1. Concepts of a higher being

2. Introduction
Philosophy of religion examines the nature of religion, explores
rational arguments for and against various religious views,
analyses the nature of religious language and explores the variety
of human religious experience.This theme allows you to explore
philosophically such questions as: Can we prove the existence of
a higher being through reasoning or experience? Can morality be
based on religious experience?What is the nature and scope of
religious language? Can religion give meaning to life? Is
spirituality possible without religion or belief in a higher being?
Could religion only be seen as a social phenomena?

3. A religious worldview; the lense in which we view
the world
— What do we mean by the term God?
Man, woman or being? Eternal, created or creator? God for all
or for few? Of this world or out of this world?
Attempting to understanding of the nature of God is
a timeless and universal search. There are multiple
responses to the concept of the divine.
Question- Can you define ‘God’?What has shaped your
understanding of the this concept?

4. The divine attributes
— Omnipotence (All powerful)
- God is perfect and has the most perfect power. Power in this
sense is the ability to do things and to change things. Some
philosophers have argued that logic is no limit on God’s power.
However; many would say that there is no way this an
meaningfully be true.With this in mind almost all philosophers
have restricted omnipotence to the power to do anything that is
logically possible.

5. — Omniscience (All knowing)
-This term traditionally associated with the monotheistic faiths
(Judaism, Christianity and Islam).The most obvious definition of
omniscience is ‘knowing everything’, but we need to remember
that even though God is the most perfect possible being, it is
perhaps impossible to know everything. For example, if human
beings have free will then God may not be able to know what
they will do in the future. So being omniscience, God knows all
the truths possible to know.

6. — Omnipresent (All Present)
- God is everywhere. He is intimately familiar with his creation
and works though and is present in humanity. God’s presence is
reflected in his creation.
God can be ‘present’ in two ways….

7. By being…
— Transcendent
- God transcends the natural dimension, he is ‘outside’ of or goes beyond
the universe. God is the creator but is not created as God is self
sufficient. God exists outside the realm of time and space and is not
subjected to the laws of physics.
— Immanent
- God also exists within this dimension. God being immanent makes the
close connection between God’s existence and the existence of
everything in the natural realm. God exists here and there; in everything
that exists ‘God is there’. God is active and present in human history.
Immanence is necessary to ensure that God is not remote from us.

8. Approaches to the divine
— Theism- is the belief in a creator who displays the qualities as
mentioned in this power point: transcendent, immanent,
personal, eternal, all knowing, all powerful, all present.This is
the belief in the existence of God.
— Atheism- is the conviction that there is no divine being or
transcendent dimension.
— Agnosticism- Uncertainty as to the existence of the divine.
— Pantheism-is the belief that God is within everything.
— Deism- is the belief of an external God who created the world,
but is not immanent within it.

9. Some key points
— Traditional conceptions of God stem from the idea that God is the most
perfect possible being.
— God is personal: God has traits similar to those of a person, such as intellect
and will.
— Omniscience: God knows everything possible to know. God knows this
directly and immediately.
— Omnipotence: God has the power to do anything that is possible to do.
— Perfect goodness: God is the most perfect possible being. God’s will is in
accordance with moral values.
— Transcendence and immanence: God is more than the universe, being
outside time and space yet also existing throughout everything that exists.
— God exists without beginning or end: God is eternal.

10. Questions for discussion
— How can God be considered personal; however, cannot be
thought of as a person?
— Can God know everything?What are the implications of this
possibility?
— Explain the contrast between God as a transcendent being and
God as an immanent being. Can you think of religious traditions
who believe in one or the other?