Download I don`t believe God exists - Holly Lodge Girls` College

Soul is the spirit of a person. What makes me, "me" and what makes
you, "you“ eg. the part of you that makes you who you are and that
will live on after your death.
Some people don’t believe it exists because…
You can't see the soul if you X-ray the human
body. There's no scientific evidence that it
exists.
I’m an AGNOSTIC
which means I’m not
sure if God exists
It takes belief
and faith! FAITH:
Believing in
what you can't
see.
I’m a THEIST which
means I believe in
God
I’m an ATHEIST which
means I don’t believe
God exists
I’m an atheist and don’t believe in God because:
• People say that God is above us, but how can this be true?
The world spins around and ‘above’ is different in different
parts of the world!
• Scientists have discovered that there is no hell under
people, so why should there be a heaven above us?
• We’ve seen what’s above us and there’s no sign of God!
• God is meant to be all loving! Why is there so much suffering?
• God is meant to have created the world…how could he have
done that? Science explains that instead!
• God is meant to be able to hear everyone…how does he do
this ? Why hasn’t he answered my prayers?
• The world is not the centre of the solar
system; why should God be above us?
I’m a theist and I do believe in God because:
• My family have brought me up to believe in God
• My Holy book is the word of God and shows he exists
• The reason we haven’t seen God is because He isn’t a
person! He’s a spirit and is very powerful (we can’t see
gravity or the wind, but they’re very powerful!)
• Because God is a spirit and not a human being it means
that he could create the universe and hear everyone’s
prayers because a human body doesn’t get in the way!
• Science doesn’t explain why the world is so beautiful…I
believe it’s because God designed it
• God doesn’t answer everyone’s prayers because
sometimes they are selfish or not what God wants
I’m an agnostic and not sure if God exists because:
• I understand the reasons why people think God
doesn’t exist, like the suffering in the world
• However, I understand that people cause lots of
suffering in the world and that’s not God’s fault
• Also I believe that religions can help people
believe in God and they are very popular…does
this make it true?
• However, there are lots of religions in the
world…can they all be correct?
• I also understand all the reasons from the other
points of view …
Choose two people who you have
studied…
• Different classes have studied different people so make
sure they are people who you have studied in class
• You should know:
–
–
–
–
the things they did (foundation)
the things they believed (building)
how the world has changed because of them (more advanced)
how what they believed affected the way that they acted
(higher)
• Consider your own vision for the world…
– does someone’s religion matter?
– Can we make a difference to the world if we aren’t religious?
– Do you know any example of people who don’t have a religion,
but have still changed the world? (this could be someone you
know)
I was a Christian. I
wanted equality and for
black and white people
to be treated equally. The
America I grew up in had
lots of discrimination
(people being treated
differently because of
their skin colour,
background or whether
they are male or female)
and I wanted it to end.
Black and white people couldn’t use the same bathrooms,
restaurants and cinemas and black people had to sit at the
backs of buses. Black people weren’t allowed to go to the
same school as white people and in some places they
weren’t allowed to vote.
Martin Luther King
I wrote a speech called “I have a Dream” which was
about what I wanted for the world. It said that I
wanted people to be judged on their personalities
and not the colour of their skin. It also said that I
wanted little black girls and boys to be able to play
with little white girls and boys
I organised a bus boycott
(refusing to use something)
where black people shared
cars or walked instead of
catching the bus. The
segregation (Keeping one
group of people separate from
everyone else) on the buses
was classed as illegal, which
meant all other places of
segregation must be illegal
too!
I believed everyone was equal
because the Bible said that we
are made in God’s image so we
must be all the same. The Bible
is the word of God.
I believed in non-violent protest
because Jesus said to turn the
other cheek and not fight back
when attacked. He was
important to me as a Christian,
because he was an example of
how I should behave.
I believed that the Church was
the home of God and the
community of Christians all over
the world. When I say we are all
God’s children, I mean that we
are all the same and God
doesn’t prefer one colour of skin
over another
I also believed in non-violent
protest because Jesus said to
“love your enemies” so this
means that I shouldn’t respond
with violence towards the
people who are against me.
Muhammad (PBUH) was a
prophet (someone sent by
God to show the world how to
live) had a vision from God.
The Angel Jibril/Gabriel asked
him to take down the words
he said. This became the
Qur’an (the Holy Book of
Islam)
The city of Makkah was a
city where people treated
each other badly and
there were Idols (false
gods) that people
worshipped
Muhammad PBUH
Islam = The Religion
Muslims = The people
that follow the religion
Eventually Allah allowed
Muhammad (PBUH) to fight back.
He eventually won and destroyed
all the statues of the false gods in
Makkah. He brought a whole new
religion and built the first
mosque.
Allah (the Arabic word
for God) asked
Muhammad to help
restore the city to a
Holy place. He did this
but was constantly
attacked.
He didn’t fight back for
a very long time even
though his followers
were tortured for
believing in Islam and
only one God instead of
false idols.
… we have true Muslims
who follow Muhammad’s
example and do not fight
back even when attacked
…the world has Muslims
who show their belief and
faith by their religious
clothing (and some who
show it other ways)
…we have Mosques and a
whole new religion exists
because of Muhammad
seeing a vision of the
Angel sent by Allah
… there are Muslims who pray
5 times a day to show how
important Allah (or God) is.
…the world has
the words of
Allah, written in
the Qur’an. The
words were
given to
Muhammad by
the Angel and
were written to
make the Holy
Book.
Muhammad (PBUH)
starting a whole new
religion means…
…money given to charity
because Islam teaches that
it is a duty to God to give to
charity
…the world has
the example of
Muhammad to
show Muslims
how to live.
I was a King’s son and when I was
born, a fortune teller said I was either
going to be a rich and powerful
leader, or a great Holy man. My name
was Siddhartha Gotama
My dad wanted me to be a powerful leader like
he was, so locked me in the palace so that I
would never see suffering. He thought this
would mean that I would never know anything
different and wouldn’t want to change the
world.
I left the palace and my family
behind so that I could find a way
to overcome these (stop these
The Buddha
from causing suffering). I tried
lots of different ways, but then I
finally found ENLIGHTENMENT
(true knowledge and
understanding of the world). That
is when I was given the title
Buddha which means
ENLIGHTENED ONE.
I had never seen death, old age
or illness before but when I left
the palace I saw them all. I had a
small son but worried that all
that would happen to him would
be that he would become ill,
grow old, and die.
I’m unhappy
because I
wanted an
iPhone and now
it’s broken
I’m unhappy
because I don’t
want to leave my
Primary School
I realised that all suffering comes from people wanting to keep things the way they are, or
wanting things to be different from the way they have to be (like people leaving or dying).
I taught Three Universal Truths
• Anicca: EVERYTHING CHANGES. We must accept that things will change and we can’t
keep everything the same
• Anatta: WE ALL CHANGE TOO. We must accept that we all change from the moment
we are born and we must grow older.
• Dukka: SUFFERING. We must accept that nothing will make us completely happy, and
we suffer because we keep wanting things
Because of
the Buddha’s
vision,
beliefs and
actions, the
world has…
…a religion
called
BUDDHISM
that has
BUDDHISTS
that follow the
Buddha’s
teachings
Right thought
Right mindfulness
(thinking about others)
…Buddhists who accept the
The Universal Truths
1. All beings suffer.
2. Suffering is caused by
craving.
3. You can escape suffering.
4. There is a path to
freedom from suffering.
…Buddhists who
think that the path
to escaping
suffering (and
wanting things) is
the eightfold path
(8 WAYS TO LIVE
YOUR LIFE)
I DIDN’T
MEAN IT
Right view of
life
Right effort in life
Right Speech
Right intention
Right job (make your
money in a good way)
Right Action (do good
things in your life)
I was a young lawyer in South Africa.
Black and Asian people were treated
cruelly by the government and the
police. I protested against inequality
I was a Hindu and believed
in AHIMSA. This meant I
thought that it was wrong
to hurt any living thing. I
showed this when I was
beaten by the British for
burning my ID because I
never fought back!
Gandhi
We were made to wear IDs but white
people weren’t. I burned my ID and
encouraged others to do the same.
This is because I wanted everyone to
be equal
I had a ticket to be on a train
but was thrown off because
non-whites weren’t allowed
in the ‘good’ carriages
Britain owned India and I
used non violent protests to
show that India should be a
free and independent
country.
When I was arrested and beaten I went
on hunger strike. The British rulers found
it very difficult to deal with me because I
was never angry or violent.
Unfortunately, even though I
taught peace and compassion, I
was shot in 1948 because some
people weren’t happy about
changes in India
Because of my actions, India eventually
became independent and Indian
people ruled themselves. I wanted
people of different religions to live
together in India because I believed in
TOLERANCE (accepting people
regardless of their beliefs or skin
colour) and I also believed in
SATYAGRAHA which is a force for good,
and not wanting a violent society.
The British government
treated people in India
badly and forced us all to
buy salt at high prices
even though we could
make it ourselves.
I encouraged people to boycott British
goods, and organised a march where I
went to the sea and took salt from the
water. 1000s of people supported my
non-violent action.
I felt that the world needed
to be united instead of all
divided up into countries
and religions.
I thought that if we were all the
same, then there wouldn’t be
fighting.
My song Imagine was about my
vision for the world. It asks
people to imagine if the world
was a certain way such as:
No Heaven, no Hell below us
and above us only sky, people
living for today, no countries
nothing to kill or die for , no
religion, people living life in
peace, people having no
possessions , no need for greed
or hunger, and all the people
sharing all the world
John Lennon
I also thought that people
were very powerful and
could make a big change if
they tried. I once said that if
everyone demanded peace
instead of another television
set, then there’d be peace.
Can you suggest what this
might mean?
I thought that people shouldn’t use violence to
protest and twice in 1969 I spent a whole week in
bed to promote peace in the world as a sort of
non-violent protest.
Key words
• Soul: Soul is the spirit of a
person. What makes me,
"me" and what makes you,
"you“ eg. the part of you
that makes you who you are
and some people think will
live on after your death
• Faith: Believing in what
you can't see.
• Agnostic: not being sure if
God exists
• Atheist: believing God
doesn’t exist
• Theist: believing in God
• Equality (inequality):
everyone being treated the
same (or differently)
• Discrimination: people
being treated differently
because of their skin colour,
background or whether
they are male or female
• Boycott: refusing to use
something
• Segregation: Keeping one
group of people separate
from everyone else
• PBUH: A sign of respect
•
•
•
•
•
after a name meaning
Peace Be Upon Him
Allah: The Arabic word for
God
Idol: False gods. Often
statues
Prophet: Messenger from
God
Islam: The religion Muslims
follow
Muslims: The name given
to people who follow Islam
• Qur’an: Holy Book of
Muslims
• Mosque: Holy building. A
place of worship for
Muslims
• Enlightenment: true
knowledge and
understanding of the world
• Buddha: A name or title
given to someone who has
become enlightened
• Buddhism: A religion.
People who follow this use
Buddha as an example.
• Anicca: EVERYTHING
CHANGES. (We must accept
that things will change and
we can’t keep everything
the same)
• Annatta: WE ALL CHANGE
TOO. (We must accept that
we all change from the
moment we are born and
we must grow older).
• Dukka: SUFFERING. (We
must accept that nothing
will make us completely
happy, and we suffer
because we keep wanting
things)
• Eightfold path: Eight
ways to live your life well
(Buddhism)
• Ahimsa: Non violence and
respecting all living things.
• Tolerance: accepting
people regardless of their
beliefs, skin colour or
anything else
• Satyagraha: a force for
good, and not wanting a
violent society
• United: People working
together
The exam format
a) Is always a question about a key word e.g. What is a theist?
(so learn key words)
b) Is always about your opinion e.g. Do you think that Martin
Luther King was a good role model? Give two reasons for
your answer (so give evidence for your view)
c) Is always an explain question e.g. Explain why some people
don’t believe in God (you always need lots of examples/
teachings and be able to explain what these mean)
d) Always requires you to give your point of view on a
statement and then the opposite point of view e.g.
“Religious beliefs can help someone change the world ”
i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer
ii) Gove reasons why other people would disagree with you
(Make sure you give evidence for your opinion, and not just
explain what your opinion is)