Reference no: EM133302204

Question 1. What are the four features of doing philosophy? Explain each.

Question 2. Define (and identify the implications of) the following terms: Statement, Argument, Deductive Logic, Inductive Logic, Validity, Soundness, Strength, Weakness, Counterexample.

Question 3. Identify instances of the following fallacies: Ad hominem, Straw man, Fallacy of black & white thinking, Equivocation, Begging the question, Unreliable appeal to authority.

Question 4. According to Bertrand Russell, why is he not a Christian? What reasons persuade him? What arguments for theism does he consider? Explain

Question 5. List and explain the three views about the relationship between faith and reason: Fideism, Strong Rationalism, Critical Rationalism. For each view, what reasons are there for preferring it? What challenges does it face?

Question 6. What are the 5 types of religious experience ? Discuss each

Question 7. Lay out and explain the argument for the rationality of religious belief from religious experience. What objections can be made and what can be said in response to those objections?

Question 8. Define and explain the following views on the nature of the human person: Substance Dualism, Reductive Physicalism, Nonreductive Physicalism. And discuss the arguments for each, as well as objections to each.

Question 9. Which of the views discussed in question 8 are consistent with Christian doctrine? Please explain. Can a physicalist (consistently/rationally) believe in an afterlife? Why or why not?

Question 10. How does the argument for the incompatibility of divine foreknowledge and human freedom proceed? And discuss the following proposed "solutions": Compatibilism, Timelessness, Open Theism. What challenges does each face?

Question 11. What sorts of issues arise in cases of religious disagreement? Discuss ideas from Benton's article, including: Conciliationism, Uniqueness, Permissivism, Exclusivism, Inclusivism, Pluralism.

Question 12. What arguments does Hick offer for Religious Pluralism, and what challenges does it face?

Question 13. Discuss the four views on the nature of hell: Traditional View, Universalism, Conditional Immortality, and the Escapist View. What objections does the Traditional View face such that one might prefer an alternative view? How does William Lane Craig respond to such challenges?

Question 14. Discuss the Problem of Evil in both its "Basic Argument" form, and as it is presented in "The Argument from Amount."

Question 15. Define "Theodicy" and explain each of the following: Counterpart Theodicy, Knowledge Theodicy, Punishment Theodicy, Free Will Theodicy, Soul-Building Theodicy. What is the view that Howard-Snyder calls, "Skeptical Theism"? Explain.

Question 16. Carefully define and distinguish Descriptive Relativism and Normative Relativism. How are they different?

Question 17. What are the apparent consequences of Normative Relativism? Are they acceptable? Why or why not?

Question 18. What is "Emotivism"? Explain.

Question 19. What is the Divine Command Theory? Distinguish it from Theological Voluntarism. What objections does each view face?

Question 20. What is the Natural Law Theory of ethics? How does Dr. King use it to argue for the morality of violating segregation laws?

Question 21. What is the significance of the "Galileo episode"? Define: Heliocentric, Geocentric. Why was disagreement about these views considered important? What does it teach us about the relationship between religion and science?

Question 22. Define: Literal Interpretation View, Concordist View, Literary View. What reasons are there for endorsing each of these hermeneutical approaches? What reasons against?

Question 23. Discuss at length the Creationism/Evolution debate. What is at stake in this debate?

Question 24. Characterize these philosophical/theological positions: Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, Intelligent Design, Progressive Creationism, Theistic Evolution, Naturalism. What questions/challenges does each face?

Question 25. How do Design arguments proceed? What is the version of the argument known as the "Fine Tuning Argument"? What objections to design arguments can be made?