The Nature of God

The problem with describing God's nature with language or imagery 

• God is not physical and therefore cannot be drawn or described like physical objects can
• We cannot verify what God is like because God cannot be directly experienced
• As soon as anything is described or defined it becomes limited which God cannot be
• God is beyond human comprehension. God is infinite, we are finite
• Reducing or limiting God could be blasphemy/idolatry

Key Characteristics of God:

• All-powerful (omnipotent) Ability to do anything that can be done
• All-knowing (omniscient) to know everything that can be known
• All-loving (benevolent) willing good towards all creatures
• All-compassionate ,caring about and desiring to help others when they suffer and empathising with them
• All-merciful, being able to forgive all sins

Problems with the characteristics?

• If God knows everything then do we have Free-Will?
• If God is all merciful and all-compassionate then why does hell exist?
• If God is all loving and all-powerful, why do we suffer?
• If God is all-powerful and eternal, could he destroy himself?

God in Forms

God in one form: Gods nature cannot be divided or separated out. Gods nature is perfectly unified. Muslims strictly believe God in one form.
+ Fits with the idea that God is unlimited (no limits in time, space or power), non-physical, beyond human comprehension and perfect
God in many forms: There is one God, but that Gods nature can be represented in different ways or divided out into specific roles. Hindus believe that there is one God however this God takes may forms that can be understood distinct from each other
+ Enables God to be more personal, relatable and comprehensible and therefore easier to worship
God as Personal/Impersonal
God as personal: God is relatable and we can develop a mutual understanding with God and have some kind of relationship with him
+ Helps believers to understand the being that they are worshipping and feel that he is involved and cares about their lives

God as impersonal: God is an awesome almighty force that is beyond human comprehension and understanding
+ Enables believers to understand how powerful and great God is. He is unlimited and infinite unlike us as we are flawed and imperfect

Words used to describe God

The Truth: God is pure and the ultimate reality

The King: God is the mighty ruler of the universe, creator of all natural and moral laws

Father: God made us in love and cares for us

He: Shows that God is personal however limits God as it suggests God has a physical form

Eternal: God has no creator, no beginning no end. Everything depends on God but God depends on nothing.

The Compatibility of Science and Religion

Fundamentalist - Some one who believes the key teachings, messages and stories of their holy text are true

Literalist -  Some one who believes the key teachings, messages and stories of their holy text are true word for word

Liberal - Some one who believes their holy text provides important truths but that these truths may not always be literal or historical

Metaphor - Imagery that is meaningful but not in a literal or possible sense.

Genesis

Day 1 Light
Day 2 Land and Plants
Day 3 Heavenly Bodies
Day 4 Birds and fish
Day 6 Animals including Humans who are the pinnacle of creation. God sees that everything is good

Against:

• Big Bang theory suggests universe is billions of years old whereas Bible suggests that universe is only thousands of years old.
• Incompatible with Evolution which suggests the development of species took millennia rather than days
• Scientifically implausible. For instance, how can the sky be made by taking some of the oceans water and placing it in an arch above us
• How can light be made before sun?

Liberal Account

1. God is the reason why there is something rather than nothing. We have God to thank for our existence.
2. God loves everything, and made it to be good.
3. God cares about human beings most of all – there is something extra special about human life.
4. Humans have an important role to play in the world.
• This approach could be made compatible with evolution and Big Bang Theory.

Big Bang Theory

More than 13 billion years ago, the universe was a superheated and super dense fireball which exploded and then expanded rapidly. The matter from this fireball cooled down to makes planets, stars, gases etc.
In Favour:
• The universe is still expanding and cooling
• There is cosmic background radiation and the increasing distance between galaxies which support the Big Bang theory

Evolution

Evolution suggests that all life on earth began from a common ancestor around 3.8 billion years ago. From this common ancestor, natural selection and survival of the fittest occurred where the specie with a genetical advantage is able to survive a certain circumstance such as hot weather. It therefore survives the circumstance and has offspring with the same genetic advantage. Over successive generations this gives rise to a diversity of species.

In favour and against Evolution and Big Bang

In Favour:

• Enough physical evidence which suggests that these theories are true. It is based on facts rather than faith
• If these theories are true, then stories in Holy texts are wrong. This would show that science and religion are incompatible and that religion is incorrect
Against:
• They are only theories. We cannot definitely prove that they are true particularly given the time frames in question
• Liberals interpretation of their religious texts can be compatible with science. For instance they may believe God caused the Big Bang
• Both religious and scientific theories fail to explain why there is something rather than nothing and why ife began in the first place. The failure to explain leaves a requirement for God as the explanation
Function of Human Beings
• Evolution suggests that human life came about through a random set of chance processes. It was not intended. Our purpose is simply to survive and to reproduce. We are not more special than any other creation
• Religious stories suggests that human life is special and made in Gods image. We were intended, loved and are more special than other creatures due to out intelligence, free-will and capacity to love
• God may have guided evolution

Revelation

Revelation - the way in which God discloses or ‘reveals’ some truths or knowledge about himself to believers.

General Revelation - God disclosing truths or knowledge about himself to ALL human beings. Everyone has access to this disclosure.

Special Revelation - God disclosing truths or knowledge about himself to specific people or groups of people

Reality - This is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined.

Illusion - This is a distortion of reality, and represents reality as it mistakenly appears to us.

Valid - Valid if it presents a truthful representation of reality

General Revelation

Nature

God created the world, as it is his creation, nature should reveal something about God. The fact that the world is balanced suggests that God is very intelligent and powerful. The fact that it is beautiful suggests that he is all-loving.

- Why does nature go wrong, or seem unpleasant?
- The beauty of the world is not necessarily God, could be evolution

Human

Some theists believe humans were created in Gods Image. Therefore our nature reveals something about Gods nature. Our creativity, beauty, intelligence and capacity to love is evidence that God possesses these qualities too

- Human nature also includes conflict, jealousy, greed and hatred. Are these also aspects of God?
- Saying we are like God is perhaps reflects an anthropomorphic understanding of what God is like. We may be basing our idea of God on the things that we value about ourselves

Special Revelation

Sacred Texts

Sacred Texts such as the Bible tell us something about the nature of Godin what is written within them. The  texts are said to be divinely written  and are usually the word of God. It tells us what God is like and what he has done e.g. made the world.
- How doe we know the authorship is divine? It may be written by human beings
- How are we expected to interpret the text. Some theists interpret in literally and some metaphorically however which one is correct

Prayer

Prayer is a moment of contemplation of communication  towards God. Some theists believe that a connection is made and God is present during the prayer. He listens which show that God is personal and loving.
- How do we know that God is present? Perhaps prayer is a moment of contemplation and communication towards nothingness.
- It doesn’t agree with the idea of God as transcendent. How can an almighty God who is not within creation be present to our prayers?

Worship

The practise of offering praise, faithfulness and thankfulness to God in your life. The can be one off or continuous.  Some theists believe that a connection is made and God is present during worship. He listens which show that God is personal and loving.
- How do we know that God is present? Perhaps Worship is offering praise, faithfulness and thankfulness to nothingness.
- It doesn’t agree with the idea of God as transcendent. How can an almighty God who is not within creation be present to our worship?

Visions and Dreams

The moment where a person or a group of people witnesses an event (either asleep or awake) which imparts some kind of knowledge about God e.g. Paul on the road to Damascus
- These visions ad dreams may be caused by something other that God. For instance ill-health, over-active imagination and wishful thinking
- God is meant to be all-loving (benevolent), so surely he should reveal himself to everyone rather than a select few

Enlightenment

Enlightenment is where a person becomes one with ultimate reality and suddenly grasps the true nature and purpose of existence. This happened to the Buddha when he meditated under the Bodhi tree. Enlightenment shows there is more to life than the physical world we live in.
- Does enlightenment tell us anything about God? It seems that even an atheist could reach enlightenment through meditation.
- How can we be sure that the person has achieved enlightenment? There is no way of checking if they are right or telling the truth

General Arguments

In Favour:

• If God exists then it seems logical that he would impart knowledge of him to his creation
• There are so many people around the world have had experienced revelations in their life, they cannot all be wrong

Against:

• Revelation is about personal interpretation and usually expresses attitude on the part of the person rather than something verifiably true. There is no way of proving the link to God
• Revelation may not tell us anything about God, but instead about us humans. Freud thought that revelation reflected our own desire for meaning and security in our lives. Feurbach though it reflected humans values (intelligent, power, love) rather than any divine reality which therefore makes it an illusion

The Problem of Evil

Evil: anything that causes suffering, pain and unhappiness.

Natural evil: Anything that causes suffering which is due to how the workings of nature such as volcanoes, earthquakes

Moral evil:  Anything that causes suffering through the decisions of free moral agents such as humans. Example of moral evil include murder and rape.

The Problem?

• God as all-loving should want to get rid of all evil as it leads to people suffering
• God as all-powerful should have the power to eliminate all evil
• God as all-knowing should understand that we are suffering

Adam and Eve

Against:

• The story of Genesis was written in a cultural and historical context and therefore may not be relied upon as a literal history of the world which makes it an unacceptable explanation for the evil we see in the word
• The story depicts God as not loving as he does not forgive Adam and Eve when they fail the test
• The story disagrees with God as all-knowing as God should have foreseen that Adam and Eve would fail in their test

Free Will Defence

God let us freely choose us to love him and do the right thing. This is better than people being forces to love him and also to do the right thing because they are forced. God gave all human beings free will which is a gift and gives our life individuality. The Downside is that humans may abuse it to cause suffering. As we have free will people may make silly decision which leads to somebody getting harmed.

Against:

• Poor at explaining natural evil which is usually not caused by the decisions of humans
• Is losing our Free-Will better than excessive unnecessary suffering
• Why aren’t humans designed to freely choose the right thing? God being all powerful should be able to do this and it will abolish unwanted suffering which shows that God is all-loving

Need for Contrast

Some theists would argue that evil is necessary for us to know and be able to appreciate good. This can be compared to the example that if everything in the world is red then how would we know about the other colours and therefore how can we appreciate red without having something to compare it to.  Evil helps us to appreciate the good we have in this world.

Against:

• Why is there so much evil?
• Why is evil spread about unjustly?
• Does the good we get justify the evil? Many people suffer however do we appreciate the good more?

Soul making defence

This defence suggests that evil is necessary for developing humans. Humans can only develop into mature beings with the presence of evil. God made evil in order to challenge us and for us to learn from our mistakes and therefore develop. By developing our character we are showing ourselves to be worthy of heaven.

Against:

• Same as arguments against Need for Contrast

Karma Defence

Karma is the cosmological law of consequences which is similar to the principle “what goes around, comes around”. Our suffering is the consequence of what we have done in the past. Bad sinful acts lead to bad karma which means the individual will suffer in either this life or the next. We all suffer in proportion with what we deserve

Against:

• The fact that there is so much of a time gap between the bad act and the bad consequence makes Karma seen unjust
• People don’t remember their past lives and therefore it is unjust to be held responsible for something you don’t remember doing. The feeling is similar to be punished for what somebody else has done

Theists response to evil:

Individual life

• Remain faithful in God and hopeful for the Future
• Continue to do the right thing and strive to learn from mistakes

Lives of others

• Support those who suffer practically (e.g. offering help or money)
• Speak out against injustice and moral evil
• Pray for those who suffer

The Existence of God

Proof: definitive evidence that shows the truth of something, beyond doubt. If you have proved something, you know it.

Faith: believing in the truth of something, even if it is not beyond doubt or cannot be proved. If you have faith in something, you believe it.

Atheist: someone who believes that there is a God who created and cares about the world

Agnostic: someone who claims that it is not possible to know either way whether there is a God or not

Proving Gods Existence 

In Favour:

• God is an unlimited being and is not physical therefore he cannot be experience with senses like other objects can
• Many Theists believe that God is transcendent (not part of the physical universe) and therefore he cannot be found
• God is an unlimited being with no limit in time space or power. We humans who are finite beings cannot understand the nature of an unlimited being

Against:

• It may be hard to prove God but it also hard to disprove God
• Religion is based on faith rather than knowledge. If we knew God existed rather than believed he did then we would not worship him for the right reasons

The Design Argument

Put forward by William Paley, the design argument suggests that when we look at man-made objects such an old fashioned watch, we see evidence of design. These man-made objects have purpose, beauty and intricacy. When we look at nature, for instance the eye, we also see evidence of design. Nature has a purpose, is beautiful and also intricate. The evidence of design suggests that the natural objects, similar to the man-made objects, must have an intelligent designer who put the natural objects together in a certain way for a reason. This designer must be God, and therefore God exists.

Against:

• If everything was made by an intelligent designer, then why do natural objects go wrong so often. For instance eyes going blind. It also seems evil, such as sharks eating dolphins. This shows that there is no designer or the designer is evil
• Evolution
• The designer doesn’t have to be God

In Favour:

• Natural objects show beauty and intricacy similar to man-made objects, suggesting that nature has an intelligent designer who put nature together in this certain way.

First Cause Argument

All known events and objects have a cause. The universe therefore must have a cause. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes, because there would be no satisfactory explanation for why the universe exists. There must be an uncaused first cause of the universe. This uncaused First cause must be God, which proves his existence.

Against:

• If everything has a cause, then why doesn’t God have a cause?
• Even if there was a first uncaused cause, it doesn’t specifically mean it had to be God. Perhaps it was the Big Bang.
• Maybe the universe didn’t have a cause and was always there

In Favour:

• Everything we know has a cause, and therefore the universe itself must have had an uncaused first cause which is God

Religious Experience

A religious experience is when an individual experiences the divine. This gives the individual a reason to believe God exists.

In Favour:

• The fact that so many people have had a religious experience suggests that there must be a loving God to give the experiences
• It has happened to many down to earth people

Against:

• Many Theists believe in God as transcendent (out of the Physical world we live in), which suggests that Religious Experiences from God is unlikely.
• God is meant to be all-loving, so why does he only reveal himself to some people and not everyone?
• Those who have religious experiences tend to be those with a religious upbringing.

Arguments against the existence of God

• Why do we need to invent a God to make sense of what we do not know?
• Evolution suggests that there is no specific design in the Universe.
• Problem of Evil
• If God exists, why doesn’t he tell us about himself. Why do so many people believe in different Gods wand follow different rules. If God was perfect, then surely everyone should be able to know him and follow just one set of truths

The Afterlife

The two basic beliefs of afterlife are:

• Soul of the dead person enters a new eternal state of happiness with God or punishment

• Soul of the dead person is reborn or reincarnated to come back to another earthly existence

Why people believe in afterlife:

• Life seems unfair. Those who are good die young whereas some who are bad prosper. There is no point in life if both those who live a good life and those who live a bad life ended their life and there was nothing more

• People seem to be aware of a deeper aspect of life

• Dreams, visions etc. show that there is more to an individual then flesh

• When a person dies, the body remains but there is clearly something missing from it. The soul must go somewhere

In favour of afterlife:

• Existence of ghosts and hauntings

• Resurrection of Jesus witnessed in the Bible

• People sometimes remember something from a previous life

• Out of Body/Near death experiences

• People have believed it for so long

Against afterlife:

• No solid evidence

• People may use the idea of an afterlife in order to comfort themselves so that they are not scared of either themselves or someone close from dying

• No one has come back from the dead to tell us (except Jesus)

Beliefs of the After-Life

Eternal life - The person after they die enters a unending state in which the identity of the person continues. It is a reward for living a good life on earth, as it means being with God for ever.

God's love is supposed to be eternal which accepts this idea. If we die and then that was end, then it could limit God.

Resurrection -  The idea that God would restore life for the dead who have been faithful to God. The life would be an eternal happy state in the presence of God

Heaven/Paradise - An eternal place of great happiness and perfection in the presence of God. It is given to those who have been faithful to God.

Hell - State of eternal despair. Given to those who have rejected what God has to offer.

Reincarnation - The belief that when someone dies, they may have another life on earth as a person or an animal. Hindus believe that a person has an immortal atman (soul). The cycle of reincarnation can be escaped by getting rid of earthly desires which can only be enjoyed through a body. 

Karma - The cosmological law of consequences. Those who do sinful acts get bad karma whereas those who do good get good karma. Karma determines the quality of your future in this life and next lives. Good justice is however unfair to be punished for something you don't remember doing.

Rebirth - The process of being born again after death, on the planet in the form of a animal or human. To escape the cycle, the Buddhist must reach Nibbana (getting rid of craving).

Out of Body experiences

Near Death Experience - Some people, when they are close to death claim to have a sense of themselves leaving their bodies and seeing what exists beyond this life.

Against:

• When we are in extreme situation our body creates chemicals which may make us produce a type of imagery similar to NDE

• No definitive proof that it shows anything beyond life

In Favour:

• Many similar experiences

How afterlife affects this life

Good deeds done in this life will be rewarded whereas those who have done bad will be punished. The attitude in which the deeds are done is also important. There is no point trying to do a good deed in order to please God and to try and secure a better after life.

Buddhists try to go beyond craving to reach Nibbana. The Buddhist must live by the four noble truths and the 8 fold path.

Sikhs aim to find union with God and escape reincarnation. They must live by the truth, meditate upon God and give charity to those in need,

The two basic beliefs of after life are:

• Soul of the dead person enters a new eternal state of happiness with God or punishment

• Soul of the dead person is reborn or reincarnated to come back to another earthly existence

Why people believe in after life

• Life seems unfair. Those who are good die young whereas some who are bad prosper. There is no point in life if both those who live a good life and those who live a bad life ended their life and there was nothing more

• People seem to be aware of a deeper aspect of life

• Dreams, visions etc. show that there is more to an individual then flesh

• When a person dies, the body remains but there is clearly something missing from it. The soul must go somewhere

In favour:

• Existence of ghosts and hauntings

• Resurrection of Jesus witnessed in the Bible

• People sometimes remember something from a previous life

• Out of Body/Near death experiences

• People have believed it for so long

Against:

• No solid evidence

• People may use the idea of an afterlife in order to comfort themselves so that they are not scared of either themselves or someone close from dying

• No one has come back from the dead to tell us (except Jesus)