Blog #3

I chose these videos containing an interview with Daniel C. Dennett, the author of "Breaking the Spell." This interview along with his book discussed "Religion as a Natural Phenomenon." I felt this related with my topic, "God and the Origin of the Universe." This interview doesn't talk about the origin of the universe but it talks about the reasoning behind religion, and why people believe. I feel this is relevant to my topic because the exploration of this reasoning will provide evidence against the argument of intelligent design, and help to promote other ideas.

In this interview Mr. Dennett explores the evolution of religion and states that there was a time when religion did not exist. That begs the question: Does religion require believers to exist? Mr. Dennett also states that most religions did not stand the test of time, but some were specifically designed for greater longevity. He goes on to explain the interworkings of religion and believes that religion tend to promote poor behavior and violence. Mr. Dennett questions the validity of religion and compares the early beliefs to the present.

The interview with Mr. Dennett provided me with insight into the history of religious beliefs. This ultimately provided me with a greater understanding of my topic and why people believe.

Blog #2

I have decided to choose "God and the Origin of the Universe," as my research topic.
For as long as I can remember I have always supported the theory of the “big bang,” more than the intelligent design theory. Until recently my idea of the “big bang” was that of a big explosion that created the beginning of the universe. While researching this topic on the site, http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/Projects/moderncosmo/Josh's%20Bigbang.html, I learned that there is greater specific detail describing this event than I originally thought. This site breaks down the events that occurred during the first second after the big bang. It goes further explains the development of protons and neutrons.
One of the arguments promoting intelligent design is that some of the things that occur in nature appear too perfect and deliberate to be naturally created at random. In an excerpt written by Dr. William Bradley on the site, http://www.origins.org/articles/bradley_existenceofgod.html, he uses Mount Rushmore to support his theory of natural occurrences against intelligent design. Dr. Bradley compares the manmade Mount Rushmore to a naturally formed Hawaiian rock formation whose shadow resembles the profile of our late president, John F. Kennedy. I learned that the word, “designoid” is used to describe the things that appear to be intelligently designed but in reality have come to be through a process of natural selection.
After centuries of people questioning the origin of our existence, why are there only two explanations available? Through reading on the site, http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/03/16_hawking_text.shtml, I gathered that the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, believed that the universe had existed for ever. That’s definitely a different outlook that I am interested in investigating further.

Blog #1

The chapter, “God and the Origin of the Universe,” seems interesting to me. I am not religious. I am sometimes bewildered at the thought of a God. I am not sure if a God or many Gods exist. I feel there are other reasons for our existence. The thought of a God is so prevalent in society today; even though it seems like an outdated habit. I feel studying this chapter will give me a better understanding of why so many people believe and maybe a better inclination of the truth. Religious fanatics are quick to argue that God created the world without any hard evidence. On the other hand religion and the belief of God has tremendously shaped our world and moral values. For example, in the chapter “The Problem of Evil,” there is a sub chapter named, ”God and Evil.”
The Second chapter of interest to me is “Do We Survive Death?” This chapter correlates with my first chapter choice “God and the Origin of the Universe.” I may not be a religious person but I am a spiritual person. This makes it hard for me to accept that we just die and rot in the ground, even though I have no evidence to the contrary. We always hear about Heaven and Hell. “Be good so you will go to heaven,” sounds very similar to “be good or Santa Claus won‘t come.” This big life question has always interested me. On the forum site, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=536440, the question posted was “Does Heaven exist?” One blogger answered no and stated, “Besides could you truly enjoy heaven if even ONE of your loved ones was in hell? Could you? Think about that.…”

philosophy

philosophy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNtoGPjM454

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What is philosophy?

Everyone has their own philosophy, so the definition is relative. Thoughts and theories about what we have no fact of. Human action and evolution supports these theories.