Due to the many facets that surround the subject, religion is one of the most complicated topics in the current period. As an illustration, some people have confidence in a Supreme Being while others do not. On the other side, individuals come from many denominations with varied beliefs, which can occasionally lead to confrontations. The essay will focus on many aspects of religion and examine if concepts discussed in class have altered my understanding of religion.
An individual can learn a lot about the philosophical views on religion from J. Grcic's book Faith and Reason. The work highlights an intriguing yet diverse aspect on matters of religious beliefs. Although the dilemma on existence of God remains the core issue, the book provides thoughts and arguments that favor both sides. The author has achieved the objective of outlining the two aspects on the issue of life after death. He offers diverse ideas that are pivotal in determining the basis for shifting from a current belief or sticking to a given theory. Moreover, the multidisciplinary theories serve as an essential basis for providing insight into the nature of religion in the contemporary world. Besides, the relationship between religion and ethics explains why different people believe and behave in a particular way. The Faith and Reason is written and designed in a way that it can alter or strengthen the beliefs held by a person with regards to the presence of God, life after death as well as other aspects of the nature of the universe.
How the Ideas Discussed in Class Changed my Vision
The philosophy class and the class lessons have brought a new dimension to the manner of viewing things in regards with the perception of life and beliefs harbored by people. Although the arguments against the existence of God have aroused a desire to learn and debate in a long way both with the self and other people, I still believe in the existence of God. The class lessons and the book of Grcic have not swayed my belief in God. The moral arguments behind the belief in the existence of God are both theoretical and practical in nature. However, the arguments against the existence of God prompt for more research (Grcic). The lessons learnt in class as well as the book Faith and Reason reveal there are varied perceptions of religion, existence of God and belief in life after death.
The lack of changes about the expectations harbored with regards to the existence of God are largely due to the fact that although the writer of the book Faith and Reason together with the class lessons provide different thoughts, the practical lessons drawn from the studies are coherent with my beliefs.
Also, the lessons in the class have intrigued a new dimension of viewing issues related to religion, but to a large extent, they have not eroded my belief and faith in God. Moreover, humanity itself evidences the presence of a powerful force that controls the events and operations of the humans (Karahalis 3). Though the monotheistic concepts and ideas are subject to criticism, the arguments by the atheists have a thrilling and a new dimension effect as far as believing in God is concerned.
Opinion on the Existence of God
There are different beliefs regarding God’s existence such as atheists, agnostics, and those who believe in God. Atheists do not believe in the presence of a powerful force i.e. God. It entails nonbelievers who have no faith in God. On the other hand, agnostics neither believe nor disbelief in God and involves individuals who are skeptic about the nature of God. The other group entails believers who have firm faith on the existence of a Supreme Being who controls the entire universe. From the above groups, I am a firm believer that God exists. The creations including the physical features, nature, human beings, and talents available together with the day to day ordeals serve as a basis for the belief in God. The atheists, as well as the book, outline varied aspects concerning the belief in the Immortal Being (Grcic). The arguments have failed to augur well with my thoughts regarding the reason behind the occurrence of certain things on earth such as events whether they are right or wrong.
The atheists believe that fate is responsible for several occurrences experienced in the life of human beings. Attributing fate to the presence of varied things proves to be unfruitful as everything that occurs must have a reason. As a result, the day to day activities both on earth and in space lead to acceptance of the fact that the universe is controlled by a supernatural being and by extension proving God exists. Although the atheists have drawn negative arguments regarding God, I believe that a maker of the universe exists.
Since it is impossible to find a human being that is perfect, it implies that the maker must be faultless; hence, the faith in God. Although different scientists have come up with objections with regards to the creator via the theory of evolution and self-organization that attribute other factors other than God including animals; the argument lacks validity as it fails to account for the properties and the conditions leading to the intelligent emergence of life both on planet earth and the universe. The animals and other features in the world must; therefore, have a creator. The prospect of the existence of a designer; therefore, postulates that God must be in existence as the maker of all the things that live and exist on planet earth and space. Atheists also claim that pain and evil are some of the indicators that God does not exist; otherwise, people would not be suffering. However, it is worth noting that these aspects are chosen by humans. The nature of the universe among other elements is some of the things that strengthen my belief in God.
My Opinion on the Life after Death
The mortality ratio in the globe is a clear indication that everybody is bound to die at a given point in his/her entire life on earth. The prospect of what happens after an individual dies is a mystery. The reluctance to think about the events of life after death is based on the fact that most people do not find relevance in issues about post-earth life. Nevertheless, I believe in the existence of life after death. From the Biblical perspective, the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes writes ‘God has placed eternity in or hearts' a phrase that underlines the fact that life will always be present either before or after death (Karahalis 5). The belief in life after death is further underscored by the fact that morality demands the existence of justice and doing just to other people.
The prospect of morality indicates that wrongful acts and practices should be punished whereas good deeds and mannerisms rewarded. Some people with good deeds and practices end up face a lot of problems. The prospect of receiving justice about their acts is guaranteed in the next life as outlined in the Biblical teachings as Jesus talks about the life after death. As a result, there needs to be a period of life after death to provide room for dealing with ordeals that were left unattended to with regards to justice. Philosophy and ethics outline the importance of life after death because of the existence of morality and purpose in life, as well as a high degree of saneness, implies that there exists consistency in life. The presence of flexibility further leads to the belief that life is unfair due to the existence of a consistent philosophy. As a matter of fact, without justice, ethics must come into existence. Hence philosophically, there has to be more to come as far as living a life of morality is concerned.
The belief in the afterlife is primarily shaped by our cultures. The cultural backgrounds can be illustrated by the practices of burying the dead with their properties so as to ease living the new life. The research from the doctors is pivotal in championing for the prospect of life after death. The medics indicate that even though a person's heart, soul, and life may be gone, their awareness and life do not come to an end. The belief in the existence of God further reveals the fact that there is life after death by taking the example of Jesus in the Bible. Jesus died, and he rose up again from death after three days signifying a possibility of people living eternally after death. Moreover, the Bible gives an insight on various instances where the dead were raised back to life. Also, the Bible underlines cases where the bodies begged for assistance about the post-life torments subjected to them due to their wrongful acts while they lived on earth. As a result, there is a correlation between the Biblical and philosophical perspectives of life after death.
The Effectiveness of Ethics to God or Religion
Ethics can be regarded as the moral values that govern our conceptions of right or wrong. In other words, people make choices based on the ethical backgrounds. There are various moral theories including Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue ethics among others. Ethics is concerned with the humanistic assumptions that are justified either entirely or partially by appeals suitable for reasoning; ethics forms the basis of reason (Gamlund 54). Religion, on the other hand, is the belief in a superhuman who controls the entire universe. The ethical principles are important in the process of making rational decisions in particular among the responsible faction of the entire population.
Although morality and ethics are pivotal in an individual's life, religion plays a significant role in ensuring that the people maintain the expected level of good behavior at all times irrespective of the location and situation. Although some people manage the ethical principles without consulting or subscribing to a given religion, few secular platforms have the capability of offering the necessary guidance, support models, organizational structure and fellowship that is readily provided by the religious institutions. However, religion is not essential to ensuring the effectiveness of ethics.
Although several followers of religion perceive it to be a source of joy, several religious countries are faced with events and activities that deter their happiness. Moreover, moral issues are a problem to the Christian countries, a factor that should be of little or no concern to such territories. Also, some secular organizations are at the forefront of establishing and instilling ethical virtues among their employees as well as other people, a fact that shows religion is not the key to effecting ethical issues in an organization or a societal setup. Also, the countries that are considered as more religious as compared to others have encountered instances of continued warfare as compared to the less spiritual countries. If religion played a significant role in affecting ethics among individuals, the more religious countries would be peaceful in comparison to the less sacred ones.
Religion underlines the need to behave in a morally upright manner since it is based on the fact that rewards are given to positive behaviors while punishments for negative ones. However, a relatively large portion of the Christian faithful engages in wrongful acts without considering the sentence that they are likely to face from God. Therefore, the belief that God or religion plays a significant role in effecting the required behavior is wrong. Moreover, as some Christians act in a morally upright manner because of the prospect of receiving a given reward or because of the fear of punishment is wrong. The moral ethics are critical in ensuring the actions of individuals are based on what is right or bad according to the way of life instead of letting rewards and punishment to determine the course of depicted behavior. Although religion is important in fostering pro-social acts and behavior such as charity and voluntary works, some secular organizations and firms put into practice similar trends hence little or no difference between the two factions. Even though ethics stands on its own, Christianity plays a significant role in ensuring ethical behaviors are upheld irrespective of the culture and ethnic background as fewer cases of robbery, murder and other ill-thought acts are few among the Christians as compared the non-Christian portions.
Conclusion
As elucidated above, religion is an intricate aspect that may be hard to comprehend for most of the people. Apart from believing in a Supreme Being, religious individuals are divided according to denominations. However, regardless of the different denominations that are based on cultural backgrounds, it is evident that God exists. The book Faith and Reason plays a significant role in introducing an individual to philosophical thoughts on religion. Since everything occurs for a reason, it follows that fate does not have a role to play in the events that take place. The fact that wrongful acts should be punished underline the belief that there is life after death since justice ought to be administered for the wrongs committed. Whereas ethics religion serves as a basis for ethical issues, ethics is not dependent on Christianity for its effectiveness.
Works Cited
Gamlund, Espen. Morality and Ethics. University of Bergen, 2012.
Grcic, J. Faith and Reason: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
Karahalis, Eric Anthony. "Philosophy of Religion: Does God Exist?" Philosophy Archives, 2012, pp. 1-6.
