Who is

GOD?

Page1
 Does God Exist?

Keywords

Believe - something you think is true but can‟t

Prove.
God - The Maker of the Universe.
Big Bang - all matter squashed to a dot,
Exploded and turned into the Universe
Evolution - things change to adapt to the climate
or they die out

Theist - someone who believes in God

Atheist - someone who doesn‟t believe in God
Agnostic - not sure if God exists

Eternal - always existed (no start or end)

Miracle - something scientists can‟t explain
Free Will - a mind of your own

How did the World get here? – Big Bang or God?

Scientists believe the world was made by the Big Bang.

Theists believe the world was made by God. Most theists
know the world was not made in 7 days – but if God is
eternal a „day‟ could be a million years.

Why Theists believe in God

There are 3 reasons why theists believe in God. These are: -

Why theists believe in God

First Cause Design Argument Miracles

1 – First Cause Argument

Page2
You can‟t get something from nothing. Christians believe
God made the World. God is eternal and was the First
Cause – he started everything off.

Most Christians now believe that God caused the Big Bang –
in the Bible God said, “let there be light”. Christians think this
was the Big Bang

The hand of God

2 – Design Argument
Theists believe that the world has been designed. They think
that the designer was God. For example: -

a. The thumb looks well designed. The thumb makes us see

how well designed our body is. Think about how your
body works – nerves, lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys, skin
that repairs itself, all our emotions and the brilliance of the
human brain. People can dance, act, learn languages,
make relationships, write, make cars, design wonderful
buildings, furniture etc.
b. Our world fits together so well. E.g. Plants and animals
need each other: -

Animals Plants
breathe out breathe in
carbon carbon
dioxide dioxide.

Animals Plants
breathe in breathe out
oxygen oxygen

c. The world looks so lovely – mountains, rivers, animals and

plants. People „wonder‟ - the Earth is so big, so complex and
so beautiful it must have been designed by God! It can‟t

Page3
have been an accident caused by an explosion (the Big
Bang)

3 - Miracles
E.g. People recovering from terminal illnesses like cancer
without medicine.
E.g.2 People speaking ancient languages without training
(„speaking in tongues‟)
E.g.3 People remembering past lives in great detail even at
an early age.

How can these happen? Scientists can‟t explain them.

Theists believe it was God who made them happen.

Why Atheists don’t believe in God

1 – First Cause Argument – the Big Bang and Evolution

Atheists think the universe was made by the Big Bang. It was
not made by God. All matter in the universe was squashed
to the size of a pin head. This made an explosion (the Big
Bang) – this explosion made our Sun. All of the planets came
from the Sun. A few million years later, life evolved on Earth.
This life evolved over time into all sorts of animals. One type
of ape evolved into human beings. This is Darwin‟s „theory of
evolution‟.
Advantages
a. Matter exists; there is no scientific proof that God does.
b. There is proof that Evolution is happening.
Disadvantages of the Big Bang
a. Where did the matter come from that caused the Big
Bang?
b. What happened before the Big Bang? Could God
have caused it? (see „Beauty of Natural World above)

2 – Design Argument
Atheists think that the world is not designed because: -
a. Earthquakes and volcanoes destroy life – bad design or
proof that God doesn‟t exist?
b. Disease – why would a loving God make some animals
allergic to plants? Why do people get diseases that kill
them and cause them to suffer?

Page4
 c. Some animals become extinct and some animals eat
each other. Yet the world has not come to an end.
Why did a loving God make a cruel world

3 - Miracles
Atheists believe that miracles are just things that scientists
can‟t explain. If someone saw a plane 2000 years ago they‟d
think it was a miracle…but it isn‟t.
Does Evil and Suffering prove that God does not exist?

Atheists think evil and suffering in the world is proof that God
can‟t exist. God is supposed to be loving and powerful. Yet
every day millions suffer through war, disease and natural
disasters – if God loved his people He would look after them
better than that.

Theists think that evil may exist for a number of reasons: -

a. God gave humans free-will. This means that they can
make up their own mind on how to behave – and
some behave badly.
b. The devil possesses them and makes them do evil
c. Some humans have been mentally damaged by their
parents - the way they were brought-up or the society
around them e.g. watching violent videos makes
people think it‟s ok to be violent.)

Theists think that suffering exists because: -

a. Some suffering is good - it makes you enjoy the good
times in life. After a broken leg gets better you see how
good it is to walk, run and climb.
b. Suffering may be punishment for things we may have
done wrong. Feeling guilty is part of that suffering.
c. Jesus suffered to free the rest of us of our sin. Soldiers
die to keep their country free.

Page5
 The Nature of God = what is God like?
Keywords
Monotheist - belief there is only one God
Personal God - belief that God is like a human being
Impersonal God - belief that God is like a force (like
magnetism or gravity)
Immanent God - belief that God plays an active part in
the world – answering prayers,
performing miracles etc.
Transcendent God - Belief that God is outside of our world
and not active in it.
Trinity - Christian idea that there is only one
God but that he shows himself in three
forms – God the Father (in Heaven),
God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy
Spirit (e.g. our conscience)

God is beyond our understanding and nobody has ever seen

God. We can only guess at what God is like by looking at
the Bible etc.). The Bible describes God in different ways.

How God has been described

a. Personal
This means God is like a human e.g. Jesus or like a Father –
the old man in the sky. In the Bible it says, “God made
humans in his own image” (like him.)

Advantage of describing God as a human: -

A God who is human will understand our suffering.

Disadvantage of seeing God as a super-human: -

A human God could not be everywhere at the same time,
hearing all of our prayers.

b. Impersonal
God as a force. If you think of gravity - it affects us all yet we
cannot see it, feel it, or touch it but we know it is there.
Page6
If we see God as an impersonal force it has advantages: -
God can be everywhere at the same time.
God is not going to „wear out‟ like a human – lasts forever,

Seeing God as impersonal has disadvantages too: -

God cannot understand our suffering or our prayers.

C. Immanent
This means that God is a living, part of our world who acts in
human history.

Seeing God as immanent has advantages: -

He can answer prayers
He can perform miracles etc.

Seeing God as immanent has disadvantages too: -

Why does he not answer some prayers?
Why does he allow suffering of good people? (see Evil and
Suffering notes above)

d. Transcendent
This means that God is in heaven and not directly connected
to the World he created. Instead, he has left humans in
charge of creation. “God has no hands but ours” – written by
St Theresa.

Seeing God as transcendent has advantages: -

God can watch the whole of creation from a distance
and see the „big picture‟.
God can do anything even if it‟s impossible to scientists.

Seeing God as transcendent has disadvantages too: -

God cannot answer prayers or influence history.
God can‟t defend us against evil in the world.

Christian describe God as a Trinity (meaning three-sided)

To understand this idea, think of WATER. Water is H2O. This

never changes. However water can be either: -

A solid - ICE - H2O

A liquid - WATER - H2O
A gas - STEAM - H2O

Page7
 Christians think God is „three-sided‟ too. The three parts of
God are: -

God The Father = God in Heaven. (Personal – like a

Father; and Transcendent – outside of the world)

God the Son – Jesus. (Personal – a human; God the Holy Spirit – Inside of us all.
and Immanent – acted on Earth) (Impersonal - a force - our conscience; and
immanent (can change the way we live)

Revelation of God (how God shows he exists)

Keywords

Revelation - How God shows himself to us.

General Revelation - Revelation there for everyone to see

Special Revelation - Revelation only experienced by a

single person or a few people

Miracle - Something that can‟t be explained

Charismatic Worship - Worship that fills you with the Holy Spirit

Illusion - a trick of the mind – not real

There are 2 types of revelation

1. General Revelation – this includes: -

Natural World – “The Earth proclaims God‟s glory”. The
natural world is seen as evidence that God exists as it is
beautiful

Page8
 Holy Books – e.g. the Bible or the Qur‟an. Old writings that
theists think are the words of God.
Great Religious People – e.g. Jesus, Martin Luther King,
Mother Theresa, the Pope. These people seem to be very
close to God and lead us by their example.

Special Revelation includes: -

Miracles – experiencing an event that is life changing and
cannot be explained is very special. People think they
have been touched by God.
Charismatic worship – an example of this is speaking in
tongues (speaking ancient languages without ever being
trained to speak them.) Is this a message from God?
Visions – seeing an angel.

Are these religious revelations real or illusions?

Something that is real can be tested scientifically. However,
theists think God is more intelligent and powerful than any
scientist so they believe events can disagree with scientists
and still be real. Atheists believe truth that can be proved by
science. If scientists can‟t test it, it‟s an illusion.

They may be real because: -

The experiences are real to the people who experience
them. It is a life-changing event for the person.

They may be illusion because: -

Often visions of God are experienced by people when
they are alone – they may have made up the story for
effect or attention.

Making Moral Decisions

Keywords

Morality - your view of what is right and wrong

The Law - what a country thinks is right.
Absolute Morality - right/wrong regardless of the
circumstance e.g. violence is wrong
Relative Morality - right/wrong depending on the
circumstance e.g. violence is wrong
unless it‟s in self defence.

Page9
Source of Morality - where you get your ideas of right and
wrong e.g. Bible, Parent etc

Christian Sources of Morality (how Christians decide right

from wrong)
- Bible – mainly New Testament.
- Religious Leader – Pope (Catholics),
Archbishop (Church of England) or
Jesus (any Christian).
- Conscience – sense of guilt when
you do something wrong
- Reason – what your own mind tells
you to do.

Morality and the Law

Sometimes, a person‟s morals (ideas of what is right and
wrong) are different to the law eg:-
Speeding in an emergency
Taking drugs

Most people‟s morals are the same as the law eg: -

Murdering people is wrong
It‟s wrong to steal other people‟s things

Abortion
An abortion is when a baby/foetus in the womb is
intentionally killed. If the baby/foetus dies by accident it is
called a miscarriage.

Keywords

Sanctity of Life - life is a gift from God and is precious.

Humans should not interfere with what
God has done.
Quality of Life - how good your life is – happiness etc.
Conception - when the sperm fertilizes the egg

Most Christians are against abortion because: –

The Pope called abortion “murder”

Christians believe in the sanctity of life
Disabled people can have a happy life
Page10
 Life starts at conception.

Christian Teaching in the Bible

“Do not commit murder” – Ten Commandments

Some Christians allow abortions if: -

The woman has been raped.

The woman would die if she had the baby.
The girl‟s quality of life would be wrecked if the baby was
born (she may only be a teenager herself)

Christian Teaching in the Bible

“Treat others the way you would want to be treated” – e.g.
Christians ask, How would you feel if you had been raped?

Sex, Marriage and Divorce

Conception - when the sperm and egg meet after sex

Contraception - something used to stop sperm and

egg meeting. (See a-d below)
a. Rhythm Method - when the women don‟t have sex
at the time she could get pregnant
(Near ovulation – day 10 to 18 roughly)
b. Withdrawal - when a man pulls out his penis from
the vagina before he ejaculates sperm
c. Other Methods - Condom, Femidom, Cap, the Pill
d. Permanent Methods
- vasectomy (the snip) and sterilization.

Celibacy - when a person decides not to have

sex at all for religious reasons e.g. a
monk or nun.
Chastity - Not having sex until after marriage

Monogamy - Only having one marriage partner

Adultery - A sexual affair while married
Vow - A promise made before God

Christian Views on Sex

Page11
Christians don‟t agree with sex before marriage. They think it
is a sin.

Christian views on using Contraception

Catholics agree with natural methods of contraception.
They allow the rhythm method and withdrawal because
they are natural.
Catholics don‟t allow other methods of contraception
because: -
1. All sex should have the chance of making a baby.
2. Using chemicals, rubber etc. is not natural and against
God‟s wishes.
3. The Pope has said all unnatural contraception is wrong
and he is the leader of the Catholic Church.

Most Protestants accept all methods of contraception

because: -
1. They believe it is up to the couple when to have a
baby. It is not good to have children if you are too
poor, ill etc. to look after it properly, so any method of
contraception is acceptable.
2. Sex is not just for making babies but also for enjoyment
and strengthening a marriage.
3. Natural methods of contraception are unreliable.

Christians don‟t accept permanent contraception to

avoid having babies altogether – e.g. sterilization (where
the women has her fallopian tubes cut and tied); or
vasectomy (where the man has his sperm duct cut and
tied – „the snip‟).

Christian Views on Marriage

All Christians think marriage is a special bond between
two people who love each other because love is a
strong emotion. The reasons for marriage are: -
1. It is the right place to have sex.
2. It is a way of showing your love publicly.
3. It is the best way to bring up kids.
4. It is also the best system for providing mutual support
for the couple.
Marriage should be a choice. You can‟t make people
love each other.

Page12
 Christians believe the vows made in marriage are made
before God and should be said with all of your heart.
These include: -
1. Be faithful to your husband/wife until death – “…till
death do us part”
2. Only have one husband/wife “…forsaking all others”
3. Stick with your husband/wife through good and bad
times “…for better, for worse, for richer for poorer”
4. To have kids and bring them up as Christians.

Christian Views on Divorce

Catholics are against divorce. They think it is wrong
because: -
1. They believe in the sanctity of marriage – God gives it
and humans do not have the right to break it up.
2. The couple are „One Flesh‟ once they have had sex
3. The couple loved each other once and should be
helped to sort out their problems (by the Church)

Some other Christians believe that a marriage dies when

the love between the couple dies. Love may die for the
following and most Christians allow divorce if: -
1. Abuse – verbal, physical or sexual.
2. Desertion – where one partner runs off for a long time.
3. Constant arguments that affect the well being of
children and the couple themselves.
4. Adultery - affairs

Christian Teaching on Sex, Marriage and Divorce

“Those who sin against their own body, sin against God” –
Christians think this means do not have sex before marriage.

“Do not commit adultery” – don‟t have affairs.

“What God has joined together let no-one divide” – against

divorce

Prejudice and Discrimination

Keywords

Prejudice - judging someone before you know

Page13
 them. E.g. “Women are bad drivers”

Discrimination - putting your prejudices into actions –

E.g. Not giving a woman a driving job

Stereotype - treating everyone in the same group

the same.

Race - your skin colour

Racist - Someone who believes that one race

is better than another e.g. BNP

Immigration - People coming from abroad to live in

your country.

Civill Rights - Rights e.g. to vote for your leaders; to

say what you think - free speech;
to pray in peace; equal rights to
services – health, education; equal
rights in court

Christian Views on Racism

Some people are racist because: -

They don‟t understand how other people live
They fear that their own way of life will die if they let
people from abroad into their country.
They have had a bad personal experience of a person
from another race. They think that all people of that
race are like that. (stereotype)

Christians disagree with racism because: -

Christianity is a world religion – there are good Christians
in every part of the world. “From one human being He
created all races on earth…”
The story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were
enemies of the Jews, yet the Samaritan helped the Jew
when the Jew‟s friends did not.
“Love your neighbour as you love yourself” – your
neighbour can mean anyone in the world, regardless of
race etc.

Page14
How Christians can stop Racism
Christians and Muslims can work to stop discrimination by: -
Teaching followers of their religion that they have a duty
to look after each other on earth, regardless of the
colour, sex, ability of the person. Showing how Jesus and
Muhammad both argued against racism.
Arranging meetings between members of different
cultures/religions etc to help people overcome their fears
Leading by example – ensuring that their religion does
not discriminate by employing people of different
genders, backgrounds, races and abilities.
Talking about great people like Martin Luther King (you
studied him in Y9)

World Poverty
Keywords

Poverty - not having what you need to survive

Materialism - worshipping/valuing money above

everything else.

Compassion - „feeling‟ for people who are suffering

e.g. “bless…”
Stewardship - looking after the world and all those in
it

Christian Teaching on Poverty

Christians think it is wrong to let poor people starve because

they believe in compassion. For example: -

a. In the Bible it tells the story of the Rich man and Lazarus.
Lazarus was poor and begged for food at the rich man‟s
house. He gave him nothing. When the rich man died he
went to Hell. Christians think he went to Hell because he
didn‟t help poor Lazarus.

b. Some Christians think it is morally wrong to be rich/wealthy

because in the Bible it says, “It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get to
heaven” – meaning if you are rich you will go to Hell.

Page15
How can Christians help poor people?
Christians can spend their spare time raising money for
people in 3rd World countries.
Christians can give some of their own money, old clothes
etc to charity.
Fasting for charity – this helps richer people feel what it is
like to be hungry.

Christian Aid is one Christian charity that helps people in

Poor Countries. “Helping others to help themselves” is
the key idea of the charity. This means instead of giving
food handouts to poor people, Christian Aid provides
long-term help – e.g. putting a well in a village to give
them clean water. This is better than just giving food
because: -
1. Clean drinking water improves the health of the
person so they can work harder.
2. Clean water means cleaner clothes and less disease.
3. Clean water helps crops to grow better, meaning
more food and a more balanced diet with plenty
„greens‟ to help fight disease.
4. More crops means more money to spend on other
things such as education, machines etc.
5. Once the water is there, people can help themselves
to get out of poverty…hence the motto of the charity.

War and Peace

Keywords

Holy War - A war fought to defend your religion

Just War - When it is fair to go to war.

Pacifism - a belief that all killing/war is wrong

Self Defence - being able to protect yourself from

attack

WMD - Weapons of Mass Destruction – e.g.

Nuclear or chemical weapons that
can kill millions.

Civilian - not a soldier/fighter.

Page16
Christian Teaching on War/Fighting

Christians are against war, as Jesus preached, “Blessed are

the peacemakers” (Beatitudes) and “Turn the other cheek”.
Some Christians are pacifists.

However, some Christians accept war in some situations. This

is called a just war.

Just War
For a Christian to go to war, the war has to be just/fair. They
decide this by asking some questions: -

Question If yes: -
Is the war self defence? War is just
Is the war to stop evil? War is just
Is there a good chance of winning? War is just
Has all talking/negotiation failed? War is just
Does the war only involve soldiers? War is just

Pacifism
Quakers are totally against war. They refuse to fight against
other people and see this as going against the Ten
Commandments – “Do not murder”. They would never use
WMD because they destroy far too much civilian life and
can even affect the health of unborn babies.

Was World War 2 a just war?

Some Christians would agree because: -

Hitler was attacking innocent countries – Czechoslovakia,
Poland etc. Britain could be next, therefore self defence.
Britain had talked to Hitler, but he ignored what was said
and continued to attack innocent countries. Therefore
talking had failed
The dropping of WMD on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
speeded up the end of the war and so saved the death of
more innocent lives. Only enough force was used.

Other Christians would disagree because: -

Sanctions were never fully tried against Hitler. Therefore
war was not the last resort.

Page17
 USA used WMD (nuclear weapons) on Japan. These were
targeted on a city of civilians, not on Japanese soldiers.
Therefore the war was not just.
World War 2 killed 20 million people – most of these were
civilian deaths. Therefore it was not a just war

Natural World
Keywords

Stewardship - Christian idea that God put us on

Earth to look after his Creation

Natural Resources - What the Earth contains – e.g. wood,

iron ore, oil etc.

Conservation - looking after natural resources by

thinking carefully how we use them
Not wasting them.

Pollution - destroying nature by poisoning the air,

water or land.

Animal Rights - a belief that animals have rights that

are the same as humans.

Vegetarianism - a belief that it is wrong to kill animals

and eat them.

Sanctity of Life - A view that God created the World

and that humans don‟t have the right
to destroy it. This could apply to plants
and animals too.

Christian Teaching on the Natural World

Page18
Christians believe God put humans on Earth to protect his
Creation. It is their job to act as stewards. This view is shared
by all Christians. They think that when they die, they will be
judged by God on how they have looked after his
planet/Creation. All Christians should try to look after the
environment and conserve its natural resources. Pollution is
bad and all Christians should avoid waste and living flashy
lives – gluttony (eating too much) is seen as a sin. Using big
cars where small ones will do, is seen as being a sin (see
World Poverty)

Animal Rights

Some Christians believe that experiments on animals are ok if

it is to save people suffering – to make medicine etc. They
do believe that treating animals with cruelty should be
avoided though. Animals should not be used badly for
entertainment though – e.g. in a circus

However, other Christians are strongly against animal testing

because it is cruel and for the past 200 years have been
against hunting all animals for sport. Many of these Christians
are vegetarians as they think the spirit of God is in animals as
well as in humans. They think killing animals is against their
belief in the sanctity of life.

A Question for Christians

In the Bible, it says that God put humans in charge of the
birds, fish and land animals. Does this mean
Either - Humans have the power to do what they want with
animals?
Or - Look after them carefully as good stewards?

Page19