Paper 1 Christian Beliefs Flashcards
(99 cards)
What does omnipotent mean?
God is all-powerful
What does omnibenevolent?
God is all-loving
What does just mean?
Fairness
How is God all powerful?
- God created the world and all life
“Nothing is impossible with God.” (Gospel of Luke) - Miracles in the Bible
(Parting of the Red Sea, Exodus)
How is God just?
God is believed to be tantalum fair and the perfect giver of justice. He is also believed to be a judge of our actions and never supports injustice.
“For I the Lord love justice.” (Isaiah 61:8)
How is God all loving?
- Created humanity and shared his love with them; encourages Christians to be loving
- Greatest act of love was sending Jesus to Earth.
“ God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son.” (Gospel of John)
This encourages Christians to be self-sacrificing and to work for the benefit of others, for example in Humanitarian Aid Agencies
What does transcendent?
Beyond human experience or God above all
What does immanent mean?
Near or God is within all
Why can people not find God?
He exists outside of our universe
God exists outside of time or space. If God is all knowing and all seeing, God could…
Not be a part of this world. This means God is more of an observer p, looking in.
People who believe that God is not present in our world believe God is …
Transcendent
Many Christians believe that God acts in the world. How does He do this?
- When people are heroic this is God acting through people
- People have visions and experiences of God.
People who believe that God acts in the world believe that God is…
Immanent
Many Christians believe that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are …
Immanent
Why is God personal?
- Many Christians believe that God is a personal God , or one that cares for humans for humans in their day to day life. God ‘speaks’ to people in day to day life
- Priests believe they are ‘called’ by God to do the job. Christians often pray to God for guidance or support and feel that their prayers are answered.
Why is God impersonal?
- This belief about God is that He is more of a force in the world than a being with human qualities. Many people feel that their individual prayers go unanswered, or not answered in the way they expect.
- Even though God is real, God is something that is separate from human beings. So, other people believe that God is more complicated than being something you can ‘talk’ to.
If God is immanent, He is ..
Personal
If God is impersonal, He is ..
Transcendent
What is moral evil?
The acts of humans which are considered to be morally wrong
Eg. Murder and theft
What is natural evil?
Natural disasters eg. Earthquakes or tsunamis, which humans have no control over
What are some ideas in the inconsistent triad?
If God is omnipotent, he is aware of the existing evil and suffering and knows how to put a stop to it.
If God is omnibenevolent, he will want to put a stop to it. Yet evil and suffering does exist.
What are the 3 points of the inconsistent triad?
- God is all loving
- God is all powerful
- Evil does not exist
What are some of Mackies conclusions from the inconsistent triad?
If we accept that God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, then we have to say suffering and evil does not exist
As suffering and evil clearly does exist we must challenge these traditional ideas of God
Therefore, either God is not all-loving or all-powerful, or he does not exist
What are the 3 Christian responses to the problem of evil?
- The Freewill defence
- Evil and suffering have a purpose
- Evil exists as a punishment