Looking for meaning

Looking for meaning

1. Does God exist?

   • Reason not to believe
     • No religious upbringing
     • No proof or evidence of god
     • Science has the answer
       • Big Bang Theory
     • Evil and Suffering
   • Reasons to believe in God
     • Religious Upbringing
     • Natural world-creation. God must have created it
       • Watch's designer example
     • Holy Books
       • Bible
       • Qu'ran
     • Life has no point withouth God

2. Experiencing God

   • Awe- feeling of presence greater than us
   • A revelation- God reveals himself through a vision or reading a holy book
   • A prayer- when sitting, talking or thinking about God
   • Reading a holy book
   • Miracle- for example healing

3. Beliefs

   • Christianity
     • Trinity
       • Father
         • God created all of us and made earth
       • Son
         • Jesus died to save people
       • Holy Spirit
         • God has no physical body or form
     • Free will
   • Islam
     • There is only one God, that is all knowing and creator of the universe
     • Allah is merciful and gracious
     • Allah requires submission to Him, as he will judge the world
     • He sent his last and greatest prophet Muhammad to lead and guide his people
     • Allah has no begining or end
     • There is nothing like Him, nothing of His creation can be

4. Responses to God

   • Christianity
     • Read the Bible and pray
     • Preaching and teaching about God
     • Worship
     • Serve other as part of their job or voluntarily
     • Giving money to the Church or charity
     • Pilgrimage to holy places such as Lourdes
   • Islam
     • Praying 5 times a day
     • Reading the Qu'ran as they should learn the worlds of Allha
     • Zakah and Sadaqh- giving 2.5% of their income and more voluntarily
     • Pilgrimage: going on Hajj and travelling to Makkah
     • Living the life that Allah wants; doing Halal and avoiding Haram

5. Symbols

   • Christinaty
     • Cross- reminds the price that Jesus paid to save them from death and fie them eternal life
     • Trinity symbolises as water or 3 leafed clover
     • Fish is an acrostic for "Jesus Christ God's Son, Saviour" in Greek
     • Candle- symbol of light and goodness overcoming darkness
   • Islam
     • Drawing Images of Allah is forbidden
     • There are 99 names that explain the qualities of Allah, for example Allah the merciful
     • Mom and 5 point star- Islam is a guide to people and the Muslim faith will grow as the moon does throughout the month
     • The scarf is a sign of modesty, womanhood and commitment to Islam

6. Funeral rites

   • Christianity
     • May be buried or cremanted
     • A passage is read from the Bible to comfort and stregthen faith
     • Worship songs are sung
     • The minister or relative may say something about the dead person's life
     • At the end of a burial service the words, ‘earth to earth, ashes to ashes’ will be said to remind us that God made us and God is in charge.
   • Islam
     • 'Adhan' should be the last words a Muslim hears
     • The body will be washed and wrapped in a white cloth
     • An Imam leads the prayer
     • The funeral will take in 24 hours and only men attend
     • The body is buried facing Makkah
     • The ceremony will be as simple as possible

7. Life after death

   • Christianity
     • Soul lives after death
       • It might go to Heaven or Hell, depends of being forgiven by God
     • Heaven is the paradise
     • Hell is a place of torment and pain; eternity withouth God
     • Some Roman Catholics believe in purgatory, where the sins are punished before entering Heaven
   • Islam
     • Akirah - live after death
     • Life will be meaningless withouth Akirah
     • Life is test, which will decide what happens to us after we die
     • Allah planed everything, and nothing is an accident
     • Muslims believe that we remain in the grave after death until the Day of Judgement (Yawmuddin).
       • On this day Allah will judge everyone. The good will go to heaven and the bad to hell. Only Allah knows who will go where.