RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD 

Evil and suffering - 

• Moral evil - caused by humans using their free will (eg: rape, murder, burglary) 
• Natural evil - not caused by humans (eg: earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions)

How it can lead to agnosticism/atheism (questioning/rejecting belief in God) - 

• If God is 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 all evil and suffering from the world 
• If God exists there should be no evil and suffering in the world 
• God is either not all-good and all-powerful or he doesn't exist 
• If God is omniscient (all-knowing) he would have known the evil and suffering that would come from creating the universe - should have created it in a way that avoids that 

Religious responses (Christian) - 

1 - God must have a reason for allowing evil and suffering 

• Humans can't understand it 
• Should follow example of Jesus and fight against evil and suffering (healing sick, feeding hungry, challenging evil) 
• Christians do this by praying for and helping those who are suffering (eg: doctors, nurses, social workers etc.) - reduce amounts of suffering in the world 

2 - Caused by free will 

• God gave humans free will 
• Created a world where evil and suffering will come out through humans misusing their free will 
• Caused by humans, not God 

3 - Evil and suffering (in this life) isn't a problem, this is preparation for paradise

• Must face evil and suffering in order to improve their sould 
• Gives people the chance to become good people 
• Will show omni-benevolence and omnipotence by rewarding good in heaven

4 - God has a reason for it 

• God has a reason for not using his power to remove evil and suffering but humans can't understand it
• God is divine - no way we can understand his thoughts

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD

Unanswered prayers -

How it may lead to agnosticism/atheism -

• Don't feel presence of God when they pray - may feel there is no God listening to them 
• Praying for a child to be cured/for wars to end/end natural disasters 
• God couldn't exist if he let these things happen - evil? 
• More people have prayers unanswered than answered

Religious responses (Christian) -

• Selfish prayers are answered but not in the way wanted (eg: God not helping you pass an exam with no work so you work harder next time) 
• God has different plans - may want ill person to enter heaven 
• God loves people - God's love will answer prayers in best possible way (may not look like direct answer) 
• Have faith that God will answer all prayers in best way for person praying (even if different than they expected)

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD 

Scientific explanations of world - 

• Matter is eternal 
• 15 billion years ago - matter of universe exploded (Big Bang Theory), red shift in light from other galaxies is evidence the universe is still expanding 
• Stars and our solar system formed by matter flying away from explosion 
• Gases on Earth's surface produced primitive life 
• Genetic structure of primitive life forms lead to evolution of new life forms (fossil evidence)

How it may lead to agnosticism/atheism -

• Science explains it without God - no longer need God to explain why we're here 
• If God created the world, he must be the only explanation for it (science says otherwise) 

Religious responses (Christian) -

1 - Scientific explanations are true and prove God created universe

• Only God could've made the Big Bang at exactly the right time 
• Laws (such as gravity) could only have been made by God - needed for Big Bang to form solar systems 
• Only God could have made gases on Earth react so they form life 

 2 - Evidence for Big Bang can be explained by the Bible (creationism)

• Noah's flood 
• Apparent Age theory - when Adam was created (Earth was 6 days old), would've looked billions of years old because of how God created it 

 3 - Science and Bible are correct

• Main points of Bible fit with science
• One of God's days could be millions of years

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD

Causation argument - 

Causation - the process of one thing causing another 

For - 

• eg: a driver pressing the brake pedal causes the effect of the car slowing down 
• Cause and effect = basic feature of world 
• Universe and humans must have had a cause 
• God = only logical cause - must exist
• Explains how and why we're here 
• Fits with out common sense - can't believe something came from nothing 
• Fits with science - Universe (an effect) must have a cause (God) 

Against - 

• God would need a cause 
• Matter may be eternal (never created), process of causes could go back forever, not to God 
• Universe could have been there for forever, just because everything in it needs an explanation doesn't mean the universe does too 
• First Cause doesn't have to be a God of a specific religion - could be good, evil, mixture, several gods etc

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD 

Design argument - 

For - 

• The way the universe works makes it look as if it has been designed 
• Anything that has been designed needs a designer - world would need a designer 
• Only possible designer would be God 
• Evidence the world has been designed (laws of science - gravity and magnetism, DNA as blueprint for life, evolution etc.) 

Against - 

• Designer would't have created volcanoes, earthquakes etc. 
• Science can explain appearance of design without a God involved 
• Doesn't explain dinosaurs being part of the world etc. 
• Would only prove designer, not necessarily God 

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD 

Religious experience - 

Numinous - a feeling of the presence of God 

• Awareness of something greater than you - must be God 
• eg: religious building, beautiful place, looking at stars 

Conversion - an experience of God, which is so great that it makes them want to change their life/religion and commit themselves to God in a special way 

• Feel that God is calling them to do something for him 

Miracle - event that breaks the law of science (appears to), and can only be explained by God 

• If you experience something that breaks scientific laws, you will look for an explanation 
• if the only explanation is a miracle then you will start believing in God 

Prayer - an attempt to make contact with God 

• If they feel God is listening to their prayer, they are likely to believe in God 
• An answered prayer (eg: a sick family member getting better after a prayer) will lead to belief in God 

RELIGION AND LIFE

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD

Religious upbringing - 

Christian -

• Children generally baptised - promise to bring up children to believe in God and be good Christians 
• Teach children to believe in God 
• Teach children to pray to God 
• Take children to worship God in church 
• My send children to a Church school 

How this supports belief in God -

• Parents will have told children about God and they will believe their parents 
• Christians pray to God, so they will believe that God exists because parents wouldn't waste their time by praying to nothing 
• Seeing so many people worshipping God at church will make them believe that god exists 
• They will be taught that God exists at Sunday school/Church school - believe teachers

RELIGION AND LIFE 

1 - BELIEVING IN GOD 

Key words - 

Agnosticism - unsure whether God exists 
Atheism - believing God doesn't exist 
Conversion - when your life is changed by giving yourself to God 
Free will - idea that human beings are free to make their own choices 
Miracle - something that seems to break a law of science (believe only God could have done it) 
Moral evil - actions done by humans which cause suffering 
Natural evil - things that cause suffering but aren't related to humans 
Numinous - feeling of the presence of something greater than you 
Omni-benevolent - belief that God is all-good
Omnipotent - belief that God is all-powerful 
Omniscient - belief that God knows everything that has happened/going to happen (al-knowing) 
Prayer - an attempt to contact God (usually words)