Philosophy, God and Motion

Philosophy, God and Motion
Author: Simon Oliver
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2006-04-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134237545

In the post-Newtonian world motion is assumed to be a simple category which relates to the locomotion of bodies in space, and is usually associated only with physics. This book shows this to be a relatively recent understanding of motion and that prior to the scientific revolution motion was a broader and more mysterious category, applying to moral as well as physical movements. Simon Oliver presents fresh interpretations of key figures in the history of western thought including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Newton, examining the thinkers’ handling of the concept of motion. Through close readings of seminal texts in ancient and medieval cosmology and early modern natural philosophy, the books moves from antique to modern times investigating how motion has been of great significance within theology, philosophy and science. Particularly important is the relation between motion and God, following Aristotle traditional doctrines of God have understood the divine as the ‘unmoved mover’ while post-Holocaust theologians have suggested that in order to be compassionate God must undergo the motion of suffering. The text argues that there may be an authentically theological, as well as a natural scientific understanding of motion. This volume will prove a major contribution to theology, the history of Christian thought and to the growing field of science and religion.

Motion and Motion's God

Motion and Motion's God
Author: Michael J. Buckley
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2015-03-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1400867568

The existence of God as demonstrated from motion has preoccupied men in every age, and still stands as one of the critical questions of philosophic inquiry. The four thinkers Father Buckley discusses were selected because their methods of reasoning exhibit sharp contrasts when they are juxtaposed. Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Inspiration of God

The Inspiration of God
Author: Dr. Allen K. Hand Sr.
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2022-05-04
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 168456610X

Firstly, the objective of that research was to assess the actions of the Civil Rights and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC) movements. Based on 37 returns to a questionnaire of 39 reduced to 24 identified key criteria e-mailed to 158 persons across the country with forwarding permission, 92% of the respondents indicated that they either agreed or strongly agreed that the actions of the Civil Rights and PNBC movements were inspired of/by God. Additionally, this research identified some serious concerns and issues that each movement (mainly PNBC) has to address if each will continue to exist/survive. Secondly, the objective of that research was to document our history through our struggles, through our pains and gains, through our good times and bad times, through the ups and the downs; in other words, good, bad, or indifferent, it is what it is, our story (his-story, not their-story). Rev. Dr. Herbert D. Daughtry, Sr. constantly admonished us to make history, to interpret history, and to record history (or something to that effect and not necessarily in that order). When we do not do it ourselves in an accurate, precise, truthful, etc. manner, then others will tell their story, which (nine out of ten times) usually is not accurate, precise, truthful, etc. The old prophet acclaimed: "And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." (Habakkuk 2:2) Thirdly (and lastly), the objective of that research was to share information that we do not want to be locked in our minds only to take it to the so-called grave. Many persons who were super-knowledgeable (as I define it) about so many things that could have blessed the world took that super-valuable information to the grave - what a tremendous lost!!! As an aside, the lost is on multiple levels. Level one, we lost them. Level two, we lost what they did not share with us while they were alive. Level three, we lost the value of that buried information. (That is, someone could have taken that information and transformed it to new information. For example, Dr. Gabriel A. Oyibo solved the Unified Field Theorem that Albert Einstein did not live long enough to solve. So many things evolved from solving that equation. Just think: what would have happened to those many things that evolved from solving that equation if Dr. Oyibo would not have solved that theorem? All those many things that evolved from solving that equation would not be in existence. Level four, those persons who took from those many things that evolved from solving that equation and incorporated that value into what they were doing. Etc. etc. etc. The number of these levels conceivably and theoretically approaches infinity. That is, there is no end to the theoretical lost when just one person does not bless the world with their knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

God in Motion

God in Motion
Author: Theologian Manuel Schmid
Publisher:
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2021-07-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781481314084

Open theism paints the picture of a flexible God who engages in a dynamic history with his free creatures, a history in which the future is not yet definitely known to God but rather unfolds as a range of open possibilities. As one might expect, this position has proven fractious. Though much of the noise surrounding the issue of God's predestination and humanity's freedom has quieted in recent years, the conversation is ongoing and a continual source of contention in evangelical circles. God In Motion is the first in-depth analysis of the biblical-hermeneutical questions driving the heated open theism debate. Unlike previous books on the open view of God, Manuel Schmid's work does not take sides. Rather, God in Motion offers a qualified and critical look at the standard arguments of both the proponents and critics of open theism and suggests new perspectives. Schmid proposes an alternate path to understanding what is at stake in this debate, bringing open theism into conversation with weighty representatives of German-language theology such as Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Wolfhard Pannenberg, and Jürgen Moltmann. God in Motion shows ways out of the theological dead ends that have characterized the debate, especially regarding the biblical grounding of open theism, by giving careful consideration to lessons learned from the controversies of current theological discourse. In all of this analysis, Schmid conveys a passion for serious pursuit of a biblically, theologically, and philosophically coherent Christian doctrine of God for the twenty-first century. Those wrestling with questions about biblical theology and eager to gain a more nuanced conception of God out of the richness of biblical texts and traditions will greatly benefit from God in Motion, as they follow Schmid past the polemics of theological controversy to fresh and challenging insights.

Nature and Nature's God: A Philosophical and Scientific Defense of Aquinas' Unmoved Mover Argument

Nature and Nature's God: A Philosophical and Scientific Defense of Aquinas' Unmoved Mover Argument
Author: Daniel Shields
Publisher: CUA Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2023-05-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0813236673

Aquinas's first proof for God's existence is usually interpreted as a metaphysical argument immune to any objections coming from empirical science. Connections to Aquinas's own historical understanding of physics and cosmology are ignored or downplayed. Nature and Nature's God proposes a natural philosophical interpretation of Aquinas's argument more sensitive to the broader context of Aquinas's work and yielding a more historically accurate account of the argument. Paradoxically, the book also shows that, on such an interpretation, Aquinas's argument is not only consistent with modern science, but actually confirmed by the history of science, from classical mechanics through 19th century thermodynamics to contemporary cosmology. The first part of the book considers Aquinas's argument in its historical context, exploring the key principles that everything in motion is moved by something else and that an infinite regress of causes is impossible. The structure of the First Way is analyzed and the argument is connected both with Aquinas's Third Way?a new interpretation of which is also proposed?and Aquinas's second proof from motion in the Summa contra Gentiles. To complete the account of what natural philosophy?prior to metaphysics?can demonstrate about God, a chapter on Aquinas's teleological argument (the Fifth Way) is also included. The second part of the book tracks the history of modern science from Copernicus to today, showing how Aquinas's argument fared at each major turn. The first chapter shows how Newton's understanding of inertia and conservation of momentum supports the idea that motion cannot continue forever without God's causality, and integrates a modern understanding of inertia and gravity with the principles of Thomistic natural philosophy. The second chapter considers the first and second laws of thermodynamics, showing how they too support Aquinas's contention that motion cannot continue forever without God's causality. This chapter also discusses statistical mechanics and contemporary cosmology, demonstrating that science continues to support Aquinas's unmoved mover argument. The final chapter turns to modern biology as well as cosmological fine-tuning to show that modern science also continues to support Aquinas's teleological argument. The result is not only a satisfying defense of Aquinas's natural philosophical proofs for God's existence, but a primer on the broader project of integrating Thomistic natural philosophy with modern science.

God within Physics

God within Physics
Author: Andjelika Eissing-Patenova
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 4
Release: 2019-10-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3346047636

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Philosophy - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,00, University of Salzburg, language: English, abstract: In his Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687), Isaac Newton developed a revolutionary account of space, time, place and motion which consists of fundamentally different ideas in contrast to the previously held views of how the universe could look like. By including God in his theory, he links metaphysical questions to physics and thus explains in which sense God can be seen as a part of natural philosophy. (Janiak 2008: 163) In this paper, I argue for the claim that Newton’s account of the role of God is convincing. In section II, I will provide an overview of Newton’s ideas about space and time and especially the role of God within this system1. In the course of this overview, I will justify my claim by discussing the benefits Newton’s concept of God is able to deliver. In the conclusion, I will briefly summarize the results.

The Existence of God

The Existence of God
Author: Yujin Nagasawa
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2011-04-19
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1136737464

Does God exist? What are the various arguments that seek to prove the existence of God? Can atheists refute these arguments? The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction assesses classical and contemporary arguments concerning the existence of God: the ontological argument, introducing the nature of existence, possible worlds, parody objections, and the evolutionary origin of the concept of God the cosmological argument, discussing metaphysical paradoxes of infinity, scientific models of the universe, and philosophers’ discussions about ultimate reality and the meaning of life the design argument, addressing Aquinas’s Fifth Way, Darwin’s theory of evolution, the concept of irreducible complexity, and the current controversy over intelligent design and school education. Bringing the subject fully up to date, Yujin Nagasawa explains these arguments in relation to recent research in cognitive science, the mathematics of infinity, big bang cosmology, and debates about ethics and morality in light of contemporary political and social events. The book also includes fascinating insights into the passions, beliefs and struggles of the philosophers and scientists who have tackled the challenge of proving the existence of God, including Thomas Aquinas, and Kurt Gödel - who at the end of his career as a famous mathematician worked on a secret project to prove the existence of God. The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction is an ideal gateway to the philosophy of religion and an excellent starting point for anyone interested in arguments about the existence of God.

God and Natural Order

God and Natural Order
Author: Shaun C. Henson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2013-12-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317915011

In God and Natural Order: Physics, Philosophy, and Theology, Shaun Henson brings a theological approach to bear on contemporary scientific and philosophical debates on the ordered or disordered nature of the universe. Henson engages arguments for a unified theory of the laws of nature, a concept with monotheistic metaphysical and theological leanings, alongside the pluralistic viewpoints set out by Nancy Cartwright and other philosophers of science, who contend that the nature of physical reality is intrinsically complex and irreducible to a single unifying theory. Drawing on the work of theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg and his conception of the Trinitarian Christian god, the author argues that a theological line of inquiry can provide a useful framework for examining controversies in physics and the philosophy of science. God and Natural Order will raise provocative questions for theologians, Pannenberg scholars, and researchers working in the intersection of science and religion.