1. What do these pictures have in common?

2. Metaphysics of God- Topics
There are 4 “areas” we will cover this year:
Concept of God
Arguments for God
Problem of Evil
Religious Language
What exactly IS God?
How do people describe God?
Are there any problems with this description?
Does the idea of God make sense?
What are the common arguments people give for God’s existence?
Why might people use evidence from the world around us to prove the existence of God?
Do all of these arguments work? What are the issues?
Why might the existence of suffering and evil in the world around us present a problem for God?
What exactly is suffering? What exactly is evil?
Is there any way for theists to avoid these criticisms?
What are the key terms we use when discussing God?
When discussing God are we using language in the same way we use it elsewhere?
Why might some people have an issue with the way religious believers use language?

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Keyword Check
You should have come across these words before, which definition goes with which term? 60 Seconds…
Atheism
Agnostic
Theism
Polytheism
Monotheism
Theology
A belief in one God.
Disbelief or lack of belief in a God or Gods.
The study of the nature of God and religious belief from a religious perspective.
A belief in many Gods.
A belief that God exists.
A person who is unsure about the existence of God or thinks nothing can be known.

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Keyword Check
You should have come across these words before, which definition goes with which term? 60 Seconds…
Atheism
Agnostic
Theism
Polytheism
Monotheism
Theology
Disbelief or lack of belief in a God or Gods.
A person who is unsure about the existence of God or thinks nothing can be known.
A belief that God exists.
A belief in many Gods.
A belief in one God.
The study of the nature of God and religious belief from a religious perspective.

5. Important Point
For the purposes of this topic we are focusing on the monotheistic idea of God expressed in the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). This is not to take away from any other beliefs about God (and some of the arguments will apply to other beliefs) it is simply because the Abrahamic traditions are the basis for the largest body of Western philosophy.

6. Reasons for Theism / Atheism
2 minutes in pairs – What reasons can you come up with for people believing / not believing in God?
Belief in God (Theism)
No belief in God (Atheism)

7. How would you describe God? 3 Minutes…
What is God like?
How would you describe God? 3 Minutes…
Come up with a list of attributes and personality traits someone might say God has.

8. What is God like? Omnipotent God is all powerful. Omniscient
God is all knowing.
Omnibenevolent
God is supremely good.
Eternal or Everlasting
God exists outside of time (eternal) or he has existed forever and will exist forever in time (everlasting)
Immanent or Transcendent
God is part of the world and his creation and suffers with us (immanence) or he is outside of his creation (transcendence).
Immutable
God is unchanging.

9. Issues Are there any obvious problems with these attributes?
Is it possible for a being to have all of these and still be consistent?
Do any of them not make sense given the world around us?