Unit 1, Section 1: Believing in God

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  • Created by: BethHem
  • Created on: 21-10-16 16:51

Religious Upbringing

Why Christian families raise their children to believe in God.

  • It is their duty to marry, have a family and raise children in the Christian faith 
  • Their religion provides children with a secure basis and helps them through difficult times 

How do families encourage their children to believe in God?

  • Baptism - Welcomed into the Church with family, friends and the worshipping congregation promising to support them within the Christian faith.
  • School - May choose a church school that helps to educate their children in the christian faith
  • Parents' examples - Through their own examples, Christian parents will encourage their children to believe in God. By seeeing their parents praying, hearing about God through Bible stories and attending Church, children will be more likely to believe in God.
  • Community - Meet and share in activities, eg. youth clubs. Offers a sense of belonging. Supported by Church. May meet partners within the Church community.
  • Confirmation - When old enough, encouraged to renew vows from baptism.
  • Worship - attend Sunday school. learn about Jesus God and Church. Also attend services and celebrate Christian festivals 
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Religious Experiences

Types of religious experience

  • Numinous experience - This is an experience which completely amazes someone, often inspires awe and wonder. Usually words are not enough to describe the experience but it leaves a person aware of a being greater than themselves. A sunrise could be a numinous experience.
  • Conversion - An experience that causes an idividual to change their beliefs, ideas or complete lifestyle. An atheist may suddenly become a believer of God or a person may change from one religion to another. In the Bible Saul originally persecuted Christians. After his conversion experience he became a Christian.
  • Prayer - A method which believers use to communicate with God. Prayer can be personal, or can be a group experience when believers worship together. Believers pray to share their ideas with God, to praise him, to thank him for what he has provided, to ask for forgiveness or to show gratitude. Carmelite monks have an hour of silent morning prayer every day.
  • Miracles - An act of God that appears to be impossible as it goes against the laws of nature. It is usually performed for a religious reason. Jesus performed many miracles in the Bible such as the calmig of the storm, the feeding of the 5000 or the healing of the crippled man.
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The Design Arguement

An overview

  • Design is the product of an intelligent thought.
  • The universe shows evidence of being designed. (eg. gravity, DNA )
  • This suggests that a being with intelligence designed the universe.
  • The universe is too complex to have happened by chance or be designed by any being other than God. Therefore God must exist.

Paley's Watch

  • If a person saw a watch for the first time they would know it had been designed as it has many parts that have been put together successfully to make it work.
  • Paley argued the same of the universe saying it could not have happened by chance and must have had a clever designer.
  • The only person capable of this is God so God must exist

Arguements against the Design Arguement

  • We cannot prove God's existence by this as it only suggests he is the designer.
  • The appearence of design may be a result of evolution.
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The Causation Arguement

An Overview

  • Nothing happens on it's own.
  • Everything that happens must have been caused by something else.
  • The universe cannot have happened by itself
  • A powerful cause was necessary to cause the universe.
  • This cause has to be God. Therefore God must exist.

Arguements against the causation arguement

  • The causation arguement cannot be proved.
  • Even if everything in the world needs a cause, it doesn't mean the universe had a cause.
  • The arguement only suggests God is the cause of the universe .
  • There are other possible causes such as the Big Bang Theory ( See scientific explanations)
  • If everything has a cause, who caused God.
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Scientific Explanations

What are they?

  • Big Bang Theory - an enormous explosion started the universe around 15 billion years ago.
  • Evolution - Darwin's theory of the gradual development of species over millions of years.
  • Natural Selection - The way in which a species naturally selects the best characteristics for survival.

Why do people chose science over God?

  • They offer alternative explanations of how the world and humans came to exist without reference to God.
  • Science offers evidence that can been and tested whereas God cannot be seen or proven in the same way.

Christian response

  • The creation story is just a story
  • Six days = six periods of time
  • Science explains how and the Bible explains why.
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Unasnswered Prayers

The problem with unanswered prayers

  • Prayers are communication with God. If left unanswered some may think God isn't listening.
  • Many people who are experiencing pain and suffering turn to prayer and God but if God does nothing they may feel like their prayer is uanswered.
  • Unanswered prayers may lead some christians to question their belief in God, to reject him or believe he doesn't exist.

Christian Responses

  • They may accept that they do not have enough faith that God will answer their prayers, so they must keep on trying.
  • They may accept that God hears and answers prayers but not always in the way they hope or expect. They do not fully understand God but go on trusting him.
  • Some may accept that God does not answer selfish prayers.
  • Some may believe what they are praying for is not part of God's will or divine plan.
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Evil and Suffering

What is evil and suffering?

  • Moral evil - Actions carried out by humans that cause suffering.Murder, war, theft.
  • Natural evil - Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans and they have no control over. Famine, disease, natural disaster.

Why does evil and suffering make believing in God difficult?

  • Omni-benevolent - If God is all good, he would want to remove evil and suffering as he cares for his creation.
  • Omnipotent - If God is all powerful, he would be able to remove evil and suffering.
  • Omniscient - If God is all knowing, he would know the evil was happening and how to remove it.
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Christian Response to Evil and Suffering

Christian Explanations

  • Free will - This is the ability to make choices for themselves. Some accept evil and suffering can be a result of Free Will.
  • Test from God - Believers are allowed to go through difficult times to see how they react.
  • God's plan - Suffering happens for a reason. People should trust God because he knows why everything happens.
  • Jesus' example - Allows people to follow the example set by Jesus in the Bible. People can strive to be good.

Christian Response

  • Praying - hoping God will give them strength to cope with what they face or praying for others.
  • Helping Others - for example becoming a nurse or doctor so they can help others cope with suffering.
  • Volunteering - with a charity or organisation that supports others when they are suffering.
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The Media

Examples

  • The Vicar of Dibley - a sitcom which features a female vicar and deals with many religious ideas.
  • Bruce Almighty - based around the idea of taking the job of God 

Effects on belief in God 

Positive

Some programmes show how religion can benefit the life of an individual and how it can be a positive thing.

Negative

Some religious programmes can portray religion as something to laugh at and ridicule, or question God's existence. They may suggest religious believer are crazy or that there is something wrong with being religious.

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