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Existence of God and revelation - Coggle Diagram
Existence of God and revelation
The Design Argument
Paley's watch
Newton's thumb
Everything is so intricately designed it could not have come about by pure chance, there must be a God
Arguments against:
Evolution, evil and suffering
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth"
First Cause Argument
Everything in the universe has a cause, therefore the universe must have an eternal cause, which is god
Arguments against:
What caused God?, Big Bang was random, if God eternal, why not universe eternal?
Miracles
Christians believe miracles are caused by something outside of nature, which must be God
Jesus healing the sick / feeding the 5000
Arguments against:
Lying for fame or money, mental illness, coincidences, unfair God
Atheist arguments
The Big Bang
Evolution
Evil and suffering
"The Big Bang does not contradict the creation, it requires it"
~ Pope Francis
Special revelation
Mary's visit from angel Gabriel
Enlightenment - gaining full knowledge of the world and how to end suffering by achieving happiness
General revelation
God's existence being shown in his creation - nature, religious leaders, scripture
"The heavens declare the glory of God"
The Bible - fundamentalists would say it should be taken literally, liberals take it metaphorically
Qualities of God
Personal - Christians can have a personal relationship with God through prayer
Immanent - Jesus came to Earth
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"
Transcendent - God existed before the universe was created, meaning he lives outside it
Impersonal - cannot be understood by humans, eg. how he created the world, what he looks like
The value of revelation
Does it match the real world?
Does it fit with the religion's teachings?
Does it convert someone?