Philosophy and Ethics Full Course OCR

1
Philosophy and Ethics Full Course (OCR)

• The Nature of God

2
Belief
An Atheist believes

• There is no God and those who believe in God are
  mistaken.
• People should stand on their own 2 feet and not
  rely on belief in God.
• God is not real or ever could be.
• God is only in the minds of those who believe.

3
Belief

• An Agnostic believes

• God might exist but they are not sure.
• It will never be possible in this life to know if
  God exists or not.
• Any proof of the existence of God is beyond all
  human knowledge and understanding.

4
Why do Christians believe in God?

• Reason One
• The world that we live in cannot exist without an
  all-powerful (omnipotent) God who created it.
• William Paley and the Design (Teleological)
  Argument.
• Imagine that you come across a watch lying in the
  sand, you open it and find a finely balanced
  arrangement of wheels and cogs.
• Can anyone honestly think that this just appeared
  by accident? Or does it imply a watchmaker?
• How does this apply to the universe?

5
Why do Christians believe in God?

• Reason Two
• We know right and wrong because we have a
  conscience.

• Christians believe the conscience comes from God
  he lets them know what he expects from them.
• Some peoples conscience might be stronger than
  others, but it is still there in everyone.

6
Why do Christians believe in God?

• Reason Three
• Many people believe they have met God, and they
  cant all be wrong!
• The may have witnessed a miracle, or felt close
  to God through reading the Bible.
• They may have had a revelation while worshipping
  that brought about a divine inner feeling of Love
  and Peace.
• If people experience God, then He must exist!

7
Why do Christians Believe In God?

• Some peoples belief in God stems from their
  upbringing.
• The family has read the Bible and prayed
  together.
• They cannot remember a time when they didnt
  believe in God or go to Church.
• They do not need to be convinced of Gods
  existence they just know.

8
The Trinity

• The Trinity Triangle

• The Trinity is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
• Each part of the Trinity is separate Jesus
  Christ is not the father, nor is the Holy Ghost
  Jesus Christ.
• God is known through each different part
  Father, Son and Ghost.

JC
God
God
Father
Spirit
9
The Trinity

• God the Son
• Christians believe the most complete revelation
  of God has come to them through Jesus.
• He was born as God in flesh the son of God
  and of the Virgin Mary.
• Here he was able to show something of the true
  nature of God.
• He died on the cross so that sins could be
  forgiven. He was resurrected from the dead and
  ascended into Heaven.

• God the Father
• Calling God Father humanised him.
• It was a way of teaching people that God loved
  and cared for them just as a good human father
  cares for his children.

• God the Holy Ghost
• After Jesus returned to Heaven, he sent his Holy
  Spirit to guide his followers into all truth.

10
The Bible

• The Old Testament
• Early Christians were almost all Jews and the
  Jewish scriptures were particularly important to
  them.
• These scriptures contained 39 different books
  that told the story of the Jewish people.
• It started with creation and moves on to cover
  the lives of important Jewish figures, such as
  Abraham and Moses.
• The Jewish scriptures are now known as the OT to
  Christians.

• The New Testament
• There are 27 books in the NT, starting with 4
  Gospels by M, M, L and J.
• Even though these books come at the beginning of
  the NT, they are almost certainly the last to
  have been written, along with Acts (describing
  the history of the early Christian Church).
• Many of the books of the NT are epistles
  (letters), most of which were written by Paul
  (d.64CE)

11
The Bible

• Understanding of the Bible
• There are 2 very different approaches
• Literal everything in the Bible actually
  happened the way it was recorded, e.g. the world
  was created in 6 days etc.
• Non-Literal there are different kinds of truth
  in the Bible. There are accurate records of
  events but there are also myths which contain
  spiritual truths.

• Authority of the Bible
• It is not like any other book it has unique
  authority.
• In some way, God is responsible for guiding those
  who wrote the different books in the Bible.
• This is how the teachings of the Bible help to
  show them how God wants them to live their lives.
• It is still relevant today due to the principles
  it lays down.

12
How can God be Known?
Revelation!!

• Through Jesus
• Xians believe that God showed that He cared for
  the world and loved it by sending His only Son,
  Jesus, into it.
• The Word became flesh and made His dwelling
  among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of
  the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
  of grace and truth.
• (John 114)

• Through Miraculous events
• Some Xians believe that God continues to act in
  the world today through miracles just as Jesus
  did when he was on earth.
• Some claims miraculous healing from serious
  illness through prayer.
• Others claims the Virgin Mary has appeared to
  them at places such as Lourdes and Medjugorje