Believing in God
Keywords
Agnosticism
Atheism
Omni-Benevolent
Omnipotent
Omniscient
not being sure whether God exists
believing that God does not exist
the belief that God is good/kind, all loving
the belief that God is all-powerful
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
Conversion
when your life is changed by giving yourself to God
Miracle
something which seems to break a law of science and makes
you think only God could have done it
Numinous
the feeling of the presence of something greater than you,
e.g. in a church or staring at the stars
Causation Argument the idea that everything has been caused by something else
Design Argument
when things are connected and seem to have a purpose, e.g.
the eye is designed for seeing
Free Will
the idea that human beings are free to make their own
choices
Moral Evil
actions done by humans which cause suffering
Natural Evil
things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with
humans, e.g. earthquakes
What do Christians believe about God?
The Holy Trinity is the
most important Christian
belief about God – One
God but three elements
Benevolent –
wishes good for
everyone, all
loving.
Omniscient – God is
all-seeing; of the past,
present and future
Fath
Son er
God is ….
Holy
Spiri
Omnipotent –
God is more
powerful than
anything else
Christian Upbringing
Going to
Church
Being
Baptised/
Confirmed
Expected to thank
God during Christian
festivals, especially
Christmas and Easter
Taught to
pray daily
Attend
Sunday
school
Main
Features
Attend a church
school or one where
they are expected
to believe in God
This might support a belief in God as they are surrounded by others who believe in God. If
the religion has been handed down through generations it might seem perfectly natural to
members of that family to believe in God. Learning about God at home, at school and in
church could lead some people to believe that God exists. As a child the belief will be
common that parents/priests/teachers would not do expect them do things that are not
true and would be a waste of their time and so support a belief in God.
Religious Experience
This means the ways in which people come into direct contact with God. There are various types of
religious experience:
1. Numinous – This could be a feeling you get when in a holy building, say your
prayers or even look up at the stars and feel the presence of something
greater than yourself.
2. Conversion Experience – this is a more definite feeling of God’s presence
which makes you more religious and changes your life (such as St Paul on the
road to Damascus).
3. Answered Prayers – Prayer is the most important and personal contact most
Christians have with God and when something they pray for comes true it
strengthens belief in God
4.
Miracles – When something happens that cannot be explained by
science people often attribute it to God (such as if someone recovers from
an illness deemed incurable). There are many examples of miracles in the
Bible and the resurrection of Jesus is seen as the greatest miracle of all.
A religious experience supports and strengthens belief in God
because people who experience them feel they now have more
direct evidence for God’s existence.
The Argument for Design
Everything man made has been
designed and created
The natural world is infinitely more
complex than anything man made
The natural world is simply too perfect to
have come about by accident – it must
have been designed
The only thing capable of such
design is God
Therefore God must exist
William Paley put forward the argument for design, using a pocket
watch as an analogy. He said if you came across a pocket watch
and did not know what it was you would assume that it had been
designed by a very clever person, it couldn’t have happened by
chance. As the universe is far more complicated than a watch why
would you assume that it was an accident, surely there must have
been a designer and that designer could only have been God.
The way humans
grow from tiny
DNA blueprint
Evidence of
design in the
world
The sheer
beauty of
nature
The way complex
mechanisms like
the eye work
Everything in nature
works so perfectly
together it couldn’t be an
accident, e.g. Food chains
The appearance of design in the world leads people to believe in God
because the only thing that could have designed it is God.
The appearance of design in the world leads some people not to believe in God because it
ignores imperfections such as volcanoes, does not explain dinosaurs, and much of the
argument can be explained by science. Also it only proves there is a designer not God as
Christians believe in Him.
The Causation Argument
Things do not just happen out of
nothing
Everything that exists must have been
caused by something else
The whole cosmos moving through space did not
just happen, something must have caused it
The only thing powerful enough to
cause the universe to happen is God
Therefore God must exist
God could be
described as being
like the match that
set of the Big Bang
Big
Bang
Many Christians accept that there is much scientific evidence for
the big bang, however there are many questions left unanswered,
the most important being – what caused the big bang? They
argue that if you add God into the equation the missing
questions are answered, God must have caused the big bang,
therefore God must exist.
bomb
Some people believe the causation argument does not prove God exists. They ask if
everything has a cause then what caused God? They say that the matter of the
Universe is eternal and so the process of causes go on forever. Also even if the First
Cause did exist it does not have to be God, could be any sort of creator.
Meaning and Purpose
Many people cannot believe that humans are here by chance. They thing that life
must have a meaning or purpose; there must be a reason for us being here. When
they search for the meaning of life they find it is given by God. They follow a
religion that tells them how to live so that when they die they will be rewarded by
eternity in heaven. If only God and life after death can give life meaning and
purpose, they believe this shows God must exist.
The Existence of Religion
86% of the world’s population belong to a religion. Throughout history all cultures,
all over the world have had religion and belief in God or gods. It is hard to believe
that all of these people are wrong.
The fact that most religions seem to share very similar beliefs about God, life after death, the
need to pray and worship etc, makes people believe that there must be a force that religions are
trying to contact and that force could only be God.
What stops people believing in God?
Scientific Explanations
Big
Bang
Scientific explanations of the world can lead people to become agnostics or
atheists:
1. Scientists widely believe the universe was caused by the big bang, a massive
cosmic explosion which took place 15 billion years ago. As gases cooled the
universe was formed. Support for this can be seen in the way the galaxies
continue to move away from each other and that echoes of the big bang can
be picked up today by powerful radio telescopes.
2. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection states that over millions of
years plant and animal life has adapted to its environment. Each genetic
change either makes an organism more or less successful, the ones which are
more successful thrive and become dominant, those which are less
successful die out. Only the species which are the fittest and best suited to
changing conditions on the planet will survive
If science can explain the creation of the universe, the earth and human beings
then many people would argue it is unlikely God exists.
How Christians respond to scientific explanations
There are 3 Christian responses to scientific explanations of the world:
1 – Many Christians believe in the scientific explanations they just don’t believe that they prove God
doesn’t exist. They believe they prove the existence of God because:
 The Big Bang only worked because it happened at exactly the right point, only God could’ve
planned this.
 God must have designed the scientific laws such as gravity which control the universe
2 – Some Christians believe that science is wrong and the Bible is right. They claim that all the
evidence there is of the big bang and evolution can be explained by the effects of Noah’s flood and
the Apparent Age theory (everything was created looking different ages not brand new)
They believe that the world was created in the manner described in the Bible – this is known as
creationism.
3 – Some Christians believe that both the scientific explanations and the Bible are correct. They
believe the main points of the Bible fit with science, one of God’s days could be millions of years.
They believe the phrase ‘Let there be light’ refers to the Big Bang and that the order of creation in
Genesis is the same order as described in the theory of evolution.
Miracles
Many people believe in God because of miracles however
many miracles can be explained by science. There is the
additional problem that you have to rely on witnesses to
believe in miracles and they may be lying. Some people argue
that if God existed he would not send miracles to help just a
few people and allow thousand to starve to death. The fact
that God does not save people from natural disasters such as
earthquakes makes some people think He does not exist.
Unanswered Prayers
Religious people are supposed to pray and some people
feel the presence of God when they pray. However if
people pray and do not feel the presence of God they may
begin to feel that He does not exist. Unanswered prayers
can lead to people becoming agnostic or atheist. God is
supposed to care for those who worship Him, but if
people pray and pray and their prayers are never answered
then they may begin to doubt the existence of God.
Christian response to unanswered prayers
1 – It matters what you pray for – it would be wrong for God to grant selfish
prayers.
2 – If you pray for someone to get better but they don’t it might be because God
might have different plans – He might want that person in heaven.
3 – Just as it is not right for parents to always give their children what they want
so it would not be right for God to give His children everything they ask for.
4 – Christians believe that God’s benevolence and omnipotence means He will know
better than them what is right for them.
5 – Christians have faith that God will answer all prayers based on the long term
good of the individual, this might not look like they might expect it to.
Evil and Suffering
One of the major reasons for people being agnostic or atheist is the problem of
evil – God is omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent how can He allow evil and
suffering to exist?
 Believers find it hard to understand how a God who is said to be benevolent can
allow suffering to happen to people
 Some suggest that God is not omnipotent after all, perhaps He is not powerful
enough to prevent evil happening
 Some question if God is really omniscient – if He were he would foresee evil and
prevent it happening in the first place
 People who are faithful and pray might wonder why their prayers have gone
unanswered when evil happens
 If God created the universe, did He create evil?
 Some would question as evil exists why is it often the innocent who suffer
 An atheist would argue that evil proves God does not exist
Christian Response to Evil
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Christians have different views about the purpose of evil and suffering:
Some believe that life is a test; Christians are judged on how they
respond to evil and suffering. If there were no evil and suffering they
would not be able to develop as good people as this involves fighting evil
and helping those who suffer. If people pass the test they will be
rewarded after death by going to heaven.
Some Christians believe that God would not have given humans free will
unless they had the chance to do evil things (being free is part of being
made in God’s image.) Humans have used their free will to do evil things
that have brought suffering to the world, therefore evil and suffering is
the fault of humans not God.
Many Christians believe that God must have a purpose for evil and
suffering however humans are not able to understand this. Jesus showed
us that God wants us to fight evil and suffering and so we must accept it
and follow this example.
A few Christians believe that God did make a world free of evil and suffering and
gave it to humans, the Garden of Eden, but humans used their free will to disobey
God. Their punishment was to be cast out and separated humans from God, Jesus
was sent to die for the sins of humanity to bring people back to God.
Christians are taught to be of service to
those whop are suffering, following the
example of Jesus who helped the sick
and the dying.
Christians use prayer to ask for God’s help
when faced with suffering. This follows the
example of Jesus who prayed to God for
strength to face the evil that would kill him
How two programmes about religion could affect a person’s
attitude to belief in God.
The two programmes studied are Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley.
For each you need:
- a summary of the programme – what it is about.
- Which parts of the programme might encourage Belief in God. Have 4 reasons
for this with evidence from the programme to back up your points.
- Which parts of the programme might have encouraged some people not to
believe in God. Have 4 reasons for this with evidence from the programme to
back up your points.
- Decide what effect the programme had on your own attitude to belief in God
and be able to give 4 reasons for this.
It is important that within your answers you use the key terminology from within
the unit. You may discuss various forms of Religious Experience; miracles,
numinous, conversion, prayers etc. You may discuss the problem of evil.
The Miracle of Peckham
Investigates the nature of miracles.
Begins with Del Boy going to Church to confess handling stolen goods. The
priest begins to discuss his doubts about God’s existence as Church hospice will
be closed down if they can’t raise money.
As Del Boy leaves the Church the statue of Virgin Mary starts crying. By
selling the rights to newspapers and TV for the miracle they raise the money
need for the hospice to stay open.
Later we learn that the stolen goods were the lead from the church roof and
the tears was the rain coming through the roof. However the money was raised
by Del Boy who didn’t keep any for himself.
Test Yourself
(a) What is conversion?
(2)
(b) Do you think God is the cause of the Universe? (4)
Give two reasons for your point of view.
(c) Explain how the presence of religion in the world can lead to, or support, belief
in God.
(8)
(d) ‘Evil and suffering prove that God does not exist.’
i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3)
ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3)
(Total 20 marks)
(a) What does omnipotent mean?
(2)
(b) Do you think prayer is a waste of time?
(4)
Give 2 reasons for your point of view
(c) Choose one religion and explain how its followers respond to the problem of evil
and suffering.
(8)
(d) ‘A religious upbringing brainwashes people into believing in God.’
i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3)
ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3)
(Total 20 marks)