Existence of God

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Existence of God

• Revision

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• What does omnipotent mean?
• What does omniscient mean?

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• What does omnipotent mean?
• -All Powerful
• What does omniscient mean?
• -Knows everything

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What Might Challenge Belief in God?
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What Might Challenge Belief in God?

• Suffering
• Evil
• Science

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Suffering and Evil

• In which way could you argue that these may
  dispute a belief in God?
• Take 5 minutes to write down your answers

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Suffering and Evil

• If God is able to prevent all the suffering and
  evil and doesnt, this would make him evil.
• If God wants to prevent all the suffering and
  evil but cant, then he is weak.

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Suffering and Evil

• If God doesnt prevent all the suffering and evil
  then maybe there is no God, he doesn't exist.
• People can accept suffering as the result of
  someones own actions they got what they
  deserved.
• - But when the innocents suffering it just seems
  like God is unjust.

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Suffering

• People have different ideas about suffering and
  whether or not it is necessary.
• Discuss with your partners some of the different
  opinions on suffering.
• Then write them in you jotter.

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Suffering

• Suffering can be good for you
• Suffering is necessary if people are to develop
  higher qualities e.g. courage, love and
  self-sacrifice.
• Irenaeus God uses suffering to test humans and
  develop god like qualities e.g. Book of Job

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Suffering

• Suffering can be good for you
• Patrick Clarke this fits with developmental
  evolution as it allows the opportunity to grow
  and develop.
• This reflects the nature of life as suffering can
  make you a stronger person.

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Suffering

• Suffering is not good for us
• This suggests that in order to be good we need to
  suffer.
• People can become bitter through suffering, this
  doesn't explain that.
• Doesnt match with Christianitys teaching that
  Jesus always tried to eliminate suffering in
  others.

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Teleological

• What is the Teleological argument?
• Who argued it?
• How did he support his argument?
• With your partner discuss these questions, then
  write the answers in your jotters.

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Teleological

• Watch analogy
• If you were walking and came across a stone, you
  would presume it had always been there, requiring
  no purpose or design.
• If you came across a watch (and you had never
  seen one before) you would naturally ask what it
  was and where it came from.

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Teleological

• You would examine it and see that it is very
  complex glass, cogs, a chain, etc.
• You would conclude that such an object could not
  have just appeared randomly, or have just existed
  forever, but that someone must have made it.

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Teleological

• If you watched the watch working, you would also
  conclude that it was made to carry out a purpose
  (to tell time).
• Therefore, you could finally conclude that there
  had to be an intelligent watchmaker who designed
  this object with a purpose in mind.

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Theory of Evolution

• Who came up with it?
• What is it?
• In pairs I want you to discuss the Theory of
  Evolution and write down your answers!!

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Theory of Evolution

• Charles Darwin stated that life began with simple
  one-celled creatures
• By pure chance they mutated and developed into
  more complex forms of life
• The species developed and adapted to their
  environment.

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Theory of Evolution

• Those that were most suited to survival pass on
  their genes to their children
• -natural selection and survival of the fittest

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Meaning of Life

• If you believe in the Big Bang Theory, then life
  has no real meaning or purpose. Discuss.
• With partners discuss arguments for that both
  agree and disagree with this statement.
• Remember to write them in your jotters!!

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Meaning of Life

• Here are some arguments you might use if you if
  you agree
• Science has made God irrelevant
• - science is based on facts
• - faith is based on assumption
• The suffering of the innocent is meaningless
• - God allows this to happen therefore he must be
  meaningless.

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Meaning of Life

• Gods existence can not be proven therefore God
  is irrelevant.
• The number of people attending Church in the West
  is dropping
• - belief in God is becoming less important to
  many people.

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Meaning of Life

• Here are some arguments you might use if you if
  you disagree
• Belief in a God can help some people through
  times of suffering , giving life meaning.
• Belief in a God gives hope about life after
  death, this makes life more meaningful

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Meaning of Life

• You dont have to believe in a god in order to
  have meaning in your life, it is what you make
  it.
• Belief in a God gives a positive outlook to life
• Belief in God means adopting a clear moral code,
  giving it a clear purpose

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