Modern and Ancient Faith Physics Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What does the word 'Fideism' refer to?

The idea that belief is its own justification; that it is a blind “leap.”

What is the key conflict between religion and materialism, according to the text?

The role of reason and experience (correct)
The existence of a God
The interpretation of the Bible
The nature of the universe

The author suggests that biblical religions originated in the pursuit of explaining natural phenomena.

False (B)

What does the author believe is the defining moment between reason and dogma?

The confrontation between Galileo and the Roman Inquisition (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does St. Thomas Aquinas explain about religion and natural phenomena?

One point is of the substance of the faith, viz. to know that it [the world] began by creation, on which all the authors in question are in agreement. But the manner and the order according to which creation took place concerns the faith only incidentally. Signup and view all the answers

St. Augustine believes that the Genesis account should be interpreted literally.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What did the Church’s response to Galileo ultimately lead to?

An exaggerated literalist emphasis on scripture (B) Signup and view all the answers

The author provides evidence throughout the text that the Catholic Church has often been hostile to science.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What did St. Thomas Aquinas believe about the importance of Scripture interpretations?

Augustine teaches that two points should be kept in mind when resolving such questions. First, the truth of Scripture must be held inviolably. Second, when there are different ways of explaining a Scriptural text, no particular explanation should be held so rigidly that, if convincing arguments show it to be false, anyone dare to insist that it is still the definitive sense of the text. Signup and view all the answers

St. Augustine was known for his fervent defense of a literal interpretation of the Bible and a rejection of reason in theological thought.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary concern of the Bible, in the view of the author?

The primary concern is with God's relationship to human beings, and with human beings' relationships to each other. Signup and view all the answers

The author suggests that the Bible's focus on supernatural aspects of reality was helpful in paving the way for science’s later emergence.

True (A) Signup and view all the answers

What does 'eliminativism' refer to in philosophy?

The denial of the existence of subjective experience as a valid or real phenomenon in the world. Signup and view all the answers

In the text, what is the author's main point about 'mystery' in religious belief?

A mystery is what cannot be seen, not because there is a barrier across our field of vision, but because the horizon is so far away. It is a statement not of limits, but of limitlessness. Signup and view all the answers

What does the author argue is the common complaint of materialist thought concerning religion?

That religious dogma substitutes for rational thought, puts an end to critical inquiry, and simply replaces reason with faith in pre-defined beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

The author highlights the concept of 'fideism' as a central tenet of Jewish and Christian faith.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does the author argue is the most important point that differentiates Catholicism from other faiths?

The acceptance of the value of exterior proof in addition to faith (D) Signup and view all the answers

The author suggests that the Catholic Church has always held the belief that scientific evidence must be rejected if it contradicts the Bible.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

The author believes that accepting dogma is inherently irrational.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What are the two ways that knowledge can be gained, according to the text?

Either empirically, through observation, experience, and the “natural light of reason,” or through divine revelation. Signup and view all the answers

The author argues that accepting religious dogma eliminates the need for human reason and inquiry.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the author's main point when discussing 'mystery?'

Mystery represents the vastness and ultimately unknowable nature of reality (D) Signup and view all the answers

What does the author suggest is the major flaw with materialist thought?

It is essentially a negative proposition, limiting thinking to the realm of material explanations and ignoring the possibility of anything outside that category. Signup and view all the answers

The author argues that materialists often reject or deny the validity of phenomena that they cannot explain within their materialist framework.

True (A) Signup and view all the answers

The author suggests that the Catholic Church's view of human existence is more pessimistic than the materialist point of view.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does the author see as the central flaw of materialism's logic?

The arguments for materialism are ultimately circular, relying on an assumption that materialism is true to justify its conclusions about the world. Signup and view all the answers

What does the author believe is the true nature of the universe, according to the Catholic faith?

A universe created by God with a purpose and meaning for human life (A) Signup and view all the answers

The author believes that materialists are hostile to science and its methods.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

The author ultimately concludes that the materialist view of the world is both intellectually narrow and ultimately comforting.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Materialism

A belief system that asserts that only matter exists, denying the existence of any non-physical realities like spirits or a soul.

Scientific Materialism

A philosophy that promotes the idea that science is the only way to understand the universe, often rejecting religious explanations.