Believing in God

Ways in which my faith has been affected by my upbringing.

• taken to church at a young age.
• praying together as a family.
• going to a catholic school- taking part in nativity plays, religious assemblies, learning hymns.
• celebrating religious fast days- in a religious way especially Holy week, Easter, Christmas.
• celebrating sacraments yourself and going to celebrating sacrament with others.
• being taught ans shown how to pray.

Who started us?

1st people to become Christians are the disciples, Mary, Christian Martyrs.

In the reformation 16th century- lots of people split from roman catholic and set  up different catholic churches. these were called protestants. each different type of church is called denomination.

Some denominations in Britain today are:

• methodist.
• Quaker.
• roman catholic.
• baptists.
• Anglican.
  

Differences in what the Roman Catholics believe about:

• worship.
• the organisation of the church.
• bible.

What we believe the same as:

• that Jesus died and rose.
• God the son the holy spirit.
• Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Trinity- God the so, God the father and God the Holy Spirit

3 or more reasons why people might believe in God

• Gives people someone greater that themselves to trust and talk to.
• someone to lead them in what is right.
• Belief in Jesus and his miracles proves to them that there is God- belief in what Jesus stands for.
• they have had a religious upbringing.
• many Christians and members of the religious faith (e.g Muslims) have different ways of believing in God.
• the world is so complicated that someone must have created it.
• some people's belief in God is made stronger when something terrible has happened to them( God supports them).

Numinous- the feeling of the presence of someone greater than you.

e.g. a view from the mountain top or a beautiful sunrise.

For some people the experience is so powerful that it convinces them that God must exist.

What do you mean by AWE?

AWE- a feeling of wonder of something amazing- another word to describe numerous.

An attempt to contact God usually through words. if somebody prays to God they may feel that somebody prays to God they may feel that somebody is listening ti them and also believe that God is with them.

This helps people to have faith in God. The experience can be very powerful if the person feels that God has answered their prayers.

e.g when people pray they can express these thoughts, adoring and praise God, say sorry to God, asking God for help and also thanking God.

something that seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done that.

a miracle is when something happens but can't be explained, and then people will start believing that God has made it happen. If a person witnesses an event they believe God has caused or created, then their faith likely to be strengthened.

e.g Jesus performed many miracles (e.g when He healed the blind man). That showed God's power and authority.

• They show God's power over his creation.
• They show God's goodness and his fatherly love.
• They show that there is more to life than just the material world.

Miracles in the Gospel.

• Jesus calmed down to sea.

• Jesus healed the woman with constant bleeding.

Religious Experience- the way in which people come into direct contact with God.

Conversion Experience- A feeling of God's presence which makes a person move religious.

Two famous conversions

Tony Blair was an Anglican- through his wife became interested in the Catholic faith- became a catholic in 2007.

St Paul conversion from a Jew who persecuted Christians to a zealous- witness of Jesus who started many new Christians communities risked his like on danger sea crossing and died for his faith.

William Paley's Theory of Design.

Consider a Watch

• it is complicated it must have been designed.
• it must have had a DESIGNER.

Consider a Universe

• it is so complicated it must have been designed.
• it must have had a DESIGNER.

Summary of the Design argument

Some people think the way of the world works shows that God must exist.

1) The world seems to be designed e.g. DNA, the parts of a flower, the laws of maths & physical work together to produce matter.

2) if something is designed it must have a designer

3) the only possible designer, of the universe is God

4) Therefore God must exist

Causation- means the process which one thing causes another. It's also known as cause and EFFECT.

this argument  has been used to prove that God Exists.

• Nothing can happen by itself.

• everything that happens has to be caused by something else.

• this universe can't have just happened by itself.

• a very powerful force must have caused the universe.

• the cause must have been God.

• this means God must exist.

Stephen Hawking

• God wasn't necessary to start the universe.
• the universe could create itself from nothing.
• science answers questions which religious cant.

But bishop Rayfield says you can still be Christian and accept scientific theories about the world.

"Only God could have designed such a beautiful world. It could not have about my chance." What do you think about his statement? Give at least 2 reasons.

•  Christians have a strong feeling that the world as a designer.
• humans wouldn't exist if God didn't create them.

"The only way the universe could exist is if a creator God had caused it to exist, not the Big Bang". What do you think about his statement? Give at least 2 reasons.

• people in generous are questioning religion.
• you can still be a Christian but understand science.
  

Agnosticism- not being sure whether God exists.

Atheism- believing that God does not exist.

Does unanswered prayers lead to become agnostic or atheist?

Agnostics

• their prayers might be selfish.
• some people might not pray for what is best for themselves or other people.
• God does answer prayers but because he is good father sometimes the answer is NO.

Atheist

• some people have no feeling that God is present when they pray therefore they think that God does not exist.
• They see that other peoples prayers are answered but theirs are not.
• prayers being said for good reasons but not answered also consider that God does not exist.

Moral Evil- actions done by humans which cause suffering.

• murder.
• fraud.
• genocide.
• bullying.
• racism.

Natural Evil- things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans

• earthquakes.
• volcanoes.

some causes of suffering which seem to be natural are also kinds  or moral evil e.g. floods caused by global warming by wasting energy.

Disease e.g. AIDS, HIV.

How evil and suffering cause people to question or reject belief in God.

Some people believe that God was TOTALLY GOOD (Omnibenevolent). wouldn't have created a world which has natural disasters like earthquakes.