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Gcse RS > The Existence Of God > Flashcards

The Existence Of God Flashcards

1
Q

Who proposed the Cosmological Argument?

A

Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas was a significant figure in Philosophy and Theology.

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2
Q

What is another name for the Cosmological Argument?

A

The First Cause Argument

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3
Q

What was Aquinas’s aim in proposing the Cosmological Argument?

A

To use reason or logic to persuade people that God existed.

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4
Q

Which philosopher strongly influenced Thomas Aquinas?

A

Aristotle

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5
Q

Name two of Aquinas’s best-known writings.

A
  • Summa Contra Gentiles
  • Summa Theologica
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6
Q

What does Aquinas believe about the study of nature?

A

The study of nature is to study God.

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7
Q

What does the Cosmological Argument claim about the universe?

A

Because the universe exists, someone or something must have ‘caused’ it to exist.

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8
Q

What is the term Aquinas uses for the first cause?

A

Uncaused Cause

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9
Q

According to Aquinas, can there be an infinitely long chain of cause and effect?

A

No, there must be a first cause.

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10
Q

What analogy does Aquinas use to explain the chain of cause and effect?

A

Like dominos, where something must push the first domino.

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11
Q

What must the first cause be, according to Aquinas?

A

Eternal (has no beginning)

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12
Q

What do Theists argue regarding the Cosmological Argument?

A

It is a credible argument.

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13
Q

What do Atheists argue against the Cosmological Argument?

A

It does not explain where God came from.

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14
Q

Fill in the blank: The Cosmological Argument states that something cannot come from _______.

A

nothing

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15
Q

What does Genesis 1:1-2 state that relates to the Cosmological Argument?

A

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’

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16
Q

How is the Cosmological Argument often viewed in relation to the Big Bang theory?

A

Some see it as incompatible with the existence of a creator.

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17
Q

What is the logical principle that Aquinas’s argument relies on?

A

Everything in existence has a cause.

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18
Q

True or False: The Cosmological Argument claims the universe came from nothing.

A

False

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19
Q

ARGUMENT 2: THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN

A
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20
Q

(also known as the TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT)

A
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21
Q

This argument comes from the idea that the world is so complicated and intricate

A
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22
Q

that it must have had a designer. It could not have come around by chance or

A
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23
Q

solely as the result of a ‘cosmic bang’. One philosopher who proposed the

A
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24
Q

Argument from Design was Rev. William Paley (1743 - 1805). His work was one

A
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25
Q

of the most influential philosophical texts during The Enlightenment Period (17th

A
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26
Q

and 18th Century: the move towards rational thought and scientific reason).

A
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27
Q

The world ‘teleological’ comes from the Greek word telos

A
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28
Q

which means end or goal

A

this later came to mean the view

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29
Q

that everything has a purpose. Therefore

A

the Teleological

30
Q

Theory is one that comes from looking at the world in a

A
31
Q

certain way. It is a theory that maintains our world has

A
32
Q

been designed. William Paley believed that his Teleological

A
33
Q

Argument from design proved that there was a God. Paley

A
34
Q

used the example of the workings of a traditional wind-up

A
35
Q

watch to present his argument for the existence of God.

A
36
Q

In crossing a heath

A

suppose I pitched my foot against a stone

37
Q

stone came to be there; I might possibly answer … it had lain there forever. But suppose

A
38
Q

I had found a watch upon the ground

A

and it should be inquired how the watch

39
Q

happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given

A
40
Q

that for anything I knew

A

the watch might have always been there … There must have

41
Q

existed

A

at some time

42
Q

the watch] for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its

A
43
Q

construction and designed its use.

A
44
Q

Paley’s argument demonstrates how someone

A
45
Q

would be impressed with the complexity of a

A
46
Q

traditional mechanical wind-up watch and that

A
47
Q

person would notice the technology that

A
48
Q

enables the watch to work. Each part of the

A
49
Q

watch must work perfectly in order for it to be

A
50
Q

able to tell the time. He said that the natural

A
51
Q

conclusion to studying the watch is that it must have been made by a watchmaker and that no-one

A
52
Q

would conclude that it came about through random chance. Using the illustration of the watch

A
53
Q

Paley notes that the world also is too intricate and complicated to believe that it came about

A
54
Q

through random chance. Therefore

A

the universe must also have a designer who is God.

55
Q

The flow chart below demonstrates Paley’s Teleological Argument..

A
56
Q

A watch has certain complex teatures (it consists of parts

A

each with their own function and

57
Q

they work together for a specific purpose).

A
58
Q

Anything which exhibits these features must have been designed.

A
59
Q

Therefore

A

the watch has been designed by a designer (watchmaker).

60
Q

The universe is like the watch as it possesses similar features on a larger scale.

A
61
Q

Therefore

A

the universe

62
Q

Theist argues that the only logical conclusion for the designer

A

is God.

63
Q

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST PALEY’S TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

A
64
Q

This argument is consistent with the teaching found in the book of Genesis

A

that God

65
Q

designed and created the intricate components of the earth:

A
66
Q

Then God said

A

“Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the

67
Q

land that bear fruit with seed in it

A

according to their various kinds.” And it was so … And God

68
Q

saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12

A
69
Q

It is also consistent with the message from Genesis 1:27 that God designed and created humans

A
70
Q

“in his own image’.

A

Gcse RS (8 decks)

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