Existence Of God Flashcards
1
Q
Define the moral argument (5)
A
- Some theistic philosophers deduce God’s existence from morality. It can be argued that because there are some unalterable ‘right and wrongs’, this indicates there are moral absolutes.
- Theists may argue that if there are actions and duties that should be fulfilled then it must point to the origin of that morality with God’s existence.
- If there were set duties to be done, then our existence couldn’t be random and must imply that the moral law pointed to God’s existence.
- Immanuel Kant believed that people should determine their ethical choices by the principle that if it was acceptable for all people to follow it should be a universal law.
- Kant argued God must exist alongside an afterlife in order to provide the perfect happiness as reward for people’s morality
2
Q
Describe Anselm’s Ontological Argument (5)
A
- Ontological means ‘concerning being’.
- We can see levels of good in our world. Some things are clearly better than others
- This means there must be something which is the ultimate good. This thing must be greater than anything else and is the source of goodness. Anselm said This thing is God
- We can imagine an ultimate good but an image of an ultimate good cannot be the greatest thing because it would be better if this thing existed beyond our imagination
- Therefore the ultimate good is something that actually exists. This ultimate good is God, and God exists
3
Q
Thomas Aquinas cosmological argument (5) (2)
A
- The First cause argument argues that everything in the universe has had something come before it.
- There is a cause that produces the effect
- This Cycle of life couldn’t have been started by itself but by something else
- There is a first cause that explains everything and because it caused everything it must be ‘uncaused’ and eternal
- this first cause is God
- The first major problem is that we have no answer to the question ‘Who caused (created) God?’
- For religious people, the first cause makes God into some kind of distant being who simply made the world, and didn’t continue to care for it
4
Q
Describe the Christian creation story
A
- God is described throughout the bible as the creator. Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.
- God created light and separated light from darkness
- God created the sky
- God created the sea and the dry land. The dry land produced vegetation
- God created the Sun and the Moon
- God created sea creatures and birds
- God created animals to live on the dry land. God created humans (Adam and Eve) in his own image and placed them to rule over the whole of creation
- God rested
5
Q
How do Hindus relate to the universe (6)
A
- Hindus believe that everything they do should lead to their connection to Brahman. They should live, practise and protect his dharma
- So long as the dharma is followed Hindus are free to pursue happiness and wealth
- There is responsibility for Hindus to live morally and accept responsibility for their actions as they believe in karma.
- Hindus should live humbly and not think of themselves as any more important than Brahman
- Everything in existence is connected to Brahman and out of every part of him he creates
- All humans are a part of a cycle of life where they will be born, die and have re-birth. Their soul (atman) will be born into another living being
6
Q
How do theists respond to the evolutionary theory
A
- Some theists reject this theory. One argument they give is that the universe and human life are only possible because of a list of physical conditions that allowed
- Some theists conclude that because the coincidences are so unlikely that it is more plausible that the universe was designed
- Some Christians believe that any findings that contradicts genesis are wrong
- One example of an argument from genesis against the mutation of species is that genesis created ‘kinds’ of living things and while these things may change they wouldn’t adapt into a different species entirely
7
Q
Theist definition
A
A person who believes in the existence of a god or gods
8
Q
Atheist definition
A
People who lack faith or reject the teaching and evidence for the existence of god
9
Q
Agnostic definition
A
People who are questioning religion and weighing up evidence for the existence of god
10
Q
Teleological argument (5)
A
- The word ‘teleological comes from the Greek word ‘teleos’ meaning end or goal
- William Paley’s teleological argument is that if you came across a wind-up watch in the countryside you would be impressed by its complexity. Each part must work perfectly to tell time.
- He said the natural conclusion is that the watch had a designer.
- In the same way, he claimed the world is too intricate to believe it came about through random chance.
- The universe also has a designer who is God
11
Q
Arguments from religious experience (5)
A
- Some theists believe that miracles can prove the existence of a being working beyond the laws of nature
- Examples of miracles would be a rapid medical recovery or briefly dying and coming back to life
- Christians believe in miracles and also religious experiences such as speaking in Tongues, dreams where they meet Jesus and encountering god through prayer
- Atheists would say that people can lie or over exaggerate their experiences, or even hallucinate them
- Theists would maintain that God has made the world with rules however he is still a God who can intervene in certain situations
12
Q
Describe the Hindu creation story
A
- A lotus flower grew from Lord Vishnu’s navel with Brahma sitting on it.
- Brahma separated the flower into three parts - the heavens, the Earth and the sky.
- Out of loneliness, Brahma split himself into two to create a male and a female. From this male and female all beings were created.
- Another story makes reference to life coming from the cracking of an enormous egg, which is the life from which the universe is born.
- The Hymn of Creation from the Rig Veda concludes that nobody knows how the universe came into being and even questions whether Brahman knows.
13
Q
Name main gods in Hinduism and their role
A
Brahma - creator
Vishnu - preserver
Shiva - destroyer
This is the Trimurti, who control the life cycle
14
Q
How can Christians relate to the universe ? (5)
A
- Believe God is omnipotent, all powerful and created everything
- Christians look to nature - mountains, landscapes, vistas and thank/praise/worship God because of its beauty and intelligent design
- God created the earth in Genesis 1 specifically with the environment intended to sustain human life, e.g vegetation and animals to eat, correct distance of earth from the sun (especially Creationist Christians)
- Christians believe in miracles where god intervenes with the rules of nature he created to guide Christians out of a difficult position
- Christians can also relate to the universe through their sacred text, the Bible, enabling them to see the scale and magnitude of God’s power.
15
Q
Describe the Big bang theory (5)
A
- Universe was in a very high density State and expanded
- it began with a hot Big Bang and the universe exploded out from heat and energy, approximately 13.8 billion years ago
- after the universe cooled sufficiently, it allowed the formation of particles and atoms
- Gravity, stars and galaxies were formed
- in the future, the universe will cool so much that it will lead to a ‘Big Crunch’ where the universe ends
