God and Revelation - Y11 Flashcards
Strengths of the Design argument
- Universe is fine-tuned for life
- Universe is beautiful, beauty is uneccessary and it might be the work of a good,loving God
- Thiests argue that God is beyond human understanding and there is an explanation for natural evil that humans will not/never understand
- Scriptures support idea the God is the designer (Bible, Quran, GGs) - Bible Genesis “God made all of creation in 6 days”
- Quran says complexity and order in universe are “signs”
What is the design argument? Who said it?
- Aims to prove the existance of God
- By saying the universe is complex, intricate and so its designer is God eg trees give out o2, take in co2, unique thumbprints
- Rejects idea that we are created by random chance or existance from Big Bang
- Uses watch analogy
- By William Paley
What is the anthropic principle?
- Tennant argued God planned the world so everything was perfect for humans to develop
- gravitational force just right
- Thiests believe that this fine tuning cant be chance but is deliberate action by God
Arguments against design argument
- Theory of evolution - explains appearance of deisgn without deisgner. Darwin says “fixed laws” eg eye developing from earlier, simpler forms
- If God is perfect, why is his creation not? eg flaws in nature (disease, disablility), brutality in nature Tennyson said nature is “red in tooth and claw” which means it operates on violence
- Universe could be a brute fact (fact without explanation) - Bertrand Russel “the universe is just there and thats all”
- Designer doesn’t have to be God, could be a deist God (God with no interest, just a force in universe), could be an intelligent non God designer, more than one God (when a building is designed it needs architects, plumbers, universe is much bigger so more than one God)
What is a miracle?
Event that contradicts the law of nature and has religious significance
Examples of miracles
Jesus
- faith healings (treated ppl who were blind, had leprosy, sick)
- Power over nature (turned water to wine, walked on water)
- Excorcisms performed
- Resurrection
- 5 loaves and 2 fish fed 5000
* Moses split the Red Sea to allow Israelites to escape
* Hadith: Muhammad pbuh splitting the moon
* Night Journey - Muhammad pbuh flys from Mecca to Jerusalem in 1 night (omnipotence of God)
* Lourdes - faith healings since 19th centruy, 66 confirmed since 1882 (shows God is all powerful and loving)
* Abraham/ Ibrahim saved by fire
Miracles prove God exists arguments
- God is omnibenevolent and therefore his intervention with his creation is what we would expect eg faith healings
- Many first-hand testimonies offered as evidence
- God is the only explanation to the breaks in the law of nature
- They don’t always happen to believers, cause people to convert - could be God’s way of guiding smn
- Lourdes - 66 since 1882, checked by doctors and priests
Miracles do not prove God exists arguments
- Stories may have been invented eg Jesus walking on water
- We are trusting ancient sources, may be unreliable
- David Hume: Miracles usually occure in “ignorant and barbarous nations”
David Hume - insufficient witness of “good sense, education and learning” - Coincidence
- Thiests want them to happen to they interpret ordinary events as miracles
- Fake “miracles” for money and fame
- God would be choosing and picking who he wants to help which is not fair and loving
What is the first cause?
- Aquinas states there must be a first cause which must be uncaused (not caused by anything else)
- Says “therefore it is necessary to admit a first cause, to which everypne gives the name of God”
- Everything is caused by something in the universe and this chain cant go on forever, so there must be a first, uncaused cause which is God
Criticisms of the first cause
- If God is eternal why can’t the universe by eternal? Universe doesnt have a beginning - Steady State Theory - universe is eternal and it has always existed
- Big Bang Theory - Athiests believe Universe could have resulted from a random spontaneous event, not an action by God, religious account of creation are myths
- Why is God exempt from this argument? Who caused God?
- Quantum Physics suggests the universe may be possible without any cause
- Could be something other than God
- In religious scriptures, God is much more than “First Cause”
- World has flaws, if God was the first cause, he made mistakes, not the God in religious teachings
Athiest
Person who believes there is no God
Agnostic
Person who believes that we cant be sure whether God exists or not
Thiest
Person who beleives in God
Arguments against belief in God
- Science provides all the answers so belief in God is uneeded
What did David Hume say about evil and suffering?
analysis
Evil and suffering in the world is considered the “rock of atheism”
* Rock - immovable, problem that wont never go away
2 types of evil
- Moral evil - human actions
- Natural evil - natural disasaters, disease
What is the inconsistent triad? Who made it?
- J.L Mackie
- Triangle - top (evil exists), bottom 2 corners (God is omnipotent and God is omnibenevolent)
Who is Epicuris and what did he say?
- Greek philospher who talked about evil and God
- “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent”
- “If he is able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent”
- “Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
What are theodicies?
Explaining evil with God
Evil and suffering proves God does not exist, arguments against
- Life is a test - Quran: “we will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops
- Without evil, we cant understand good
- St Paul: “suffering as suffering produces character”
- Bible: God is “beyond our understanding”
- The Fall (Eve and Adam), disobeyed God and this led to a fallen world
- Freewill - God loves us so has given us free will, moral evil is the result of our poor decisions
- Muslims believe God is transcendent so humans only have limited understanding of his deccisions. We dont understand his reasons to allow suffering, part of his mysterious plan
Evil and suffering proves God does not exist, arguments for
- Inconsistent triad, if he was omnibenevolent, he wouldnt want us to suffer
- If life was a test, God is omniscient so he already knows who is going to go to hell or heaven
- Why does God allow children to suffer? Why does he allow some to suffer more if He loves all?
Special revelation
God making himself known through direct personal experience or an unusual specific event
Enlightenment
gaining of true knowledge about God or self, done through meditation and self-discipline
General revelation
God making himself known through ordinary, common human experiences. availoible to all, indirect experience
Strengths of general revelation
- Avaible to all
- Continous and on going
Immanent
God is present in the world and involved with life on earth and in the universe, God is active through the Holy Spirit and was active in the world through Jesus
Transcendent
God is beyond time and space
Omnipotence
pwerfulness
Power of revelation
- Proof of Gods existence
- Help start off the religion
- Help ppl to know what they must do to live as God wishes
Impact of revelation
- Conversion
- Become a monk/nun
- Changes a way smn lives their life
Illusion
a false belief
Why does God reveal himself to some and not others?
- Hume - lack of evidence
- Unreliable witnesses
- All religions cant be right
Why do athiests think revelations are an illusion?
- Fasle experience (drugs, mental illness, alcohol)
- Mind can play trinks
- Wishful thinking
- Conflicting revelations
- Ordinary events interpreted as revelations
- Physical exertion eg fasting, sleep deprivation
- Could be demons, we dont know the source of the experience is God
3 sources of revelation
- miracles
- visions
- nature
Special revelations are illusions, against
- These experiences are in all cultures, they cant all be made up
- Principle of Testimoney - unless you have a good reason to doubt smn, believe them
- Many visions have caused drastic transformations eg Saul kiilling Christians to becoming a Christian himself - unlikely this would have happend randomly
What did Muhammad pbuh find out on the Night of Power?
Tawhid, 99 names, all-merciful
What did Guru Nanak find out after the RIver experience?
Mool Mantar
What did Moses find out about God after receving the 10 commandments?
God is just and moral
Strengths of first cause argument
- Logical argument - everthing humans know has a start/caused by something and without a cause (God) nothing would exist
- Argument ppl find compelling cuz its logical and fits in with scientific ideas of causality
- Strong argument for a believer cuz it fits in with religious belief that God is the creator and transcendent
Strengths of special revelation
- Proof Gods existence
- Starts of a religion
- Discloses the whole of what God want ppl to know
- direct + stronger impact
- ppl have an anuthoity + confidence to lead others
Weakness of special rev
- If we have no prioiir experience of god how can we recognise an experience of god
- unjust, picking an dhcoosing
