God vocab and arguements Flashcards
omnipotent
all powerful
omniscient
all knowing
omnipresent
always present
benevolent
all loving
eternal
has no beginning or end
transcendent
beyond us
metaphysical
not physical
monotheistic
one god
what are arguments used as proof of God
- the first cause argument
- the design argument
- jesus and the bible
- miracles and religious experiences
arguments used as proof against god
- suffering the the problem of evil
- science
- god of the gaps
- hope and fear
explain the first cause argument
- for gods existence
- everything must have a beginning and a cause
- so the universe must have a cause
- this must have been God as it had to be something eternal
problems with the first cause argument
- it contradicts itself; if everything must have a cause why doesn’t god?, what if the universe is eternal not god?
- why does it have to be god and not something else?
- there is no proof the universe needed a cause
explain the design argument
- for god
- William Paley
- there must be a designer for the universe as it functions perfectly and the designer must be god
- watch analogy
describe the watch analogy
if you were walking in a field and came across a watch, you would assume it had a creator because of it intricate mechanisms which perfectly operates
problems with the design argument
- evolution: the world perfectly works because of evoloution and adaption to environments
- suffering problem
explain the argument about jesus and the bible
- for gods existence
- the fact jesus and the bible exist shows gods exists
- many believers died in horrible ways for their believe, if it was a lie why wouldn’t they own if to it to live?
problems with the argument about jesus and the bible
- it was many hundreds of years ago and and our understanding of the world has changed a lot
- there was no exact proof jesus was the son of god
- if he was he would have the power to show people
- who is to say it is the christian god and not another?
explain the miracle argument
- for god
- people experience miracles from jesus and modern times
problems with the miracle argument
- the miracles of jesus might be an exaggeration or myths
- people lie today for fame
explain the problem of suffering and evil argument
if god claims to be all loving and all powerful why is there suffering and evil
- an all loving God wouldn’t want us to suffer and an all powerful one has the power to change it
what are the problems with the suffering and evil argument
- there has to be balance
- christine moore: love requires justice. we wouldn’t want a god who allows murder and does nothing to stop it. his hatred for sin is part of his love
- the definition of omnipotent can differ and can mean he can do everything that is logical
explain the argument of science
- evolution disproves gods creation story and disproves gods perfect design
explain the argument of the god of the gaps
we use a god to explain science we don’t understand or know and our need for him is decreasing as we learn more science
- the greeks did the same with gods to understand nature
explain the argument about hope and fear
we created god to create a form or hope for the future in difficult times and so we don’t fear death and avoid the thought of nothingness
problems with the hope and fear argument
if god is really we would expect him to be a source of love and hope
- we didn’t create him to be something because he is that something
