Believing in God
Christianity only
Key Words
Agnosticism
Atheism
Conversion
Free will
Miracle
Moral Evil
Natural Evil
Not being sure whether God exists
Believing that God exists
When your life is changed by giving yourself to God
The idea that human beings are free to make their own
choices
Something which seems to break the law of science and
makes you think only God could have done it
Actions done by humans which cause suffering
Things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with
humans
The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
The belief that God is all good
Numinous
Onni –
benevolent
Omnipotent The belief that God is all powerful
Omniscient The belief that God knows everything that has happened
and everything that is going to happen
Prayer
An attempt to contact God usually through words
Religious Upbringing
The main features of a Christian upbringing
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Have their babies baptises, when they promise to bring up their children to believe in God and be
good Christians
Parents teach their children to believe in God
Parents will teach their children to pray to God
Parents will take their children to worship God in church or they may god to Sun
day school
Parents may send their children to a Church school
How a religious upbringing may lead to, or support belief in God
Children who have had a Christian religious upbringing may feel it is natural to believe in God because:
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Their parents will have told them about God and they will believe what their parents tell them
Christians pray to God, so they will believe that God exists because their parents would not waste
their time praying to nothing
Seeing so many people worshipping God when they go to church will make them believe that God
exists
They will be taught that God exists when they go to Sunday school, and will believe it because
their teachers tell them it’s true
If they go to a faith school they will be taught a curriculum based on their religion and mix with
other children and teachers of their faith
Religious Experience
Religious believers who have had a religious experience will find that the
experience makes their belief in God stronger because they believe they have had
a direct contact with God.
Numinous is a feeling of
the presence of God
Conversion is used to
describe an experience
of God, which is so
great that people want
to change their lives
and commit
themselves to God
When people in a religious building or in a beautiful place or look up at the
stars on a clear night, they may be filled with an awareness that there is
something greater than them, which they feel to be God. Such a feeling is
likely to make you believe in God
l
When people have a conversion it makes people believe in God because
they feel like it God calling them to do something for him.
Many horrible people have turned to God because of a conversion e.g
Nicky Cruz the Gansgster
A miracles is an event
that breaks the law of
science and can only
be explained by God
If you experience something that seems to break the laws of science
such as you are dying of an illness and you get better or you see a vision
of Jesus then you will look for an explanation, and if the only
explanation that you can think of is a miracle then you will start
believing in God
Religious people think
that if you make
contact with God
through prayer that it
is like God is listening
If the person praying feels that God is listening to the prayer then they
are likely to believe that God exists. Also an answered prayer (for
example someone who prays to win the lottery so that they can give all
of their money to help the Debt problem in LEDC’s) will lead to belief in
God
Evaluation Question:
You may be required to argue whether religious experiences can prove God’s existence
To argue for: If you become aware of a presence greater than you in a numinous experience then you will
believe that God exists, If you experience something that breaks the laws of science and it seems that the
only explanation can be God then you will start believing in God, If a person prays and their prayer is
answered (for example when someone prays for a loved one to get better from an illness and they do)
they will believe that God exists
To argue against: A numinous experience is caused by your surroundings, whether a church or the starts
and may have nothing to do with God, All miracles can be explained, for example, Jesus may not have been
dead when he was taken down from the cross so he just recovered rather than rising from the dead, There
are more unanswered prayers than answered ones so surely this proves that God does not exist
The argument from design and belief in God
Design means making a plan to produce something. For example, a car is made to the plan of the
designer, and looking at any part of the car makes you think that the car has been designed. Many
religious believers have looked at the world and seen that the way the universe works makes it
look as though it has been designed. Some scientists also see evidence of design in the process of
evolution where complex life forms develop from simple ones, Form this they have developed the
argument from design.
William Paley said that we can compare the universe to a watch as like the watch the universe
shows evidence of design and like the watch, the universe is far too complex to have just been
here by chance
The argument can be set out like this:
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Anything that has been designed needs a designer
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There is plenty of evidence that they world has been designed (laws of science such as gravity) and
magnetism, DNA being a blueprint for life, etc
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If the world has been designed, the world must have a designer
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The only possible designer of the universe is God
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Therefore the appearance of design in the world proves that God exists
Evaluation
You may be asked to argue for and against the design argument proving God’s existence
To argue for: People who think the design argument proves God’s existence would say there is plenty
of evidence that the universe has been designed (DNA laws of science etc), If something has been
designed then it must have a designer , only God could have designed something so powerful as the
universe
To argue against: No designer would have created things like volcanoes, earthquakes etc, Science can
explain the appearance of design without needing God, The argument does not explain how things
like dinosaurs could have been part of a design plan, Even if the argument worked, it would only
prove that the universe has a designer it doesn’t prove that it is God
The argument from causation and belief in God
Causation is the process of one thing causing another. For example, a driver pressing the brake
pedal causes the effect of the car slowing down.
In medieval time, the famous philosopher St Thomas Aquinas believed that everything was caused
in the universe but there was a first cause of everything. This first cause had to exist outside of the
chain of events and must be powerful enough to be uncaused by anything else. St Thomas
Aquinas said that the only thing powerful enough to be the first cause is God.
The argument from causation can be set out like this:
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Cause and effect seem to be a basic feature of the world. Whatever we do has an effect. If I do my
homework (cause) I will please my parents and/or teachers (effect). Modern science has developed
through looking at causes and effects, and scientific investigations seem to show that any effect
has a cause and any cause has an effect
This means that the universe, the world and humans must have a cause
Therefore God exists
Evaluation
You may be required to argue for and against the argument from causation as proving the existence of God
To argue that the argument proves God’s existence then use the following reasons: The argument makes
sense of ourselves and the universe because it explains how and why we are here. The argument fits in with
our common sense. We cannot believe that something can come from nothing and the argument shows that
everything comes from God, The argument fits in with science which tells us that every effect has a cause and
so the universe 9an effect) must have a cause (God)
To argue that the argument does not prove God’s existence then use the following reasons: If everything
needs a cause then so must God, It is possible that matter itself is eternal and so was never created. This
would mean that the process could go back forever. Just because everything in the universe needs an
explanation doesn’t mean that the universe has to have one. Even if there was a first cause it would not have
to be the God of any particular religion. It could be good, evil, a mixture of good and evil, several gods etc
Why scientific explanations of the world may lead to
agnosticism or atheism
Main Points
Science explains how the world came into existence in this way:
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Matter is eternal
About 15 billion years ago, the matter of the universe expanded and expanded until it went bang
like a big balloon
The bang was called the big bang and caused a big flash of light
As the matter of the universe flew away from the explosion, it formed stars and then our solar
system
The oxygen on the planet and the gases on the Earth’s surface produced primitive life
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Over a process of minions of years species have adapted to their surroundings through a process
called natural selection. This means that only the strongest species survive whilst the weaker ones
that can’t adapt become extinct
Scientists believe that human beings evolved from apes
How the scientific explanation of the world may lead to
agnosticism or atheism
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If science can explain the universe and humans without any mention of God, it can lead some
people to be agnostic as they no longer need God to explain why we are here
There is proof in science and no proof in God
Other people may become atheists because they believe that if God existed, he must have made
the world and be the only explanation for it. So the way that science can explain the world and
humans without God is proof to such people that God does not exist
How one religion responds to the scientific
explanations of the world
Christianity
Response 1
Many Christians believe that the
scientific explanations are true and
prove that God created the
universe.
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Only God could have made
the big bang at exactly the
right microsecond to form
the universe
Only God could have made
the laws such as gravity
which the matter of the Big
Bang needed
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The light from the Big bang
was God in the Bible when
he says ‘let there be light’
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Only God could have made
the gases on Earth react in
such a way to form life
Response 2
Response 3
Some Christians are called
Creationist Christians and they
believe that the Bible is 100% the
word of God.
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They think that God made the
world in 6 days and rested on
the 7th and that Adam and Eve
were the first humans because
that is what it says in the Bible
Some Christians believe
that both the scientific
explanations and the Bible
are correct.
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They claim that the main
points in the Bible fit with
science
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They believe that one of
God’s days in the Bible
could have been
misinterpreted and was
actually one million years
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They say that the order of
evolution is exactly the
same order as God created
in the Bible
They believe that Noah’s flood
caused the rock formations to
look like fossils
Why unanswered prayers may lead to agnosticism or
atheism
Main Points
If people say their prayers in church and at home, but never feel the presence of God when they pray, they
may feel there is no God listening to them. The feeling that nobody is listening to them may lead them to
be agnostic or atheist.
Unanswered prayers are even more likely to lead people to believe God does not exist. If someone’s
prayers are not answered, particularly if they are praying for something like a child to be cured of cancer or
for the end of human suffering in wars then they might stop believing in God. This is because they may
think that God could not exist if he let such things happen. In this way, unanswered prayers can lead a
person to become agnostic or an atheist.
How one religion responds to unanswered prayers
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Selfish prayers are answered, but not in the way the person praying may want. For example, if you
prayed for God to help you pass an exam without any work, God will not help you out because he
wants you to work harder the next time
God has different plans for us so if our prayer wasn’t answered when we prayed to get better from
an illness, God might not answer the prayer because he wants the ill person to enter heaven
Christians believe that God’s love will answer the prayer in the best way possible, even though it is
not a direct answer
Christians have faith that God will answer all prayers in the best way for the person praying, or the
people prayed for, even if it is different to what was expected.
Why evil and suffering may lead to agnosticism or atheism
There are two types of evil and suffering
Moral Evil – Caused by humans using there free will. Wars and crimes such as rape, murder, and burglary
are good examples of moral evil
Natural Evil – Suffering that has not been caused by humans. Earthquakes, floods, volcanoes etc are all
examples of this. They are not caused by humans but result in lots of human suffering
The Problem of Evil Argument
If God was omnipotent (all powerful) he must be able to remove evil and suffering from the world.
If God is omni-benevolent (all good), he must want to remove evil and suffering from the world.
It follows that, if God exists, there should be no evil or suffering in the world.
As there is evil and suffering in the world, either God is not all good and powerful or he does not exist.
Also, if God knows everything (omniscient), he must have 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.
Most religious believers believe that God is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient. So the existence
of evil and suffering challenges their beliefs about God.
For many religious believers, evil and suffering becomes a problem if they experience it (for example, they
are in an earthquake, or their child dies from a disease), when it can change them into an atheist or an
agnostic.
How one religion responds to the problem of evil and
suffering
Main points in Christianity
Christians respond to the problem of evil and suffering in several ways. Most Christians would use at least
two responses to explain how an all-good, all-powerful God can allow evil and suffering.
Christian response one
Christian response two
Christian response three
God gave us free will, he did not
make us evil. God gave us that
choice.
Eve ate the fruit which caused the
evil in the world.
Jesus suffered so we should too.
Christian response four
Christian response five
Christian response six
We need a balance between good
and evil. If we do not have evil we
will not appreciate the good
things we have.
Who are we to question God, God
know what he is doing
God has a plan for everyone and
maybe suffering is part of the
plan to teach someone something
Media and attitudes to believing in God.
Programme 1: Glee (Grilled Cheesus)
A summery of the programme:
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A character grilled some cheese on toast and when he took it out of the grill there was an image of Jesus on it
and he called it grilled cheeses
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The boy started to pray to grilled cheeses and his prayers were answered which made him pray more
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Another character had a father who had a heart attack. This character did not believe in God
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The classmates started to pray and sing hymns in the class to support the boy’s father but the boy got angry and
said he didn’t believe in God
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The boy said that if there was a God he would not have made him gay or his father ill
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The boy’s father started to regain consciousness which made the boy who didn’t believe start to believe
Evidence that supports belief in God:
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The boy who prayed to Grilled Cheesus had his prayers answered
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The image of Jesus in the cheese was a miracle
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The students who all prayed and sang hymns to God were brought together by God which shows that God
supports you in times of trouble
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The boy’s father regained consciousness and this shows that the classes prayer was answered
The boy started to believe in God which shows that he had a conversion
Evidence that doesn’t support belief in God:
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Selfish prayers were answered which shows a coincidence
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Unselfish prayers were not answered which shows that the selfish prayers were a coincidence
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If there was a God he wouldn’t have made the father ill in the first place
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If there was a God the boy wouldn’t have felt like he was being punished for being gay
Programme 2: Bruce Almighty
A summery of the programme:
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Bruce said he had an average life and was always complaining about it. He felt as though he was being punished
by God and blamed God for everything that went wrong. Bruce challenged God when in a temper and God
responded by meeting Bruce and giving him Gods powers. Bruce thought that this was fantastic but soon
realised that having God’s powers was not always a good thing. Bruce realised that you can’t give people what
they want without affecting free will and learnt a valuable lesson from this. Brice was a changed man and
realised that his life was good afterall.
Evidence that supports belief in God:
God answered Bruce’s prayers
Bruce was able to perform miracles
Bruce had his life changed by God and learnt a valuable lesson
Bruce realised that God cannot solve everything because of free will
It is a comedy which makes people want to watch it. This could make people question their belief and start to
belive in God
Evidence that doesn’t support belief in God:
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It is only a film and seems far fetched
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People don’t get God’s powers in reality
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Bruce will still have experienced bad things in his life even with God’s input
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It was a comedy and made to be funny