RS: Theme C - The existence of God and revelation

Theist

a person who believes in God

Atheist

a person who believes that there is no God

Agonistic

someone who thinks there is not enough evidence for belief in God

Design argument

the argument that God designed the universe because everything is so intricately made in its detail that it could not happen by chance

First Cause argument

also called the cosmological argument, the argument that there has been an uncaused cause that made everything else happen, otherwise there would be nothing now

Eternal

without beginning or end

Creation

the act by which God brought the universe into being

Miracle

a seemingly impossible event, usually good, that cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws, and is thought to be the action of God

Proof

evidence that supports the truth of something

Faith

a commitment to something that goes beyond proof and knowledge, especially used about God and religion

Evil

the opposite of good, a force of the personification of a negative power that is seen in many traditions as destructive and against God

Suffering

when people have to face and live with unpleasant events or conditions

Ultimate reality

the supreme, final fundamental power in all reality

The divine

God, gods or ultimate reality

Revelation

an enlightening experience; a divine or supernatural experience in which God shows himself to believers

Special revelation

God making himself known through direct personal experience or an unusual specific event

Vision

seeing something, especially in a dream or trance, that shows something about the nature of God or the afterlife

Enlightenment

the gaining of true knowledge, particularly in the Buddhist tradition, that frees a person from the cycle of rebirth by seeing what the truth about life really is

General revelation

God making himself known through ordinary, common human experiences

Nature

the physical world, including plants, animals and landscape; the environment or natural world

Scriptures

the sacred writings of a religion

Omnipotent

almighty, having ultimate power; a quality of God

Omniscient

knowing everything: a quality of God

Benevolent

all-loving, all-good; a quality of God

Immanent

the idea that Gid is present in and involved with life on earth and in the universe; a quality of God

Transcendent

the idea that God is beyond and outside life on earth and the universe; a quality of God

Personal nature (of God)

the idea that God is an individual or person with whom people are able to have a relationship and feel close to

Impersonal nature (of God)

the idea the God has no ‘human’ characteristics, is unknowable and mysterious, more like a idea or force