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The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments

ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments. Review the material covered last lesson. Quick Quiz: Can you prove the existence of the desk you are sitting at? How certain will be your proof?

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The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments

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  1. ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments

  2. Review the material covered last lesson. • Quick Quiz: • Can you prove the existence of the desk you are sitting at? How certain will be your proof? • Can you disprove the existence of God? How certain will be your disproof?

  3. THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT • Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274): The argument from the First Cause and the Unmoved Mover. • The Cosmological Argument • Watch and take notes!

  4. Homework: • Research and write up on Thomas Aquinas: • Who he was, where, when etc. What did he do and achieve. • Half a page to a page – in your words!

  5. Summarise on the page: • What did I learn? • What went well? • What could be improved?

  6. The Teleological Argumentfor the Existence of God 14 March 2014

  7. Lesson Plan: • Review and refresh the last lesson • Get the hang of the teleological argument • Review and reflect on what we learned

  8. Review and refresh the last lesson • Review the material covered last lesson (3 min). • Quick Quiz: • Write a short paragraph on Aquinas (main facts). • Explain the cosmological argument.

  9. THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT • William Paley (1743-1805): The Argument from Design. • The Teleological Argument • Watch and take notes!

  10. Homework: • Choose EITHER the cosmological or the teleological argument. • Explain it. • Research and come up with possible counter-arguments. • Evaluate if you are convinced by it and why.

  11. Review and reflect on what we learned Summarise on the page: • What did I learn? • What went well? • What could be improved?

  12. Arguing with the Argumentsfor the Existence of God 20 March 2014

  13. Lesson Plan: • Review and refresh the arguments for the existence of God • Debate and discuss them • Review the conclusions

  14. Do the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments Prove that God Exists? • The First Cause Argument 1 5 10 (1 = Certainly not – 10 = Definitely) Explain why (write a paragraph): _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

  15. Do the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments Prove that God Exists? • The Design Argument 1 5 10 (1 = Certainly not – 10 = Definitely) Explain why (write a paragraph): _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

  16. Team up in Groups of up to Three • Discuss your ideas • Come up with your shared position • Be ready to share with class • AS TEAMS PRESENT, TAKE NOTES OF THEIR ARGUMENTS

  17. Do the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments Prove that God Exists?

  18. Review and reflect on what we learned Summarise on the page: • What did I learn? • What went well? • What could be improved?

  19. 28 March 2014 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD The Argument from Religious Experience

  20. Homework for 3 April “Religious experience proves that God exists.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinionand explain why some people may disagree with you. (6 marks)

  21. Learning Objectives: To know the arguments for the existence of God and be able to critically evaluate them. A/B I can evaluate (form an opinion of) this argument. E/F I know examples and a definition of religious experience. C/D I can explain how religious experience can be used to argue that God exists.

  22. Review the material covered in the last lessons (5 min). • This is the time to ask me or your partner if you do not understand something. • Quick Quiz Write a short paragraph on the following question (5 min). The Big Bang theory: how does it relate to the Cosmological Argument? • Does it challenge it? • Does it support it? • Does it make no difference to it? • Tell what you think and explain why.

  23. What is “religious experience”? With a partner, come up with and write down as many examples of religious experiences as you can. 2 min. As we share, write down all the examples you did not think of.

  24. With a partner, discuss and write down a definition of religious experience. Be ready to feedback in 5 min.

  25. Religious Experience: • An exceptional life-changing event in which a person encounters a greater reality. • A sense of greater reality in the daily lives • of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

  26. The Argument from Religious Experience: • People’s experiences must correspond to some reality. • E.g. an experience of eating a sandwich corresponds to the reality of a sandwich • Religious experience must correspond to the reality of God. • Therefore, God exists.

  27. Get into groups, discuss and debate: • Are you persuaded by the Argument? • If yes, why? • If no, why not? • If undecided, what are the pros and cons? • Write up your response in your books and be prepared to present it. 10 min.

  28. Your response structure: • We agree/disagree/undecided re. the Argument • We do so because: a) b) c) • Conclusion

  29. Plenary: • Each team will present their arguments • Listeners, note down any new arguments in your books

  30. Review your books and summarise on the page: To know the arguments for the existence of God and being able to critically evaluate them. • What grade do you think you achieved today? • What did you learn? • What went well? • What could have had been better? A/B I can evaluate (form an opinion of) these arguments. E/F I know examples and a definition of religious experience. C/D I can explain how religious experiences can be used to argue that God exists.

  31. 3 April 2014 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD A Revision

  32. Homework • Explain the reasons some people might give for believing that the world was NOT designed by God. (3 marks)

  33. THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT By Thomas Aquinas By William Paley The argument of the Unmoved Mover and the First Cause: The argument from Design and Fine Tuning: ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 1. Everything in nature appears to be purposefully and intricately designed. Design requires a Designer. 2. The Universe is fine-tuned to such anunimaginable degree that the probability of its existence is virtually nil. The most likely explanation is what we call God. 1. Everything that moves was set in motion by something else. The chain of causes cannot go back infinitely. What set it off, the Unmoved Mover, is what we call God. 2. Everything that exists owes its existence to something else. The chain of causes cannot go back infinitely. What set it off, the First Cause, is what we call God. THE ARGUMENT FROM RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE - People’s experiences must correspond to some reality. - Religious experience must correspond to the reality of God. - Therefore, God exists.

  34. Which is the most convincing argument? Why? • Which is the least convincing argument? Why? • How strong would be the case for the existence of God if you combined all three arguments? • Are you persuaded that God exists? State your opinion and explain it.

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