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UNIT 5 PR Revision - Miracles

UNIT 5 PR Revision - Miracles

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

What are Miracles?

Many people believe in God because of miracles, events that are against the laws of nature. They say that God is reaching into our world to help us and to reveal himself. They are always good.

Good

• Thousands of people have experienced them, from all different cultures
• They are against the laws of nature
• Healing miracles are proven
• They change people's lives completely - conversion of Saul

Bad

• Science may have not advanced to explain them yet; there is no proof; saying God is the easy way out
• People interpret differently for the same event; witnesses could be biased
• It could be a coincidence
• Why does God perform miracles for some people and not everyone; undeserved miracles?
• How do we know God did it?

David Hume

David Hume was a Scottish philospher who didn't believe that miracles existed. His argument said:

1. The miracle must have never been seen before in nature - not normal experience
2. The miracle must break the laws of nature
3. The witnesses of the miracle must come from a civilised country - otherwise they do not know enough to say that something is a miracle
4. The witnesses have to be secular - not religious - otherwise they would be biased

Bad

• How does Hume know which countries are civilised and if all the people in it are uneducated? - it's a bit harsh!
• Just because there have been lots of healing miracles, it doesn't mean that only the first one was true!
• If something happens not too often, it doesn't mean it is part of normal experience

What do miracles show us about God - Nature of God?

Good

• Miracles show God has supremacy - he is the highest of the highest; he can do things against the laws of nature
• Miracles show God has immanence - he is with us in the world, guiding us through life
• Miracles show God has omnipotence - again, he can do things against the laws of nature
• Miracles show God is benevolent - he loves us and performs miracle for us
• Miracles show God is personal; he interacts with us

Bad

• Why does God perform miracles for some people and not everyone; undeserved miracles?
• Why does God put his name in aubergines when he could be curing people?
• Why does God only cure one person with a disease and not anyone else?

Examples of Miracles

Holy Books

• In Christianity, Saul was a Jew who rounded up Christians. Going to Damascus, he was blinded by a light that only he could see. Three days later a Christian claimed to be sent by God cured him. Saul changed his name to a more Christian-sounding Saint Paul and traveled around spreading Christianity.
• In Exodus 3 of the Bible, Moses saw a bush on fire that wasn't burning. Then God spoke to him and later Moses freed Egyptian slaves.
• In the Gospel of Mark, Blind Bartimaeus was healed of his blindness by Jesus
• Feeding of the 5000 people by Jesus with 5 loaves and two fish
• Resurrection of Jesus

History

• Healing and curing of illnesses at Lourdes
• Saints' bodies not decomposing
• Ganesha statues drinking milk

Hume's Argument against Miracles - CONCISE

Hume was a philosopher who said that all miracles are untrue. Main points are:

• There is not enough evidence - insufficient evidence to outweigh evidence for laws of nature
• All witnesses are either unreliable, since they are biased to saying that the miracle occurred, not educated enough to determine whether or not something is due to science or religious, because they would exaggerate or lie

UNIT 4 PR Revision - Immortality

UNIT 4 PR Revision - Immortality

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

What is immortality?

Immortality is the idea that someone never dies and lives eternally.

Good

• Holy books believe in everlasting life - In the Gospel of John; 'for whosoever believes in Jesus will not die'
• Spiritualist Churches claim to contact the dead
• Ghosts have been rumoured to interact with people; they still have conscience and control
• NDEs have really been proven that the person dies; and all of them are roughly the same
• Revelation shows that God will fulfil what he promises

Bad

• No scientific proof
• There is no proof of ghosts
• Scientists do not know what goes on in the brain near death - it could be very weird
• Some people are biased; they are unconsciously thinking about it
• There are so many contradicting Holy Books; they can't all be right; in fact only one or none can be correct!

Why do people want to be immortal?

For

• They want to see civilization rise and fall - history
• They are scared of death; there is never a good time to die
• They enjoy life too much

Against

• They are bored of life
• They don't like their body; it limits them; it might become diseased or it might become old and rubbish
• One life is enough for anyone

Mind, Body and Soul

Many people argue about what we actually are. The idea of our body and soul being completely separate but linked entities is called dualism.

• Your mind is a big storage box that is you, your essence, which is not actual; it is abstract
• Your body is the physical status of us, and it helps us get from point a to point b.
• Your soul is the spiritual idea of your essence, thought to last after death

Theories of what happens after we die

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the Hindu idea that we are made of body and soul, called an atman. Your soul is you, your essence and this is born into another body after you die. Bad things that you have done in previous lives are repaid for as suffering through your next lives; this is called Karmic Justice.

Good

• • People do remember previous lives whilst in hypnosis
  • Bad people deserve to suffer, even if they don't suffer in their life

Bad

• • Everyone should remember their lives
  • The world population shouldn't increase 
  • There is no proof or empirical evidence
  • Karmic Justice is not fair; shouldn't every new life get its own chance in life?

Memories

Some people that people never die because the memories of them in other people are carried on for generations. They cherish these memories and believe this is an example of immortality.

Good

• Historical bodies have rotted; since we can't use physical evidence, we use memories instead
• Our goal in life could be to make good memories for ourselves

Bad

• Isn't immortality meant to be eternal? If everyone who remembered you died or forgot about you, are you still remembered?
• If you make a bad impression, and the memories of you are wrong, are these memories of you?

Rebirth

Only Buddhists believe in rebirth; the idea that each lifetime changes you a bit, and you learn and develop as you go through your lifetimes.

Good

• People do remember previous lives whilst in hypnosis
• Bad people deserve to suffer, even if they don't suffer in their life

Bad

• Don't changes mean it cancels out a new life?
• There is no proof

Resurrection

Christians and Muslims believe in Resurrection - on a specific day, God wakes you up and you still have a physical body.

Good

• You would need your body to move from A to B when resurrected
• God is omnipotent and can do anything

Bad

• Your body will fall to bits anyway
• Your body limits you; wouldn't it be better to be a stronger being? - would you still want your body?
• People might not recognise you when you become older

Legacy

Some people believe in legacy as if we leave a footprint on the earth.

Good

• Legacies of famous people still live on and are probably not going to be forgotten - Hitler

Bad

• Your legacy might not last long if you aren't famous
• What if your legacy is credited for someone else, if it's wrong?

What do the religions believe in about immortality?

Buddhism

Rebirth - There is no soul in Buddhism - 'no soul' is called Anatta. An ever changing character moves through the cycle of rebirth; a mix of Skandhas shape the next life. They aim for enlightenment.

Christianity

Resurrection - The body and soul wait in Purgatory until Judgement Day, when they are put in heaven or hell.

Judaism

Jews believe in the 'world to come' when the Messiah will rule the earth in peace, waking the dead.

Hinduism

Reincarnation - Your atman - soul - lives through lifetimes, shaped by actions of the previous lifetime(s). One needs to achieve enlightenment and become one with the Ultimate Reality to stop being reincarnated.

Sikhism

Reincarnation - Your soul lives through lifetimes, shaped by actions of the previous lifetime(s), serving and worshipping God; one needs to achieve enlightenment and reunite with God (waheguru) to stop being reincarnated.

Islam

Resurrection - The body waits in the grave (barzakh, seeing the events of its life. On Judgement Day, good go to paradise, bad go to hell; others cross As-Sirat Bridge, carrying sins which make it heavier. Afterwards, being purified, they go to heaven.

More about Proving life after death

Channelling

Channelling is when mediums claim to speak with the dead, suggesting that people remain after death, immortality. Many people go to spiritualist Churches to speak with their relatives. 

Mediumship or spiritualism is the art of speaking to the dead. The people who claim to be able to do this are called mediums, and there are spiritualist Churches that are purely based on this. Some experiences are so real that people are forced to believe in them, and Spiritualist Churches are still sustaining strong congregations.

Good

• The media seem to be very true - if they can speak to the dead, it proves that there is life after death.
• Thousands of people believe in them

Bad

• No proof
• The media may have researched you or can read body language

NDEs

Near Death Experiences are events when the person is proven to have died, and they say that they go through a tunnel of light meeting someone they know, and then they are pulled back into their life again.

Good

• Doctors have proven that these people do die during the experience
• Every experience is roughly the same, from all cultures and from thousands of people

Bad

• You might be unconsciously thinking about it
• Scientists think weird things happen in your brain just before you die that science cannot explain at this time being
• No scientific proof

Holy Books

Holy Books all claim that there is life after death.

Good

• They all agree that there is life after death
• In the Gospel of John; 'for whosoever believes in Jesus will not die'

Bad

• No proof
• They contradict eachother in how the afterlife is going to be

   

UNIT 3 PR Revision - The Problem of Evil and Suffering

UNIT 3 PR Revision - The Problem of Evil and Suffering

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

The Problem; why doesn't God stop suffering?

The biggest problem that atheists have with trying to believe in God is the problem of evil and suffering. The argument is as follows:

• God is omnipotent, so he can do anything he wants; he is all powerful and the creator of the world; why doesn't he stop suffering?
• God is omniscient, so he knows everything and knows what is happening everywhere at any time, so he knows about suffering.
• God is benevolent and loves us all; he wants to keep us safe and happy like a loving parent, so why does he let suffering continue?

Theists have come up with ways to explain this:

What is moral evil?

Moral evil is human evil; humans doing deliberate acts of unkindness which cause pain to other people, often thought out intending to cause harm. There are four ways how theists explain moral evil: 

Satan/ The Devil

Satan personifies evil and possesses people to do bad, immoral things. For example, he possessed the snake and tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (more and that next).

• God should and can destroy him because he is omnipotent
• Satan hurts His creation; if he is benevolent, why does He allow him to exist?

The Fall

In Genesis 3 of the Bible, Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. This disobedience of God is known as Original Sin. Therefore, some theists claim that moral evil was made possible by humans because we were given free will by God.

• If God is super clever and omniscient, why does he create the tree and tell them not to eat from it; surely He would know that this  would happen; did He set them up?
• Now, everyone has nothing to do with the fruit; it is not fair.

All in the mind (psychological phenomenon)

Some theists claim that moral evil is a hidden force in our brains, released by triggers; something within. These triggers are dramatic events, such as bereavement for example.

• God created everything, so he must have made this hidden force; is He not so 'good' as He really is?
• Evil people have existed who have never had a scrap of evil in their lives.

An Impersonal Force

This theory states that moral evil is part of nature, randomly generating it, like a magnet.

• God created everything, so He must have made this; if He made it by accident then He isn't omnipotent, if He made it deliberately, then He isn't benevolent.

What is natural evil?

Natural evil is evil that causes suffering which is uncontrollable. For example, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis; natural disasters. Because God made everything, natural evil is a big problem for theists and they have come up with solutions known as theodicies. There are seven theodicies:

Punishment

Some theists believe that there is natural evil because God is punishing us for our sins. 

• For example, if bank robbers get cancer.
• However, some criminals get away with it and very kind people die with suffering as well.

Faith

Some theists believe that God tests our faith in Him when he makes us suffer.

• In the Bible, Job lost all his possessions and became ill, but he kept his faith in God and and became rich, getting better again.
• However, lots of people with faith die, such as cancer victims

Education

Some theists believe that natural evil teaches us about life and makes us stronger.

• We do learn from mistakes
• However, cancer victims die before they can

Balance

Some theists believe that we need bad to balance out and appreciate the good.

• We wouldn't appreciate things without the bad
• Why don't we have a paradise

Free Will

Some theists believe that God gave us a free will which we have abused. Natural evil is due to bad things happening in different places of the Earth.

• The Fall proves this
• We get undeserved suffering; surely God would not let this happen

No Question

We should not question God because he is beyond our understanding.

• God is transcendent and does not interact with us
• This could be argued to be just a cop out.

Devil

It isn't God who does natural evil, it's the devil.

• The Devil possessed the serpent in Genesis 3
• God could easily destroy the devil because he is omnipotent.

Responding to evil and suffering

How do theists respond when they go through evil and suffering? Here are a few responses;

• Some find the good in evil and be optimistic
• Some accept it as part of life and move on
• Some think it is a test of their faith and that the experience strengthens you
• Some feel that they know God is with you and won't let you suffer too much; if He does, you can go to paradise/heaven and live with Him; religious belief gives them hope.
• Some think prayer gives them strength when they worship God

How do theists respond when they see others go through evil and suffering? They see it as a duty from God to help others; a responsibility for everyone. helping others is also a way to develop as a better person and justify to get into Heaven. Here are a few responses:

• Some donate money to charity
• Some do charity events and help in charities
• Doctors and nurses try their best to help people in hospital

UNIT 2 PR Revision - Revelation

UNIT 2 PR Revision - Revelation

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

What is a religious experience?

A religious experience is when people feel God's presence personally. Through this, they know that He exists and theists believe that this is one of the strongest proofs that God exists. They feel that God is reaching into the world to help us, a revelation of His existence.

Good

• Thousands of people have experienced them
• Total change in people's lives
• Miracles go against laws of nature; it must be God
• Healing miracles have been proven

Bad

• No actual proof; how do we know that God is the source?
• Could be made up because of an illusion, mistaken, lying, unreliable, wishful thinking?
• People interpret differently for the same event; witnesses could be biased

General Revelation

General Revelation is God revealing himself through objects. You interpret what you see as being linked with God, leading to you claiming that you have experienced God. Your interpretation is based on a feeling. There are many types:

Nature; omniscient, supremacy

Many people believe in God because they see Him through His creation. They feel a sense of numinousness, an overwhelming sense of the supernatural, a sense of awe. They think that nature is so complicated that it must have been designed by a omniscient creator. Senses include:

• Awe; feeling a sense of numinousness and being overwhelmed by full contemplation
  • Many people have experienced this and sometimes use this in contemplative worship
  • Atheists say that it is just a trick of the mind
• Beauty; amazing sense of wonder and greatness
  • Waterfalls are very great and beautiful
  • However, this does not take into account the natural evil like earthquakes that happen
• Clever; many things in nature are very clever, like the brain
  • Animals and the human body for example, are very clever
  • Many things are the way they are due to evolution
• Complicated; nature is extremely complicated
  • All fingerprints and snowflakes are unique; the human brain is incredibly complex
  • There is no proof and the evidence is ambiguous
• Design and Purpose; many things in nature are perfectly adapted for their job
  • Eyes are used to see
  • This is all due to evolution and adaptation throughout time

Worship; immanence, personal

Many theists believe in God because they feel that He speaks or reveals Himself to them whilst they worship or pray. There are three types of worship:

• Charismatic Worship is mainly celebrated in Pentecostal Churches, known widely as Gospel. It features lively singing, dancing and clapping. Some prayers can 'speak in tongues' as 'gifts of the spirit' which is speaking in unintelligible languages which only the worshippers can understand. Many people have been healed in these ceremonies.
  • Gifts from the spirit and speaking in tongues can only be understood by worshippers
  • People have been healed in these ceremonies before
• Sacramental Worship, also known as sacramental ritual, is found in Christian churches. It is a service which expresses outwardly how a theist feels inwardly. For example, one of the seven sacraments is the Holy Communion, where each attendee receives some bread and wine which represents Jesus' body and blood respectively. This representation is known as transubstantiation. These sacraments are set patterns and make people feel blessed and refreshed.
  • People do feel as if they have been blessed and refreshed after the ritual
• Contemplative Worship is concentration and focus on something, requiring great thought. Followers do this to appreciate the vastness and wonder of the world and ask God questions for answers.
  • People do feel refreshed after the worship and feel that their questions have been answered

Holy Books and Scripture; immanence, personal

Holy books like the Qur'an, Torah and Bible show theists about the nature of God; what he is like. There are three main things:

1. What God is like; the nature of God
2. How God has acted in the past
3. How God wants us to live our lives

For example, the Qur'an tells followers of the Islamic faith to follow the Shari'ah, a set of laws. The Torah and the Bible are the same, with the 613 Mitzvot and the Ten Commandments. Buddhism tells Buddhists to follow the Eightfold path. Fundamentalists believe every single word and so believe that they are the true word of God and so follow the laws. They believe that the writings are a way that God communicates to them.

Religious Writings and Leaders; immanence, personal

Religious writings are the writings of religious people, especially religious leaders, to explain what is written in holy books or their religious tradition. The two most prominent religious leaders now are the:

• Pope, who is the Head of the Catholic Church and speaks ex cathedra, believed to be the infallible word of God. Roman Catholics look to the Pope for guidance.
• Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan Buddhist faith, who writes ancient Buddhist teaching into more accessible language for the modern world. His best-selling book is Ancient Wisdom, Modern World.

Conscience; immanence, personal, omniscient

Theists believe that God is their guide, revealing himself and speaking to them through their conscience. Many people believe that they have had a revelation and became a revelation themselves. We see God through their actions and words indirectly. For example, Mother Teresa claimed that God told her to help the poor and dying. They have a huge impact on people's lives. However, people have different consciences.

Special Revelation

Special Revelation is direct revelation, God communicating with you as an individual or sometimes, a group. It is not general and not for everyone. It cannot be proved by science at the time being and can have a massive impact on somebody. The experiencing person knows that God is revealing Him to them and it is always a direct, clear way. There are three different types:

Conversion; immanence, omnipotent, benevolence

Conversion is when someone switches faiths due to a massive change of heart. They are often extremely dramatic. Here are two examples:

• In Christianity, Saul was a Jew who rounded up Christians. Going to Damascus, he was blinded by a light that only he could see. Three days later a Christian claimed to be sent by God cured him. Saul changed his name to a more Christian-sounding Saint Paul and traveled around spreading Christianity.
• In Exodus 3 of the Bible, Moses saw a bush on fire that wasn't burning. Then God spoke to him and later Moses freed Egyptian slaves.

Visions and Dreams; immanence, personal

If God speaks in a vision or dream, then it is an example of special revelation. They are convinced that this voice is God talking to them.

Miracles; supremacy, immanence, personal, omnipotent, benevolence

Many people believe in God because of miracles, events that are against the laws of nature. They say that God is reaching into our world to help us and to reveal himself. See UNIT 5 for more details.

What is the Holy Trinity?

The Holy Trinity is an idea to say that there is only one God, with different forms. In Christianity, there are three forms:

• God the Father - This is God in the form of being outside of the world; 'up there', looking down on us. He is the father, looking after  us. He is the highest of the highest, and the creator of the world. Words used to describe are Transcendent, Supremacy, Personal and Creator
• God the Son (Jesus) - 'Son' basically means holy. Jesus is God in flesh - God came down in the form of Jesus, who lived on earth. Mary gave birth to Jesus to hlep God come down. People had close relationships with Jesus so this form is also personal. Words used to describe are Immanent and Personal
• God the Holy Spirit - God's form as the holy sprit acts to us as a guide and support. He is always here, and unable to have close relationship.

UNIT 1 PR Revision - The Existence of God

UNIT 1 PR Revision - The Existence of God

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

1.6 Main reasons people choose to believe in God

• They have had a religious upbringing; faith
• Religious experience; miracles and visions
• The world is too amazing for chance; design argument 
• God offers hope and comfort
• God provides an answer to things we cannot explain

Main reasons people choose not to believe in God

• Too much suffering and evil in the world for a benevolent God
• Seeing is believing; no experience or revelation
• No actual scientific proof; empirical evidence

1.1 First Cause Argument

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a monk who spoke of the First Cause Argument. He said that everything must have been caused by something else; like dominoes, something must have pushed them to fall. Therefore the universe must have a beginning, an Uncaused Cause. Aquinas said that this Uncaused Cause had to be God, and that everyone believed it.

Good

• The Big Bang could have been caused by God
• The Uncaused Cause must defy laws of nature
• The Uncaused Cause must have existed before the start of the world

Bad

• He was a monk so he would say that the Uncaused Cause was God; atheists wouldn't
• There is no scientific proof for the Uncaused Cause actually existing or being God
• There is no scientific proof for that everything is caused by something else
• The causes would surely go on forever and have no cause; infinite causes?
• The Big Bang theory is credible with empirical evidence
• What happened to this God; did he die afterwards or has no power now?

1.2 Design/Teleological Argument

William Paley philosophised the design argument. He started by saying that if you saw a stone, you would think nothing but if you found a complicated watch, you would know that it had been designed. He said that the world was so intricately made that it must have been even more designed, too amazing for chance. This designer had to be God.

Good

• Lots of things like eyes are perfectly adapted for their job
• Lots of things are unique like thumbprints (Issac Newton)
• Designer must have existed before time

Bad

• Lots of things have adapted due to evolution
• Lots of things were discovered by accident; penicillin; evidence is ambiguous
• Too many flaws in the world for there to be a benevolent God
• A stone is part of the world too!
• What happened to this God; did he die afterwards etc.?

Extra

• Teleological means to do with the design or purpose of the world

Morality Argument
Immanuel Kant spoke of the Morality Argument. He said that everyone had the same inner morality, knowing what is good and bad. Also, he spoke of the categorical imperative, a sense that tells you what you should and shouldn't do. He said that it had a source and that it had to be God.

Good

• The source must have existed before humans and must keep on existing
• It must be very good and intelligent to know what to do in different situations

Bad

• Not everyone has the same sense of right and wrong
• People learn from their mistakes to understand morality
• Your environment can affect your morality
• No actual proof; could be a gene/substance instead

Extra

• Moral acts are good or 'right' acts. Immoral acts are bad or 'wrong' acts. Amoral acts are acts when the causer doesn't know whether if it's moral (babies, mental illnesses). Non-moral acts are acts with no morality - animals plants and inanimate objects.

Miracles Argument

Many people believe in God because of miracles, events that are against the laws of nature. They say that God is reaching into our world to help us and to reveal himself. See UNIT 5 for more details. See UNIT 5 for more details.

Good

• Thousands of people have experienced them, from all different cultures
• They are against the laws of nature

Bad

• Science may have not advanced to explain them yet; there is no proof; saying God is the easy way out
• People interpret differently for the same event; witnesses could be biased
• It could be a coincidence
• Why does God perform miracles for some people and not everyone; undeserved miracles?

Religious Experience Argument

A religious experience is when someone feels God's presence personally, a experience of God or the divine. They can be so moving that people can experience conversions and even risk their lives for their new faith. See UNIT 2 for more details.

Good

• Thousands of people have experienced them
• Total change in people's lives
• Miracles go against laws of nature; it must be God
• Healing miracles have been proved

Bad

• No actual proof; how do we know that God is the source?
• Could be made up because of an illusion, mistaken, lying, unreliable, wishful thinking?
• People interpret differently for the same event; witnesses could be biased