Lesson 6: Are there good reasons to have faith in God's existence?

Set up a ‘Tug for Truth’ diagram on the board at the front of the classroom, with the question ‘Does God exist?’. In pairs, students discuss their opinion and degree of concern for the question, before adding post-it notes to the board for:

• Evidence / support for the ‘Yes’ position
• Evidence / support for the ‘No’ position
• Questions about the tug of war itself (such as ‘what if’ questions)

Students read the Lincoln, C.S. Lewis, Jillette & Hawking quotes (lesson 6 slides), and choose ONE that stands out to them. In small groups they explain why that quote stands out to them, and what their opinion about that quote is.

Individually students write down their own one-sentence definition of ‘faith’.

Teacher leads a class discussion to brainstorm what should be included in a definition of faith. This could also be checked against an AI generated response.

Diverse perspectives should be encouraged, leaving the group definition somewhat open-ended.

Students watch ‘On what faith is and isn’t’ (1:28), then the class discusses their views on McGrath’s definition of faith, as well as the definition given by William Lane Craig: “Faith is trusting in something that we have good reason to think is true.” (see lesson 6 slides.)

Teacher revisits the definition of ‘faith’ that the class developed earlier, and compares this with McGrath’s and Lane Craig’s definitions.

Discuss whether there is anything that should be added or changed to the class definition.

Verses are included in the lesson 6 slides.

The class reads Hebrews 11:1 and summarise the writer’s definition of faith in their own words, also comparing this with the earlier attempts to define faith.

The class reads Psalm 19:1-4 and Psalm 42:1-2a. Discuss what support, both rational and emotional, these verses might give for faith in the existence of God?

• Clip: Behind the Life of Jesus: Is there a god? (4:26)
• Clip: Reasons for Faith in God (3:00)
• Clip: Longing for Transcendence (3:08)

Students watch the clips and complete the ‘Claim, Support, Question’ table (lesson 6 slides) for each of the three videos.

In small groups, students read ONE of the articles, highlighting or copying out any phrases or sentences that stand out. They also underline any parts that are confusing.

• Article: Reason has its place, but the human heart yearns for awe (4 min)
• Article: Christmas: too good to be true? (5 min)
• Article: The Joy of Creation (5 min)
• Article: God: an illusion, or just invisible? (6 min)
• Article: Irrational Unbelief (4 min)

Each small group produces a summary sentence for the article and writes a 3-4 sentence outline of what they think their article contributes to a discussion about the reasons for or against a belief in the existence of God.

Hold a class debate on the topic: “There are good reasons to have faith in God’s existence”. (Lesson 6 slides.)

Students read the C.S. Lewis & Rosner quotes (lesson 6 slides) and write a personal reflection on whether or not they agree with them.

Students read the H.G. Wells quote, “If there is no God, nothing matters. If there is a God, nothing else matters.” (Lesson 6 slides.) Students write a reflection on how important they think it is top explore the existence of God, and what difference the existence of God might make to their life.

Class revisits the ‘Tug for Truth’ activity and adds more post-it notes to the diagram, discussing new insights or perspectives that have been discovered.

Students watch the Alistair McGrath clip ‘On things we cannot prove’ (2:02).

They then write a short letter to McGrath outlining the thoughts and questions they have in response to the video.