Existence of God

• trinity

  father - transcendent and impersonal

  holy spirit - immanent yet impersonal

  the son - immanent and personal
• unitarians


  jesus was saviour, but a human inspired by god
• gods jobs

  • creator
  • father
  • judge
• god provides guidance on how to live and salvation from sin
• how does god relate to the world

  • some christian’s believe god relates through mediators (jesus and priests)
  • some christian’s believe god has a personal relationship with everyone through holy spirit
• challenges in believing gods goodness

  • evil in the world
  • god commanded abraham to kill his son
  • god kills everyone not on noah’s ark
• theodocies of augustine

  suffering exists so god cannot be omnipotent, omnibonevolent and omniscient or god doesn’t exist
• augustine said evil is the absence of good - evil can exist due to free will
• irenaeus said evil had a purpose to help us develop morally
• story of job

  evil is a test
• evil comes from original sin, the fall
• teleological argument

  william paley said the world must have been designed as everything is perfect
• goldilocks enigma

  everything is just right
• anthropic principle

  intelligent designer behind creation
• cosmological argument

  st thomas aquinas said everything must have a first cause
• moral argument

  humans are born with a sense of right or wrong (moral knowledge)
• experiencing god

  • the bible
  • jesus
  • miracles
• example of nature miracle

  jesus told disciples to put nets in other side of the boat and they caught lots of fish

  jesus calmed a storm
• example of healing miracle

  jesus heals people (with leprosy, blindness) in the bible
• examples of resurrection miracles

  jesus resurrected
• mystical experience


  strong sense someone has connected with god or gained spiritual understanding
• visions 


  of spiritual figures (virgin mary, angels, prophets)
• charismatic and ecstatic experiences


  being filled with the holy spirit
• “god created the heavens and the earth”
• “the word became flesh“