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Philosophy (A love of wisdom) Philosophers over the centuries have grappled with the questions ranging from: Does God exist? What is right and wrong? How do you live a good life? Greek Philosophers Plato, Aristotle and Socrates had their work translated into Arabic and kept in libraries in Baghdad. Aristotle’s Prime Mover and the existence of God Aristotle called the thing that caused the universe to go into constant state of motion the Prime Mover. For Aristotle the Prime Mover was God. The Prime Mover is in a state of pure actuality- it has no potential for change itself. As the Prime Mover has no potentiality, it cannot have put the universe in motion with a physical action, as this physical action would have caused change to the Prime Mover. Therefore, the Prime Mover is not the EFFICIENT cause of the universe, but the FINAL cause. The Prime Mover is perfect and all things want to imitate this perfection. All things in the universe are attracted to the prime mover. This attraction to perfection provides a PURPOSE for change. The desire for God and perfection is the goal or purpose for changing. Therefore the Prime Mover is the FINAL cause. Arguments against Aristotle’s Prime Mover Aristotle’s impersonal God is different to the traditional view of a God who is involved in the Universe (Christianity/Islam//Judaism/Hinduism). The Prime Mover is unloving and does not care or even know about human existence. is this really what a God would be like? Does there have to be a final cause or purpose for the Universe? Can it not just exist and not have a cause? (Bertrand Russell)

Trinity around the world The Trinity is shown in stained glass windows, sculptures and artwork. It is different across the world and means different things to many different Christians. Who does not believe in the Trinity? Unitarianism - Only One God - The Father. Believe a variety of things about Jesus, including that he was: a man filled with divine inspiration, but separate from God not physically resurrected – the resurrection was merely symbolic a Jewish prophet a great example of how to live with love and compassion an inspiration, showing that human beings can change the world for the better Jehovah’s witnesses - the Bible does not mention the word “Trinity.” For another, Jesus never claimed to be equal to God. Instead, Jesus worshipped God. Emperor Constantine proposed that the council at Nicaea adopt the ambiguous notion that Jesus was “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father. Bible References “To us there is but one God, the Father.” “My Father is greater than I [Jesus].” “I [Jesus] ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God.”

Timeline of the Bible Abraham -> David: God makes promises and sets expectations of his chosen people and Israel and God are united. David -> Exile: The Jews break their promises with God and Israel is divided. God keeps his word by sending prophets to remind ten Jews of God’s message. Exile - > Messiah: The relationship is rebuilt between God and the Jews. Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. MessiaH -> : Jesus is sent to Earth. He is the Son of God. God has fulfilled his promises with his people. God makes better promises through Jesus - the kingdom of Heaven to all that believe. St Paul descriptions of God God’s Wrath God is Just God is Merciful God is Kind God can be Pleased 6: God is Generous God is Wise God feels Love

The Trinity God the Father - creator of all life, acts as a good Father towards his children. He is all powerful (omnipotent), all loving (omnibenevolent), all knowing (omniscient) and he is present everywhere (omnipresent). God the Son - became incarnate through Jesus who was both fully human while on earth and fully God at all times. God the Holy Spirit - the unseen power of God at work in the world, who influences, guides and sustains life on earth. When Jesus had left this earth, Christians believe that God sent the Holy Spirit to do this.

What do Christians believe about the nature of God? Omnipresent - God is present everywhere. Omnipotent - God is all-powerful. Omniscient - God is all-knowing Omnibenevolent - God is all-loving Transcendent - God is outside of time/eternal. Immanent - God interacts with the world.

Slides that can be dropped into any religious studies lesson. Update your RE curriculum with these straight forward slides.

Religion will grown by 2050 The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world. Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion will fall. The Hindu and Jewish populations will be larger than they are today. In Europe, Muslims will make up 10% of the overall population. Four out of every 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of Christians in the UK will fall to 45% - with no religion having above 50% Why will religion grow by 2050? Worldwide population increase Fertility Rates Age of the popualtion Continent population change Why is this important? There are more than 8billion people in the world. More than 6 billion of them say they belong to a religion. If you want to know humanity, you have to know religion.

What do religions offer to their followers? Something to believe in. Celebrations for special events and days. A guide to living the good life. Something to belong to. A place and pattern of worship. Some heroes and villains. An idea about the meaning of life. What is religion? Religion is a system of beliefs and a way of life that refers to God or gods and goddesses, which some people follow as their ultimate reality. Your ‘religion’ is whatever you are most committed to. So your religion could be football, money, yourself, or could be God, living a Hindu way of life, following Jesus or being a good Muslim. 3.Religions and worldviews are the frameworks people use to make sense of their lives, and incorporate their beliefs, hopes, ideas and commitments. Religion is a kind of mistake – there is no God, and religions are all made up. We’d be better off without them.

Why are religious commitments important to believers? Devotion to the faith makes God’s guidance in life a positive thing. For religious believers, these codes for living feel as if they are more about wisdom and wise living than just following rules. These commitments are the the things that matter to them the most. Humanists The Ten Non Commandments (some examples) Never accept authority Strive to eliminate poverty and war Keep the law Islam The Ten Commandments from the Holy Qur’an Don not take life which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. You should treat your parents kindly Whatever you say should be just Christianity St. Paul (Romans Chapter 12) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good Live in harmony with one another. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

Religious Beliefs Religions have different beliefs on a range of factors; some of which include beliefs on: God Prayer Life after Death War

Arguments There are more than 7 billion people in the world. More than 6 billion of them say they belong to a religion. If you want to know humanity, you have to know religion. I’m a religious person myself, so RE might help me understand my own faith and life better. It’s interesting to see how faith makes a difference to other people’s lives and viewpoints. I’m on a search in life myself: finding answers to big questions. I’m not religious, but the different faiths give interesting ideas about the meaning of life. I’m open minded. If you don’t know anything about religion, then you won’t be able to understand literature, or politics, or history, or art. They are all connected in some ways. I’m not religious at the moment, but one day I might take it up. I’ll remember what I’ve learnt, and I’ll know a bit about where to start. Loads of young people can’t make up their minds about God, life, death, beliefs and what they all mean. RE can help you do that. Faith seems to help people when they are in trouble, so it might help pupils in school to learn about the comfort and help people get from religion. Everyone needs help in troubled times! People need to study religion from the outside, so that they don’t get drawn in to beliefs that make no sense, and join a cult or something. Maybe RE can warn you off ‘bad religion’ Religious leaders and prophets – Jesus, or Buddha – are some of the greatest people ever. We can learn lots from them today. In this country, over 60% of the population say they belong to a religion. These are the people I live with and will work with. I need to know what makes them tick. The 1988 Education Act says all pupils in schools must get RE. It’s the law, and if you didn’t have RE, you’d be missing out. There are six great world religions with hundreds or thousands or millions of followers in the UK. I need to know about these for pretty much any job I do. I’m an atheist, not religious at all. RE helps me to know why I’m an atheist, and shows me what I am arguing against. RE teaches you how to think about your own beliefs for yourself. It provokes you to be reasonable about beliefs.

We all have a view of the world that depends on what we believe. Some of us are religious (about 80% worldwide). Some of us are spiritual but not religious – we don’t belong to a religion, but we have a spiritual view of life. Some are non-religious. But we all have beliefs.

Who was he? Expert in the Bhagavad Gita Turned down invitation to lecture in the USA. Gave up job and traveled India from village to village. He transformed the lives of over 20 million people in 100,000 Indian villages. What did he do? God’s boats: Fishing boats for the community to use and give the fish ti those in need. 100,000 God’s boats across India. God’s fields: Farmland set aside to be shared by all. Over 90,000 fields of god in India now. Open Temples: Temples for anyone to use regardless of wealth or social status. Encourages community. 100,000 open temples now across India. Being clean for God: Thousands of Indians no longer drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. They used the money on their friends/family/charity instead. God’s trees: Baron land transformed by planting million of trees across India. It is about preserving the environment. Prizes and Rewards: Gave all of his prize money away, Has won countless awards across his life including the Gandhi Prize.

Four Aims: Dharma - Moral duty to make the right decision Kama - Achieve pleasure through sports/culture/sex Artha - Achieve propsperity and wealth which includes material wealth Moksha - Break from the cycle of samsara (death and rebirth) through good actions and deeds

Mandir The Hindu building for communal worship is called a Mandir (temple). The temples are dedicated to different gods and are the focus of religious life. At Mandirs, Hindu people often recite the names of gods and goddesses. Puja Many Hindus worship at home in their own shrine – this could be anything from a room, an altar, or simply pictures and statues. Puja means worship and Hindus have a Puja Tray (Five senses) - Incense/Light/Offering Bells/Water/Kum Kum Powder Hindus offer water, fruit and flowers to the gods.

Shruti The Shruti texts are the most ancient in Hindu scripture. They include the Vedas, which are collections of poems and hymns from over 3,000 years ago. Rig Veda Oldest of the Hindu religious texts Direct words from God (Brahman) Originally passed onto each generation by word of mouth before being written down Smriti The Smriti texts interpret the Vedas and provide ideas on how they can be applied to people’s lives. Ordinary Hindus tend to read these scriptures more often than the Vedas. The Ramayana - Meaning: Good overcoming evil