RS gcse Nature of God

+ Forgiveness- "God id merciful and gracious" (Exodus)

+ Immanent/ transcendent- "God is light" (1John)

+ Good- "No one is good but God alone" (Luke)

+ He created the World and sustains it- Gen. 1- "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth"

+ omnibenevolent- "God is love" (1 John)

+omniscient- "Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely O LORD" (Psalm 39)

+ omnipotent- miracles-Jesus rising from dead shows God has power over dead.

omnipresent

Personal or impersonal- "God is faithful" (1 Corinthians)

+ Holy trinity- Father Son (God incarnate and messiah) and Holy Spirit

+Immortal eternal- alpha and omega (beginning and end)- he has aseity (not dependent on anything for living)

+A judge- heaven/ hell- "God is a righteous Judge" (Psalm)- "God will give to each person according to what he's done" (Romans)

= Individuals can have a relationship with God

= Talk to God as though a Human Person with human emotions and characteristics (evangelical)

= Can be limiting:

- God isn't a person

- God is eternal so cannot be young/ old

- To be a 'friend to all he needs to be more than a person

= God is simply an idea

= The idea of infinity/ a prime number

= God's force and invincibility influence the world

= God is 'goodness' or 'light'

= Can be limiting :

- a person can't have a relationship with a forcs

This is more like what Christians believe.

1) THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

Anselm defined God "The Great concieveable being"

2 types of existence: in re (reality) and in intellectu (imagination)

He said In re is better in all cases

If God is the Greatest Concievable being he must be better than the imagination.

It is based on 2 assumptions/ opinions:

- His opinion on the definition od God

- His opinion on types of existence and which is better

GAUNILLO- critisised saying that he could imagine the Greatest concieveable island BUT it doesn't exist

2) BECAUSE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

-- speak in tongues- holy spirit dwells within them

-- slain in the Holy Spirit- so overwhelmed when they feels God's presenxce in them that they collapse

-- They feel presence of God when praying

-- Miracles>> power over nature/ healing/ stigmata

3) THE DESIGN/ TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

W. Paley-- had a watch analogy (if you come across a watch on a hillyou would assume it has a designer as its so complicated

He compared the watch to the world and said it must have a designer

Criticisms--- he has proved there is a designer, not necessarily God. could be evolution

4) COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

aseity- dependent on nothing for your existence

Anselm said cosmos came from nothing so had a creator as something can't come from nothing. Creator must possess aseity and only God has aseity.

Criticisms-- could be infinite regress, being with aseity may not be God

5) THE MORAL ARGUMENT

We are born with some knowldege of right/ wrong which must come from God