Belief in God I (RE)

Belief in God I

Fact, Faith and Belief

• A fact states what is true and what can be proved
• Belief is often based on opinion
• Faith is belief in something someone believes to be true but cannot be proven

What is God?

• Google defines God as: the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.
• Everyone has their own opinion on God and it's/their existence, but there are four main faith positions:
  • Theism: definite belief in God
  • Atheism: definite disbelief in God
  • Agnosticism: being open to the existence of a God
  • Deism: belief in God as a creator, but not as someone/something that intervenenes in the world

The ten attributes of God (according to Christianity)

• Omnipotence- All powerful
• Omniscience- All knowing
• Omnipresence- All present
• Eternal- Forever
• Immutable- Unchanging
• Transcendent- Existing apart from the limitations of the Universe
• Immanent- Present throughout and suistaining the universe
• Trinity- Made of three forms, but a single God
• Gift giver- Generous in their creation

Evolution and the Big Bang Theory

• Evolve- To develop gradually from a simple to a more complex form
• Charles Darwin, who created the theory of Evolution, was a theist. He faced much criticism from other theists.
• Darwin's theory of evolution:
  • Nature creates a battle for survival
  • Nature gives some species the headstart ("Survival of the fittest")
  • Advantageous traits are passed onto new animals, as their parents have lived to reproduce ("Natural selction")
  • Any disadvantageous traits are…