AQA Religious Studies - The Existence of God and Revelation THEME

From the AQA Revision Guide

The Design Argument

States that because everything in the universe is so intricately made, it must have been created by God

Hinduism - Did God Create the World?

• Blind men & Elephant - each person knows part of the truth, but not the whole truth

• God created the universe

Christianity - Did God Create the World?

• Design Argument

• William Paley’s Watchmaker argument

Objections to Design Argument

• Not deductive evidence, it is inferred or inductive, which could have its flaws that we can’t see

• Suffering

• Order in the universe is imposed by humans to help explain it

The First Cause Argument

• everything begins to exist or must have a cause, otherwise it can’t exist

• therefore something created the universe, i.e. God

Hinduism - First Cause

Agree - recognise cycle of life & rebirth as God needing to kick start it

Objections - First Cause Argument

• Who caused god?

• If god is eternal, why can’t the universe be eternal

• this is inductive evidence again, not deductive.

Miracles

• Seeimingly impossibly events that cannot be explained by natural and scientific laws, and seen to be action of God

Christianity - Miracles

• Prove God’s existance

• 70 have been officially recognised by the Catholic Church as taking place in Lourdes

• Jesus performed miracles

Philosopher David Hume

• Against miracles - cannot be enough evidence to deny the laws of nature

• witnesses are unreliable

• religions depend on miracles to prove they are right but not all religions can be right.

Examples of Miracle - Christianity

• 1902; Marie Bailly diagnosed wiht tubercular peritonitis

• visited Lourdes, holy water poured and she returned in good health

Example of Miracles - Hinduism

• From 1995 to 2006, a number of murtis appeared to drink milk offered to them

• Thousands, not just Hindus, witnessed this

Science challenging the existence of God

• religious beliefs were invented to answer questions that could not be explained before

• we can now answer many questions, and in the future we should be able to answer all of them

• science is close enough to create human life proves there is no god

Christian & Hindu responses to science

• Christians see no conflict, and view it liberally

• Others just reject science

• “The big bang […] does not contradict the divine act of creation, rather requires it”

• Hindus do not regard science as presenting a challenge to our teachings

Evil & Suffering

• god is all-loving and all-powerful and all-knowing

• if true, god should stop evil

• he dont so he dont exist

Christian & Hindu responses to evil & suffering

• Free will

• Karma

Special Revelation

When God makes himself known through direct personal experience

Christianity & Hinduism - Special Revelation

• Moses receiving Ten Commandments

• Mary fidning out from angel Gabriel about Jesus’ conception

• Hinduism → Miracles/visions may lead to enlightenment, but it is not necessary

Visions

• Acts 9:1-19 shows Saul seeing Jesus and was spoken to, and he committed himself to christianity, whose followers he previously persecuted.

Hinduism - Enlightenment

• Bhagwan Swaminarayan was so enlightened that he came to be worshipped as a god in his own lifetime

• He founded BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

General Revelation

• God making himself known through ordinary experiences, nature or scripture

Nature as General Revelation

• awe and wonder at creation

• “the skies proclaim the word of his hands […] night after night they reveal knowledge.”

Scripture as General Revelation - Hinduism & Christianity

• God’s words

• Or inspired by God

• shruti contain absolute and eternal truths

• smriti inspired by the shruti, such as the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita

Athiesm on Scripture as General Revelation

• Opinions, not facts

• Stupid argument, “the bible is correct cuz the bible says so”

Descriptions of God’s nature

• Omnipotent

• Omniscient

• Omnipresent

• Omnibenevolent

• Immanent - Present and involved

• Transendent - Beyond and outside, does not act

• Personal - compassionate

• Impersonal - unknowable and mysterious

Value of Revelation - Christianity

• prove god’s existence

• help start a religion

• enable believers to have a relationship with God

Athiesm on revelation

• Coincidences

• Wishful thinking

• Mental illness

• Substance abuse

• Genuine error

• Lying for fame/money