God & Revelation

Question 1

What is the divine?

Answer 1

An overriding power
The Ultimate Consciousness
Hindu concept

Question 2

How do Hindus reach enlightenment

Answer 2

Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Yoga

Question 3

The difference between Buddhism and Hinduism

Answer 3

Both Buddhists and Hindus are aiming for enlightenment
For Buddhists enlightenment is the realisation of the truth about human existence
For Hindus enlightenment is realisation of the divine (ultimate consciousness)

Question 4

What is revelation?

Answer 4

God revealing himself to humans

Question 5

Special and general revelation

Answer 5

Special revelation (direct) - for specific people at specific times
General revelation (indirect) - for all people at all times

Question 6

Why is it difficult to know about the divine through general revelation?

Answer 6

Vague/unclear
Can be interpreted in different ways
Explained by other means
Not a direct experience

Question 7

Why might the concept of special revelation be a problem for some religious people?

Answer 7

Lack of evidence
Nothing to compare it to/base it on
Choosing people for revelation doesn’t seem compatible with an all-loving god

Question 8

Existence of Jesus (general or special revelations?)

Answer 8

General - his life, death and resurrection was for everyone

Special - appeared in specific places at specific times

Question 9

General revelation can provide us with knowledge about the divine

Answer 9

Alternative explanations do NOT detract from understanding the divine (science and revelation are NOMA - non overlapping magisterial)
Since god is omnipotent he is able to reveal himself in any way at all times (god is without limits)
Reliance on human interpretation allows us to build a personal relationship with God

Question 10

General revelation cannot provide us with knowledge of the divine

Answer 10

General revelation can be explained by other non-religious means
We have different perspectives and interpretations of the world so general revelation is vague
Seems too common to be a revelation - if god wanted to reveal himself he would make it more obvious

Question 11

Saul’s story (special revelation)

Answer 11

Saul was a persecutor of Christians - he beat them and imprisoned them. One day he was travelling in the desert by Demascus to persecute other Christians when he had a special revelation where god asked him “Why are you persecuting me?” He was blinded. He went on travelling to tell others about his revelation and his beliefs were transformed - he became known as Paul

Question 12

What does special revelation tell us about god?

Answer 12

God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. This tells us the divine is real and god exists as he has the ability to help and heal others.

Question 13

What are the limitations of special revelation as a means of providing knowledge of the divine?

Answer 13

God only chooses certain people which goes against his all-loving nature
It inky gives us one specific aspect of god
It is only to one person/group so can be interpreted in other ways
It isn’t always clear when the special revelation is happening

Question 14

God cannot be both immanent and transcendent (AGREE)

Answer 14

Logically contradictory (cannot be beyond time and in time)
An immanent god must be controlled by the laws of physics which is incompatible with his omnipotence
We can’t have a relationship with a transcendent god (we have to experience him)
God works in time so can’t be beyond it

Question 15

God cannot be both immanent and transcendent (DISAGREE)

Answer 15

An omnipotent god can be both
God is omnipresent so can exist in and out of time
Faith means accepting ideas that may seem unclear or incoherent
God is beyond human understanding
An omniscient god knows how to be both

Question 16

God cannot be both personal and impersonal (AGREE)

Answer 16

Logically incompatible - how can we have a relationship with something we don’t understand?
Relationships require both parties to relate to one another
Special revelations suggest that he is personal
Problems with god having a personal relationship with everyone

Question 17

God cannot be both personal and impersonal (DISAGREE)

Answer 17

We are finite, God is infinite - we can’t understand him but he can understand and communicate with us
We cannot define relationships on our terms - god is omnibenevolent so can love us whilst being impersonal
Faith means we should accept god even if his nature seems incoherent

Question 18

Why are miracles important to Christians?

Answer 18

They are a case of faith and trust in god
They give people hope
They show what god is like
They show god cares and is at work in the world
“What Jesus did here…was the first signs through which he revealed his glory” - John 2:11

Question 19

Two examples of miracles in the bible

Answer 19

Jesus rose from the dead

Jesus fed a crowd of 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish

Question 20

Do miracles provide satisfactory evidence for the existence of god? (YES)

Answer 20

God can save people from death - if there’s little chance of survival then it must be god who saves them through a miracle
No medical reasoning for surviving something
God can change people’s lives (a change of heart/perspective is a miracle)

Question 21

Do miracles provide satisfactory evidence for the existence of god? (NO)

Answer 21

Miracles can just be things where a small chance comes true so not necessarily a miracle
Praying does not prove it can come true
Miracles to somebody can be interpreted in different ways
Actions can be interpreted as an act of god but Christians do this because they are religious

Question 22

What evidence is there for design in the world?

Answer 22

Sunset
Human eye
Precision of the solar system
Uniqueness of human

Question 23

What is the design argument?

Answer 23

There is evidence of design in the world
All design must have a designer
The design is the world must have a designer
This designer is god as designers must be outside this world

Question 24

Strengths of the design argument

Answer 24

Supported by religious scriptures
An omnipotent god can do anything (he is the ultimate designer)
God was responsible for evolution and natural selection and has a purpose for flawed design

Question 25

Weaknesses of the design argument

Answer 25

What we think of as ‘design’ is in fact millions of years of evolution
An omnipotent god would create a flawless world
Scripture is not satisfactory evidence as it presupposes god’s existence
It may not be a Christian god - it could be the ‘divine’ or many gods who have since abandoned us

Question 26

What is the first cause argument?

Answer 26

Everything has a cause
Therefore the universe must have a cause
This cause must be the ultimate cause since it causes everything else
This cause must be god as he is an uncaused cause

Question 27

Issues with the first cause argument

Answer 27

No reason why it must be the Christian god
The cause of any action is not always clear
Big Bang created the universe
If everything has a cause god must also have a cause

Question 28

Strengths of the first cause argument

Answer 28

Makes logical sense since only god can be the uncaused cause as he is eternal
Stops the problem of infinite regress in causation
God is the ultimate stopping point for causation

Question 29

What evil is there in the world

Answer 29

Moral - caused by humans (eg. war, terrorism, murderers)

Natural - caused by nature (eg. natural disasters, disabilities)

Question 30

What is the logical problem of evil?

Answer 30

If god is omniscient then he knows about evil
If god is omnipotent then he has the power to stop evil
If god is omnibenevolent then he would stop evil
As evil does exist then god cannot exist

Question 31

What is the free will defence?

Answer 31

The claim that evil is a result of humans misusing their god given free will
God gives us free will because he loves us - this makes our actions meaningful
Humans choose to use this freedom to do evil things
God and evil cannot co-exist

Question 32

Problems with the free will defence

Answer 32

Can mot explain natural evil
If god is omnipotent then he can creat a world in which we freely choose the good
Determinism suggests we don’t have free will

Question 33

What is the soul making argument?

Answer 33

The claim that god allows evil and suffering to occur as a way of helping us to develop in his likeness
The purpose of evil and suffering is to ‘make our souls’
God is responsible for evil but for a good reason

Question 34

Problems for the soul making argument

Answer 34

Some suffering leads to further suffering
Takes any responsibility away from humans
An omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent god would be able to develop our souls in a kinder way

Question 35

What does the story of job teach about suffering?

Answer 35

Evil and suffering happens for a reason
God has a purpose for the evil and suffering
The devil is also responsible for evil and suffering
Always have faith
Bad things happen to everyone - it helps us to understand the good

Question 36

The story of job

Answer 36

Job was a dedicated Jew who lived with his 7 sons and 3 daughters who had a wealthy, good life. The devil thought that job only followed god because he had a good life and wanted to show god this. He killed his animals, destroyed his home and even killed his children. Job still didn’t blasphemy so the devil made him suffer more. Job proved that despite everything being taken he still has faith. God gave him everything back.

Question 37

What is the difference between faith and knowledge

Answer 37

Faith is a commitment that goes beyond proof and knowledge

Knowledge is a belief justified by proof

Question 38

There is no satisfactory evidence for gods existence (AGREE)

Answer 38

There are too many different interpretations even within the Christian community
We have never seen or experienced god so we cannot say there is evidence for his existence
The bible is just a collection of writings by humans - open to interpretation

Question 39

There is no satisfactory evidence for gods existence (DISAGREE)

Answer 39

Faith means that evidence is irrelevant
The bible provides clear evidence for god and the life and teachings of Jesus (who is God incarnate)
The First Cause Argument - the only logical cause is god
Special/general revelations provide clear personal evidence of god’s existence