The Existence of God and Revelation

Question 1

What is one belief that theists (including Christians) have?

Answer 1

That god created everything

Question 2

What do atheists believe?

Answer 2

That god doesn’t exist and everything evolved naturally

Question 3

What do agnostics believe?

Answer 3

That there is not enough evidence for God

Question 4

What do Buddhist believe?

Answer 4

It’s not explicitly a theistic religion and that everything is created when the necessary conditions are met.

Question 5

What is William Paley’s argument from design?

Answer 5

That the workings of a watch are so intricate that they could not have been produced by chance

Question 6

What is Isaac Newton’s argument from design?

Answer 6

That the thumb must have been designed

Question 7

What is Thomas Aquinas’ argument from design?

Answer 7

That only an intelligent being could keep the universe

Question 8

What if FR Tennant’s argument from design?

Answer 8

He argued that the universe is too finely balanced in the universe for things like gravity and the force and speed of the big bang for these to be accidental.

Question 9

What is the objection of natural selection against argument from design?

Answer 9

The theory holds that complexity arises naturally without the intervention of an intelligent designer

Question 10

What is the problem of suffering against the design argument?

Answer 10

If the universe is designed why is there so much suffering?

Question 11

What is the perception argument against the design argument?

Answer 11

That humans perceive the universe and project meaning and order onto the universe and look for an explanation using God.

Question 12

What is the first cause argument?

Answer 12

1. That everything has a cause.
2. That the university exists, had a beginning and hence a cause.
3. There must be something that has no cause which is eternal that must be the cause for everything else
4. The eternal first cause can only be god
5. Therefore god must exist

Question 13

What do many scientists believe how the universe began?

Answer 13

It began with the big bang

Question 14

What would theists argue about the big bang

Answer 14

that god caused it

Question 15

what would happen if the universe was eternal

Answer 15

there would be no adequate cause and hence explanation

Question 16

What is Thomas Aquinas’ first cause argument?

Answer 16

1. Nothing equals nothing.
2. Without adding anything nothing remains nothing.
3. Adding something to nothing makes it something not nothing.
4. Hence for the universe around us we may conclude:
   a. That there is a never ending chain of events
   b. That god exists and was the first cause

Question 17

What is the objection to god’s existence for the first cause argument?

Answer 17

If everything that exists has a cause then what caused god

Question 18

What is the eternity objection to the first cause argument?

Answer 18

If god is eternal then why can’t the universe be eternal?

Question 19

What is the problem with a causal chain for the first cause argument?

Answer 19

Just because everything we observe has a cause this does not mean that the universe had a cause. If it did have a cause there is no reason to believe it was god

Question 20

What is the big bang objection to the first cause

Answer 20

that the big bang was a random event that had nothing to do with god

Question 21

What is the literal objection to the first cause

Answer 21

that the biblical stories are spiritual not literal

Question 22

What does Buddhism teach about the universe

Answer 22

That the universe is cyclical that there is no behining and no end and no need for a first cause or god.

Question 23

What are miracles

Answer 23

events that are seemingly impossible and cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws

Question 24

what do Christians think of miracles

Answer 24

that they are the work of god

Question 25

what do the works of god represent

Answer 25

that god loves us

Question 26

what do atheist and agnostics argue

Answer 26

that miracles are lucky event and/or have scientific explanations we don’t know about yey

Question 27

What do Christians believe about Miracles?

Answer 27

1. That if there is no scientific explanation for an event it must be caused by god
2. That people convert to Christianity after experiencing a miracle is proof of gods existence
3. that 69 healing miracles have been recognised by the catholic church taking place at Lourdes
4. jesus performed miracles

Question 28

What do Atheists and Agnostics believe about miracles

Answer 28

1. Miracles are luck
2. They have a scientific explanations we don’t yet know about
3. Some miracles are deliberately made up for fame and/or money
4. Miracle healings may be mind over matter

Question 29

What do Buddhists say about miracles

Answer 29

1. Meditators may develop miracles powers
2. miracles are not signs of spirituality nor the evidence of god
3. scripture is full of miraculous events
4. these are not meant to be interpreted literally but are to be consider symbolically

Question 30

Given an example of a Christian miracle

Answer 30

1902 Marie Bailly had tubercular peritonitis went to lourdes

Question 31

Give an example of Buddhist miracle

Answer 31

heavy rain mucalinda king of the serpents encircled buddha and protected him from rain and then when rains stopped turned into a youth