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The teleological argument for the existence of God

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Many Christian philosophers believe that God's invisible qualities are evident in the world he created because of the passage from Romans 1:19-20 in the New Testament. What does this passage say are God's invisible qualities?

a)

eternal power and divine nature

b)

eternal love and absolute power

c)

eternal peace and love

d)

eternal wisdom and joy

2.

Which term refers to arguments for God's existence based on observation of the created world?

a)

a priori

b)

analytic

c)

a posteriori

d)

rational

3.

The word 'teleological' comes from the Greek word 'Telos' which means...

a)

Time

b)

Universe

c)

Victory

d)

End or Goal

4.

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274AD) argued that God-given reason would lead us to acknowledge the existence of the God who was revealed through the Scriptures. He famously put forward his ________ Ways of proving God's existence

a)

Many

b)

Seven

c)

Three

d)

Five

5.

Aquinas' design argument is entitled...

a)

From the governance of the world

b)

From Causation

c)

From Movement

d)

From the Nature of God

6.

Aquinas' argued that natural bodies act towards a goal (telos) and that "whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless it is directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the ________ is directed by the _________.

a)

Horse is directed by the Chariot

b)

Watch is directed by the Watchmaker

c)

Ball is directed by the Striker

d)

Arrow is directed by the Archer

7.

William Paley (1743-1805) presented the most famous form of the design argument in his book...

a)

Revealed Theology

b)

Special Revelation

c)

Summa Theologica

d)

Natural Theology

8.

William Paley (1743-1805) invites his reader to consider walking across a heath and coming across a __________

a)

Telescope

b)

Watch

c)

Stethoscope

d)

Finch

9.

William Paley (1743-1805) argued that objects in nature are analogous to machines because they, like machines, contain __________, ______________ and ____________

a)

Cause, Change, Effect

b)

Potentiality, Actuality, Pure Actuality

c)

Order, Complexity, Purpose

d)

Beauty, Intelligence, Knowledge

10.

In order to expose the flaws in arguments from observation, and to perhaps hide his personal views, the empirical philosopher David Hume wrote in the form of...

a)

Monologue

b)

Poetry

c)

Song

d)

Dialogue

11.

David Hume's (1711-1776) criticisms of the design argument were written to directly challenge William Paley.

a)

True

b)

False

12.

Which of the following are not criticisms of the Design Argument presented by David Hume

a)

We can't assume the designer was all powerful: For all we know this world was only 'the first rude essay of some infant deity who afterwards abandoned it, ashamed of his lame performance.'.

b)

"the presence of much suffering agrees well with the view that all organic beings have been developed through variation and natural selection… The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble to us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.

c)

A team of gods is more likely "A great number of men join together in building a house or a ship... why may not several deities combine in framing a world?"

d)

There is no suitable analogy for the world - this is the only one we have and none of us experienced its creation 'to ascertain this reasoning it were requisite that we had experience of the origin of world'.

e)

The world is not analogous to a machine, 'the world plainly resembles more an animal or vegetable, than it does a watch or a knitting loom.'

13.

F.R. Tennant was the first philosopher to coin the phrase the _________ ____________, and argued that there are so many unlikely coincidences in the fundamental laws of nature all required for the existence of human life, that there must be an intelligent designer, God, who fine-tuned the universe for our existence.

a)

Aesthetic Principle

b)

Goldilocks Effect

c)

Anthropic Principle

d)

Irreducible Complexity

14.

Philsoophers sometimes refer to the principle of (William of) Ockham's _________ when weighing up arguments, seeking to consider which argument is simplest (and doesn't multiply issues un-necessarily)

a)

Ockham's Razor

b)

Ockham's Scissor

c)

Ockham's Apple

d)

Ockham's Knife

15.

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was introduced in his 1859 book ...

a)

The Blind Watchmaker

b)

The God Delusion

c)

On the Origin of the Species

d)

On the Evidence for Evolution

16.

Who argued that God was the most likely explanation for the universe as the chances of the universe happening were as unlikely as a random card playing machine producing 10 Ace of Hearts from ten consecutive packs.

a)

Charles Darwin

b)

Richard Dawkins

c)

William Paley

d)

Richard Swinburne

17.

Who argued that the design arguments all fail because they start from the position of assuming we are here for a purpose, like the 'conscious puddle' who is amazed that the hole it rests in was made just for it.

a)

Charles Darwin

b)

FR Tennant

c)

Douglas Adams

d)

Richard Swinburne

18.

Who argued that micro-biology continues to demonstrate that God is more likely than not, using examples of irreducible complexity, such as the bacterial flagellum, to argue that these objects can not have evolved through the natural processes described by Darwin. Illustrated with the example of a mouse trap, which needs all it's parts simultaneously to perform a function,.

a)

Richard Dawkins

b)

FR Tennant

c)

Douglas Adams

d)

Michael Behe

19.

Which famous scientist argued that the probability of life originating on Earth is no greater than the chance a hurricane blowing through a scrapyard would have of randomly assembling a working Boeing 747?

a)

Richard Dawkins

b)

FR Tennant

c)

Fred Hoyle

d)

Brian Cox

20.

Which famous scientist has repeatedly challenged the argument from design, arguing it is a 'god of the gaps' idea that fails in the face of real Darwinian science?His criticisms can be found in many of his books, such as 'The God Delusion', 'River out of Eden', 'The Blind Watchmaker', and 'The Selfish Gene'.

a)

Richard Dawkins

b)

FR Tennant

c)

Richard Swinburne

d)

Brian Cox