summary

991 Words | 4 Pages

This book report serves as both a brief overview and an evaluation of The Warren-Flew Debate on the Existence of God, which is the manuscript from the oral debate held between Thomas B. Warren and Antony G. Flew in Denton, Texas from September 20 through September 23, 1976. This debate (as suggested by the title) centered on the existence of God, with Flew affirming, “I know that God does not exist,” and Warren affirming, “I know that God does exist.” The debate took place over a period of four nights; each night the speakers had three twenty-minute speeches that were delivered alternately (the affirmative speaker spoke first), and a one and a half minute rejoinder delivered by the affirmative speaker to close each night. Flew was in the affirmative

Read More

What Is The Tone Of Sam Harris Letter To A Christian Nation

1356 Words | 6 Pages

In the non-fiction philosophical book, Sam Harris, publisher of Letter to a Christian Nation, demonstrates his views of the flaws of Christianity. He contends the many contradictions he finds with the beliefs Christians hold to with their own lives and interactions with others. His goal in the book is to expose these errors to Christians themselves and present the question to them in a challenging tone. Harris does this by painting a vivid picture of the controversies surrounding Christians opposed to non Christians. He goes into great detail about his beliefs against Christianity and covers a broad scope, along with many topics.

Read More

There Is No God Penn Jillette

409 Words | 2 Pages

Penn Jillette wrote the essay “there is no God”. The essay theme principal is atheism. The author think believing there is no God, make people more kind and thoughtful. He believes no God means people will suffer less in the future. The author thinks when people suffer; they said it is god will and they do nothing about it.

Read More

The Local Problem Of Evil By Peter Van Inwagen

1272 Words | 6 Pages

“The Problem of Evil” by Peter van Inwagen, is a series of lectures that that presents van Inwagen’s various responses to problem of evil. In this essay, I will present “the local problem of evil” (from chapter 6 of the book), the solution van Inwagen proposes for this problem, and my critique of his solution. “The local problem of evil,” according to van Inwagen, is the hypothetical response an atheist would have towards van Inwagen’s solution of “the global problem of evil” which is, “If god existed, then why is there so much evil in the world?” The argument of “the local problem of evil” is “If god existed then why are there specific horrors that occur in the world, like children dying in a horrific car crash?” The argument that is drawn

Read More

Men Have Forgotten God Summary

573 Words | 3 Pages

He points out that the lack of God in people lives is influencing them to start using nuclear and other disastrous weapons. The main point of this article is to convince people that atheism is the start of the majority of wars. Critical Evaluation of Work

Read More

Pascal's Wager Argument

416 Words | 2 Pages

Atheists and thesis have always butted heads with each other on believing if there truly is a God and if so, should you believe in Him? Atheists are people who do not believe in a God or all powerful and all knowing creature, whereas Theists are ones who chose to believe in a God. Choosing to believe in God, being the creator and someone who is all knowing and powerful being, comes with some benefits according to Pascal’s wager. The fundamental idea behind Pascal's Wager is a Pros and con's list as to why one should believe in God and it shows positives and the negatives of believing and not believing. Pascal's Wager by Blaise Pascal is a persuasive argument for whether God exists, but there are many faults with the argument because viewing

Read More

Mackie's Evil And Omnipotence

933 Words | 4 Pages

The question that is asked time and time again is whether or not god exists. It is evident that people hold different beliefs. It is evident that through some of the beliefs of J.L. Mackie that it could be argued that God does not actually exist. I find this argument to be more agreeable. In Mackie’s Evil and Omnipotence, he argues many points to support why it should be believed that god does not exist.

Read More

Summary Of Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy

717 Words | 3 Pages

The use of God as a shield works on believers, but not on nonbelievers. The question “why bad things happening to good people” still cannot be answered for the nonbelievers, a common critique of religion itself. Regardless of the problem of theodicy, however, religion has worked really well to create and maintain the reality. Berger explains that it is because religion legitimates effectively. “Religion has been the historically most widespread and effective instrumentality of legitimation….

Read More

Annotated Bibliography

472 Words | 2 Pages

Benett, Yves. " How Social Science Research Methods Might Provide Scientific Evidence For The Existence Of God. " Christian Higher Education 10.2 (2011): 132-139. Academic Search Complete.

Read More

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong's Argument Analysis

2349 Words | 10 Pages

This paper will discuss the problem of evil. In the first part, I will discuss Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s atheist stance and William Lane Craig’s theist stance on the problem of evil. In the final part of this paper, I will argue that Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s argument is stronger. The Problem of Evil

Read More

Imagine There's No Heaven By Salman Rushdie

805 Words | 4 Pages

A common questioning of a higher power beyond the physical realm lingers in society: Who and what is God?. However, many of these theological questions cannot be answered until we, of course, die. Due to human’s innate curiosity to understand the forces beyond their own, especially in terms of religion, humans find their own reasons to believe in God in the process of discovery. Religion is a sense of belief and worship to praise a higher power (God), and it provides a guide for human beings to have the opportunity to come together and live as one image of God’s children. “Imagine There’s No Heaven” is an article in which Salman Rushdie, the author, presents an atheistic view where religion is pointless, and a higher being is non-existent.

Read More

'Why I Am An Atheist' By Gil Gaudia

906 Words | 4 Pages

As a child who was brought up a Christian family, I have always wondered why anyone would deny the existence of God partly because of my upbringing and partly because I didn’t find any logical reason why anyone would be atheist. So, when I got the article, “Why I am an atheist” written by Gil Gaudia, a former professor at the State University of New York, for my assignment, I was excited. I thought that he was going to explain how an atheistic worldview corresponds to reality and list serval points why atheism is a coherent worldview. However, a significant proportion of the paper is devoted to explaining why theistic worldview is wrong. Apart from missing the entire purpose of the article, on his effort to present what he and “significant other atheists believe,” Mr. Gaudia makes several illogical fallacies and contradictions.

Read More

Marvel Vs Capcom Case Analysis

1108 Words | 5 Pages

Final Thoughts Overall, Marvel vs Capcom 1 has stood the test of time and still is an amazing game as it was back in 1998. It’s this game’s success that had Capcom produce 3 sequels. Marvel vs Capcom is still being played in smaller fighting game tournaments and FGC with countless videos all over the internet showing off matches, infinites, and tutorials for those wanting to enter the competitive field. It’s the game that introduced me into the world of Marvel, Capcom, and fighting games over 13 years ago.

Read More

More about Atheism And Theism: Which One Is Necessarily Better?

Related Topics

Open Document