Theme C – Existence of God

Question 1

Thomas Aquinas’ Argument – Qua Regularity:

Answer 1

• The world is full of order, complexity and
  patterns such as the changing seasons and the
  planets orbiting the sun.
• These natural things cannot order themselves on
  their own (because they cannot think!) so there
  must be a designer who causes these patterns.
• For Aquinas, only God is powerful enough to
  design such an ordered universe so God must
  exist.
• Look at the image of the planet’s orbits…a planet
  cannot think so God must be the one behind
  these patterns.

Question 2

William Paley’s Design Argument – Qua Purpose

Answer 2

He compared a watch to the universe – he is not
saying the world is a watch but says a watch is so
complex, we know it must have been designed
rather than appeared by chance.
1. Complex things do not appear by chance, they
have to be designed e.g. a WATCH IS SO
COMPLEX IT MUST HAVE A DESIGNER
2. 3. 4. The world is very complex (like a watch)
The world cannot have happened by chance
The world must have been designed by an
intelligent designer
5. This designer is God
Paley used the natural example of an eye to show
how complex our bodies are – he believed that such
a complex organ like the eye could not have
happened by chance

Question 3

Does the Teleological Argument prove the existence of God? STRENGTHS

Answer 3

1. Supported by the Bible: the Bible
   speaks about God creating and
   designing a good and complex world
   e.g. Genesis says ”In the beginning
   God created the heavens and the
   earth”
2. Fibonacci Sequence: complex
   mathematical pattern that is seen in
   nature e.g. in seashells or the swirls of
   the Milky Way all follow this pattern.
   No one knows why the pattern is here
   so there must be a designer.
3. The world is just right for life: if the
   Big Bang exploded differently by a tiny
   fraction then the world we know
   would not exist…surely a designer
   caused this to happen just right for
   life to exist (Tennant)

Question 4

Does the Teleological Argument prove the existence of God? WEAKNESS

Answer 4

1. 2. 3. Evolution: Darwin would say that
         evolution can explain how complex
         organisms are so there is no God, it
         can all be explained by nature.
         Multiple Gods? : Complex machines
         are usually built by more than one
         people so why does a complex world
         show the Christian God? Surely there
         could be multiple Gods or a different
         universe designer?
         Evil in the world: nature is evil e.g.
         earthquakes, flooding so there is no
         evidence of design or a loving God (JS
         Mill

Question 5

Thomas Aquinas – First Cause Argument

Answer 5

The cosmological argument is also called the
“first cause” argument because Aquinas is asking
the question: what caused the universe to come
into existence? And his answer was God.

Question 6

Cosmological argument in brief

Answer 6

-Everything that exists must have a cause
-The universe exists, so it must have a cause
-Whatever is the cause of the universe must be something outside of the universe, something eternal and powerful.
-This eternal and powerful First Cause must be God
-Therefore, God exists

Question 7

Dominoes show the First Cause Argument

Answer 7

• For the dominoes to fall, there MUST be a cause
  e.g. pushing the dominoes.
• Without the First Cause, the dominoes would not
  fall.
• The universe exists so there must have been a
  First Cause that is not caused by anything to start
  the chain of causation that led to the world being
  here the way it is.
• E.g. you were caused by your parents; your
  parents were caused by your grandparents and
  so on

Question 8

Does the Cosmological Argument prove the existence of God? STRENGHTS

Answer 8

1. Supported by the Bible: the Bible
   speaks about God creating the world
   e.g. Genesis says ”In the beginning
   God created the heavens and the
   earth”
2. Big Bang and Religion are
   compatible: Scientists are unsure why
   the Big Bang happened so some
   religious believers think that God
   caused the Big Bang which supports
   the First Cause Argument.
3. Principle of Sufficient Reason
   (Leibniz): The universe must have a
   good reason why it is here, the Big
   Bang does not provide that as there
   are too many questions still, only God
   as the cause means there is a full
   explanation.

Question 9

Does the Cosmological Argument prove the existence of God? WEAKNESSES

Answer 9

1. Argument contradicts itself: why
   can’t God have a cause if everything
   in the universe has a cause.
2. 3. Big Bang was random and not
      caused: Scientists believe the Big
      Bang was random so God couldn’t
      have caused the universe or the Big
      Bang (like some Christians believe)
      Hume said just because everything in
      the universe has a cause, doesn’t
      mean the universe has a

Question 10

What was the 1st miracle happened at Lourdes?

Answer 10

In 1858, a young girl called Bernadette was living in the small
town of Lourdes in France.
She witnessed a number of visions of Mary, the mother of
Jesus. In these visions, Mary spoke to Bernadette and on
one particular occasion she gave Bernadette instructions about
where to dig in the ground. Bernadette
followed Mary’s instruction, and dug a well where water was
running underground.
People who bathed in this water or who drank it became cured
of various illnesses and diseases, and before long Lourdes
became a very popular pilgrimage site for Christians,
and particularly for Catholics who have a strong devotion to
Mary.

Question 11

Another miracle at Lourdes

Answer 11

Jean-Pierre Bely was a soldier in WW2. He was shot 5 times
in the back and the bullets were stuck in his spine. Doctors
could not remove the bullets because the operation would
kill him. He was paralysed.
Jean felt a tingling feeling in his whole body, and for the
first time in over 30 years he was able to move his legs. A
few days later he was walking. When the doctors examined
him, the bullets were gone from his spine, and he had no
physical damage to his body whatsoever. John
believed that God had cured him.

Question 12

Examples of Miracles in the Bible

Answer 12

Jesus Walking on Water - Matthew 22

Jesus Feeding the 5000 - Matthew 13

Question 13

Richard Swinburne – Supporter of Miracles

Answer 13

• Swinburne believed that miracles do happen, and it is reasonable to
  say they are from God.
• He does not accept every miracle but created two principles to test
  miracles to prove that it came from God.

Question 14

Principle of Testimony:

Answer 14

it is reasonable to believe what someone tells
you unless you have a good reason not to believe them (e.g. they
have lied before)

Question 15

Principle of Credulity

Answer 15

what we think we experience happened e.g. I
saw a cat run across the road this morning…I believed this was real
and should therefore be believed. If I had a vision of God one day, I
should believe it as my senses don’t usually lie to me.

Question 16

Do miracles prove the existence of God? STRENGTHS

Answer 16

1. Supported by the Bible: the Bible
   speaks about God performing
   miracles e.g. Jesus walking on water
2. Swinburne provides a more
   humane approach to people – not
   all humans lie or are hallucinating.
3. Miracles can cause changes in
   people like William James said –
   people change religions or their
   attitude to life and they gain
   knowledge about God…some
   miracles have empirical evidence of
   the after-effects.

Question 17

Do miracles prove the existence of God? WEAKNESSES

Answer 17

1. Extraordinary claims like miracles
   need extraordinary evidence – not
   just peoples’ word for it
2. People lie
3. Science can explain why some
   miracles happen and if it can’t it is
   because we don’t know enough yet
   but we will be able to explain it in
   the future.
4. Stephen-Evans argues that
   religious people interpret events
   in a religious way so they may think
   an everyday experiences involve
   God.

Question 18

Natural Evil

Answer 18

• Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans e.g. earthquakes,
  tsunamis etc.

Question 19

Moral Evil

Answer 19

• Actions done by humans that cause suffering e.g. lying, murder etc.

Question 20

Problem of Evil

Answer 20

• How can God be all-loving and all-powerful yet evil exist? He can’t so he does not exist!

Question 21

Theodicy

Answer 21

• Christian solution to the problem of evil which says evil is here for a different reason so
  God can still exist!

Question 22

Inconsistent triad J.L Mackie

Answer 22

• If an omniscient God exists, he would know that people are
  suffering, because he knows everything.
• If an omnibenevolent God exists, he would want to stop people
  from suffering, as this would be a loving thing to do.
• If an omnipotent God exists, he would have the power to stop or
  even prevent the suffering – he could stop earthquakes, or
  cancer…
  David Hume – “the problem of evil is the rock of atheism”

Question 23

St. Augustine’s theodicy

Answer 23

• When God made the world, it was perfect.
• He believed this because in the creation story in the Bible it says “God saw what he had made and it was good” (Genesis)
• The first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the rules God gave them and turned away from God.
• They were punished for what they did: In the Bible God says “Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse.” (Genesis)
• Their actions caused the suffering and evil in the world.
• Today, people suffer because of what Adam and Eve did, and because we make bad choices which cause more pain and suffering.
• Therefore, God does not stop suffering because we deserve it as a punishment for our sins and the sins of Adam and Eve.

Question 24

St. Irenaeus’ theodicy

Answer 24

• When God made the world, it was not perfect - God put suffering in the world because God knew it would be good for us.
• Suffering helps us to develop characteristics like kindness and forgiveness.
• If we lived in a perfect world, we would never develop into good people.
• Irenaeus said suffering is “soul-making” because it makes us better people.

Question 25

Does the Problem of Evil show there is no God? YES

Answer 25

1. 2. 3. Logical Problem of Evil – All- powerful and all-loving God is logically contradictory to evil e.g. love is opposite of evil so God is not real. Natural evil – only explanation is God, God created nature so created natural evil which means he is either not- loving which Christians will not agree with or he is not real. Too much evil in the world e.g. the Holocaust, Wars, death, Covid- 19…how can there be a God?

Question 26

Does the Problem of Evil show there is no God? NO

Answer 26

1. 2. Evil is here for a different reason so God does exist but evil is humans fault so we need to deal with the consequences (Augustine Theodicy) Evil helps us grow and develop character so God can exist as well as evil (Irenaeus’ Theodicy)

Question 27

How can science challenge religion?

Answer 27

• Natural disasters like floods can now be explained by science • People used to look for God for answers but our knowledge through experiments and reason has grown • Science will eventually explain any gaps in our knowledge

Question 28

How can science support religion?

Answer 28

• The Bible is not taken literally so science can tell us how, by religion tells us why • The Pope in 2014 said “The Big Bang does not contradict the divine act of creation” showing they can work together • Many religious believers are scientists e.g. Isaac Newton believed science was a gift from God • Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest, was one of the first people to propose almost 100 years ago that the universe first began when extremely condensed matter rapidly expanded (now called the “Big Bang theory”).

Question 29

Examples of Special Revelation in the Bible

Answer 29

1. The Annunciation (Luke) - Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in a vision and said she would get pregnant through the Holy Spirit 2. 3. Saul’s Conversion (Acts) – Saul was persecuting Christians and one day he got blinded by a light on the road to Damascus. A voice of God spoke to him and made him blind for 3 days and at the end, he became a Christian and a good man. He changed his name to Paul (later became St. Paul) Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus) – God appeared to Moses in a vision of a burning bush to tell him to free the Jews from slavery

Question 30

How does Special Revelation impact the lives of people?

Answer 30

William James was an American philosopher and medical doctor writing in the early 1900s. He studied special revelation and collected accounts from hundreds of people who claimed to have experienced God in this way. He concluded that there were some common after-effects of these experiences – specific ways in which the experiences had impacted the recipient: •Change > the person experiences a significant positive change in the life. • •Elation > the person experiences a feeling of positivity and deep inner contentment. • •Purpose > the person feels a new sense of purpose in their life.

Question 31

Alternative Explanations to God?

Answer 31

1. People were hallucinating 2. People might feel guilt over their decisions so that might make them change 3. Experiences with other people e.g. listening to a speaker about their life might make you change yours 4. Your upbringing and education can guide you to make different choices 5. People are telling lies

Question 32

General Revelation: Nature

Answer 32

- Believers see God’s qualities in nature through its complexity, design and patter. General revelation through nature is a theme that is common throughout the Bible which contains many passages which speak about how God reveals himself to people through the natural world. Psalm 19 speaks of the heavens and the earth and how the things God has made reveal his existence to people: The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 46 contains a poem about nature and says, Listen, be still, and know that I am God

Question 33

General Revelation: Conscience

Answer 33

Immanuel Kant argued that God reveals himself to humans through their conscience (inner voice) to help guide us to making the right decisions

Question 34

Qualities of God seen through Revelation:

Answer 34

Omnipotence – God can do anything including speak to humans through visions, nature and scripture Omnibenevolence – God loves us so helps guides us and give us a beautiful world to live in Immanence – We see God working IN the world by the order in nature (Design Argument) and we see God working IN the world by appearing to people in visions Transcendence – we see God being outside of time as he can appear to humans by extraordinary means and God is not in the world which is why we only see his qualities in nature Personal – God is personal by him revealing himself to humans and his teachings of Jesus help us get closer to God

Question 35

Verbally Inspired- BIBLE

Answer 35

•The Bible is literally word-for-word from God • God directly told the Bible writers what to write •The Bible writers are merely scribes to God • Bible is therefore inerrant: cannot be wrong “Now I have put my words in your mouth” – Jeremiah

Question 36

Divinely Inspired: BIBLE

Answer 36

•Bible writers may have been inspired by God or faith but they wrote the words themselves •Bible therefore reflects the attitudes and opinions of the time periods in which it was written •Bible is therefore not totally inerrant “Scripture is God breathed (inspired)– Timothy

Question 37

Enlightenment:

Answer 37

- Means awakened or someone who has come to understand religious truths and God. - Buddhism and Hinduism focusses on Enlightenment i.e. Moksha is understanding Brahman and your Atman becoming one with Brahman.

Question 38

How to achieve Enlightenment?

Answer 38

- Believers aim to reach Enlightenment through prayer, worship, reading holy texts so they can deepen their understanding of God. - E.g. Imagine standing behind a wall, there is a small hole so you can see through, but you need to make the hole bigger. By doing different things it will make the hole bigger – just light enlightenment, keep working hard to gain more knowledge. - Doing meditation, going on Pilgrimage - You can gain enlightenment (knowledge of God) in Christianity through revelation (General and Special) as well as committing your life to

Question 39

GENERAL REVELATION is a better way to learn about God because…

Answer 39

More believable as you can see it through everyday things - Happens to multiple people - Simple experiences to show God's qualities - Shows his personal qualities e.g. omnibenevolence by giving us beauty - Easy for people to understand and interpret

Question 40

SPECIAL REVELATION is a better way to learn about God because…

Answer 40

- More personal - Unique experience usually 1:1 e.g. John Pridmore (gangster who converted after a voice of God told him to change) and Moses and Burning Bush - Closer relationship with God - Gain specific knowledge of God through these experiences - the revelation can give you a purpose or change you e.g. William James