philosophy Flashcards
1
Q
What is natural revelation?
A
- The idea that yiou can look at the world and see signs of God.
- Religious believers see life as spiritual as well as material. They believe that the vastness of the universe and the beauty of nature are enough to make people believe in God.
2
Q
What is special revelation?
A
The idea that God revealed himself in special ways, such as sending his word in the Bible
3
Q
Why do Christians believe the Bible proves the existence of God?
A
- It is inspired by the Holy Spirit, which means it comes from God and reveals God
- The Church teaches that God speaks through both the Old Testament and the New Testament, showing his character and commands
- It contains God’s laws on how to behave, e.g. the Ten Commandments which help people live as God intends, so it has authority by showing them how God wants them to live
4
Q
Why do Catholics believe that God’s revelation culminated in the Incarnation?
A
- All the small revelations found in the Old Testament are summed up and made clearer in the life of Jesus
- In the Incarnation, God made a complete revelation of himself because the Son is the exact representation of God’s being, so nothing more can be revealed
5
Q
What does God’s revelation in Jesus show Catholics?
A
- God is loving - he loved the world so much he became flesh
- God is forgiving - he was prepared to die on the cross to bring forgiveness to the world’s sins
- God wants people to have eternal life - rising from the dead
- God brings healing - body, mind, and spirit, shown through his miracles
6
Q
What are the two biblical visions?
A
- Abraham’s vision - covenant, God appeared to him, giving him a message of hope and a promise of descendants
- Transfiguration - Jesus took his disciples up to a high mountain where he was transfigured - his face shone like the Sun, his clothes became as white as the light and a voice came from a cloud saying Jesus was his son, and they must listen to him
7
Q
Example of non-biblical visions?
A
- St Joan of Arc - French peasant girl in the 100 year war between England and France, who claimed to have a vision that said that St Margaret and St Catherine told her to drive the English out of France. She managed to convince the French Royal Court of this, and led many victories against England before being captured and burned at the stake
8
Q
Why do visions lead some people to believe in God?
A
- They claim to come from God, so if they happen, God must exist
- The changes in behaviour of the person having the vision
- The message in the vision may make the person believe it came from God
- If the person having the vision is known to be honest, it must come from God
9
Q
Why do non-religious people believe visions do not prove God’s existence?
A
- People who have experienced mental illness, stress or are on medication can have hallucinations, similar to the visions of saints
- Vissionaries see the Virgin Mary as blonde and blue-eyed, but middle eastern Jewish people had dark eyes, skin and hair
- Visions exist only in the mind of those experiencing them, and so prove nothing
- There is no evidence for them
10
Q
Why do Catholics believe that miracles believe God exists?
A
- If a miracle has happened, God must have performed the miracle, and to perform it he must exist
- Only God can perform miracles, so if they happen, God must have caused it - the miracles authenticated by the Church have been examined scientifically and proven to be true
- If someone witnesses a miracle that has no natural explaination, they will be forced to believe it was caused by God
11
Q
What do non-catholics argue about miracles?
A
- If God performed miracles, he would surely use them to remove hunger and poverty rather than just helping a random sick person
- Many miracles from the past can now be explained
- The evidence for miracles is always based on the evidence of witnesses, but we know they can be mistakem and tell lies
- Miracles are supposed to break the laws of nature, which are based on our experiences of life, so to believe in a miracle, the evidence for it would have to be stronger than our whole experience of life
12
Q
How do Catholics disagree with Non-catholic attitudes towards miracles?
A
- They can rely on the truth of biblical miracles because the Bible comes from God
- Miracles have been authenticated by the Church
- If God used miracles to stop hunger and war, he would be changing the nature of life
13
Q
What are the 5 types of religious experiences?
A
- Visions
- Miracles
- Conversion experiences
- Numinous experiences
- Prayer
14
Q
What is a conversion experience?
A
- Used to describe an experience of God which is so great that the person wants to change his or her life or religion to commit themselves to God in a special way
- These make peopel believe in God because they feel that God is calling them to do something
15
Q
What is a numinous experience?
A
- A feeling of the presence of God
- When people are in a religious building or in a beautiful place, they may be filled with awareness that there is something greater than them - God
- Described as an experience of the transcendent, and likely to make them believe in God
16
Q
What is prayer in the context of religious experiences?
A
- When the person praying feels that God is listening to the prayer
- Also an answered prayer may lead to belief in God
17
Q
Why do most religious people believe religious experience is proof for God’s existence?
A
- For people to have a numinous experience, something must be causing the experience and that must be God
- If a miracle happens, all the laws of science have been broken, and the only explaination must be God
- If a person has such a vivid religious experience that it causes them to convert, it must have been caused by God
- If a person prays and the prayer is answered, God must exist
18
Q
Why do non-religious people not believe that religious experiences prove God’s existence?
A
- If numinous experiences came from God, everyone in the same place and the same time would have the same experience, but they don’t
- They believe all miracles can be explained
- Conversion experiences are only in that person’s head, and cannot be proven
- There are more unanswered prayers than answered ones, so the unanswered prayers prove God does not exist
- Followers of all religions claim to have religious experiences, so they cannot prove the truth of any one religion
19
Q
How do catholics respond to non-religious ideas about religious experiences?
A
- Catholics disagree because they believe everyone has a spiritual sense, they just interpret their experiences differently than religious people.
- They claim these experiences prove God exist but cannot prove the truth of any particular religion
20
Q
What is the design argument?
A
- An argument that claims that if something seems to be designed, it must have a designer. the universe appears to have a designer, so it must have one, and God is the only possible source
21
Q
What is William Paley’s design argument?
A
- If you were walking in an uninhabited place and came across a watch, you could not say it had been put there by chance
- The complexity of the watch’s mechanism would make you say it had a designer
- The universe is much more complex, therefore it must have a designer
- This could only be God, therefore God exists
22
Q
Why do Catholics believe the design argument is important?
A
- God’s existence can be demonstrated from creation
- God wants humans to use their reason to understand the world as well as the revelation he gave to the church
- God is the creator of the universe, and keeps it in existence
23
Q
Why do non-religious people reject the design argument?
A
- The argument ignores the evidence of lack of design, e.g. diseases and natural disasters
- All the evidence can be explained by science without thinking of God
- The argument does not refer to the existence of extinct things, such as dinosaurs
- The argument proves the world had a designed, not that it is God
24
Q
What concept did St Aquinas give in Summa Theologica?
A
The way of motion, the way of causation, the way of contingency
25
What is the way of causation?
Aquinas argued that everything seems to have cause and nothing causes itself. An infinite regression of causes is impossible, so there must be a first cause to start the process, which must be God
26
What is the way of motion?
Aquinas argued that the things in the universe are in motion but nothing can move unless it was moved my something else, meaning there must be a first mover, which must be God
27
What us the way of contingency?
* All material things are contingent (does not have to exist). However, if everything is contigenet, than at one time nothing did exist, but things do exist, therefore there must be a non-contingent being and everyone would call this God.
28
What is the modern form of the cosmological argument?
* Cause and effect seem to be a basic feature of the world
* Modern science has developed by looking at causes and effects - every effect has a cause, and every cause has an effect
* This means the universe, the world and humans must have had a cause
* God is the only logical creator, therefore God must exist
29
Why is the cosmological argument important for Catholics?
* Shows that God is the origin of everything - he is the unmoved mover, the first cause, and the non-contingent being
* Shows that God is not anothing thing within the universe - he is the source of all being and so has no beginning or end. He is infinite and eternal
* Shows that God is a mystery - human beings can grasp only so much about God's being and nature
30
Why do non-religious people believe the cosmological argument doesn't prove that God exists?
* If everything needs a cause then God must also need a cause
* It is possible that matter itself is eternal and so was never created - that would mean that there is no need for a first cause
* Just because everything in the universe needs and explaination does not mean the universe itself needs one
* Even if there was a first cause, it doesn't make it the Christian God
31
How does the church respond to non-religious views on the cosmological argument?
* To claim the whole universe just happened is more unbelievable than claiming it was designed and created by God
* The universe is too vast and complex, and works according to too many laws to have appeared by chance
* Our immortal soul is a sign that the universe is more than the material and that it is much deeper than physica; ;aws, and can only be explained by God
32
What are the two forms evil and suffering can take?
* Moral suffering - caused by humans misusing their free will to do something evil, e.g. war and murder
* Natural suffering - not caused by humans, e.g. natural disasters
33
Why does evil and suffering cause problems for Catholic belief about the nature of God?
Catholics believe God is:
* Omnipotent - if he is all powerful, he must be able to stop evil and suffering
* Omnibenevolent - God must want to remove evil and suffering from the world because they cause pain
* Omniscient - Everything happens as part of his divine plan, which means he knew of the evil and suffering that would come from creating the universe in the way that he did
Therefore, God cannot be all three simultanously
34
Why does evil and suffering lead some Christians to examine or reject their belief in God?
* Challenges Catholic beliefs about the nature of God, and therefore the teachings of the Bible and the magesterium
* If Christians encounter suffering, they may find it hard to keep their faith
35
What do non-religious people believe about evil and suffering?
* They cannot believe a good God would have designed a world with natural evils in it
* They find it easier to believe natural evil are a result of the Earth evolving by accident from the Big Bang, so they question or reject God's existence
36
How do Catholics biblically respond to the problem of evil and suffering?
* The book of Job explains how God allowed Satan to punish sinless Job to prove to Satan that Job loved God. Job protested with God, but when they came face to face, he realisd that God is so geat that humans have no right to challenge him. Nevertheless, God has a reason for suffering, it is just too complex for humans to understand
* The book of Pslams explains that suffering is simply a part of life, and so is joy, so they go side by side. However, it also cleaims that suffering van bring believers to a deeper understanding of God
37
How do Catholics theoretically respond to the problem of evil?
* Free will - God created humans in his image, so giving the humans the freedom to choose what to do, meaning that he cannot interfere if they choose evil
* Evil in this life is not a problem because this life is preperation for paradise. If people need to improve their souls, they need to face evil in order to become good. God cannot remove evil and suffering if he is giving us the choice to become good, but at the end, he will show his love and power by rewarding the good in heaven
* Suffering may have the purpose of bringing good out of people as they respond to suffering by changing things, ensuring it is reduced and removed
38
How do catholics practically respond to the problem of evil?
* Christians pray for those who are suffering, ask for God's help through intercessory prayers
* Christians give practical help to those who suffer - many become doctors, nurses or social workers, to reduce the amount of suffering
* Many Catholic charities exist to help reduce suffering
39
Why is marriage important to Catholics?
* Catholics believe marriage was created by God as the way of preserving and establishing society
* Marriage is one of the seven sacraments
* Marriage is the only way for Catholics to have sexual relationships
* Marriage is the only way for Catholics to have children and raise a family
40
What is the purpose of marriage for Catholics?
* So a couple can have a life-long relationship of love and faithfulness
* So the couple can en have the comfort and support of eachother, and have sex the way God intended
* For the procreation of children
* So the children can be brought up in a Christian family and be brought up in the faith
41
What does the Catholic Church teach about marriage?
* Can only be between one man and woman (monogamy)
* In the sacrament of marriage, God joins the couple in a bond that humans have no right to break, so marriage is for life
* Marriage is not for everyone - God calls some people to be celibate so they can dedicate themselves to him such as priests and nuns
* Pople Francis urges society to return to life long marriage because the union of man and woman is good for both individuals and society, the family is the pillar which holds society together, and "children have the right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother"
42
What are non-religious attitudes to marriage?
* All humanists and most atherists believe it is up to individuals whether their should marry or cohabit, but relationships should be only 1 partner at a time
* Many do marry because it gives more stability and protection, especially if children are involved
* Most couples today have sex before marriage and cohabit before they marry, and marriage can be between two people of the same sex
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