existance of god Flashcards
God is
omnipotent omniscient omnipresent eternal immanent perfectky good judge
trinity
father - protector and creator - relationship with him like a father and child
son - jesus was god in human form
holy spirit - prescence of God that is with us all the time
trinity
father - protector and creator - relationship with him like a father and child
son - jesus was god in human form
holy spirit - prescence of God that is with us all the time
holy spirit
comforts and strengthens christians in times of difficulty
intercedes on christians behalf as they pray
convicts of sins and calls them to repent
Guides believers to know god’s will
western vs eastern churches
western - belives the spirit comes from the father and the son
‘and from the son’
eastern - holy spirit only comes from father only
‘who proceeds from the father’
god’s relationship with the world
world is dependant on the command of god
he causes all things to exist and ensures that everything is provided for the earht
genesis - demonstartes the world is dependant on god for it’s existance
god’s involvement with the world continued after creation
seasons are controlled by god - ‘a season for every activity under the heavens’
God’s sustaining work in nature
‘he covers the sky with clouds’ ‘makes grass grow on hills’
so…
god brings order to the world
unlike the ‘formless’ emptiness before genesis
he created the world from pre-exisiting matter
most christians believ that god created the world ex nihilio - this shows his eternity
natural world is a witness to god’s existance
‘god’s invisible qualities have been clearly seen’
the purpose of creation
to sustain animal and human life and is it god’s relationship with us that is so central to chirstianity
beauty
beauty of creation is a witness to go being the source of all beauty
how does god relate to humanity
‘let us make man in our image, in our likeness’
a role of stewardship - power and responsibility
his provision of land - promised land for canaan for the israelites and the garden of eden for adam and eve.
his provision of laws - the ten commantments help christains live out his will
his privision of a means of salvation - animal sacrifice in the old testament - atonement day and life and death of jesus - to make a reperation between god and mankind
sacrfricial nature of god’s relationshoip with humans
as jesus, god lowered himslef to the level of a human to serve his people on earth
god mainatins relationship with christians through the presence of the holy spirit in their lives, which acts to remind them of their faith
and intercedes as they pray to god
through holy spirit, god comforts Christians in times of suffering
personal relationship - allows faith
Is God outside time or active in the world
traditionally - timeless
atemporal - he can see and know all things
god is not limited and nor does he changes
‘For i know the plans i have for you’
some christians…
if god were outside time then he would not be able to relate to his creation
in order to answer prayers - he has to respond and change
god is shown to interact with the physical world
flood in exodus
god is seen as active in time and changing in response to his people
chirstians argue that god is everlasting
he is without beggining or end
and with humans each and every moment
personal and engaged with humanity - this is different from atemporal understanding. God has a set plan and he simple allows it to unfold exactly as he knew it would
Can humans communicate with god directly ?
catholic church - priests belive they have been called into the ministry by god
when ordained - he is acting in the power of christ, not in his own power
‘it is no longer I who live, but chirst who lives in me’
intimate relationship created through god in the preist
the preist can also act as a link between humans and god
confession
priest has responsibility to work to become more like christ through the intercession of the holy spirit
protestants - not believe in ministers as a mediator between thmesleves and god
people who truly believe in god have a direct relationship with him and his accesible - HEBREWS 7 - THE NEED FOR PREISTS AS MEDIATORS IS NO LONGER REQUIRED
Beliefs and views on god as good
god’s goodness is revealed through creation
god’s goodness is reveaked trhough his provision of law
god’s goodness is revealed through judhgement - he is the eptiemy of righteous and so can judge farly
‘he rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity’
God’s goodness revealed through salvation
be sending his son, god made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity and this reveals his goodness
challenges to god’d goodness
old testament - the flood by which only noah’s family survive
god’s request to abraham to sacrifice his son issac, only to replace him with a ram at the last moment
actions of god - anger, jealousy and lack of justice. God enabled his own people to destroy cannites in order to take israel for themsleves
however - in th new testamnet god makes the ultimate sacrifice by sending his son to atone for all sin
euthypro dilema
plato’s philosphical problem concerning god’s goodness. ‘Is something morally good because God has commanded it OR does god command it because it is good?’
evil as a result of human sin
the fall
original sin whihc is inherited
perfect world and perfect relationship disfigured
human beings responsible
why did god choose to create adam and eve if he knew they were going to disobey him
evil as a lesson
Irenaeus
- suggests man was created immature, needs to gorw and develop to perfection
evil is necessary to understand goodness
to know goodness we must know suffering
however what about the sufffering that cannot be learned from - like the suffering of a baby
sometimes suffering, does not hep us develop god like qualities and grow in good nature. why is it so necessary ? for example when a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness - they do not deserve that illness but they have acted good towards god so why has he bestowed it upon them
evil as a test
a test of faith for beleievrs
and a punishment for the wicket
book of job
the design argument - teleological
the observation of the natural world reveal and order and complexity that could only have been achieved by an intelligent designer
instead of coming into an existance through a chain of natural events, the world is a result of an intelligent being - god
purpose - wordl was desgined with a purpose
experiances of awe and wonder
- a revelation recogionsing the intricacy of the natural world
William paley
uses the example of a watch
the way in which all the parts work together to meet a specific purpose suggest that the watch must have a designer. this is the same and the world - there is a purpose - god designed the purpose
John stuart Mill
DISAGREED WITH PALEY
Mill pointed to the cruelty of natures operation - for example some animals being effiecient killer s or the food chain
or nature having faults like earthquakes or volcanic erruption which are the result of faults in the earth’s structure which lead us to believ that if there is a designer then, that designer is cruel because his design brigns about suffering.
the anthropic principle
F.r. Tennant
perfectly structured to ensure life would develop
evolution was further evidence for existence of a designer
th process of evilution - has a purpos, which is develop increasingly complex life forms to become more INTELLIGENT and for humans more MORALLLY AWARE
John polkinghorne
believes that god created the universe in this way to ensure human existence
god creates an environment that is sustainable for human habitation
whether taken literally or metaphorically
it is clear the writer is demonstrating the way ensures survival
first cause cosmological
the universe must have a first cause
something must have triggered the process that started the development of the universe - god is the prime mover
Thomas aquinas developed this argument
conscience and moral consequence
moral argument
links our sense with guilt when we do something wrong with the voice of god through our conscience
god has enabled each person to know right from wrong
NEWMAN - gods voice within us reminds us that we are responsible to him
if there was no god - no inner sense of write or wrong
soul making + judgement JOHN HICK
through moral decisions a persons soul can develop and become more god like
suffering and evil are opportunities
however, christians reject this idea because it does not fit with the idea that god judges people after death - does not include whether a person will be sent to heaven or hell
parable of the sheep and the goats
for judges people based on those who have abided in his love and those who have gone astray
quote for role of human conscience
the goal of this command, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith
ethical living
as stewards - choose to buy sustainable products
consider how the products have been made - have they used fair trade
renewable sources of energy - solar power - methodist church promotes use of solar panels on its church buidings
TREES FOR LIfe - increase reforestation- worked in mexico reforesting plants and different types of tress
ethical living
solar panels - methodist churches
trees for life - increase reforestation in mexico
fair traid
ethical living
