Christianity: the Existence of God | OCR GCSE Religious Studies (J625)
Christianity: the Existence of God
- 72 questions
- 7 subtopics
- Group 2 paper
- Group 2 paper
Christianity: The Existence of God is examined in Component Group 2, religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a Christian perspective (J625/06), if this is the perspective studied.
That perspective must be one of the student's two Group 1 religions. It covers Christian understandings of God's relationship with the world and humanity, god's goodness and human suffering, the design argument and the anthropic principle, the first cause argument and Christian belief, the moral argument, soul-making and judgement, how Christians believe God is revealed and Christian religious experience: conversion, mystical, charismatic and sacramental.
Sample questions from Christianity: the Existence of God
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Christian understandings of God's relationship with the world and humanity
How do Christians understand God's relationship with humanity?
Show the answer
God made humans in God's image to know and love God. God seeks a personal relationship with every person. -
Christian understandings of God's relationship with the world and humanity
How does the Parable of the Lost Son show God's relationship with humanity?
Show the answer
The father runs to welcome back his wayward son. God longs for people to return and forgives them freely. -
God's goodness and human suffering
Why does a world designed by a good God raise a problem?
Show the answer
A good designer would be expected to make a world without disease and disasters. Suffering can suggest either a flawed design or no designer at all. -
God's goodness and human suffering
How do Christians believe God responds to human suffering?
Show the answer
Christians believe God suffers alongside people, as shown on the cross. God gives strength and promises that suffering will end. -
The design argument and the anthropic principle
What examples of design do Christians use?
Show the answer
Christians point to the complexity of the human eye and the laws of physics. The universe's precise conditions allow life to exist. -
The design argument and the anthropic principle
How does evolution challenge the design argument?
Show the answer
Natural selection can explain apparent design without a designer. Critics say complexity arose gradually by chance and survival. -
The first cause argument and Christian belief
What does Genesis 1:1 teach?
Show the answer
Genesis 1:1 says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God is the origin of all things. -
The first cause argument and Christian belief
How do Christians answer the question of what caused God?
Show the answer
Christians argue that God is eternal and exists necessarily. Only things that begin to exist need a cause.
The 7 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Christian understandings of God's relationship with the world and humanity | Deism and why most Christians reject it, 1 John 4:8, Exodus 34:14, Jeremiah 5:19, the Parable of the Lost Son, and why Christians differ over God's involvement in the world. | 10 |
| God's goodness and human suffering | Genesis 1:31 on creation, what God's goodness means, why a designed world raises a problem, Psalm 22 and its cry of abandonment, free will and suffering, God's response, and the case against a good God. | 10 |
| The design argument and the anthropic principle | Teleology and Paley's version of the argument, examples of design, the anthropic principle and Genesis, the purpose of the world, evolution as a challenge and Christian replies, and awe and wonder. | 10 |
| The first cause argument and Christian belief | The cosmological argument, Aquinas on a first cause, Genesis 1:1 and the Big Bang, Psalm 14:1 on unbelief, what caused God, whether the cause must be the Christian God, and the value of proofs. | 10 |
| The moral argument, soul-making and judgement | Conscience as evidence for God, moral consequence in the world, soul-making and the purpose of creation, judgement, ethical living, objections to the argument, and whether morality needs God. | 10 |
| How Christians believe God is revealed | Inspirational people and figures from Christian history, scripture, Jesus as the fullest revelation, conscience, biblical and modern-day miracles, God acting in the world, and reasons to doubt revelation. | 11 |
| Christian religious experience: conversion, mystical, charismatic and sacramental | Saul's conversion in Acts 9 and how it changed him, ecstatic experience, glossolalia and visions, worship and the sacraments as experience, denominational differences, and sceptical explanations. | 11 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR GCSE Religious Studies Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,800 questions with their answers.