Believing In God Flashcards
Agnosticism
Not being sure whether God exists
Atheism
Believing that God doesn’t exist
Conversion
When life is changed by giving yourself to God
Free will
The idea that humans beings are free to make their own choices
Miracle
Something which seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done it
Moral evil
Actions done by humans which cause suffering - e.g. murder
Natural evil
Things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans - e.g. earthquake
Numinous
The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
Omni-benevolent
The belief that God is all good
Omnipotent
The belief that God is all powerful
Omniscient
The belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen
Prayer
An attempt to contact God, usually through words
Charismatic experience
An experience where the Holy Spirit descends upon you, for example, speaking in tongues, prophecy or healing.
Bible quote on importance of family
“Honour your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20)
Church quote on family for religious belief
“The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honour God and make good use of freedom.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Mystical experience
An experience of the divine which is difficult to describe, for example, hearing God’s voice or seeing a vision.
A near-Death experience
An experience of God when in the process of dying or having died, but then being resuscitated.
Jesus quote about prayer
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will fin; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks on the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
Experience of the world leading to belief in God
- Design - Teleological Argument (William Paley). If the work has been designed, it must have a designer. The only possible designer of something as beautiful and complex as the world would be God. Pocket watch example.
- Causation - Cosmological Argument (Thomas Aquinas). Anything caused to exist must be caused to exist by something else because to cause your own existence, you would have to exist before you exist, which is nonsense. There must be a beginning to all chains of cause and effect the universe, therefore, must have a first cause, which can only be God. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1). God is the only one powerful enough to bring the universe into existence and to keep it going.
- Meaning of life/Purpose - searching for the answers to questions such as “what is our purpose”, “why are we here”, can lead people to believe that life’s purpose involves life after death and rewarding for the good and punishment for the evil. Only God could provide an afterlife and decide who should be rewarded and punished.
- Religion and belief in God - religion is the evidence for God’s existence. People have always had religious beliefs, with God as the creator and life should be led in accordance with religious moral codes. 86% of the world’s population belongs to some form of religion.
Why some people don’t believe in God
- Miracle problems - there are better explanations for what appears to be a miracle. Someone may unexpectedly recover from an illness, or miracles could just be coincidences.
- Unanswered Prayers - unanswered prayers can lead people away from believing in God. Atheists argue that is a loving God exits he should answer prayers. Unanswered prayers also test the believers’ faith too.
- Scientific theory of the ‘Big Bang’ suggests that universe’s beginning is due to an explosion of matter and energy about 15billion years ago. Another theory is a natural selection.
Problem of evil and suffering
- God is omni-benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient.
- If God is omni-benevolent he would want to remove evil and suffering.
- If God is omniscient he would now how to remove evil and suffering.
- If God is omnipotent he could remove evil and suffering.
- God and evil cannot both exist - evil does exist, therefore God cannot.
How can there be both evil and God?
- Free will - God has given humans the free will to do as they wish and God therefore cannot interfere. Evil and suffering are caused by God not humans.
- Preparing believers for heaven - God allows evil and suffering to prepare believers for heaven. Bad things happen so that good can result and believers can become for like Jesus.
- God works in mysterious ways - we cannot understand God’s reasons. There is no answer but Christians should just trust God’s love - even Jesus had to suffer. God works with a final plan in view, which is all good and loving: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying, or pain…” (Revelation 21:4)
- Original sin - the Fall in Genesis. God created the world and humans perfectly, and he gave humans free will. Adam and Eve chose to use their free will to disobey the command God gave them and for that sin and suffering were brought into the world.
What two pieces of media could affect someone’s belief in God?
- A film, such as Bruce Almighty, might provide people with explanations as to why there are unanswered prayers and cause someone to believe in God.
- A documentary, such as Richard Dawkins’ The Root of All Evil, might show people evidence against the existence of God (e.g. at Lourdes very few miracles happen) so people would be less likely to believe in God.
What is the argument from design and why may it lead to a belief in God?
William Paley argued that the appearance of the world means that it must have a designer (like a pocket watch) and that this designer must be God.
• The universe appears to be designed.
• A being with intelligence must have therefore designed the universe.
• Only God would have enough intelligence to design the universe.
• God must exist as he is the only explanation.
What is the argument from causation and why may it lead to belief in God?
Thomas Aquinas argued that anything which exists must have been caused to exist by something else.
• Nothing can come into existence on its own.
• The universe therefore needs a cause.
• Only God has enough power to bring the universe into existence.
• Only God could bring the universe into existence because he is eternal.
• God must exist as he is the only explanation.
How can religious experiences lead to belief in God?
- Miracles - when something happens which goes against nature and is thought to be impossible, only God could have done it so therefore he exists.
- Conversion - when there is something inside of you wanting you to change to a particular religion and a person would therefore get an overwhelming feeling of the presence of God and would believe that God exists.
- Numinous - when there is a feeling of great wonder of the presence of something greater than you which could only be God.
- Prayer - a way of communicating with God which can make one feel like they have a personal connection with God (this belief in God is heightened if their prayer is answered).
How can a religious upbringing lead to belief in God?
- There are respected adults teaching their children about religion, so the children are more likely to believe what they are saying.
- Going to a religious school - a child would want to have similar beliefs to their peers.
- Learning how to deal with difficult times would be more likely to involve teachings of the religion and children may respond to their difficult times in faith.
- Celebrating religious festivals - encourages the positive community aspect of religion and gives a child a community on which to fall back.
Why would scientific explanations of the origins of the world lead some people not to believe in God?
- Scientific explanations, such as the Big Bang Theory, can explain the origins of the world without having to refer to God.
- There is evidence for these explanations, such as red-shift light, which shows that the galaxies are moving away, whereas there is no evidence for God.
- If the world is made from eternal matter, there is no need to have an eternal God.
- Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which has been shown in places such as the Galapagos islands, would not fit with the story of Genesis and therefore someone would not be able to believe both.
- Science has shown that material has been able to come into existence without the presence of God.
How do Christians respond to scientific explanations of the origins of the world?
- Some Christians, such as Creationists, believe that the Bible contains the literal word of God so the story of Genesis is the accurate description of the origins of the world and science is wrong.
- Some Christians, such as Jocelyn Bell Burnell (astronomer) believe that the universe evolved without God and that God doesn’t directly interfere with the running of the world, instead he does so through people.
- Some Christians, such as John Polkinghorne, believe that God created something which was able to create itself through the Big Bang, and then God is the sustainer of the world.
Why do unanswered prayers lead some people not to believe in God?
- Some people may feel abandoned if God doesn’t answer their prayers so may abandon God - they are told “ask and it will be given to you” by Jesus.
- Some Christians believe that if God were all powerful he would answer their prayers so he cannot exist.
- Some Christians reject belief in God because if he were all loving, he would answer their prayers.
- Some Christians believe that if God existed he would answer their prayers.
How do Christians respond to the problem of unanswered prayers?
- Part of God’s plan and God’s choice whether prayers are answered.
- Test of faith from God to see strength of belief - e.g. The Book of Job tells the story of how he experienced suffering from God as a test of his faith.
- They will be answered eventually and this could be in heaven but they believe this because they are taught “seek and you will find”.
- Some prayers may not be reasonable and loving (e.g. asking for someone’s death) and for a kind world some prayers cannot be answered.
Why do evil and suffering lead some people not to believe in God?
- God is all powerful, so should be able to prevent evil and suffering, yet it still exists and God cannot.
- God is all loving, so should want to prevent evil and suffering, yet it still exists and God cannot.
- God is all knowing, so should know how to prevent evil and suffering, yet it still exists and God cannot.
- People may pray to remove evil and suffering but their unanswered prayers may lead them to stop believing in God.
- Innocent people suffer (e.g. citizens in an earthquake) and so God cannot exist.
