Unit 1-Believing in God Flashcards
What does agnosticism mean?
Not sure whether God exists or not (agnostic)
What does atheism mean?
Does not believe that God exists (atheist)
What does Omni-benevolent mean?
The belief that God is all good, all loving
What does omniscient mean?
The belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen?
What does omnipotent mean?
The belief that God is all-powerful
What does theist mean?
A theist is a person who believes in God
What do Christians believe about God?
God created the world, people can have a relationship with God, he answers prayers and performs miracles, belief in God gives meaning to life.
What arguments do atheists use to prove that God does not exist?
Science explains how the world was created, there is no evidence or the existence of God, religious experiences are just coincidences, the existence of evil and suffering prove that God does not exist.
What are the features of a religious upbringing? (name 3)
Church School, Sunday School, prayer, going to church, believing what parents tell them
What are the four examples of religious experience?
Numinous, conversion, miracle, prayer
What does numinous mean?
Feeling of something greater than yourself-for example if you are in a really beautiful place.
What is a conversion?
An experience of God which is so great that the person wants to change their life
What is a prayer?
Feeling of communicating with God normally through words
What is a miracle?
An event that cannot be explained by science
How does a religious upbringing lead to a belief in God?
Young children believe what their parents tell them
They may feel God listens to their prayers, and that their parents would not waste time praying if God did not exist
Seeing so many people worshipping in Church could convince children that God exists as they see many people who believe, this could be similar in church schools
Being confirmed could support belief in God as you learn about God and could possibly have a religious experience during the service
How do unanswered prayers lead to atheism or agnosticism?
Not feeling God’s presence when praying
Prayers not being answered
How do Christians respond to the problem of unanswered prayers?
God will not answer selfish prayers
God may have different plans/reasons that we do not know/understand
God may only give what people need, not what they want
God can not answer prayers which conflict
What is the Design argument?
World is very complex, therefore must of have a designer and this designer is God.
Who compared the world to a watch?
William Paley
What is evidence for the design argument?
Laws of science (gravity, electricity, motion), DNA, evolution, the beauty of nature
Why does the design argument lead to a belief in God?
Anything which has been designed needs a designer, there is evidence that the world has been designed, the only possible designer is God, therefore God must exist.
What are the arguments against design arguments?
It ignores the evidence of a lack of design-volcanoes, evidence used for design can be explained by science, the argument does not refer to the existence of dinosaurs, the argument only proves the existence of a designer, this does not need to be God.
What is the causation argument?
Nothing happens by itself, everything must be caused by something else, the universe cannot happen by itself, a powerful cause was needed to bring the universe into being, this cause has to be God.
What are the criticisms of the causation argument?
Just because everything does seem to have a cause, it doesn’t necessarily prove that the universe had to have a cause. Critics also argue, there may be a cause, but that doesn’t have to be God. Also, what caused God?
