Read:
Polytheism:
Fairbanks, A. (1898). Literary Influence in the Development of Greek Religion. The Biblical World,11(5), 294-305. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3137300
Read the entire Polytheism and Monotheism Lecture at Gifford Lectures: https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/attributes-god/iii-polytheism-and-monotheism
Humanism:
Watch Professor of Sociology Frank Furedi’s 18-minute lecture on Humanism.: Furedi, F. (2013). Alternative lectures: What is Humanism (Part 1). [Video File]
Watch his 19-minute follow-up as well. Furedi, F. (2013). What is humanism? Part 2. [Video File]
A collection of short definitions of Humanism can be found at https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/definition-of-humanism/ : read through these and prepare to share your thoughts.
The problem of Evil and Suffering to Religion:
Read the entire entry (all 11 sub-sections) from the IEP entry for the “Logical Problem of Evil” available at http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/
For the paper:
Pick one of the three following and present a Research Paper on them, their views, and their specific Philosophical underpinnings to religion using the rubric below.
Please look briefly at each and pick the one that will give you the most rewarding experience to learn more about.
Free Will vs. Omnipotence
How can we have Free Will if God knows everything that has or will happen, and therefore it has already happened or couldn’t be known?
Evil and Suffering
How does a purely good God allow evil to happen to good people?
Thomas Paine and God
Although a humanist, Paine believed in God and the afterlife. Explain his logic and offer your own.
In the paper, identify your topic of choice in the title and opening sentences.
From there:
Describe the challenge through the open-minded lens of philosophical inquiry
Give several examples of the arguments for and against the prevailing logic, for example:
For Free Will, for example, you may wish to discuss the ramifications of Free Will vs. a God who knows everything
For Evil and Suffering, you may want to explore why evil is necessary or could be argued to be so
For Thomas Paine, you may want to discuss how a humanist could also believe in a God and still be an actual humanist
Why is it still something modern students of philosophy are compelled to study? Why is this topic still important to the philosophy or religion?
Be sure to use in-text citation and provide references for your sources, including textbooks.
