Existance Of God And Revelations Flashcards
Transcendent
Apart from the world/ god is not part of creation
God is personal
He is involved in the life of Christians
God is impersonal
He is beyond human comprehension he does not have a personal relationship with people
How can god be transcendent and imminent
Because he is part of the trinity
Do Buddhists believe in a god
No
What do Buddhists seek
Enlightenment
Why do Buddhists differ from Christians
Because Christians are keen to find out about god whereas a Buddhist is more interested in finding out about themselves
Who do pure land Buddhists believe in
Amitabha
How do Theravada Buddhists see Buddha
As a historical influencer
How do Mahayana Buddhists see Buddha
As imminent and personal. They see him in visions
William Paley
Pocket watch theory. The world is so intricately designed that there must’ve been a creator
For tennant
Goldilocks effect. God made everything just right
What is the problem with god being the creator or the world
There is suffering despite the nature of the Devine
What is life to a Buddhist
A constant cycle
Aquinas
Everything happens due to a cause
What do scientists say is the first cause
Big Bang
Who would Christians say started the Big Bang
God
What would scientists say in response to god creating the Big Bang?
What caused god then?
What’s the problem with god creating the Big Bang
He could’ve done it by accident so this doesn’t make him loving
Why don’t Buddhists believe in the first cause
Because there isn’t one. There is no creator
What is a miracle
When something happens which has no scientific explanation. These must be a sign of gods existence
Examples of miracles
Grayson Kirby/ Moses and the Red Sea
What would an atheist say in response to a miracle
It’s just a happy coincidence
What would an atheist say in response to Grayson Kirby
There was a tiny chance that he would survive but doctors discarded. His survival wasn’t impossible
What is the placebo effect
If you think you will survive u change your mindset and this will make you more likely to survive
Partisan
God has favourites
Arbitrary
Selects random people
How are miracles or visions manipulating
They fool gullible people into believing in god. Through books or the god channel on tv
How do Buddhists interprets miracles
When u meditate you able able to develop powers
What happens in stories about Buddha
Miraculous events which are symbolic
Why are tragic events not seen as a punishment from god
Because science can explain why they happened
God of the gaps
Science has filled the gaps the god once needed to fill. Such as the origins of the universe
Anthony flew
Invisibles garden her story shows how people will never agree on how the world came about
What is a revelation
When a religious person believes that god is revealing something to them by either telling them. What to do or sowing them something
What divisions to theologians divide revelations into
Special and general
What is a special revelation
When god reveals himself to an individual or aspecific group of people
What is a general revelation
When god reveals himself to everybody but only certain people notice (sunset etc)
What do fundamentalist Christians take seriously
beliefs about homosexuality, the death penalty and don’t work on the sabbath
How would liberal Christians interpret the laws of the Bible
As not serious . Times have changed now so,so will laws
How would atheist humanists interpret the bible
As a collection of ancient wisdom. Although it contains elements of wisdom it is not specifically from god
How do atheists criticise the bible
It is full of contradictions because it was written by different people at different times
How do Christians read the bible
Selectively which makes their views hypocritical
Why is scripture important for Buddhists
It points to the truth so people can find enlightenment
Why is nature not always a good way to recognise god
Because nature can be unsavoury and destructive. This doesn’t show a loving god
Why is the worlds beauty not a sign of gods existence for Buddhists
They don’t believe in god and life is a constant cycle
What is a vision
A picture of a religious figure (Jesus or the Virgin Mary for example)
Saint Paul’s vision
Jesus said to him ‘why are you persecution me’ then he became an evangelist
What was created after a vision in Mahayana Buddhism
Tibetan book of the dead
What do Buddhists practise to evoke a vision or a bodhisattva
Mantras and these visions will prove that there is a spiritual world waiting for them
What do atheists think cause visions
Stress, mental illness, drugs
Why might people say they had a vision
Go get peoples attention
Example of a miracle which defies nature
Jesus healing the blind
Example of an amazing coincidence
Surviving an esarthquake
How are coincidences made extreme
With people retelling the events and people building them up in their mind
How do scientists explain miracles
They’re not supernatural they will have a scientific explanation in the future
