Existences of god

• Revelation is God revealing himself to people
• Natural revelation

  • beauty of nature
  • actions and love between people
  • awe of the vastness of space
• special revelation

  • the bible
  • old testament- God's law and prophets
  • new testament- Jesus' life
• what does revelation tell us about God

  • he loves
  • he forgives
  • Jesus on the cross was the ultimate act of sacrifice
• corporeal visions


  where people physically see something
• imaginative visions


  where people see something in their imagination or dreams
• 'after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision saying 'do not fear, Abraham, I am a shield to you; your rewards shall be great' Genesis 15:1
• 'and the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision 'do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent' Acts 18:9
• visions are proof God exists

  • give great strength
  • lead to conversion
  • many examples in the Bible
  • there is lots of research to proof there is no other reason
• Visions are not proof God exists

  • could be made up
  • could be a dream or the subconscious
  • minimal witnesses
  • no physical proof
  • could be caused by substances
  • why only certain people
• miracles


  an event which seems to break the laws of science and the only explanation is God
• types of miracles

  • healing miracles
  • natural miracles
• healing miracle


  curing people from illness
• natural miracle 


  calming the sea, generating more food, water to wine
• exorcism 


  the casting out of demons or evil spirits from a person who is possessed
• 'the Lord drove the sea back wih a strong East wind and turned it to dry land' Exodus 14:21-22
• the bible tells stories about Jesus' miracles

  • shows how special Jesus was- he had the power of God
  • resurrection was the biggest miracle
  • christians believe that miracles happened
• For catholics, Jesus' miracles were clear signs of his divine naryre and of the nature of God's kingdom
• religious experiences


  an event that people feel gives them direct contact with God
• conversion


  an experience which changes a persons' life or religion
• numinous 


  the feeling of the presence of something greater than you
• transcendent


  something going beyond human experiences
• nature of religious experiences

  • a reminder of the omnipresence of God
  • build faith and gives people a sense of encouragement
  • may occur in religious buildings or sites, beautiful places or witnessing the natural world
• why are religious experiences are/not proof of God's existence

  • wish fulfilment - humans want a being to satisfy dreams and wishes
  • lack of evidence- can't be proved
  • laws of nature - the laws of nature are unbreakable but miracles break them
  • hallucinations - use of stimulants
• the watch analogy for the design argument

  1. William Paley said a pocket watch was a complex thing
  2. it has to have a watch maker
  3. the world is complex and intricate
  4. it couldn't have happened by chance so it has to have a designer
  5. the designer must be God so God must exist
• the Design argument (teleological)


  so much of the natural world appears to be deliberately designed with order and purpose and there must be a designer which must be God
• strengths of the design argument

  • complements a christian view of the nature of God - suggests purpose for life, a designer must be omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent
  • based on our own experience of design - there are many designed and purposeful objects that anyone can observe
  • encourages scientific examination of the universe - science and religion can agree on some things
• weaknesses of the design argument

  • the uniqueness of the universe - David Hume if the universe is unique we cannot apply any analogy to explain it
  • the existence of evil and suffering - signs either God is a poor designer or he is not omnibenevolent and omnipotent
  • there is no order - Richard Dawkins suggest people see purpose and order because they want it to be there
  • evolution as an explanation of oder and surface - why would God design animals to evolve or go extinct
• the cosmological argument

  • the idea that there was something which began or started the universe and that something must be God
• the universe has a beginning because if it existed forever we would've used up all the resources and energy by now
• everything in existence has a cause
• Thomas Aquinas believed ordinary people believed in God because of faith bur philosophers believed because they could prove by reason that he existed
• 'now in efficient causes it is not possible to go to infinity... therefore it is necessary to admit a first cause to which everyone gives the name God' Thomas Aquinas
• cosmological argument - domino effect

  1. everything has a beginning of it's existence
  2. the universe has a beginning of existence
  3. the universe has a cause of existence
  4. if the universe has a cause of existence then that cause is God
  5. God exists
• catholics believe the cosmological argument shows the omnipotent nature of God
• strengths for the cosmological argument

  • it is more logical than the alternative - it makes sense and fits with events as believing in an infinite chain of causes and effects seems impossible
  • it is compatible with science - it doesn't contradict evolutionary theories
  • based on our own experience - everyone can see the evidence that all things have a cause so it is difficult to deny
• ' of all the divine attributes only Gods omnipotence is names in the creed... we believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything' ccc
• weaknesses of the cosmological argument

  • the impossibility of a total explanation - Bertrand Russle argued an explanation of everything that exists is impossible as they all rely on earlier explanations
  • the first cause didn't have to be God - some scientists believe the first cause was the Big bang theory
  • the universe as a whole does not need a cause - Bertrand Russle said we have no experience of universes being created so we cannot assume it needs a cause
• 'unless we first know evil, we shall be unable to know God' Lactantius 13
• the inconsistent triad

  if two are true then the third's existence is impossible

  • evil existing
  • God is omnipotent
  • God is omnibenevolent