Sep 26, Tue - General & Special Revelation & Arguments for God' Existence (Part 1/2)

Next Quiz/Test: Quiz 2b (Learn to Discern) is Thursday
- Your Unit 2 Test is on Friday

Handouts: None given

Reminders:
- Service Project: The 10 hours, 2 forms, and 1 essay are due on Apr 23, 2017
- Book Report Key Due-Dates: Book Report/Project (Mon, Nov. 14, report on TurnItIn.com / Art @ start of class)

- Devotion Assignment Key Due Dates: Preparation Part 1 (Oct 2, submitted in-class), Preparation Part 2 (Oct 9, submitted in-class), Outline Form (Oct 16, typed submitted to TurnItIn.com by 8am)

Instructional Time: Unit 2 - Theology
Journal: None given, we jumped right into the notes below.

Theism Details, Part 2: Study Packet, Page 2
- Theism: “The world as it is”
- - The belief that a spiritual & personal God made the physical universe
- - Examples: Christianity, Judaism, & Islam:
- - Deism: The belief that God created the universe but is not involved in human history
- - Monotheism: The beliefs that there is only one God
- How did/does God reveal Himself to us?
- - Special Revelation: God’s communication of Himself through miracles, His word, & Jesus
- - General Revelation: God’s communication of Himself through the physical universe
- - - Examples: Nature, human conscience, & rational thought

How does God reveal (show) Himself to us? A Christian perspective on God's Revelation
Open your Study Packet to page 5 & take notes
- General Revelation: Fill in the left column (This information is also on your student workbook pages 26-27)
- - God’s communication to humanity through nature, human conscience, & rational thought.
- - Some examples:
- - - An Enormous Universe: God is very powerful
- - - Human Body Complexity: God is a masterful designer
- - Bible verses that recognize this include:
- - - Psalm 19:1-4; Acts 14:15-17, 17:22-27; Romans 1:18-21
- - Write your description & draw your picture on page 5 now.

- Special Revelation: Fill in the right column (This information is also on your student workbook pages 29-30)
- - God’s communication to humanity through special experiences He personally had with us.
- - Some examples:
- - - Jesus: God the Son coming to earth, telling us about Himself
- - - The Bible: God’s word, given to prophets & apostles,
- - - - Written to teach us how to have a relationship w/God
- - - Special Encounters: Miracles, dreams, & visions
- - Bible verses that recognize this include:
- - - John 20:30-31; Hebrews 1:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
- - Write your description & draw your picture on page 5 now.

General & Special Revelation Studies:
- Open your Study Packet to page 11
- - Follow the instructions to complete this page
- Next, go to page 12
- - Follow those instructions

The 3 Major Theology Worldview Groups: We reviewed these today with these two pictures.  Notes were put on Study Packets, page 9.

Defending the Existence of God:
- Christians believe that ‘General Revelation’ provides key evidence for God’s existence
- Today we study 5 of these!
- These arguments come from:
- - Logic: Philosophy & Reasoning
- - Science: Observable & Tested
- - Anthropology: Historical & Cultural studies

Arguments for God’s Existence: The Causal Argument
- KEY: Anything that begins to exist must have been caused to exist by something else
- Scientific evidence shows the universe has a beginning (E.g. It has limited energy & is expanding from 1 point, etc…)
- - Some say that the universe came from nothing
- - - But, from nothing comes nothing
- - - Nothing cannot create or cause anything
- - Anything that begins must have been caused by something
- - - Therefore the universe’s existence must have been caused by ‘Something’
- - Theism: God is the ‘First Cause’ (or the ‘Uncaused Cause’)
- - - Someone not limited by the laws of the universe
- - - Someone more powerful than all of the universe’s energy- “What caused God?” is a category fallacy:
- - You mistake two different categories of things as the same thing.
- - God is not an effect, He does not have a beginning
- - It is like asking, “What is the taste of blue?” Wrong categories make unreasonable questions!

Arguments for God’s Existence: The Design Argument
- KEY: If something exists that is designed, then it has a designer
- If you found a phone on the ground in the woods…
- - You would not assume: It came from nothing
- - - It had a cause!
- - You would not assume: Random forces of nature made it
- - - Natural forces create chaos, not design
- - You would think that a company designed it!
- If we know that a phone cannot accidentally happen…
- - How could the complexities of nature (e.g. our bodies) come from nothing or be caused by random forces of nature?
- - Theism: We were designed by a super-intelligent Designer.