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RE UNIT 3.1 - BELIEVING IN GOD (Features of a Catholic upbringing + how it…
RE UNIT 3.1 - BELIEVING IN GOD
Features of a Catholic upbringing + how it leads to belief in God
Main features of a Catholic upbringing
Have babies baptised + bring children up to be good Catholics
Teach children to believe in and pray to God
Take children to mass where they learn to worship God
Send their children to a Catholic school
How Catholic upbringing leads to belief in God
Catholic parents told them about God and they will believe their parents
Catholics pray to God, believe God exists as parents wouldn't pray to nothing
Seeing so many people worshipping God when they go to Mass will make them believe God exists
They'll be taught that God exists when they go to school and they will believe it because their teachers tell them it's true
Why unanswered prayers may lead to agnosticism or atheism
If people pray at home and church but never feel the presence of God - may feel there's no God listening to them -> leads to agnosticism or atheism
Unanswered prayers likely to believe God doesn't exist -> religious people believe God answers peoples' prayers - so if their prayers aren't answered - might think God doesn't exist
If someone is a good practising Catholic but they ask for healing for their child + their child then dies - may lose faith in God
If someone prays for things like the ending of human suffering of peace etc. and they're not answered - might stop believing in God - think God couldn't exist if he lets such things continue to happen
How Catholics respond to the problem of evil and suffering
Response 1
Many Catholic believe from Bible God must have a reason for allowing evil+suffering + humans can't understand it
Correct response of Catholics is to follow example of Jesus + fight against evil+suffering as Jesus did by praying for + helping those who suffer
Some Catholics become doctors, nurses etc to help those suffering
Response 2
Many Catholics claim by giving us free will - God created a world where evil+suffering will come about through humans
Therefore evil+suffering - problem caused by humans not God
Response 3
Many Catholics believe evil+suffering involved in life are not a problem but preparation for paradise
If people are to improve souls - need to face evil+suffering to become good
God can't remove evil+suffering if he's giving them the chance to become good
In the end - show omni-benevolence + omnipotence by rewarding the good in heaven
Response 4
Some Catholics claim God has a reason for not using His power to remove evil+suffering that humans can't understand
God is divine + there's no way humans can understand His thoughts
How Catholics respond to unanswered prayers
Most Catholics believe God answers all prayers - so unanswered prayers can be explained by:
If you pray for selfish things eg. passing an exam without no work - God will let you fail so you work hard next time
Prayer may not be answered how you expect - God may have different plans
Like human parents - God may answer our prayers by giving us what we need rather than what we want
Believe God loves people so believe God's love will answer their prayers in the best way - even though may not look like a direct answer
Catholics have faith God will answer prayers in the best way for the person or person they're praying for - even if it's not how they expected
Why evil and suffering may lead to agnosticism or atheism
Moral evil
- caused by humans using their free will
Natural evil
- suffering not caused by humans
How evil+suffering cause people to question or reject faith or belief in God
If God is omnipotent (all powerful) - must be able to remove all evil+suffering from the world
If God is omni-benevolant (all good) - must want to remove all evil+suffering from the world
If God exists - should be no evil or suffering in world
If there's evil+suffering in the world - either God is not all-good + powerful or He doesn't exist
If God is omniscient (all knowing) - must've known evil+suffering would come from creating the universe so should've created it with no evil+suffering
Most religious believers believe God is omnipotent, omni-benevolant + omniscient so presence of evl+suffering challenges beliefs about God
For many religious believers - evil+suffering become a problem or they experience it - can change them to being an atheist or agnostic
How religious experience may lead to belief in God
Numinous
Feeling of presence of God
Experience may fill them with awareness of something greater than them which they feel to be God
This feeling is likely to lead them to believe in God
Conversion
An experience of God which is so great people want to change their lives or religion and commit themselves to God
Make people believe in God because they feel God is calling them to do something for him
Miracle
An event that breaks the laws of science and can only be explained by God
Makes people believe in God because if you experience this, you would look for an explanation and the only explanation can be that is is a miracle by God
Prayer
Religious believers think they can make contact with God through prayer
If the person praying feels that God is listening to the prayer they are more likely to believe God exists
If their prayer is answered this will lead to a belief in God
How Catholics respond to scientific explanations of the world
Response 1
Many Catholics accept scientific explanations are true - but believe they prove God exists as they believe:
Only God could've made the Big Bang at the right time to form the universe
Only God could make laws of gravity which the Big Bang needed to form solar systems
Only God could make the gases on Earth react in a way to form life
Response 2
Some Catholics believe both scientific explanations + the Bible are correct
Claim main points of the Bible's story of creation fit with science - but one of God's days could be millions of years
Scientific explanations of the world and agnosticism and atheism
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Science explains how the world came to being like this:
Matter is eternal
15 billion years ago - matter of universe exploded -> known as 'big bang theory'
Red shift in light from other galaxies is evidence the universe is still expanding
Matter of universe flew away from explosion - formed stars then our solar system
Gases on earth's surface produced primitive life
Genetic structure of primitive life-forms led to evolution of new life forms + 25 million years ago humans evolved
How scientific explanations of the world may lead to agnosticism or atheism
If science can explain the universe without God - can lead people to be agnostic - as they no longer need God to explain why we're here
May become atheist if they believe that God existed he must have made the world + be the only explanation for it -> if science can explain the world without God = proof to people God doesn't exist
How 2 programmes about religion may affect a person's attitude to belief in God
The Simpsons (pro-religion) + Futurama (anti-religion)
Summary of each program + outline of contents
How they might have encouraged some people to believe in God
How they might have encouraged some people not to believe in God
Whether it affected your beliefs about God
Causation Argument - Belief in God
Causation - process of one thing causing another
Argument for causation:
Cause + effect - basic feature of the world -> whatever we do has an effect
Scientific investigations - any effect has a cause + any cause has an effect
Universe, world + humans must have had a cause
God = only logical cause of universe
Therefore God must exist
Design Argument - Belief in God
Design = making a plan to produce something
Religious believers looked at the world and think it must have been designed
Scientists have seen evidence of design in evolution
Argument for design:
Anything that's been designed needs a designer
Lots of evidence the world has been designed (laws of science etc)
If the world has been designed - must be a designer
Only possible designer of something like the world is God
The appearance of design in the world proves God exist