Philosophy Of Religion Term paper

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Philosophy of Religion, by David Elton Trueblood is an attempt to fathom not

religion as a whole, but the thought processes that are the basis of modern

religious thought. The book makes no attempt to explain any individual religious

preferences or motifs, only to gauge the reasons for religion in its entirety.

While Trueblood doesn't pass judgment on other religions, his personal beliefs

are apparent. He is a Protestant Christian, and has been writing books on

religion since 1935. Philosophy of Religion is in the spirit of his other books,

such as The Logic of Belief which merely serves to explain why persons believe

what they do believe. 1957, the year of publication, was exactly in the middle

of a period of great change in the world. The space age was developing, and new

scientific discoveries were turning many people away from theistic explanations

of everything from natural history to outer space. Communism was spreading over

Eastern Europe like a wildfire, sweeping up millions into the not-so-comforting

arms of spiritual agnosticism. I feel Trueblood has done an excellent job with

this book, and anyone interested in the "Why's" of religion should

find it an interesting manuscript. Religion has reached a previously unheard-of

footing in this world, and it is impossible to simply ignore it. One is forced

to agree with or oppose with religions, which of course has led to a great deal

of friction, especially between radical sects. Unfortunately, many of the most

stringent followers as well as opposers of religions suffer from the same

malady: ignorance. The most devoted Islamic guerrilla may well be involved in an

anti-Semitic movement only because his father was. He may actually have the same

fundamental beliefs, i.e. the belief in one supreme God or Creator; as a Jew,

but is blinded by his cause and can't see the similarities, or attempt to

cohabitate in the world with an opposer of his religion. In religion, there is

to much gray area for there to be just one possible solution. Even communism,

always considered the antithesis of religion may well be one of the most

dogmatic faiths in the world. The main fundamental in religion is commitment.

Most commonly it is the faith in God or other supreme being, but dialectical

materialism is most certainly built on total commitment . Another factor many

people fail to realize, but which Trueblood points out more than adequately is

that philosophy is not religion. Philosophy is the search for "knowledge

for the sake of understanding, while religion seeks knowledge for the sake of

worship." One may also be religious and scientific. While science has

redefined a good deal of the natural world, the supernatural is still unchanged;

more people are turning to a God for comfort and stability in a world of

constant flux. Quite possibly one of the most important factors in religion is

its reliance on faith. All religion is based on word of mouth, and there is no

way of proving its validity. If any part of a religion is ever proved false,

then the belief as a whole is thus untrue. One cannot maintain, or pretend to

maintain, a religion merely because it is comforting, socially proper, or

convenient. If there is no God, then to pray and worship is a waste of time,

according to Trueblood. Indeed, he considers a false religion to be inherently

evil! Of course, many people feel that something cannot be quantitatively evil,

unless there is a supreme Good to compare to and fight the evil, so this There

must be, then, room for ambiguity in religion, if not doubt. This requires the

argument for realism, which Trueblood sufficiently provides. Realism is a theory

that "holds that there are objects of knowledge which actually enjoy

independent existence." These objects of knowledge are assumed by most

religions to be the causation, directly or not, of all things. Their divinity or

plurality has been the subject of great debate between separate religions, and

religion as a whole and science. Platonists believe in a spontaneous, four-fold

causation, while most Western religions believe in a singular, omnipotent God.

Meanwhile, non-Theistic scientists feel that everything happens out of random

chance, with no higher goals or creator. The next major topic that Trueblood

explains is the nature of truth. Is something rendered true merely because it

hasn't been disproved? Is positive evidence enough to classify something as

true, or proved? If A implies B, and B is true, does that mean A is true as

well? There is no definite answer to this, as Trueblood points out: If John was

in the wreck he must have bruises. John has bruises on his body Therefore, John

was in the wreck This same type of fallacy can easily be used to explain the

origins of the Earth, or the possibility of a creator. In the same section of

the book as the nature of truth, there is a discussion on the nature of

authority. Why are there certified geniuses in the fields of music, science and

philosophy, but religious greats, prophets and teachers are considered

illusionists, crackpots, or worse? Are these men and women misunderstood, or

underestimated: insane, or truly messengers from a higher level? Another

significant error about authority is that it conflicts with reason in the search

for the truth. Many books infer this, but Trueblood illustrates that authority

is dependent upon reason in the search for the truth. As previously mentioned,

there are many irrefutable scientific facts which tend to nullify traditional

fundamentalist beliefs. Trueblood devotes an entire chapter to this very

important topic, and attacks it in a very logical manner, that should hope to

pacify most readers, myself included. When most people are asked how they know

there is a God, they most always refer to nature and the world around them, and

how only a supernatural power is capable such creations. While this seems a

clear-cut, simple answer, that most people tend to agree with and use, Trueblood

sees this as a theological cop-out: there is to much evidence to be classified

by such a simple answer. The so-called natural order of things, and the fact

that it had been going on for quite awhile before Man came onto the scene is

perhaps the best evidence, along with the third law of thermodynamics: matter

cannot be created or destroyed. One must wonder, then how things can simply be

created out of nothing, as most Christian religions teach. Many people have

turned to a type of theological evolution to explain things: that God did in

fact set the world in motion somehow, long ago, and has let things continue on

their own...

1) Stumpf, Samuel Enoch. Philosophy: History and Problems. New York:
McGraw-Hill, inc., 1971, 1994. 966 pp. 2) Trueblood, David Elton. Philosophy of
Religion. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957. 324 pp. Note: all footnotes,
unless otherwise noted from Philosophy of Religion. Preface: xi-xv p. 11 William
Temple, as quoted, p.9 p. 33 p. 36 p. 63 von Hugel, as quoted p. 69 p. 71 p.
94-95, 102 pp. 118-119 as quoted p. 131 Stumpf : timeline p. 132 pp. 138-139 p.
162 p. 177 p. 179 p. 181 pp. 189-190 p. 192 p. 206 p. 209 pp. 209-210 You should cite this paper as follows:

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