Theme C - The Existance Of God And Revelation Flashcards
Theist
A believer in god
Atheist
Someone who doesn’t believe in God
Teleological argument
Trying to prove the existence of God by looking at the natural world around us
Qua regularity
The world is full of patterns, must be a God keeping everything in order
Qua purpose
The world is made up of complex parts that work together, there must be an intelligent designer of the universe - God
Fibonacci sequence
A series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers
Analogy of the watch
A watch is made of complex parts in order to work correctly and must have a complex designer, therefore so must the universe
Cosmological argument
Everything in the universe has a cause, the universe exists so must have a cause, the cause must be out of this world so must be God
Cosmos/cosmology
The universe/study of the universe
First cause
The cause of the universe
Miracle
A seemingly impossible event which cannot be explained + is thought to have come from God
Lourdes
A small town in France where Catholics believe many miracles have taken place
Principle of testimony
‘In general, it is reasonable to believe what someone tells you unless you have specific reasons not to’ - Richard Swinburne
Principle of Credulity
‘In general what we think we experience, is the case in reality’ - Richard Swinburne
Natural evil
Evil and suffering that is not directly caused by humans
Moral evil
Evil and suffering which is caused by humans
Problem of evil
God cannot be omnipotent and omnibenevolent as evil is seen in the world all the time and can be proved
Inconsistent triad
You can’t have God being omnibenevolent and omnipotent with the presence of evil
“Rock of atheism”
Said by David Hume - the problem of evil is the main proof for atheists that God doesn’t exist
Theodicy
Any argument which tries to show that God exists despite the evil and suffering in the world
Augustinian theodicy
Evil and suffering are the consequences of the fall (when Adam and Eve disobeyed God). Therefore evil and suffering is the fault of humanity as God created the world and ‘it was good’.
According to st Augustine, moral evil is the result of…
Human kind straying away from God
According to St Augustine, natural evil is caused by….
Angels who disobeyed God and disrupted the harmony and balance that God created
Irenaean theodicy
God purposefully allowed evil into the world to help us learn to love and forgiv- be like him as we are made in his image. Evil is ‘soul making’ so allows us to appreciate the good and learn from mistakes and help others.
“Soul Making”
Evil is soul making and allows us to achieve moral goodness and good qualities
Argument from science
There is better understanding of the universe so no need for God, science can provide proof but religion can’t, science has proof of actions that were previously explained by God
Big Bang theory
How scientists explain how the world began
Evolution
the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations - has been approved by most Christians now
Revelation
God revealing himself to a person
Special revelation
God revealing himself directly to a person in a specific event e.g. a vision, hearing, miracles
General revelation
God revealing himself to people through everyday experiences. ‘The Heavens declare the glory of God.’ (Psalm 19)
Vision
Special revelation, an encounter with God
Conscience
Immanuel Kant argued that it’s an example of general revelation and the internal struggle between what we know is right and wrong is the voice of God
Verbally inspired Bible
The Bible is literally word for word from God, Bible is inerrant, God directly told the Bible writers what to write - example of special revelation
Divinely inspired Bible
Bible writers may have been inspired by God or faith but wrote the words themselves, Bible reflects the attitudes and opinions of the time, Bible is therefore not totally inerrant - example of general revelation
Omnipotent
Capable of doing anything
Omnibenevolent
All-loving and all-good
Immanent
God is present in the universe and involved with life on earth
Transcendent
God is not part of the world we know and cannot be fully grasped by human beings
Personal nature
God has human characteristics like being compassionate and that he loves and cares about every human being
Impersonal nature
God doesn’t have human characteristics and is only understood in terms of itself (like a force)
