Liberation Atheology: Criticism of Theism, God, Religion as False, Irrational
What is Liberation Atheology?
Given religion's role in preserving, defending, and justifying oppressive systems and ideologies, nothing progressive and no liberation can be achieved without taking on religion first. Even progressive believers have had to start with criticism of their own traditions. Liberation atheology stops trying to replace a bad religious system with a slightly less worse one. Instead, the goal is to reveal how oppression depends on religious beliefs which should be dispensed with anyway.
What is God?
When debating the existence of god, perhaps the most important step is the one that gets overlooked the most often, and by both atheists and theists: defining what is meant by the concept 'god.' You can't debate the existence of something unless everyone is clear what it is they are talking about; otherwise, people might be talking about completely different things.
- Christian Conceptions of God: Can God be Judged?
- God as Abuser: Similarities Between the Christian God and Abusive Spouses
- Why Defining God is Important
- God Exists: Necessary & Self-Existent
- God is the Creator & Sustainer of Existence
- God is Worthy of Worship: Divine Perfection
- God is Omnipotent: What does it mean to be all-powerful?
- God is Omniscient: What does it mean to be all-knowing?
- God is Omnibenevolent: What does it mean to be all-loving?
- God is a Person: Personal Relationships with God
- God & Gender: Is God Really Male?
- God is Free: Constraint vs. Freedom
- God is Eternal: Timeless vs. Everlasting
- God is Provident & Sovereign: God Acting in Human History
- God is Incorporeal: Mind without Body?
- God is Immutable: Why can't God change?
- God is Transcendent & Immanent
Theism & Theists
To put it simply, theism is a belief in the existence of at least one god - nothing more, nothing less. Theism does not depend upon how many gods one believes in. Theism does not depend upon how the term 'god' is defined. Theism does not depend upon how one arrives at their belief. Theism does not depend upon how one defends their belief. That theism only means "belief in a god" and nothing more can be difficult to understand because we don't normally encounter theism in isolation.
Why Don't Atheists Believe that God Exists?
A common question which atheists hear a lot is 'why don't you believe in God?' Theists, religious or not, have trouble imagining why anyone would not believe in at least some sort of god, preferably their own. When a belief occupies such a central place in a person's life and even identity, this is understandable. The fact is, there are many reasons why atheists might not believe in any gods. Most atheists can cite multiple reasons and every atheist is different.
- Multiple Gods and Religious Traditions
- Contradictory Characteristics in Gods
- Religion is Self-Contradictory
- Gods Are Too Similar to Believers
- Gods Just Don't Matter
- Gods and Believers Behave Immorally
- Evil in the World
- Faith is Unreliable
- Life is Material, not Supernatural
- There is No Good Reason to Bother Believing
Arguments for the Existence of God
There are a wide variety of arguments used by theists in their claims that their god exists. Here you will can read critiques of such arguments, including arguments from design, cosmology, morality, Pascal's Wager and more.
- Cosmological Arguments
- Teleology and Design Arguments
- Ontological Argument
- Argument from Religious Experience
- Argument from Mysticism
- Argument from Intuition & Instinct
- Argument from Miracles
- Arguments from Morals and Values
- Argument from Justice
- Pascal's Wager
- Argument from Reward
- Argument from Scriptures
- Argument from Common Consent
- Argument from Consciousness
Arguments Against the Existence of God
What are the principle arguments in favor of atheism? Why is atheism more reasonable or rational than theism? Among the arguments raised are those from evil, from non-belief, from cosmology, from incoherence and more.
- Perfect Creator: Is It Possible for a Perfect Creator to Exist?
- The Universe Does Not Require Gods
- God & Causation: Temporal Requirements for Causes to Exist
- Immorality of the Biblical God: Can God be both Moral and Immoral?
- Argument from Virtue: Can a Perfect God be Virtuous?
- Omnipotence and Evil: Can Evil Exist with an Omnipotent God?
- Who Made God? An Atheological Argument from Design
- Causes and Physical Laws: God Can't Be Used as a Cause of the Universe
- God as Explanation for Order: What Explains God's Orderly Mind?
- God as Designer: Does God's Mind Evince Signs of Design?
Theology & Apologetics
Theology describes the study, writing, research, or speaking on the nature of gods, especially in relation to human experience. Typically the concept includes the premise that such study is done in a rational, philosophical manner and can also refer to specific schools of thought - for example, progressive theology, feminist theology or liberation theology. The study of theology is usually done in religious institutions where the promotion of religious beliefs is part of the mission.