Believing in God (need only Christian knowledge in this unit)

Reasons to believe in God Theist Agnostic Believing that God DOES exist Not being sure whether God exists

Religious Upbringing Baptised / confirmation Taught to pray Taken to Church Go to Sunday school Church School If brought up like this = natural to believe in God, no reason not to, surrounded by people you look up to who believe in God. You will continue to do so as it will be completely normal. You are part of the Christian community who support each other. Taught how to worship God, e.g through prayer.

Religious Experience Ways in which people come into direct contact with God. Numinous – feeling of presence of God, awe and wonder – looking up at stars, beauty of nature Conversion – definite feeling of God’s presence, leads to change in life. Eg Saul converted to Christianity and became Paul after going blind for 3 days. Miracle – event which seems to break the laws of science and only explanation is God eg Jesus’ miracles e.g feeding of the 5000, surviving an incurable disease. Answered prayers – pray to God for something and it happens – believe God made it happen eg pray for relative to recover and they do. Can lead people to believe in God or support their belief (make it stronger). Shows God;s nature e.g God is omnipotent.

Design Argument The world is complex and shows evidence that it has been made for a purpose. Paleys watch – if a watch needs a watchmaker then something more complex, like the world needs a designer. Evidence that the universe is designed eg laws of science, DNA, complexity of eye, beauty of nature Anything designed needs a designer Only designer of something as complex as Universe is God as he is omniscient. Therefore, God exists

Causation Argument Science says everything must have a cause Universe itself must have a cause What caused the Big Bang? Can’t keep going back – there must be a first cause, something which started it all off and wasn’t caused itself. This ‘unmoved mover’ can only be God as he is omnipotent. Therefore, God exists

Reasons to NOT believe in God Atheist Believing that God does NOT exist

Scientific explanation of the origins of the world Big Bang Theory – Explosion started the universe around 15 billion years ago. Evolution – Darwin’s theory of the gradual development of species over millions of years. Natural selection – the way in which species naturally select the best characteristics for survival. Scientific theories lead to doubt because: They offer an alternative explanation – with no reference to God. Science offers evidence that can be seen and tested, whereas God’s existence cannot be proven in the same way.

Christian responses to scientific explanation Some Christians believe that scientific theories are compatible with God. Because: Genesis is a story, rather than a literal description of how God made the world. All that is important is that God made it. The Bible tells us why the world was made, Science tells us how. The six days of creation were stages, not actual periods of time. They are called liberals. Other Christians are creationists They believe in the Bible story in Genesis. This is word for word how the world was made.

Reasons to NOT believe in God Science can explain the Universe without God There is no physical proof of God’s existence. Miracles can be explained by science, Geography or coincidences. Evil and suffering in the world prove that an all-loving and all-powerful God cannot exist.

Unanswered prayers Prayers are communication with God. If they are not answered people might think that God is not listening. Many people who experience pain and suffering prayer to God and he does nothing. Unanswered prayers lead some people to question God’s existence so they may reject him.

Christian responses to unanswered prayers If you do not have enough faith in God, why should he answer your prayer? God hears and answers prayers but just not in the way that we expect. God does not answer selfish prayers. God will only answer prayers that are part of his plan for your life.

Evil and suffering Moral evil – suffering caused by humans eg war, rape, murder, theft Natural evil – suffering not been caused by humans eg hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes Some can be both – cancer, floods

Problem of evil and suffering If God is benevolent – all loving, good – then God ought to want to stop evil and suffering in the world. If God is omnipotent – all powerful – he should be able to stop evil and suffering If God is omniscient – all knowing – he should know how to stop evil and suffering. However, evil and suffering still exist, so either God is not good, knowing or God is not all powerful or God doesn’t exist.

Christian responses to the problem of evil and suffering Practical help – prayer, charity, work – Jesus set example to help those who are suffering. Free will – God gave humans free will. Evil and suffering is down to humans misusing their free will – humans fault not God’s. Life is a test to prepare you for heaven. Need to show you are a good person by helping those that suffer/dealing with suffering – then get to heaven. God’s Plan – Suffering is part of God’s plan. People should trust God.

The media and belief in God TV Songs of praise – shows worship in a church, speaks to famous stars who are religious and teaches about religion and religious ideas. The Vicar of Dibley - a sitcom which features a female vicar and deals with many religious ideas. Documentaries, for example Tsunami – Where was God? A documentary questioning the existence of God in the face of evil and suffering. RADIO Many radio stations feature a segment about worship or religion, whether it is a ‘thought for the Day’ or highlighting a religious ideas. FILM Bruce Almighty – based around the ideas of taking on the job of God. The Da Vinci Code – dealing with issues to do with Jesus and hidden religious ideas. Bruce Almighty When Bruce loses his job he begins to question God because things aren’t going well for him. This may lead people not to believe in God because it might make them think about things that aren’t going well for in their life. God is able to show Bruce a filing cabinet of all the events in his life and things that he has said. This may lead people to believe in God and remind them that God is omniscient and knows everything about them. Even with God’s powers Bruce messes up e.g. the town riots as everyone wins $17 on the lottery. This may lead people to start believing in God as it shows how hard God’s ‘job’ is and says that we can’t all get what we want. Bruce shows off God’s power – making the wind blow, changing his clothes through the shop window etc. This may lead people to believe in God because they can see the examples of God’s power in action.