|
Philosophy of Religion |
Chapter 1. OVERVIEW |
Section 2 . Basic Questions |
| We begin by noting a
series of interesting, fascinating and perplexing questions. "What is
religion ?"would seem to be the key question, however, to begin there would be
to miss out on features and functions of religion and religious belief
that are important for an accurate understanding of religion. Yet
the study must begin somewhere and without at least some rough
understanding of religion how would we know what it is that would be examined. Some notion of
religion must be employed in order to select phenomena to study.
So the question "What is religion?" will appear at the start and at the end of this study. In between the variety of religious phenomena, the major traditions , should be examined and then the examination and the critical eye will be directed toward the issues that are at the heart of the Western religions with their belief in the one god. An examination of those questions will reveal aspects of religious belief systems found all around this planet. Here is a listing of key and basic questions: What is Philosophy of Religion? What is Religion? What
are the
characteristics
of Religion What are the religions of the world? What
is God? What are the
Attributes of deity (god) Are
there any rational reasons or
arguments or proofs for the existence of god?
Do religious experiences prove that there is a god? Do miracles exist? Do they prove there is a god? How
can there be a god if there is so much evil in the world?
Do souls exist? Is there a life after this one? Does religious belief need to be rational? Does faith require reasons to believe? Are religious beliefs based on truth? Can there be morality without religion? What is the essence of religion? What makes religion so important to people? Philosophers examine such questions earnestly and search for wisdom in arriving at answers to these questions and to others related to them. This will become evident in the materials that follow. |
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