Suffering & Belief Part two

The beauty of the creation… Is it the work of the creator or not?

The awe & wonder of creation. Were creatures the design of a God?

The creation is beautiful. Does this mean it was designed?

DID GOD DESIGN THE WORLD?

William Paley said the

world was designed

as a watch was

designed it

was

not here just

by chance.

Yet someone else can look at the world and see chaos. They would say there is no evidence that God designed the world. Here the world appears cruel and violent. They could argue that there is evidence that says God does not exist.

Nature is not designed but governed by survival of the fittest.

In fact

the suffering & violence that exists in nature could be evidence that God cannot exist.

Some could

see God’s hand at work here. Others would say it is here by natural laws which have no structure.

Some say God did not design the world. The world evolved. This is a very different interpretation.

There is evidence that God exists because I have experienced God for myself. Examples include

Miracles

visions

prayers answered

love shown to others during

difficult times

Reasons to believe in a God

Because my parents or community have brought me up to believe in God.

Reasons to believe

because I am afraid of what might happen to me if I do not believe.

I might go to hell.

People are evil too

If you give God the credit for goodness then you have to give God the credit for evil as well.

The amazing creation of the human body. It is complex and evidence of the existence of God.

The power inside the body to heal. Maybe I should believe in God because the person is so wonderful.

Why is this a spiritual picture?

Healing

healing

The Arguments that God does not exist

• Mankind’s evil is evidence that God could not exist.

• “ If God was all loving how could he allow evil to exist in the world?”

Some people look to the design of the universe to prove that God exists.

They say that God is the first cause of everything.

Yet Scientists have argued that it was a big bang that caused the universe to begin.They say the earth evolved and was not designed.