1. Year 8 Assessment – Is there a God?

2. Read through the article given by Marcus Brigstocke when asked about the existence of God

3. “I find myself, a 38 year old married man with two children, loving my job, reasonably content most of the time, with periods of ecstasy and spells of gloom, and yet for reasons both explicable and inexplicable I wish I could find a God to believe in. It ought to be simple – decide to believe, stop being a smart-arse, find a church, temple, mosque, woodland ritual, statue of a thing, special book or ritualistic dance, and get stuck in. I know a great number of people far cleverer than me who believe in God without any trouble at all. So why can’t I?” © RE Today Services 2012

4. “Though I seek to express myself through comedy a lot of the time, there are some things I’m deadly serious about, and the desire for a workable and available Deity in my life is one of them... I wish there was a God. I wish for that God to exist now and for all time. I wish to be fully conscious of God and more importantly for Him to be fully conscious of me. I wish for God to be powerful, infinitely wise, kind, loving, fair....” © RE Today Services 2012

5. Some student thoughts about Marcus’ article …….

6. © RE Today Services 2012

9. Option 1 Write a magazine response to the article that includes references to some of the topics looked at when examining the existence of God: Option 2 Produce a video on the existence of God *Warning this is harder and takes more time* It must be a video that explains the arguments we have covered – you can record it as a set of small interviews / clips of what people think about God and how it impacts on their lives. It must contain both sides of the argument

10. Beliefs about God – What is God? What is he meant to be like? Design argument – Creation – Complexity of the Universe First cause – You cannot get something from nothing Science – Evolution and the big bang theory Suffering – Personal and Global Suffering The effects of belief – What impact does God / Religion make on people’s lives? Does it matter if it is true? Quotes from other people Conclusion To consider