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The Experience of God: Part 1

In the beginning of Harts novel, he makes it very clear what his stance is on believing in God. He sees no other rational or intelligent explanation to understanding the world than to believe in God. He is also very adamant about thinking atheists are completely wrong in their belief against the existence of God. Later in the reading he brings up naturalists and how their philosophy of the world is incorrect as well. There is a science behind metaphysics and materialism, and Hart expresses his respect for the sciences. He understands the desire in scientists and philosophers to get to the source of the world or try to define or discover the “simplest constituents and most elementary functions” of reality (Hart, 78). This is Harts way, I believe, to show his respect to the people he who he discredits in their beliefs. He sees the importance for molecular studies and breaking the world down into atoms, but he also thinks that people are much more. The world cannot be understood in the naturalist way due to the concept of humans and the world being more complex than what can be seen or scientifically discovered. I agree in this thought, because there doesn’t seem to be a way to ever understand the world and its parts completely. There are too many variables and factors that change and fluctuate over time. Science and philosophy can attempt to find the answer and that process of research and learning is necessary to furthering mankind, but it is impossible to get the answer. Along the same argument, Hart mentions, in the beginning of the passage, that dreams are relative to the persons surroundings. I see this small excerpt of dream interpretation as a support to his claim that people are not only what they are made up of, but they think, they dream, they comprehend and alter the world in their own heads, even as they sleep. The abstract way humans are is more than the electrons firing in their brains, so believing in only what is plainly out in the world isn’t enough.

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