3.1 Belief In God

Question 1

What are the ways that can lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 1

• Religious upbringing.
• Religious experience.
• The argument from design.
• The argument from causation.

Question 2

How can a religious upbringing in the home lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 2

• Catholics and other Christians pray as a family.
• Parents read Bible stories to their young children.
• Families worship together in Church.
• Catholic parents send their children to a Catholic school (pictures and worship together).

Question 3

How can religious influence at church lead to belief in God? (6)

Answer 3

• Children are baptised.
• Christians listen to the teachings of the Church.
• Christians receive guidance and support.
• Christians receive the Sacraments (E.g. Baptism, Confirmation).
• Christians are apart of a faith community.
• Christians are influenced by other people like teachers, families and friends who believe in God.

Question 4

How can religious influence in school lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 4

• In a Catholic school children have prayer together.
• Children learn the Catholic values in R.E.
• Children have religious liturgies together.
• Religious pictures are on the walls.

Question 5

What are religious experiences that lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 5

• The numinous.
• Conversion.
• Miracles.
• Prayer.

Question 6

What is the numinous and how does it lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 6

• E.g. Cathedrals, stars, the Grand Canyon, sunsets, nature.
• People are aware there is something greater them, which they feel is God.
• It is ‘transcendent’ (something that goes beyond human experiences and exists outside our material world).
• If you are aware of a presence greater than you, you are likely to believe it is God.

Question 7

What is conversion and how does it lead to belief in God? (4)

Answer 7

• An experience of God so great that the person who experiences it wants to change their life and commit to God.
• People changing from one religion to another or from being agnostic or atheist to becoming a believer.
• Can be called being ‘born again’ and God is calling.
• E.g. St. Paul on the road to Damaris in the Bible.

Question 8

What are miracles and how do they lead to belief in God? (5)

Answer 8

• Miracles are recorded in religions and involve a religious experience.
• If a miracle has happened it means God is acting here on Earth and people have witnessed and had a direct contact with God.
• Atheists and agonistics look for an natural explanation if they see a miracle and if it is not found the cause may be God.
• Miracles are important for Catholic belief as the process of making someone a saint (canonisation) depends on two miracles.
• Miracles are linked to the growth of people’s faith in the Bible.

Question 9

What is prayer? (5)

Answer 9

• All Catholics believe they communicate with God through prayer.
• Prayer is the way to encounter God; it is a gift from God (he is waiting to hear human prayers).
• The Church teaches people may not know how to pray but if it is from the heart it is acceptable by God.
• One quarter of the Catechism (rules of Catholic Church) is about prayer and its importance.
• There are different types of prayer e.g. formal types like in mass to private and informal prayers of a believer.

Question 10

How does prayer lead to belief in God? (3)

Answer 10

• A person praying to God feels that God is listening to the prayer and have a religious experience and are sure God exists.
• If prayers are answered this can be the biggest religious experience of all.
• During prayer, people may feel a sense of joy or peace, closeness to God, or not much at all- this desire for prayer is a religious prayer.

Question 11

Who was William Paley? (2)

Answer 11

• The creator of the ‘Design Argument’.

* He lived in the enlightenment period (late 18th century).

Question 12

What did Paley mean when he asked ‘Isn’t the universe just like a watch?’ (6)

Answer 12

• The watch is detailed.
• The hands of the watch move round at a constant rate.
• The workings of a watch work together perfectly.
• The universe is detailed/complex for things to have happened without an intelligent designer (God).
• The moon, planets and stars rotate at a constant rate- everything is regular.
• Everything in our universe seems to have a purpose.

Question 13

What did Paley say the universe had? (2)

Answer 13

• Purpose- E.g. the eye’s purpose is to see, the purpose of water is to refresh our thirst.
• Regularity- E.g. the Earth rotates every 24 hours (1 day), the Earth goes round the sun every 365 days (1 year).

Question 14

Why could the universe not be designed? (4)

Answer 14

• Things are chaotic- diseases.
• Regularity- e.g. Weather is not the same, animals migrate at different time.
• There is no purpose- organisms evolve.
• All things aren’t complex e.g. Single cell organisms.

Question 15

What was Paley’s conclusion? (2)

Answer 15

• If our universe has purpose and regularity (like the watch) someone must have given our universe purpose and regularity.
• That person is God.

Question 16

What is the design argument? (2)

Answer 16

• Any complex mechanism is designed for a purpose.

* Design involves things working together according to a plan produce something that was intended.

Question 17

What is evidence of design in the world? (4)

Answer 17

• Laws of science- the universe works according to the laws of gravity, electricity, magnetism, motion, motion… all these things involve complex things working together.
• DNA- the structure of DNA and its formation of templates indicate design or blueprint for the structure of organisms.
• Evolution- scientists have found evidence of complex organisms from simple forms.
• Beauty of nature- artists see evidence of design by looking at natural beauty like sunsets which would take a long time to design.

Question 18

What is causation? (3)

Answer 18

• The process where one thing causes another.
• E.g. Passing a brake pedal causes a car to slow then stop.
• Everything has a cause and an effect.

Question 19

What is the argument for causation? (2)

Answer 19

The creation of the world:
•The universe, Earth and humans must have come from somewhere and been caused by someone.
•The cause is God, so God must exist and it supports he belief in God.

Question 20

What is the argument against causation? (4)

Answer 20

• Why should causes stop at God?- If everything needs a cause then God needs a cause.
• Another explanation for the creation of the universe is that it is made up of matter which is eternal, so the process goes on forever.
• Even if the first cause (e.g. The Big Bang) were to exist it could be any creator and not have to be God.
• Just because everything in the universe needs an explanation, it does not mean the universe has to have one. It could have always been there.

Question 21

What is the evidence for the Big Bang?

Answer 21

•Red shift- the shift in red light from other galaxies is evidence that the universe is expanding.

Question 22

What is the evidence for evolution? (2)

Answer 22

• Fossil record- it shows how life developed from simple to complex forms.
• DNA- it shows how there are similarities between life forms (human DNA is about 50% same to a cabbage).

Question 23

What are scientific explanations of the world? (5)

Answer 23

• Matter is eternal
• The Big Bang theory- matter of the universe created 15 billion years ago due to a huge explosion.
• As the matter of the universe flew away from the explosion, it formed stars and then our solar system.
• The gases on the Earth’s surface produce primitive life.
• The genetic structure of these primitive life led to the evolution of new life forms (vegetation, invertebrates, vertebrates) and then humans evolved 2.5 million years ago (natural selection).

Question 24

How do scientific explanations of the world lead to agnosticism and atheism? (4)

Answer 24

• Science can explain where the world came from without any mention of God- the argument that we need God to explain why we are here is not valid.
• If God exists, he would have made the world.
• The big bang was an accident and there is no evidence that it was created by God.
• An omnipotent and omniscient God would not have created the world in such a wasteful way with species developing and dying out over billions of years just so humans could arrive.

Question 25

Why do Catholics believe in scientific explanations but don’t believe people should be agnostic or atheist? (3)

Answer 25

• The Big Bang had to happen at exactly right micro second. If it happened too soon it would have been too fast before stars could form.
• There had to be scientific laws like gravity for the matter of the universe- God would have made the laws the universe is based around.
• Only God could have made the gases on Earth to react in such a way to form life.

Question 26

Why do Catholics believe that both scientific explanations and the Bible are correct? (4)

Answer 26

• One of God’s days could be millions or billions of days.
• They claim that the main points in the of the Bible creation story match with science.
• In Genesis 1:3 ‘God said “Let there be light”’ which could be a reference to the Big Bang.
• The order in which God created life in Genesis: plants, trees, fish, birds, animals, humans resembles evolution.

Question 27

How can prayer lead people to agnosticism or atheism? (2)

Answer 27

• Not feeling the presence of God- people may think they are praying wrong of are not being listened to.
• Unanswered prayers- the Church tells people that God answers prayers.

Question 28

How do Catholics respond to unanswered prayers? (5)

Answer 28

• If what you pray for is selfish- you must work hard for what you want to achieve.
• If what you pray for is personal- e.g. wishing someone to be cured of a disease when God has something else planned.
• Human parents do not always give their children what they ask for but what they need, God acts in this way.
• God’s love is to do what is best for people- they trust God to answer prayers in the best possible way.
• Jesus said his followers should have faith in God and that he answers all prayers in a way for the long-term good.

Question 29

How does evil and suffering cause people to question or reject belief in God? (5)

Answer 29

• People cannot believe that God created a world with evil in it (e.g. natural disasters, disease). As there is evil and suffering God is either not omnipotent or omnibenevolent or doesn’t exist.
• E.g. Millions are killed in wars, and God did not prevent this suffering.
• God is omnipotent and should by able to remove suffering.
• God is omni-benevolent and should want to remove evil.
• God is omniscient- he should know evil and suffering are going to happen if he created the universe.

Question 30

What are examples of moral evil? (9)

Answer 30

• War:
• Soldiers suffer on both sides.
• It involves the use of weapons that kill innocent civilians.
• All wars are caused by humans who could have decided to act differently.
• Drugs.
• Rape.
• Murder.
• Fraud.
• Bullying.
• Fighting.

Question 31

What are examples of natural evil? (7)

Answer 31

• Earthquakes.
• Floods.
• Forest fires.
• Typhoons.
• Disease.
• Famine.
• Thunder storm.

Question 32

How do some Catholics respond to the problem of evil and suffering? (4)

Answer 32

• God wants them to help those who suffer. Jesus was a good example, he healed the sick, fed the sick.
• Intercession prayer- asking God to help those who suffer (they believe it is the most powerful against evil and suffering).
• Catholics become doctors, nurses and social workers to fight against suffering.
• Catholics pray to Mary- Mary suffered watching her son die.

Question 33

Why do some Catholics not respond to the problem of evil and suffering? (3)

Answer 33

• There is no point because humans cannot understand God’s reasons for doing things.
• God must have a reason for allowing evil and suffering and humans cannot know.
• From the life of Jesus, the Son of God, he had to suffer and he commanded his followers to respond to suffering by helping those who suffer, so the Catholics should do this and trust God should answer that problem.

Question 34

Why do some Catholics accept the problem of evil and suffering?
(3)

Answer 34

• They believe this life is a preparation for paradise- people are to improve their souls by facing evil and suffering.
• God cannot remove evil and suffering if he is going to give people a chance to be good.
• Good can come out of evil.