Section One, Believing in God

Keywords
1. Agnositicism
  1. Not being sure whether god exists
2. Atheism
  1. Believing that god does not exist
3. Conversion
  1. When your life is chaned by giving yourself to god.
4. Free Will
  1. the idea that humans are free to make their own choices and decisions.
5. Miracle
  1. something which seems to break a law of science ans makes you think only God could have done it
6. moral evil
  1. actions done by humans which cause suffering
    1. E.g Murder
7. natural evil
  1. Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans
    1. E.g Earthquakes, Tsunamis
8. numinous
  1. The feeling of the presence of something greater than you
9. Omni-benevolent
  1. The belief that god is all good
10. omni-potent
  1. The belief that god is all powerful
11. Omniscient
  1. The belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that is going to happen
12. Prayer
  1. An attempt to contact God, usually through words
Religious Upbringing
1. Reasons why Christian families raise their families to believe in God
  1. Christians believe it is their duty to marry, have a family and raise their children within the Christian faith
  2. Christians believe their religion gives children a secure basis and helps them through difficulties
2. How do Christian familes encourage their children to believe in God
  1. Baptism
    1. A Child is welcomed into the Church with family, friends and the worshipping congregation promising to support them in the faith
  2. School
    1. Christian parents may choose a church school that helps to educate them in the Christian faith
  3. Parents Examples
    1. Through their own examples, Chirstian parents encourage children to believe.
      1. By seeing their parents praying and hearing about the bible through stories, and attending church they are more likely to believe in God
  4. Community
    1. Young Christians can meet and share in activities such as bible groups , youth groups, prayer meetings or other events. This offers a sense of Belonging
  5. Confirmation
    1. A child will be encouraged to confirm and renew the vows made for them in baptism, when they are old enough to make this decision themselves
  6. Worship
    1. Children attend Sunday Scholl to learn about Jesus, God and the Church. They are also attend Church services and celebrate Christian festivals
Religious Experiences
1. Numinous experiences
  1. An experience which completely amazes someone and often inspires awe and wonder. usually words are not enough to descript the exprerience but it leave a person aware of a being greater than themselves
2. Conversion
  1. An experience that causes and individual to change their beliefs , ideas or complete lifestyle. An atheist may suddenly become a believer in God a person my change from one religion to another
3. Prayer
  1. A method which believers communicate with God. Prayer can be personal or can be a group experience. Believers pray to sahre their ideas with God, to praise him, to thank him for what he has provided , ot ask for forgiveness, or to show gratitude.
4. Miracles
  1. An act of God that appears to be impossible as it goes against the laws of nature. It is usually performed for a religious reason.
    1. Some examples of miracles in the bible are :
      1. The feeding of the five Thousand
      2. The healing of the crippled man
      3. Giving the blind man sight.
    2. Some examples of modern miracles are :
      1. The healing of a person with a terminal illness. Possibly even saving their life.
Arguments for Christianity and the creation of the word
1. The argument for design
  1. Design is the result of intelligent thought
    1. The universe is so complicated it cannot have just "happened"
      1. Therefore it needs a designer
        The only person capable of designing such a complex thing is God
        Therefore, God exists
  2. Arguments against the design argument
    1. Cannot 'prove' that God made the universe. It is only a suggestion
    2. The appearance of design could be a result of evolution: The scientific theory that everything has evolved and only has the appearance of design.
2. The Causation Argument
  1. Nothing happens by itself
    1. Everything that happens , must have been caused by something else
      1. The universe cannot have happened by itself
        A powerful cause was necessary to cause the universe
        This cause has to be god
        Therefore God Exists
3. Scientific Explanations
  1. The "Big Bang" Theory
    1. An Enormous Explosion started the universe about 15 billion years ago.
  2. Evolution and Natural Selection
    1. Darwin's Theory of the gradual development of species over millions of years
    2. That species naturally develop the best characterists to survive in the habitat they live in . And only the fittest survive
The problem of unanswered prayers
1. Prayers are communication with God. If they are unanswered, people might think God is not listening.
2. Many people experience pain and suffering and pray to God to help them, if God does nothing this may lead to them not believing.
3. Christian responses to unanswered prayers
  1. Some accept that they do not have enough faith in God, so they must carry on trying.
  2. They may feel that God is not listening to them
  3. Some may accept that God doesn't answer selfish prayers
  4. They may believe that God hears and answers all prayers , but always in the way they expect , or want
  5. They may belive what they are praying for is not part of Gods will or Devine Plan
The problem of evil and suffering
1. Moral Evil
  1. Actions carried out by humans that cause suffering
2. Natural Evil
  1. Things that have nothing to do with humans but cause sufferent. E.G: Natural Disasters
3. If god is all good, He would want to remove all evil and suffering from the world.
4. If god is all knowing, he would know how to remove evil and suffering
5. If god is all powerful , he would be able to remove evil and suffering from the world
6. Christian Explanations to the problem of evil and suffering
  1. Free will
    1. God gave people free will , This is the ability to make choices for themselves. Some accept that evil and suffering is the result of bad actions from humans
  2. Test From God
    1. Some Christians believe that evil and suffering are a test from God to see how they react. Some become stronger for example.
  3. God's plan
    1. Suffering happens for a reason : They are a part of Gods Divine Plan. And people should trust God because he knows why everything happens.
  4. Following Jesus' Example
    1. Evil and suiffering allows people to follow the example set by Jesus in the Bible. People can strive to do Good.
7. How Christians respond to Evil and suffering
  1. Praying
    1. hoping God will give them the strength to cope with what they face or praying for others to be able to do the same
  2. Volunteering
    1. With a charity or orgianisation that supports others when they are suffering
  3. Helping others
    1. For example becoming a doctor or nurse so they can help others to combat the suffering that they face.
  4. Strengthening their faith
    1. With the knowledge that God has a plan for them
Media
1. Bruce Almighty
  1. Based on the idea of taking on the job of God.

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Section One, Believing in God

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