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4 - The Age of Evidences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2024

Peter Harrison
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
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Summary

This chapter explores the implications of the new status of belief by reconsidering traditional arguments for the existence of God. If disbelief in the supernatural was not a live option before the appearance of modern secularity, what was the point of articulating proofs of God’s existence? This chapter shows that the so-called classical proofs performed a very different function to the one that they were later to assume, being more akin to spiritual exercises than logical arguments constructed from neutral premises. Crucially, one of the central ‘proofs’—that based on universal consensus—involved an appeal to the ubiquity and universality of religious belief. The demise of this ‘argument’ in the early modern period signalled a major change in how belief in the supernatural came to be understood, indicating that the burden of proof was shifting from unbelievers to believers. This was accompanied by a new conception of natural theology, understood as an enterprise that could provide support for religious belief on rational grounds alone. The changing status of natural theology and proofs for God’s existence correlated directly with the appearance of a new notion of belief and the requirements for its justification.

Type
Chapter
Information
Some New World
Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age
, pp. 130 - 217
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • The Age of Evidences
  • Peter Harrison, University of Queensland
  • Book: Some New World
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009477215.005
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  • The Age of Evidences
  • Peter Harrison, University of Queensland
  • Book: Some New World
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009477215.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Age of Evidences
  • Peter Harrison, University of Queensland
  • Book: Some New World
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009477215.005
Available formats
×