BELIEVING IN GOD

MAIN REASONS FOR RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING - 

1) Christian parents are likely to have their babies baptised.

2) Christian parents are likely to teach their children to believe and pray to God.

3) Christian parents will take their children to worship God in church.

4) Christian parents may send their children to a church school.

HOW A RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING MAY LEAD TO, OR SUPPORT, BELIEF ON GOD - 

1) Parents would've told their children about God - they will believe their parents.

2) Christians pray to God, parents wouldn't be wasting their time praying to nothing.

3) Seeing a lot people pray at church will make them believe.

4) They would've been taught about God at sunday school.

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES MAY ALSO LEAD INDIVIDUALS TO BELIEVE IN GOD.

SOME EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES ARE -

1) NUMINOUS - When people are in a religious building they may be filled with the awareness that there is something greater than them - such a feeling is likely to lead you to believe in God.

2) CONVERSION - An experience of God that people may have felt and so they believe they should change their life or religion and commit themselves to God.

3) MIRACLE - If you experience an event that breaks the laws of science, you will look for an explanation and if you cannot find a reason you'd then turn to God.

4) PRAYER - If a person praying feels that God is listening to their prayers, then they're likely to believe that God exists.

DESIGN MEANS MAKING A PLAN TO PRODUCE SOMETHING.

FROM THIS, THEY HAVE DEVELOPED THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN - 

1) Anything that has been designed has a designer.

2) There is plenty of evidence that shows the world has been designed.

             (Laws of science such as gravity and DNA being a blueprint for life.)

3) The only possible designer of universe would be God.

4) Therefore the appearance of design in the world proves that God exists.

The universe seems to be designed. Anything that is designed must have a designer. God must therefore exist because only God could have designed the universe.

CAUSATION IS PROCESS OF ONE THING CAUSING ANOTHER.

THE ARGUMENT FOR CAUSATION IS - 

1) Cause and effect seem to be a basic feature of the world - whatever we do has an effect.

2) The Universe, World and Humans must have a cause - God is the only ogical cause of the universe, therefore, God must exist.

The way everything seems to have a cause make people think the universe must have a cause - the only possible cause of the universe is God.

SCIENCE EXPLAINS HOW THE WORLD CAME INTO BEING IN THIS WAY - 

Science says that matter is eternal and that the universe megn when this matter exploded. THe solar system came out of the explosion, and the nature of the earth allowed life to develop through evolution.

The gases on the Earth's surface produced the first forms of life. The genetic structure of these early life-forms led to the evolution lead to the evolution of new life-form and, about 2.5 million years ago, humans were formed.

If science can explain the universe and humans without God, it can lead some people to be agnostic, as they no longer need God to explain why we are here. 

THERE ARE THREE CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO SCIENTIFIC EXPLANAITIONS OF THE WORLD -

RESPONSE 1;

Many christians accept the scientific explantions but believe they show that God created the universe through the Big Bang.

RESPONSE 2;

Some christians say the scientific explanations are wrong and the biblical story of creation is fact because it is the word of God.

RESPONSE 3;

Some christians believe that both science and the Bible are true because one of God's days could've been billions of years.

If people say their prayers in church or at home, but never feel the presence of God when they pray, they may feel there is no God listening to them.

If people do not feel God's presence when they pray, or if people pray for good things i.e for a person to be cured of cancer or to end human suffering in wars, but their prayers go unanswered, they may start to doubt God's existence.

If God does not answer answer prayers, how do you know he exists?

MOST CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT GOD ANSWERS ALL PRAYERS.

UNANSWERED PRAYERS CAN BE EXPLAINED BY THE FOLLOWING -

1) Selfish prayers are answered, but not in the way the person praying may want.

2) Your prayer mat not be answered in the way you expect because God has different plans.

3) Christians believe that God loves people and so they believe God's love will answer their prayers in the best way possible.

4) Christians have faith that God will answer all prayers in the best way for the person praying.

HOW EVIL AND SUFFERING CAUSE PEOPLE TO QUESTION OR REJECT BELIEF IN GOD -

1) If God is OMNIPOTENT, he must be able to remove evil and suffering from the world.

2) If God is OMNI-BENEVOLENT, he must want to remove evil and suffering from the world. 

3) If God is OMNISCIENT, he must ave known the evil and suffering that would come from creating the universe - so he should have created the universe in a way that avoided evil and suffering.

4) If God exists, there should be no evil or suffering in the world.

CHRISTIANS RESPOND TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND SUFFERING IN SEVERAL WAYS - 

RESPONSE 1;

God must have a reason for allowing evil and suffering, but humans cannot understand it , so the correct response of christians is to follow the example of Jesus and fight against evil and suffering. Many christians become doctors, nurses and social workers ao that they can help to reduce the amount of suffering in the world.

RESPONSE 2;