51ºÚÁÏ

Year 8 RE Lesson: The Design Argument – How Does It Aim to Prove God’s Existence?
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This lesson introduces the Design Argument, exploring whether the complexity and order in the world are evidence of a designer. Pupils learn about William Paley’s watch analogy, Isaac Newton’s views on the thumb, and Thomas Aquinas’ idea of a guiding force. They also consider the Anthropic Principle and challenges to the argument, such as evolution, the Big Bang, and the problem of evil. Activities include visual tasks, sorting strengths and weaknesses, comprehension questions, and extended writing evaluating whether design proves God exists.

Learning aims:

Explain the Design Argument and its main examples

Understand how the Anthropic Principle supports the idea of design

Evaluate criticisms of the argument, including scientific and moral challenges

Form and justify your own opinion about whether design proves God exists

Includes PowerPoint slides, visual tasks, structured writing prompts, and discussion questions ready to teach.