3.1 believing in God
- Created by: E11arose2001
- Created on: 09-04-17 13:25
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- 3.1 Believing in God
- 1. The main features of a Roman Catholic Upbringing and how it may lead to a belief in God
- being baptised
- learning about God from an early age
- being taken to church
- receiving sacraments
- going to a catholic school
- parents and teachers tell them about God and they will believe them as they are adults and children think they know best
- it comes natural to them with a religious upbringing
- they are taught God exists- they believe it
- everyone around them who is important in their lives will believe it so they see it is as normal and will believe it for themselves
- 2. How do religious experiences lead to a belief in God
- a) numinous- when you feel you are in the presence of something greater than yourself
- they feel god is real "the presence" is real so it leads to a belief in God
- b) conversion- when your life is changed by giving yourself to God e.g gangster to preacher
- because they feel that God is calling them to do something for him therefore it leads to a belief in God
- C) Miracle-an event that happens to break the laws of science
- only God could have done it as it has no explanation so it leads to a belief in God as only he could have done it
- d) Prayers- an attempt to contact God
- because they feel a closeness to God like he is listening to them so it strengthens belief and can lead to a belief in God
- a) numinous- when you feel you are in the presence of something greater than yourself
- 3. Argument of design
- Paley's watch-if you found a watch you would presume it had a designer for how complex it is
- The universe is more complicated than a watch so it must have a designer= God like a watcher has a designer
- It may not lead to a belief in God as it ignores the evidence of lack of deign in the environment e.g volcanoes, diseases etc
- It may not lead to a belief in God as it can all be explained by science e.g evolution
- It does not refer to the existence of dinosaurs and how they fit into God's design
- Paley's watch-if you found a watch you would presume it had a designer for how complex it is
- 4. Argument of Causation
- Everything in the universe must have a cause- nothing comes from nothing (dominoes)
- Its only logical that everything has a starting point= GOD
- God must need a cause
- Atheists would argue if God does not need a cause, then why does the universe?
- The first cause could be any creator- it does not have to be God
- Everything in the universe must have a cause- nothing comes from nothing (dominoes)
- 5. Scientific Explanations
- Big Bang theory and evolution theory- - Matter is eternal= cannot be destroyed or created. -15 million years ago matter became compressed and the Big Bang happened. -The process of evolution led to the development of animals and humans -matter formed into stars and planets from the BB
- people doubt God as there are these theories and explanations explain how it was created so because science can prove it theories to an extent and religion cannot they believe these explanations and no longer believe in God
- How Catholics respond to the explanations
- response 1= is does not disprove god's existence because the BB had ro be at the exact second otherwise it could not have happened- god ensured this
- response 2= some catholics believe that the scientific explanations are correct as the main points in the Bible fit in with science - God said "let there be light" which may reference to the Big Bang. Also both refer to the world coming to existence in stages
- Big Bang theory and evolution theory- - Matter is eternal= cannot be destroyed or created. -15 million years ago matter became compressed and the Big Bang happened. -The process of evolution led to the development of animals and humans -matter formed into stars and planets from the BB
- 6. Unanswered prayers
- Unanswered prayers may lead people to not believe in God as some people never feel Gods presence when they pray- they may feel he is not there so there is no point
- If the prayers are not answered they may question why bad things happen despite prayers being offered
- 7. How do catholics respond to unanswered prayers
- -the prayer may be selfish -God gives us what we need not what we want -God may have different problems than what you request e.g he may want a relative with him in heaven -Jesus said to have faith that our prayers will be answered
- 8. Why evil and suffering may lead to people not believing in God
- if God is omni-benevolent he ought to not allow evil and suffering in his world
- If God is omni-potent he must be able to get rid of all evil and suffering
- If God is omniscient he knows when evil happens and he could prevent it
- 9. How Roman Catholics respond to the problem of evil and suffering
- They pray for those who are a victim of evil and suffering
- They see it as our fault not God as it is a result of free will
- Some believe everything has a reason and a purpose but only God knows the purpose of evil and suffering
- 1. The main features of a Roman Catholic Upbringing and how it may lead to a belief in God
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