1. Name three man-made objects Name three natural objects For example: Man-made object: Mobile phone Natural object: Sunflower

2.  Who made the man-made objects you’ve listed?  Who made the natural objects you’ve listed? What is the evidence for this?

3. Belief in God L/O:  To consider whether or not God created the world  To understand how the argument from design leads people to believe in God  To explore how the existence of science and evil and suffering leads people to question the existence of God Learning outcomes: Matched keywords to their definitions Created a table with ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments on whether or Not God created the world Written about which side of the argument you find more convincing Completed a GCSE evaluation question explaining your own and other peoples’ opinions on the creation of the world Peer assessed a partners’ work using 2 stars and a wish

4. See if you can match the keywords to their meanings BenevolentBelieving that God does NOT exist OmnipotentThe belief that God can see everything Atheism The belief that God is all loving/good OmniscientNot being sure whether God exists or not AgnosticismA person who believes that God DOES exist TheistThe belief that God is all powerful

5. Did God create the world? Working in groups of 2 or 3 answer the above question and present your answers in the table provided Yes, God did create the world. Here is the evidence: No, God didn’t create the world. Here is the evidence: L/O: To consider whether or not God created the world

6. Do any of these points appear on your list? Yes, God did create the world. Here is the evidence: No, God didn’t create the world. Here is the evidence: 1) In the book of Genesis we are told that God created the world in 6 days 2) The universe is too perfect to have just ‘happened’ by accident 3) Everything has a cause- the universe must have one 4) Science has been wrong about other things, it might be wrong about the Big bang 1) Science has PROOF that the big bang cause the universe 2) There is no evidence that God exists, so how can he create the world? 3) Science can explain most things that religion can not 4) God is supposed to be good, but there are lots of bad things in the world- why would God put them there? L/O: To consider whether or not God created the world

7. Agnostics, atheists and theists For thousands of years different religions have worshipped a God and have claimed that God is responsible for the worlds and our existence:  Hinduism teaches that Brahma is the creator and source of all creation  Christianity and Judaism teach that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh  Muslims teach that Allah created the heavens and earth in perfect harmony and balance  Sikhism teaches that Waheguru ‘spoke once and there was creation’

8. So, for many years there was no doubt that a deity (God) must exist, because the world exists. Agnostics, atheists and theists The world exists + God created the world = God exists L/O: To consider whether or not God created the world

9. However, as the years advanced science and technology began to investigate alternatives to how the world came into being………. Agnostics, atheists and theists As the matter of the universe flew away from the explosion, the forces of gravity and other laws of science joined some of the matter into stars….. …..and about five billion years ago, our solar system was formed. The combination of gases on the earth’s surface produced primitive life forms, like amoeba The genetic structure of these life forms produce changes (mutations) Any change that is better suited to living in the environment will survive and reproduce Over millions of years new life forms were produced leading to vegetation…. ….then invertebrate animals, then vertebrates and finally…. ….about 2.5 million years ago, humans evolved.  To explore how the existence of science leads people to question the existence of God

10. This new theory proved to be a problem for theists. People began to question God’s existence- if the world didn’t have a creator then this creator mustn’t exist. Agnostics, atheists and theists Atheism grew  To explore how the existence of science leads people to question the existence of God

11. At this point……. …….which ‘side’ are you on? ……what is the most convincing? …….religion has been around for thousands of years- could people really be fooled for that long? ……science claims to have solid proof that the world was created by the Big Bang- so is there a need for a God? Write a few sentences on your thoughts and give reasons for your opinion L/O: To consider whether or not God created the world

12. However, people still continued to believe in God. Others were convinced that God could not exist. Not only was there was ‘no need’ for a God with the discoveries science had made, but there was also no solid proof that God existed. Some were undecided- science seemed to answer the question on how the world came into being- but what caused this to happen? These people were still unsure about whether God existed or not Agnostics, atheists and theists L/O: To consider whether or not God created the world

13. There are two sides to every argument……. ……consider the following……… If you come across a watch in an uninhabited place, you could not say it had been put there by chance. The complexity of its mechanism would make you say it had a designer. The universe is a far more complex mechanism than a watch, and so, if a watch needs a watchmaker, the universe needs a universe maker…. ……….As the only being which could design the universe would be a God, it follows that God must exist. L/O: To understand how the argument from design leads people to believe in God

14. The world is complex The world is complex Complex things do not come about by chance they are usually designed Complex things do not come about by chance they are usually designed If the world has been designed then this requires a designer If the world has been designed then this requires a designer The designer is God The designer is God Therefore, God exists Therefore, God exists Thomas Aquinas’ “Argument from design” Convinced??? L/O: To understand how the argument from design leads people to believe in God

15. but…….. There is much evil and suffering in the world. Moral evils like wars and muggings can be blamed on humans. But people suffer from the effects of things such as disease, starvation and earthquakes. These natural evils must be the fault of God- indeed they are often called “acts of God.”  To explore how the existence of evil and suffering leads people to question the existence of God

16. If God is good (benevolent) He must want to get rid of such things. If God sees everything (omniscient) he must know that these things are happening. If God is all powerful (omnipotent) He must be able to get rid of such things. Surely an all powerful, all knowing, all good God would do something about these things? OR………  To explore how the existence of evil and suffering leads people to question the existence of God

17. God doesn’t exist………. if YOU were God, would you create a world with floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, diseases etc ? The fact that these things do exist along with the fact that science can explain how the world was created leads people to believe that God does not exist.  To explore how the existence of evil and suffering leads people to question the existence of God

18. “God exists and He created the universe” i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you Success criteria: Refer to scientific and religious arguments Use keywords Make sure that you include you own point of view and someone else's

19. Have they given reasons for their point of view? Have they explained why some people may disagree with them? Have they referred to the arguments for and against the existence of God? Have they used keywords? Swap books! 2 stars: 2 things you like about your partners’ work A wish: 1 thing you would have liked to see in their work

20. KNEWNEW Copy the above table into your book and fill in what you knew at the start of the lesson and the new things you have learnt throughout the lesson

21. Learning objectives Have we:  Considered whether or not God created the world  Understood how the argument from design leads people to believe in God?  Explored how the existence of science and evil and suffering leads people to question the existence of God Learning outcomes Have you: Matched keywords to their definitions? Created a table with ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments on whether or Not God created the world? Written about which side of the argument you find more convincing? Completed a GCSE evaluation question explaining your own and other peoples’ opinions on the creation of the world? Peer assessed a partners’ work using 2 stars and a wish?