... ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS God generally refers to one supreme, holy, personal being,. The divine unity of ultimate good-ness and of ultimate reality. St. Anselm of Canterbury developed what we have learned to be the ontological argument. He began his argument by saying that even a fool can grasp or understand the concept of “a being than of which nothing greater can be conceived.” He continues to state that a fool would say that the concept of this being’s existence is only in his mind and in the mind of others but not in reality. However he also admits to the possibility of this being existing in reality. Whatever is understood by the fool is argued that than which n ...
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... of both French and German bishops, and of princes as well. Having arranged the matters relating to the Church, the lord pope went forth into a certain spacious plain, for no building was large enough to hold all the people. The pope then, with sweet and persuasive eloquence, addressed those present in words something like the following saying: "Oh, race of Franks, race from across the mountains, race beloved and chosen by God, as is clear from many of your works, set apart from all other nations by the situation of your country as well as by your Catholic faith and the honor which you render to the holy Church: to you our discourse is addressed, and for you our ...
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... of a universal deluge. An interesting fact of the Hebrew slavery is that there is no Egyptian records of there ever being Hebrew slaves nor the plagues claims preceded the release of the slaves. There also is no historical record of Moses’ existence outside . And there also is no physical trace of the Israelites’ 40-year journey across the Sinai wilderness. There has been little evidence of ’s origin and most of the facts uncovered about are contradictory to what is stated within its pages. Most of ’s defense is mere conjecture and theories of scholars and theologians. However, enough faith is inserted into that several religions have been formed and man ...
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... euthanasia. It is my feeling that many Catholics are searching for sects that will allow them to retain their faith in Christ without a central body (i.e., the Vatican) speaking on behalf of them on issues that they are capable of rationalizing for themselves. Among Catholics and Protestants, there is a trend toward less rigid attendance of religious services. If we examine the figures from Stark and Glock's 1968 survey, 54% of Americans surveyed at the time attended church more often than once a month. This figure shrank to 40.7% in the 1994 survey. Though the Catholic church insists on weekly attendance of church, weekly attendance dropped from 52% in 1978 ...
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... expansion throughout Germanic territory. It is apparent that the Christians of the new Western Roman Empire had a huge task that waited before them. Their attempts to convert many of the various tribes that existed throughout what is now current Europe, called for serious thought on how they were to accomplish this mission. It is easy to see this when examining a letter written by Pope Gregory I to a missionary leader, Augustine of Canterbury. In one section of the letter, the Pope states, “For it is certainly impossible to eradicate all errors from obstinate minds at one stroke, and whoever wishes to climb to a mountain top climbs gradually step by step, an ...
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... him; male and female, He created them. Genesis 1:27 Anyone who has seen a lamb knows that it is a weak creature; unable to protect it's self from the strength of an evil predator. If we are the Lamb, then we must rely on the protection of our Shepherd, God. Why would Blake call us a Lamb then? Aren't we stronger than any other animal upon this earth? I think that God would tell us "No," for it is He who gives us life strength, as Blake says in the next few linesà Gave thee life & bid thee feed, By the stream & o're the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright, What strength could man have without the gifts of God: life, food, clothing. ...
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... belief is that prayer should not be aloud in our nation schools. I myself am a practicing Christian, and choose to pray on my own before tests, and at other times, but I strongly feel that people with other beliefs should not be subjected to my, or even the majority of the class's beliefs. In America, it is a right of the people to choose their belief, or lack there of, and we should learn to respect and honor that. I personally agree with the first two statements. The picture of Jesus should not be aloud because Jesus Christ is mainly a Christian icon. I also believe that a moment of silent meditation is much more appropriate than a prayer, Therefore I think t ...
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... and distinct ideas concerning the nature of the substratum of sensible objects. John Locke and David Hume upheld the belief that sensible things were composed of material substance, the basic framework for the materialist position. The main figure who believed that material substance did not exist is George Berkeley. In truth, it is the immaterialist position that seems the most logical when placed under close scrutiny. The initial groundwork for Berkeley's position is the truism that the materialist is a skeptic. In the writing of his three dialogues, Berkeley develops two characters: Hylas (the materialist) and Philonous (Berkeley himself). Philonous ...
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... class of India. When he was 29 years of age, he left his family to find religious enlightenment. After six years of wandering, Siddharta Gautama. experienced enlightenment. (To himself), he discovered the way to escape this unhappy existence called life. After enlightenment, people called him the Buddha, which means, “enlightened one.” Various Buddhist schools have developed after the founding of . The two most common schools are the Mahayana and the Theravada. They have much in common. But also they differ in very important ways. The actual meaning of the word Theravada is “ Way of the Elders.” It is the oldest of all traditions. It is the primary practice in ...
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... and Cambodia. Mahayana, the greater vehicle, refers to the Theravada as Hinayana, the lesser vehicle. It is dominant in India, Tibet, Japan, Nepal, Taiwan, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia. Siddhartha Guatama was born in Kapilivastu. His father was the ruler of the small kingdom near the Indian/Nepal border. As a child, his future was foretold by sages. They believed that he would someday be a fellow sage or leader of a great empire. He led a very pampered and sheltered life until the age of twenty-nine. It was at that time that he realized that he had led an empty life. He renounced his wealth and embarked on a journey to seek truth, enlightenment, and ...
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