Lesson 1.7: The Great Erosion

Glossary

Foundations and the Shift to Reason

• Ontological Argument: A deductive proof for God’s existence based solely on the definition of God as the greatest possible being. Because Descartes uses God as the "bridge" to ensure our perceptions match reality, the perceived weakness of this argument creates a fracture in his entire project, leaving our everyday beliefs unvindicated.

• Teleological Argument (Physico-theology): Often called the "Argument from Design," it asserts that the complexity and order of the universe (the telos) point to an intelligent Creator or "Clockmaker".

• Hume’s Objections: David Hume famously challenged theodicies and teleological claims, arguing they are often unfalsifiable (explaining away evil no matter what happens) and beg the question by assuming the existence of the very God they are trying to prove.

Methodology: Natural vs. Supernatural

• Methodological Naturalism: The practice of explaining phenomena (like thunder, lightning, or disease) through measurable, quantitative natural laws with no references to the "occult" or divine intervention.

  • This approach came back into vogue during the Age of Enlightenment as a way to free society from superstition and fear; by understanding lightning as electricity rather than divine wrath, citizens could implement policies to prevent disaster through science rather than prayer.

• Incompatibility with Divine Command: Methodological naturalism is fundamentally at odds with a worldview based on divine intervention, as it assumes the universe is a uniform machine governed by consistent laws that even God does not violate.

Moral Frameworks: From Command to Happiness

• Eudaimonic Ethics: A system of morality, resurrected from ancient philosophies like Epicureanism, that views the ultimate aim of life as flourishing and happiness (eudaemonia) in the present world.

• Divine Command Theory: The "orthodox" position that morality is dictated by a supernatural being. In this framework, living well is not about personal well-being, but about salvation and obedience to a Being who might otherwise impose eternal punishment.

• Kant’s "Voice Test": A principle stating that if one hears a "divine voice" commanding an act that violates the moral law known through reason, that voice cannot be divine. This establishes that Reason has more authority than "the Word".

The Textual and Historical Front

• Biblical Criticism: The scholarly investigation of the Bible as a historical document subject to human error, translation shifts, and textual corruption.

• Newton’s "Comma": Isaac Newton engaged in biblical criticism by arguing that specific passages used to support the Trinity (like 1 John 5:7) were deliberate corruptions added to the text centuries later.

• Reimarus’s Critique of the Patriarchs: Hermann Samuel Reimarus challenged the moral authority of the Bible by highlighting the "moral mediocrity" and cruelties of figures like Abraham, Moses, and David, arguing they were often less civil than the enlightened secular man.

• Deism: The "religion of the Enlightenment" that believes in a supreme Creator who established the laws of nature but does not intervene in human affairs.

  • Famous American Deists: Includes figures like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine.

The Geological Front

• Deep Time: The concept that the Earth's history spans millions or billions of years. This was proven through experiments like Buffon’s iron balls, which estimated the Earth to be 75,000 years old, directly contradicting James Usher’s biblical date of 4,004 BCE.

• Extinction (not mentioned in the lesson): The permanent disappearance of a species, a concept proven by Georges Cuvier through fossil records. This destroyed the idea that the Earth was a static, stable home created solely for humanity.