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The FIRST CAUSE argument...

The FIRST CAUSE argument. OBJECTIVE:. To study Thomas Aquinas’ argument from CAUSATION as an argument for the existence of God. (SAINT) Thomas Aquinas= a 13 th Century Catholic priest, theologian and philosopher (and his bird). OUTCOMES…. Your GOALS for the end of

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The FIRST CAUSE argument...

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  1. The FIRST CAUSE argument...

  2. OBJECTIVE: To study Thomas Aquinas’ argument from CAUSATION as an argument for the existence of God. (SAINT) Thomas Aquinas= a 13th Century Catholic priest, theologian and philosopher (and his bird)

  3. OUTCOMES… Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are… GRADE C Will be able to give a basic outline of the argument from causation GRADE B Will be able to organise arguments against the argument from causation. GRADE A/A* Will be able to evaluate arguments both for and against this argument proving God’s existence.

  4. STARTER... Lets play a game.... Look at the following images carefully and try to work out WHAT HAPPENED FIRST! What CAUSED it?

  5. David Moyes is sacked

  6. The family of Lee Rigby lay a wreath at Woolwich Barracks

  7. Kesennuma city, Miyagi prefecture

  8. The Causation Argument What is it? Causation: ‘The argument that everything must have been started off (caused) by something else.’ Think about the starter activity – EVERYTHING has a logical CAUSE!

  9. Cause and Effect... This argument also relies on something called ‘cause and effect’. Everything that happens (effect) must have something that has made it happen (cause). For example... DOMINOS - for a row of dominos to fall (EFFECT) they would need the first domino to be pushed (CAUSE) to set in motion a chain of causes (one domino falls onto the next which falls onto the next etc...)

  10. Who? The Causation Argument is also known as the COSMOLOGICAL argument. It was first put forward by a Medieval Christian thinker called THOMAS AQUINAS (SAINT) What did he say? 1. Nothing happens by itself, everything needs a cause 4. Therefore, as the universe exists, there must be a God. Put the four boxes on pxx of your booklet in what you think is the correct order. 2. Therefore the universe must have a cause. 3. Only God could have caused a universe to come about.

  11. OUTCOMES… Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are… GRADE C Will be able to give a basic outline of the argument from causation GRADE B • Will be able to organise arguments against the argument from causation. GRADE A/A* Will be able to evaluate arguments both for and against this argument proving God’s existence.

  12. Watch the following clip...

  13. Listen up! • There are arguments against Causation. You are going to hear some of them. • First listen – just listen. • Second listen – note down main points. • Third listen – note down other details. • Then re-write the text you have heard using the notes you made. How close to the original can you get?

  14. How close did you get? “Arguments against causation include the mathematical idea of infinity. This means the universe doesn’t need a beginning at all. Another argument is that even if the universe did need a cause, why does that cause have to be God? It could be an extra-terrestrial lifeform. Science argues that the “Big Bang” theory explains how the universe began and we have proof of that; just because everything in the world has a cause, it doesn’t mean the universe did. Finally if everything in the universe needs a cause then so does God. The theory only works if we can find out who caused God.”

  15. OUTCOMES… Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are… GRADE C Will be able to give a basic outline of the argument from causation GRADE B • Will be able to organise arguments against the argument from causation. GRADE A/A* Will be able to evaluate arguments both for and against this argument proving God’s existence.

  16. Swap with a partner and mark each others work in GREEN PEN REMEMBER use you PERFECT PEER MARKING card and your YELLOW SHEET to help you mark in the correct way. There is some CORRECT ideas on the board to help you. What do YOU think?… In the exam you may be required to argue both FOR and AGAINST the FIRST CAUSE argument. For example… (D) “The universe could not have happened by chance - God must have caused it.” Now use the arguments for and against to have a go at page 5 Question 2 (parts (i) & (ii)) of your REVISION WORKBOOK. Use your YELLOW SHEET to help you get the right structure. Think of what we have looked at over the past two lessons. Can you come up with TWO arguments FOR and TWO arguments AGAINST.

  17. OUTCOMES… Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are… GRADE C Will be able to give a basic outline of the argument from causation GRADE B • Will be able to organise arguments against the argument from causation. GRADE A/A* Will be able to evaluate arguments both for and against this argument proving God’s existence.

  18. Plenary... Decide whether the following are from the DESIGN argument or the CAUSATION argument... William Paley Cause and Effect Compared world to a watch Thomas Aquinas Order cannot come from chaos God is the FIRST CAUSE

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