{"id":9691,"date":"2012-05-21T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-21T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2012\/05\/21\/can-theistic-arguments-deliver-more-than-plausibility\/"},"modified":"2012-05-21T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T16:15:00","slug":"can-theistic-arguments-deliver-more-than-plausibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2012\/05\/21\/can-theistic-arguments-deliver-more-than-plausibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Theistic Arguments Deliver More Than Plausibility?"},"content":{"rendered":"

James N. Anderson writes<\/a>,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

. . . a good theistic argument doesn\u2019t have to be irrefutable, but surely we should expect the conclusions of our arguments to rise above the level of mere plausibility. If indeed the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1<\/a>), and God\u2019s existence can be \u201cclearly perceived\u201d from the creation (Rom. 1:20<\/a>), it would appear that God has given humans something stronger than \u201cclues\u201d about his existence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I tend to differ with Professor Anderson on this point.  I don't believe theistic arguments can deliver more than plausibility. Here below we are pretty much in the dark.  Just as our wills are weak and our hearts divided by disordered and inordinate loves, our minds are clouded.  The existence of God is not a plain fact, but the infirmity of reason is.  The believer hopes that light will dawn, fitfully and partially in  this life, and more fully if not completely in the next.  But he doesn't know this, nor can he prove it.  That there is Divine Light remains a matter of faith, hope, and yearning.  There is light enough in this life to render rational our faith, hope, and yearning.  But there is also darkness enough to render rational doubt and perhaps despair.  The individual must decide what he will believe and how he will live.  He remains free and at risk of being wrong.  There are no compelling arguments one way or the other when it comes to God and the soul.  <\/span><\/p>\n

If a black cat jumps on my lap in a well-lit room, I have no doxastic 'wiggle room' as to whether a cat is on my lap.  It's not the same with God.  I don't believe God's existence can be "clearly perceived" from the existence or order of the natural world.  What is "clearly perceived" leaves me quite a lot of doxastic wiggle room. <\/span><\/p>\n

I develop this thought in Is There Any Excuse for Unbelief?  Romans 1: 18-20<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James N. Anderson writes, . . . a good theistic argument doesn\u2019t have to be irrefutable, but surely we should expect the conclusions of our arguments to rise above the level of mere plausibility. If indeed the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1), and God\u2019s existence can be \u201cclearly perceived\u201d from the creation … Continue reading “Can Theistic Arguments Deliver More Than Plausibility?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,372,442,143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism-and-theism","category-belief","category-doxastic-voluntarism","category-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}