Assignment #5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

On Miracles by David Hume - Essay Example Hence Hume dismisses outright any kind of revelatory recounting of miracles. Take say, the example of the resurrection of Christ three days after his death. Though it is an important miracle in Christian theology, it fails the rigorous standards of empiricism that Hume mandates. We only have references to the event in the scriptures, the writing of which happened much later than the event – sometimes centuries later. On top of this, those who witnessed Christ’s resurrection were invariably the faithful, who wished that it were so. A major thrust of Hume’s thesis is that the burden of proof lies heavily upon those claiming miracles. Hume defines a miracle as that event which has defined laws of nature. As a consequence witnesses of miracles are required to bring high credibility to their evidence. But this is easier said than done, as there are inherent mitigating factors. Firstly, since an overwhelming majority of people are religiously inclined and have accepted miracles as acts of God, their psyche would lack the requisite skepticism and objectivity in evaluating a claimed miracle. Individuals do not merely perceive events through their senses but through the lens of their cognitive faculties. Our cognitive faculties are trained and cultivated through our education and exposure to various life experiences. Since there is a great deal of variability among humans in this regard, no two individuals would perceive an event in the same way. Hume also articulates the ‘argument from miracles’.

Erasmus and Machiavelli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Erasmus and Machiavelli - Essay Example l prince in following the will of God: â€Å"though following Him is hard, not following Him is a sin.† Taking the Christian perspective, since God was the creator of the universe, he was then accordingly the source of all power. Since God was the source of all power, following the will of God would most assuredly brought his concept of a prince the most power. For surely, if a person were to ignore the will of God, then God would not protect that prince, or to the more extreme aspect of the situation, God would remove immoral princes from power. In the Christian view, since there was no way to avoid God or to avoid the consequences of ignoring the will of God, this would make the most appropriate way to gain power and to keep this power by merely following the will of God. According to Richard F. Hardin, â€Å"Erasmus thought it possible to dissuade kings and their subjects from the idolatry of power†1 Richard F. Hardin, â€Å"The Literary Conventions of Erasmusâ€⠄¢ Education of a Christian Prince,† Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 2, (Summer 1982) p. 152.. They were to hold their power not for their own gains, but they were to try to improve upon the condition of mankind. Anyone in a position of power should attempt to do this, from a Christian perspective, and those who didn’t were guilty of â€Å"unmitigated tyranny.† Erasmus was not concerned with how useful this document turned out to be in the real world. What he hoped to accomplish in the end was to shape the way that the real world functioned. To many, though, this was viewed as â€Å"primitive and simplistic†2