Summary of our discussion

We read ‘Philosophy Here and Now’ by Lewis Vaughn, sections 2.4 & 2.5

Many thanks to Neil for providing a summary of our meeting.

We found plenty to talk about in these two sections which covered a wide range of topics.  We also touched on the discussion about the existence of God between William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens.

We started debating the cosmological arguments and God’s role in the creation of the universe.   We questioned the boundaries of the universe and debated what is beyond these boundaries.   We moved onto the existence of the Old Testament prophets and referred to the Dead Sea Scrolls as the source of proof of their existence.  To what extent were these stories an attempt to establish a power base and did Moses take this further with his assertion that there is only one god.

We went on to talk about the reasons and justifications for immoral actions especially as a means to an end.  Finally we reflected on the cosmological, teleological and ontological justifications for belief in God and whether they are enough.   This led to a sharing of some religious experiences which have provided additional evidence for some in our group.

We then spent some time discussing aspects and  limitations of our brain function and how it may lead to strong feelings of faith and desires to believe.  We then touched on guilt, remarking on what a strong emotion it can evoke and we wondered if this is just down to empathy or is there more at play?  We also commented on how religion, like patriotism has been used for manipulation of societies and briefly mentioned issues of corruption in the church.

Another topic in Vaughn’s book is intercessory prayer.   Is it just the psychological boost from knowing that people are praying for you?  We also shared some experiences of deeply felt prayer.   This led onto a brief discussion about mass killing events and disasters and how logical and understandable it is to resort to prayer after such events.  We then touched-on how religions deal with their gods in the event of disasters and damage that has been done in the name of God.  

It’s hard to separate the influence of God from the influence of societies.  When did it become wrong to kill or steal?  Are these commandments from God or just societal rules?   We touched-on slavery and how it has been accepted in societies in the past.  We noted that Christianity promoted equal treatment of slaves and prisoners of war (who were the source of slaves in the past).  We observed that morals seem to move on within the same religion.