existence of god

Question 1

Disageeement between west and east church’s

Answer 1

• western church’s nicene creed states the holy spirit comes from the father and the son(‘and from the son’)
• eastern orthodox church creed states the holy spirit comes only from the father
  john 15:26 says the holy spirit ‘proceeds only from the father’

Question 2

God relationship with the world

Answer 2

He is the creator and craftsman of the world(can you beat out the vault as he does hard a mirror of cast metal?)
he is the sustainer and is still involved in the world(he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills)
he is still involved in seasons (a season for every activity under the heavens)

Question 3

how does the world prove gods existence

Answer 3

for since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal nature and divine power have clearly been seen,… ‘people are without excuse’)

Question 4

What is god the bringer of?

Answer 4

he is the bringer of order(he brought order to the ‘formless’ emptiness before the creation)
some christians disagree wether he made the world ex nihilo or from préexistant matter

Question 5

God’s relationship with humans

Answer 5

he made us in his image(let us make man in our image;our likeness)
he gave only us a role of responsibility in stewards of the earth
he breathes into the nostrils of only adam to give him life

Question 6

God’s care for humans

Answer 6

he provided adam and eve with what they needed and blessed them with children in genesis
- provision of the promised land of canaan
- provision of laws and commands
- provision of means of salvation by animal sacrifice

Question 7

God’s love for humans through jesus

Answer 7

God came down in a fleshy form to become closer to humans to spread the right way for them to seek salvation(he made himself nothing)philippians
he sacrificed himself to repair the broken relationship to allow humans to find salvation
jesus teaches that the father loves those who are obedient to him and so provided teaching to help humans build their relationship with the Father

Question 8

View god is outside of time

Answer 8

some christian’s believe god is Atemporal - he is outside of all things he created including time.
- this view means god is less proactive in his world as he can see what is to happen and just allows it to unfold
- “For i know the plans i have for you”(Jeremiah )

Question 9

View god is inside time

Answer 9

God is shown to interact with the world and time many times in the bible
‘ I will add 15 years to you life’ (2 kings)
the destruction of sodom
god is everlasting - he is in. time but without beginning or end
this view shows god as more caring and active

Question 10

Views on communication with God

Answer 10

Catholic church believes priests are chosen by God and act as a link between humans and God who should confess their sins to priests to seek forgiveness
-(‘ it is no longer i who live but christ who lives in me’)Paul, Galatians
Protestant churches believe all who truly believe have a direct communication with God already(Priests are not needed - Hebrews 7)

Question 11

God as good(4 ways)

Answer 11

revealed through creation(he supplies the life with what it needs)
revealed through his provision law - gives human a way of life so they can enter heaven
through judgement - ‘he judges the people with equity’ and ‘loves justice’
through salvation - (for god so loved the world he gave his one and only son)john 3;16

Question 12

Euthypro problem

Answer 12

Is X good because God says its good or is X good, thus, god says it is.
(inherent virtue or divine command)

Question 13

Challenges to God’s goodness in old testament

Answer 13

god floods the world and destroys sodom in genesis
he calls for war in the book of joel

Question 14

Why is there evil

Answer 14

St augustine view - god created a perfect world which humans themselves brought evil into in the fall (humans are responsible)
irraneaus - evil exists to build and develop the soul and strength of gods followers(but some evil makes this illogical -death of babies)
Evil as a test - god creates evil to test the faith of humans (in the book of job job is tested by the devil who makes him suffer)

Question 15

4 arguments for the existence of God

Answer 15

design/teleological , anthropoid, first cause/cosmological, moral argument

Question 16

Design argument (teleological Argument)

Answer 16

william paley late 18 th century
Creation is created to a very high and complex standard
so it must the work of an intelligent designer who created it with purpose
watch analogy
JS mill argued against it - cruelty in nature and flaws in nature etc.

Question 17

Anthropic principle

Answer 17

F.R. Tennant 1866-1957
Universe is structured extremely precisely so that human life could develop
this must be the result of creator who designed it in this way to allow life to develop(coincides with evolution)
John polkinghorne physicist agrees ‘ a fruitful universe requires the right amount of stars’
can be argued against by using sheer luck

Question 18

First Cause Argument

Answer 18

aristotle 384 BCE
everything that occurs in the natural must have a cause
all causes must eventually be traced back to a single cause which must be god
argued against using paradox of infinite regression

Question 19

moral argument

Answer 19

Cardinal john newman 19th century
humans have sense of what is right and wrong
which must be enabled by god
argued against as some humans do not have guilt or shame and it could be learnt behaviour

Question 20

Soul-making argument

Answer 20

John Hick
Humans have to make decisions on what is right and wrong to learn to act as god wants us to so we be more like him
(parable of the sheep - god judges people based on how they treat others)
he said that every human continues on this journey after death
- christian’s may disagree as this goes against the belief that god judges humans after death and sends them to heaven or hell

Question 21

Role of human conscience in decision making

Answer 21

by listening to their conscience and the holy spirit, christian’s believe they will make the right decision to be judged by God
(our consciousness testifies we have conducted our selves with.. integrity and godly sincerity 2 corinthians)

Question 22

Ethical living

Answer 22

Christians act and make decision in a way that would please God as it would impact their afterlife
buy fairtrade products, by eco friendly products to be stewards
Care for others and help charities to follow jesus’ example ( he cured and helped people)

Question 23

Experiencing god

Answer 23

Christian’s feel god acts in their conscience through the Holy Spirit
He reveals himself in the natural world(feelings of awe and wonder)
through jesus
through the bible

Question 24

god revealed through scripture

Answer 24

all christian’s believe god is revealed through the bible but disagree on how
‘for the word of god is alive and active- hebrews 4:12’

Question 25

The bible as the literal word of God

Answer 25

Fundamentalists like protestant and charimsatic churches believe gods word is infallible and should always be trusted Amish people live according to the bible and do not take photos('graven images - exodus) this has caused problems as people use literal interpretation to support prejudice(dutch church in south africa used genesis 11 to support apartheid where god separates nations)

Question 26

Conservative interpretation

Answer 26

The bible was inspired by God, but with human writers it has mistakes and bias in it. it should be interpreted to be relevant and applicable to todays world many teaching may be cultural and myths like david and goliath that have symbolic meaning they still maintain the authority of scripture comes from god not church

Question 27

Liberal views of the Bible

Answer 27

The stories in the bible are mythical and symbolic - science should be trusted instead rejects ideas like god made the world in 6 days individuals should find meaning in the bible and apply it to their own lives

Question 28

God revealed through Jesus

Answer 28

god brought himself down to a human form, 'he made himself nothing' to show his love for humanity and to guide them. ('the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us')john 1:14 his love and care for humanity was ultimately shown when he died(while we were still sinners, christ died for us)romans 5:8

Question 29

God revealed through miracles

Answer 29

A miracle is when god intervenes and breaks the laws of nature there are 4 miracles- healing,raising of the dead, miracles of nature and exorcism god reveals himself through miracles by showing his power and often care for those who require miracles

Question 30

examples of miracles

Answer 30

immediately he was cured of his leprosy' mathew 8:2-3 Jesus' command calms a storm instantly so his disciples live(mark 4:37-39) 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' jesus raises the dead in Luke 7:12-15

Question 31

Modern day miracles

Answer 31

Catholic and anglican churches believe gods ongoing work can happen through miracles(the bible calls people to bring their 'prayers and petitions' to god) Charismatic church believes miracles and healing can still happen Benny Hinn(his ability to perform the miraculous has not and has never been restricted to a time frame)

Question 32

Lourdes

Answer 32

A special site of healing in france which became holy after bernadette soubirous saw the virgin marry in 1858 Many people do not accept modern miracles as it raises issue of randomness and immorality of god(why only cure some people)

Question 33

Inspirational people

Answer 33

people who were inspired by god inspire others to do good through their words, actions & works

Question 34

example of figures from christian history

Answer 34

John wesley of the english methodist church led a revival where thousands of people converted to christianity jim elliot was a missionary who was massacred and his family took up his work and caused many to convert

Question 35

what are religious experiences and conversions(paul conversion)

Answer 35

experiences where people claim to have had a direct encounter with god these often lead to people converting paul was persecuting jesus and had a direct encounter with god who blinded him (at once he began to preach at the synagogues that jesus was the son of god)

Question 36

Mystical experiences with example and disagreement

Answer 36

when believers claim to have had an overwhelming presence of god leading to awe and wonder 'I know this man was caught up to paradise' - 2 corinthians some people are against these as it implies the word of god and jesus incarnation are not sufficient

Question 37

Visions with examples

Answer 37

people claiming to have seen the supernatural - is only visible to them Isaiah claims to have seen god on his throne surround by angels in the bible some people are against visions as it seems they are adding to the word of god which is forbidden in revelations 'if anyone adds anything, god will ad that person to the plagues'

Question 38

views against religious experiences

Answer 38

non religious cannot confirm them religious are biased to interpret psychological experiences as god some philosopher like richard swinburne argue we should trust the person making the account

Question 39

Charismatic and ecstatic experience

Answer 39

an altered state of mind when people experience intense feeling about good charismatic churches refer to this as being 'slain in the spirt'

Question 40

Baptism in the holy spirit

Answer 40

pentecostal church experience where one is overcome by the holy spirit after conversion gives control to the spirit

Question 41

Glossolalia

Answer 41

speaking in tongues - miraculously speaking in a language unknown the person before enabled by the holy spirit

Question 42

what is pentecostalism

Answer 42

a movement based on the coming of the holy spirit on the first festival of pentecost after jesus' acesnion to the 12 apostles emphasises the work of the holy spirit and encourage the experiences of faith rather than ritual thinking

Question 43

Worship and communication with god

Answer 43

christian's believe god is able to communicate with them through worship (1 kings - god speaks to elijah in a 'small, still voice') some christian's prefer liturgical worship as the repeating of words and practices helps them feel a closer connection to god some christian's prefer charismatic services - the freedom of expression helps them feel closer to god

Question 44

Sacraments and how people experience god

Answer 44

holy rituals in the catholic and orthodox churches in which christian's believe christ acts in the believer

Question 45

eucharist - fundamental view

Answer 45

Catholic and orthodox believe transsubstantiation - the bread and wine turns into the body and blood of jesus 'there takes place a change of the whole of the bread in to the substance of the body of christ' catechism of the catholic church through this belief the churches believe they become physicaly united with christ

Question 46

conservative view on eucharist

Answer 46

church of england - the presence of Christ is real at eucharist but the bread and wine remains unchanged 'consubstantiation'

Question 47

liberal view with quote

Answer 47

Baptist church teaches the eucharist is entirely symbolic and is a method of remembrance of jesus christ christ says ' do this in remembrance of me' luke 22:19

Question 48

sacrament of penance- fundamentalist and against view

Answer 48

involves the confession of sin to a priest who connects the belieber to god where they can seek forgiveness and peace(catholic view) nonconformist and anglican church teach there is no need of a medium of priesthood and it is not a sacrament (hebrews 7)