Yr 12 revision questions section 1 and 2

Yr 12 revision questions section 1 and 2

• 1.
    This  can  be  used  as  a  concept  checking  exercise.       Syllabus  topic:       A1-­‐  What  does  the  word   ‘God’  mean?  The   diversity  of  conceptions   of  the  divine.              Questions  for  review:     1. What  is  a  deductive  argument?       2. What  is  the  difference  between  an  argument  being  philosophically  sound  and   logical?       3. How  can  God  be  defined?     4. What  is  your  understanding  of  the  term  theism?     5. Religious  philosophers  throughout  the  ages  have  sought  to  define  the  being   known  as  God-­‐  what  attributes  are  commonly  associated  with  the  classical   monotheistic  traditions?  List  and  define  at  least  6.       6. Consider  the  statement,  ‘Many  have  argued  that  the  God’s  omnipotence  is   self-­‐contradictory’.  Do  you  agree  or  disagree  with  this  statement?  Give  reasons   to  support  your  response.       7. Are  the  attributes  consistent  with  one  another?       Syllabus  topic:       A2-­‐  Atheism,   agnosticism,  humanism,   Nihilism     Questions  for  review:     1. Define  the  terms  atheism,  agnosticism  and  humanism.       2. Where  does  each  sit  on  the  spectrum  of  Non-­‐Religious  belief?     3. Which  of  the  positions  do  you  consider  the  most  formed?  (philosophically   strong)    
• 2.
  4. How  does  Nihilism  differ  from  the  terms  discussed  above?  Outline  the  Nihilistic   argument  and  its  position  on  meaning.         Syllabus  topic:           A3-­‐  Arguments  for  and   against  the  existence  of   God                         Questions  for  review:     1. Outline  the  Cosmological  Argument  and  the  counter  criticisms  to  it.       2. Outline  the  Ontological  Argument  for  the  existence  of  God  and  consider  the   view  that,  while  it  may  strengthen  a  believer’s  faith,  it  has  no  value  for  the   non-­‐believer.     3.  Examine  and  assess  the  view  that  the  Ontological  Argument  for  the  existence   of  God  is  convincing.     4. Outline  the  Ontological,  Cosmological  and  Teleological  Arguments  for  the   existence  of  God.  Choose  one  of  these  arguments  and  examine  criticisms  that   have  been  made  of  its  form,  content  and  conclusions.       5. ‘The  moral  argument  does  not  prove  that  God  exists,  but  it  does  make  it   probable  that  God  exists’  Discuss  this  assertion.       Syllabus  topic:       A4-­‐  Problems  of  Evil  and   Suffering                 Questions  for  review:     1. What  is  a  theodicy?       2. Define  the  terms  natural  and  moral  evil.  Which  do  you  consider  the  ‘easier’  to   explain?     3. Outline  the  two  classical  theodicies.       4. ‘If  God  were  the  omnipotent,  wholly  good,  creator  of  all  things,  then  evil  would   not  exist.  Evil  exists.  Therefore,  God  is  not  the  omnipotent,  wholly  good,   creator  of  all  things’.  Examine  this  argument.       5. ‘The  problem  of  evil  can  never  be  satisfactorily  resolved’.  Discuss.    
• 3.
    Syllabus  topic:                                     A5-­‐  Religious  language,   ritual  and  symbol         Questions  for  review:     1. Define  the  following  terms:  Realism,  anti-­‐realism,  equivocal,  univocal,   empiricism,  analytic  and  synthetic.     2. Outline  the  verification  principle-­‐  how  does  this  relate  to  the  topic  of  religious   language?   3. Outline  the  falsification  principle-­‐  how  does  this  relate  to  the  topic  of  religious   language?     4. What  purpose  does  analogy  play  in  religious  texts?     5. ‘All  talk  about  God  is  both  without  meaning  and  purpose’  Discuss.     6. a)  What  is  meant  by  ‘language  games’?  b)  Why  have  some  scholars  claimed   that  religious  language  is  a  language  game?   7.  In  what  ways  has  the  meaningfulness  of  religious  language  been  challenged  by   the  twentieth-­‐century  empiricism?   8. ‘Once  we  acknowledge  the  symbolic  character  of  religious  language;  can  we  be   sure  we  are  talking  about  anything  at  all’?  Discuss.       Religious  Experience  and   Behaviour         B1-­‐  The  nature  and  value   of  religious  experiences:   from  social  conformity   to  personal  commitment         Reading-­‐  Pages  46-­‐60  of   Questions  for  review:   1. Should  we  trust  our  own  religious  experiences  and  the  experiences  of  others?     2. What  are  the  features  of  a  religious  experience?    
• 4.
  text.   3.Outline  the  different  types  of  religious  experiences.     4. How  might  religious  experience  influence  ideas  about  the  meaning  of  the  word   ‘God’?   5. Describe  what  is  meant  by  ‘numinous’?  To  what  extent  does  this  match  the   traditional  theistic  ideas  of  God?     6. Discuss  the  view  that  mystical  experience  cannot  give  factual  knowledge  about   God.     7. Outline  the  main  criticisms  to  the  argument  from  religious  experience.  How   valid  are  these  criticisms?         B2-­‐  The  pragmatic  view   of  faith:  indoctrination,   illusion,  projection         Reading-­‐  Pages  65-­‐72  of   the  text.     Questions  for  review:   1. What  is  faith?     2. To  what  extent  is  evidence  needed  for  one  to  have  faith?   3.  Why  does  religion  exist?     4. Do  you  believe  that  psychology  and  sociology  have  given  a  sufficient   explanation  of  religion,  thereby  rendering  God  redundant?     5. From  a  psychological/sociological  position  is  religion  harmful?   6. Should  religion  regard  Jung  as  a  friend  or  foe?     7. Is  Jung’s  view  compatible  with  traditional  Christian  beliefs?     8. Does  religion  give  society  its  moral  sense,  or  does  society’s  moral  sense  create  
• 5.
  religion?  (Durkheim  says  the  latter)   9. What  did  Marx  mean  by  describing  religion  as  the  opium  of  the  masses?     10. Do  you  consider  this  to  be  a  positive  or  negative  view  of  religion’s  role  in  life?     11. Explain  what  Freud  meant  by  a  ‘universal  obsessional  neurosis’?  To  what   extent  is  this  an  adequate  view  of  religion?           B3-­‐  Faith  and  motivation   for  belief  and  the   postmodern  view  of   faith     Reading-­‐  Pages  65-­‐72  of   the  text.   Questions  for  review:       1. What  is  the  relationship  of  reason  and  evidence  to  religious  faith  and  belief?     2. Can  we  prove  the  existence  of  a  higher  being  through  reasoning  or  experience?     3. What  motivates  people  to  believe  in  God?   4. What  does  the  word  fideism  mean?     5. Describe  Pascal’s  wager.     6. What  does  Plantinga  mean  by  the  statement  ‘religious  beliefs  are  properly   basic?’     7. Why  does  Plantinga  reject  classical  foundationalism?     8. Kierkegaard  states  that  ‘religion  is  a  form  of  life’-­‐  what  does  he  mean  by  this?     9. Describe  what  is  meant  by  the  term  postmodernism?   10. What  is  the  postmodern  view  of  faith?  
• 6.
       B4-­‐  The  human   experience  of  evil:  moral   evil,  natural  evil     Reading-­‐  Pages  61-­‐64  of   the  text.   Questions  for  review:   1. How  can  evil  be  explained?   2. What  is  the  distinction  between  moral  and  natural  evil?   3. Is  one  evil  easier  to  comprehend  than  the  other?   4. Has  the  notion  of  evil  changed  in  the  post-­‐holocaust  world?   5. What  is  the  difference  between  Augustine  and  Irenaeus?       B5-­‐  Sin,  alienation  and   salvation     Questions  for  review:   1. What  is  the  human  condition  in  relation  to  sin?     2. Is  there  a  need  for  human  beings  to  be  saved?   3. What  are  the  different  religious  traditions  teachings  on  sin  and  salvation?