Proving the Existence of God - Argument from DESIGN

Christopher Stefanick 
   



Catholic Religion Teacher Series:


The Argument from Design from Catholic Religion Teacher on Vimeo.


Terms to understand (in the context of our argument):
1) Theist: one who believes in God (as the creator of the universe)

2) Atheist: one who does not believe in God (as the creator of the universe)

3) Premise: the base of an argument (the concept or statement or proposition) from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion

4) Evolution does NOT support atheism

5) Natural Selection - survival of the fittest

6) ANTHROPIC PRINCIPAL: the universe was specially designed from the beginning for human life to evolve (happen). . . . . specially designed for human life

7) PRINCIPLE OF CAUSALITY: can't get more in an effect than in sum total of all causes. Examples: 

• 4+1+2=7 
• Painting with red and blue gives you red, blue, and/or purple (you can't get yellow) 

If there is intelligence in effect (humans), there must be intelligence in the cause.

8) GOLDILOCKS PRINCIPLE: "just right" 
This is closely related to the ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE

9) Teleological Argument: another term that means Argument from Design
The teleological or physico-theological argument, also known as the argument from design, or intelligent design argument is an argument for the existence of God or, more generally, for an intelligent creator "based on perceived evidence of deliberate design in the natural or physical world"

10) Syllogism: ˈsiləˌjizəm

1. A form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion, and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion (e.g., all dogs are animals; all animals have four legs; therefore all dogs have four legs ).

   • deductive reasoning as distinct from induction.

     "logic is rules or syllogism
   • 
     
   • OUR SYLLOGISM:

Premise 1: The more complex something is, the more likely it is a product of design (and not chance).

Premise 2: The universe (& many things within it) are infinitely more complex than all man made designs.

Conclusion: Therefore, the universe is a product of design (and not chance). The designer behind the universe is what we call God.

http://catholicreligionteacher.com/existence-of-god/ 
KEYNOTES (slides)  https://catholicreligionteacher.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/the-argument-from-design-keynote-pdf3.pdf

Mrs. Cortez' sources:
Taylor Marshall's Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages
Kreeft's Arguments For God (specific)
Kreeft's Arguments For God  (broader)