The Existence of God and Revelation Flashcards
What are God’s three qualities?
- Omnipotent (all powerful)
- Omniscient (all knowing)
- Omnibenevolent (all loving)
What is TRANSCENDENT?
He is not part of creation, he is outside it watching it all happen.
What is IMMANENT?
God is all around us
What is PERSONAL?
that he gets involved in the lives of individuals and has a relationship with them
How can God be Immanent & Transcendent at the same time?
He is part of the Holy trinity
Who is Buddha to Theravada Buddhists?
A Historical figure, an example to be followed
Who is Buddha to Mahayana Buddhists?
He is immanent & personal
Who thought of the Design argument?
William Paley
What is the Design Argument?
The universe is so complex and well designed that there must have been a designer behind it - God
What is an example of the design argument?
If you saw a watch on the ground, you wouldn’t assume it was there by chance but that there must have been a watchmaker. Each part of the watch has a specific purpose, just like the world.
What is the Goldilocks effect?
An idea founded by F.R. Tennant that the world is in the perfect place for human survival and this can’t have just happened by chance.
Give one problem with the design argument
If God designed the world, why is there so much suffering in the world?
How does Natural Selection disprove the design argument?
The reason why the world is in a perfect condition is because organisms have adapted and evolved over time to reach this point
How do Buddhists respond to the design argument?
There is no God or creator, the universe is in a continuous cycle
Who thought of the first cause argument?
Aquinas
What is the first cause argument?
Everything has a cause. Something must have caused creation, the first cause is God
What do scientists say is the first cause?
The big bang
What is one problem with the first cause argument?
It doesn’t prove that God is loving or personal
How do Buddhists respond to the first cause argument?
There was no ‘first cause’ the universe has always existed.
What is the argument from Miracles?
When amazing things happen and there’s no scientific explanation, these events prove God’s existence
Give one bible example of a miracle
Moses being able to part the red sea
Who was Grayson Kirby?
A man who suffered an incredible car accident, people prayed for him and now he’s made a full recovery
Give 2 things an Atheist would say in response to Miracles
- they’re just happy coincidences
2. they’re a result of the placebo effect
Give 2 problems about miracles that Christians may point out
- God is either partisan or arbitrary
2. Manipulation of Gullible believers
What is Partisan?
Picking favourites
What is Arbitrary?
Choosing people at random
What would Buddhists say about Miracles?
They aren’t significant in proving a god, people who meditate intensely may be able to develop special powers.
What would Buddhists say about Buddha’s miracles?
They’re not true just symbolic
What are the two types of evil?
Natural & Moral
Why is evil an argument against God’s existence?
If he designed the world, why is there evil in the world?
Give 2 explanations for evil
- The inconsistent triad
2. Giving humans freewill
How is science an argument against God’s existence?
Now we have scientific explanation, there is no reason to believe in God
What is ‘God of the Gaps’?
There are certain things in science that we can’t explain, that’s where God comes in
Explain the Parable of the Invisible Gardener
Two explorers come across a garden, one thinks it’s an accident one thinks there’s a gardener. They wait to find a gardener but no one turned up. The believer said he’s invisible but the other one said there’s no point in believing.
What does the story of the invisible gardener show?
Religious believers adapt new scientific discoveries to their current beliefs
What are Revelations?
Religous experiences where the believer thinks that God is revealing something to them
What are the two types of Revelation?
General & Special
What are special revelations?
When God reveals himself to an individual for a specific purpose
What are general revelations?
When God reveals himself to all of us but not everyone notices
How can Holy scriptures be seen as a revelation?
The bible is god’s way of revealing himself to us. It shows us how we should live our lives
Give 3 problems about the bible
- Full of contradictions
- Just common sense
- People selective read
Give an example of how Christians selectively read the bible
The death penalty should apply to breaking the sabbath.
How can nature be seen as a revelation?
Nature reveals aspects of God’s personality. Christians may experience Awe or Wonder
Give 2 problems with Nature as a revelation
- Natural disasters
2. Happened by chance
What are Visions?
A picture, in a dream perhaps
Give 2 bible examples of Visions
Saint Paul ‘why are you persecuting me?’ and the Virgin Mary
What is the Tibetan book of the dead?
A book supposedly created after seeing a vision, believed by Mahayana Buddhists
What do Buddhists think about Visions?
Mahayana chant mantras in order to come into contact with a Bodhisattva, proves there is a spiritual world
What are 4 arguments against Visions?
- Brain reacts differently under stress
- In the past, not a great understanding of mental illness
- Took drugs to enter the spiritual world
- Manipulate believers.
What are two types of miracles?
- Those that defy the laws of nature
2. Those that are amazing coincedences
What is one problem with miracles?
They ‘grow’ in people’s minds over time
