Does Religion Need God?

A great question and one in which the answer just may be, ‘it depends..!’  Gary Gutting, professor of Philosophy at The University of Norte Dame takes on this profound question in a March 22nd, 2012 OpEd Piece for the New York Times.   You can read the article here.  

Gutting weaves together such diverse ideas as the ontological existence for God, the problem of evil and our belief in the afterlife.

The question ‘Does Religion Need God’ is an age-old one.  Theologians have long debated the importance of Orthodoxy (right beliefs) and Orthopraxy (right actions).  No less an eminent figure than Immanuel Kant published his Deontological Ethical Principal of duty-based ethics.

Maybe the initial question ‘Does Religion Need God?’ should be rephrased, ‘Can we be good without God?‘   God doesn’t need Religion but a Religion without God only replaces the Divine Will with Human Will -turning our intelligence into a manageable deity. 

What are your thoughts to the NewYork Times article and to the question, 'Does Religion Need God?'

Rationality of Religious Belief

I've always have found it curious that there's a need to validate and justify religious belief. Some, like Augustine, claim religious belief to be innate. His 'God-shaped hole' analogy depicts a chasm with in each person that can only be filled by God. Writing at the turn of the last century, William James' The Varieties of Religious Experiences, again attempted to justify religious leanings. His efforts in describing the Russian Tolstoy's conversion, stands out as a validation of sorts towards religion. Recently, works by Yale's Nicholas Wolterstorff and Notre Dame's Alvin Plantinga have helped to reinforce the cognitive ascension of religious belief.

This week, Stanley Fish Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, attracted considerable attention. He details a philosophical shift of the German philosopher Jurger Habermas. While this may seem innocuous to most, Habermas throws an insider's attack against the postmodernism's belittling view of religion.

Read the article and add your thoughts.