Believing in God

Religious Upbringing

•Having a religious upbringing leads to belief in God because children are taught that God exists and they spend most of their time with people who believe that God exists.
•Bedtime prayers, go to church, Sunday school, Church school, baptism, confirmation.
•Naming ceremony, Gurdwara, 5Ks


Religious Experience
•1. Numinous: feeling the presence of God in a religious building, in nature, etc. Being aware that there is something greater than them. Ex: Looking at the stars and feeling the power and presence of God.
•2. Conversion: An experience of God that changes the life and so they commit themselves to God.
•3. Miracles: religious experience that shows God acting on earth – breaks laws of science. Only God could have done it. Ex: Jesus brought a young girl back to life
•4. Prayer: Make contact with God.


The search for meaning and purpose
•Answers the questions: Why are we here? Where are we going? What is the purpose of life on earth?
•See God as the reason for us being here
•There is life after death when we are judged


How religion leads to belief in God
•Seeing evidence in the world
•So many believe
•All religions have special buildings, prayers, rules, etc – how can they all be wrong?
•If religion is true then God must exist.
•Similarities of religions can’t be wrong


Type of people
•Believers/Theists – believe in God
•Atheists – non believers
•Agnostics – unsure if God exists


The Big Bang
•Science explains the world’s creation through the Big Bang – that the matter of the universe became compressed and caused a huge explosion and everything has evolved from this.
•This can lead to agnosticism and atheism because science can explain the cause of the earth without God.


Non religious explanations of miracles
•No eyewitnesses of God
•Why should evidence recounted in Holy Books be believed?
•There can be errors/misdiagnosis
•Evidence written by believers – biased
•Why choose to do miracles for some and leave others starving?

Evil and Suffering
•Moral evil – caused by humans misusing their free will. War, rape, murder, etc
•Abuse of land and environment by humans can cause floods, famine, etc
•Natural evil – Suffering not caused by humans – earthquakes, drought, tornadoes, cancers, etc
•Some believe a benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient God would not design a world with evil in it.
•Some say if God is not o,o,b then he does not exist.


Christian response to evil & suffering
•1-Fight against evil and suffering
•Follow Jesus’ example by helping those who suffer
•Pray - intercession – praying to end suffering
•Charities
•2- Evil and suffering caused by free will so fault of humans, not God
•3- Those who suffer rewarded by eternal paradise
•4- Humans cannot understand why God allows suffering and how the divine mind works