Philosophy Of Religion: Main Topics
Philosophy of Religion
While theology of religion begins from a particular religious framework, philosophy of religion approaches religion from a purely rational and secular viewpoint. Philosophy of religion is the use of the philosophical method to study religion. It is not the study of a particular religious doctrine, rather is the study of the very nature, value, substance, and truth of religion.
The main themes studied under philosophy of religion are the existence of God, religious view of man, immortality, the problem of evil, religious experience and mysticism, religious knowledge, religious language, and religious conversion. Each of these themes is philosophically analyzed to determine the truth of religion.
1. The Existence of God
The existence of God is a major concern of the philosophy of religion. There are many views regarding the nature and existence of God, chief of which are polytheism, pantheism, monism, dualism, and monotheism. When talking of the existence of God, philosophers are mainly concerned with the monotheistic concept of God as presented in the Bible. The traditional proofs for the existence of God are three, viz., the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, and the teleological argument. The ontological argument advanced by St. Anselm contends that since God is the greatest conceivable being, his existence is necessary; for if He didn’t exist, He would be equivalent to nothing and anything is greater than nothing, therefore anything would be greater than Him. However, nothing can be greater than Him because He is the greatest conceivable being. Therefore, God necessarily exists. The cosmological argument is the argument from cause