Does God exist—and if the answer is yes,
is there just one God or more than one?
CURRICULUM: Personal & Social Wellness: Your Spirit
Summary: Most people on earth believe in a higher power, a spiritual being, and many believe in God. Definitions and interpretations of God vary, but monotheism is very popular. That raises an interesting question—do all monotheists believe, ultimately, in the same being? Or do monotheists believe that their God is the true God, that all other Gods are false? Belief in multiple Gods, or multiple parts of one God, make the conversation more complicated. Is there a singular truth?
Basic Understanding:
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Development of God(s) as a widely-accepted idea
Myth, mother nature, kinship with nature, spirits of good and evil, explaining nature
Creation stories, self-sufficiency of humans, afterlife, sacraments and covenants
Commonality of timing and acceptance of beliefs — similar, but just different enough
History of God and religion (Chinese, Hindu, Greek, Norse, Judeo-Christian, Muslim, etc.)
Evolution of many Gods and spirits to monotheism (and its variations)
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Definitive “proofs” of God’s existence; theoretical inconsistencies; faith; invisible force
Rebuttals: Theodicy, many other examples
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Evolution of philosophies (Aquinas, Maimonides, Descartes, Kant, Russell, Nietzsche, Spinoza, Hume, Swinburne, Plantiga, Dennett, Dawkins, Kurzweil, etc.)
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Does modern science (sub-atomic, etc.) support or deny God’s existence; is argument relevant?
Issues:
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Is the “one God” of the Muslims the same deity as the “one God” of the Hebrews (etc.)?
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Tradition of many Gods as part of one God - Hindu, Christian, more
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God’s multi-dimensional role(s): vengeful, compassionate, all-knowing, etc.
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Conflict between different beliefs can be very powerful: intolerance, sacrifice, economic injustice, violence, war, families torn apart, etc. Crusades - return to a singular truth, retake Holy Lands, devastate nonbelievers (similarities to today’s Syria)
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Does God exist within ourselves, or is God an external force, or both, or something else entirely?
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Is there any means to explain that God or Gods exist, or is this impossible to discuss in any reasonable way (notion is ridiculous, or notion is so great that it cannot be known by humans)?
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Muhammad’s Quest - find absolute truth of God in midst of many conflicting claims about the nature of God as he grew up: Why were the groups in conflict if all claimed to worship God?
Open Questions:
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We do not understand supernatural forces: is there a level of understanding beyond human capability? Might a greater understanding of God (and more) exist in that domain?
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Power and importance of symbols, texts, ritual, imagery, miracles: ways of “experiencing God”
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What is holiness? What belongs to God alone? Hebrew; “kaddish” - to be cut off or separate
Conversation Pit: Possible Topics
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Athiests vs. Religious on The God Debate[1]
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If there is a God, why are there children starving to death?
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Have you ever had a supernatural experience?
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Notebook Contents
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Examples of Web Assets
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Michio Kaku, American theoretical physicist at the City College of NY, on God[2]
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Fibonacci number and the golden ratio[3] <<this is probably part of a whole about God, pattern, beauty -- see Spinoza let's discuss this because it lives in web assets
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Totally Biased: The God Debate[4]
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Intelligence Squared: Refuting the Existence of God Debate[5]
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The origins of religion[6]
Scholars, Books, Other Sources
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Karen Armstrong (London)- A History of God (book), The Great Transformation: A History of Our Religious Traditions (book)
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Robert Wright (New Jersey) is an American journalist, scholar, prize-winning author of best-selling books about science, evolutionary psychology, history, religion and game theory. The Evolution of God (book)
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Daniel Dennett, philosopher, writer, cognitive scientist, professor at Tufts University. Atheist and secularist, member of Secular Coalition for America advisory board.
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Richard Dawkins, ethologist, evolutionary biologist, writer. Emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford.
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Creative / Educational Opportunities
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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iQ-lNZZ6-8
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi6yPJvCFU0
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uo4Oond1e8
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJXtCUBwBCI