1.1 -Beliefs And Teachings (christianity) Flashcards
How has God revealed things about himself
Christians believe God is totally different from anything in the universe and beyond human understanding
God has revealed things through nature, the insights of the bible, and personal experience
Tell me about God as omnipotent
Means all powerful
Means God can do anything that makes sense for God to do eg he wouldn’t make a square circle
Gods power is immense even Immeasurable
Can be seen in many ways:
Creation of universe itself
The wonders of the universe which owes its existence for his creative and sustaining power
The miracles performed by Jesus and miracles claimed to sometimes occur in the modern world
However many bad things there are - nothing can really defeat God
Tell me what the bible says about gods omnipotence
The creation, the flood, the ten plagues
In st marks gospel there is the story of Jesus and his disciples out on lake galilee in a boat, a violent storm blew up when Jesus was sleeping and they woke him and Jesus said to “quiet! Be still!” Immediately the storm ended
Tell me the different interpretations of the at marks gospel storm story
Some believe it happened exactly as mark told it
The story can be explained as coincidence
Jesus was speaking to the disciples and it was their panic, not the storm which was causing the problem
It was a story created by the church To show gods power
Tell me about God and agape
The New Testament used the word agape which refers to a self giving, self sacrificial love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son” John 3:16 - believed this showed love Becuase the sacrifice of Jesus then allowed human beings to enter the afterlife
Many people find it hard to believe that there is an omnibenevolent God when there’s so much suffering - when some suffer they lose faith as they believe God would have helped them
But some Christians find experiencing suffering leads to feeling closer to God and that God is sharing the pain and giving them strength to cope
How is gods all loving nature shown in the bible
Much of Jesus’ teaching is about the love of god which is universal and unconditional
This is why Christians believe even those who do the most evil things are still loved by God and can still come back to God to be forgiven
Tell about the parable of the parable of the prodigal son and how it shows gods all loving nature
A man has two sons, one claims his inheritance and leaves to waste it all, he returns to ask for a job on his fathers farm and is welcomed home - his father has forgive him- doesn’t mean he gets another inheritance - everything now belongs to older son - but he does get a fresh start because of his fathers love
Tell me what Jesus said in the teaching known as the sermon on the mount
“You have heard that it was said “love your neighbour and hate your enemy”. But I tell you, love your enemies and tosh got those who persecute you, that may be the sons of your father in heaven. …… Be perfect, therefore as your Heavenly Father is perfect”
Tell me about God as just
Just means to be fair and operate in ways which gives everyone equal value and rights
However doesn’t mean God is always just, many Christians think suffering is a test of faith but many Christians think it doesn’t fit with believing in a loving and just God God
What’s the problem of evil
The fact that terrible things happen where there is supposed to be an all loving God is called the problem of evil
It’s made worse by the fact that suffering often seems excessive and pointless
Some argue does is not fair and just since he allows it
Only answer to problem is that it can’t be explained
Tell me the Ten Commandments
You shall have no gods before me
Do not make false idols
Do not misuse the name of the Lord
Keep the sabbath holy
Honour your parents
Do not kill
Do not commit adultery
Do not steal
Do not tell lies
Do not covet
Why is it important to believe God is just
Many Christians work for justice in society Becuase the bible portrays God as just - expects believers to behave justly as Christians believe in judgement day or the afterlife
Jesus taught that God would judge all people according to how they cared
“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’ - Matthew 7:12
List some of the characteristics of God
He’s all loving - loves each and every person as a unique individual
All knowing - he knows everything it’s possible to know - omniscience
All powerful - has unimaginable power, nothing is beyond God
Just: God is completely fair and just, so all will be judged fairly and without discrimination
What’s moral evil
Is a term given to suffering inflicted by people on each other, for example murder
What’s suffering
The pain (physical or emotional) which a person goes through for any reason
Nature is responsible for a lot of suffering in the world eg natural disasters like a tsunami
The problem a Christian has is how to reconcile their idea of God with the reality of suffering and evil
They have to be able to make sense of God allowing this evil and suffering to continue to happen
How do Christians solve the problem of evil
God can’t be all loving, all knowing, all powerful and just and there still be suffering
Many Christians believe in the existence of an evil force called the devil or Satan - tries to tempt humans into behaving badly and disobeying God. So evil is perpetrated by them is a result of the devils work
However not all believe in devil, many believe as human beings have free will - given to Adam and Eve and abused the free will. So for many Christians, freedom of choice when mixed with greed, selfishness or hatred lead to evil doings
Humans not God are responsible for this kind of evil
Tell me how suffering caused by nature doesn’t make sense and how it can be solved
God is all loving, all powerful, all knowing. So he knows about evil and suffering, loves us enough to want us not to suffer, and has the power to deal with anything - so why is there still suffering?
Suffering is a punishment for wrong doing, everyone does this wrong and so everyone might deserve to be punished
Suffering is a test of faith - the reward will be great
Suffering is a form of education, for our souls - by suffering be grow spiritually and learn to take responsibility and help others
Needed as a balance - to appreciate good we have to be able to recognise evil and bad
Tell me how the solutions are problematic
A newborn baby born with a painful disability - nothing can explain that
Or a person who has followed gods rules, worshipped him and was genuinely Good was suffering snd died it doesn’t make sense
Final attempt is to say human must accept it as humans Can’t understand God and his purposes
Suffering is a trigger for action, for showing the love of Jesus in their fellow humans
What type of faith is Christianity
Monotheistic faith - believe in one God
List the parts of the holy trinity
As the loving creator and sustainer of the universe (God the father)
As the saviour who became incarnate (born in human flesh) and lived, died and rose again (God the son)
As the source of strength which Christians find as work in their hearts
Tell me about the trinity concept
Attempt to explain what the bible says about the nature of the relationship between the father, the son and the Holy Spirit
One God is a trinity of three persons - God can be known in three ways and each has its own characteristics - they are 3 forms of the same identity
Tell me the ways Christians accept the confusing idea of the trinity
God cannot be known - the nature of God is beyond human understanding so it should not be possible to make full sense of it
Belief in God as trinity makes the best sense of what they believe in the bible and experience in their lives
In the bible it says when Jesus was baptised the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and a voice said “you are my son…”
List the 3 symbols of the trinity
The earliest and simplest symbol of the trinity was an equilateral triangle - each side represents one side of the trinity
Shamrock - st Patrick said to have used to teach Christian faith in Ireland
The Borromean rings - taken together are inseparable by if one is removed they fall apart, seen as a symbol of strength in unity, circle is a symbol of the unending and eternal nature of God
Ancient Celtic spiral triskelion shape is also used by Christians
How is the trinity used in baptisms
Everyone present is asked to say “this is our faith. We believe and trust in one God, father, son and Holy Spirit.”
Vicar says “I baptise you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit”
How is the idea of the trinity challenged
Some Jews, Muslims and other suggest Christianity believes in tritheism - belief in 3 seperate gods
Secular critics such as Richard Dawkins state belief in trinity makes no logical sense - religion is superstitious nonsense based on old fashioned and outdated thinking
What’s transcendent
God is believed to be beyond space and time and is controlled by neither
Tell me about the trinity before creation
Trinity must have existed before the creation Becuase God did the creation. The trinity is the way the world was created
How is God the trinity referred to in the creation
“The spirit of God was hovering over”
“The word become flesh and lived for a while among us”
What’s Genesis / what are the different interpretations
Describes gods creation of the universe over 6 days with a seventh day of rest
Some fundamentalist Christians believe in story literally and believe the authors of writings in the bible were directly inspired by God
Many Christians think the story is a myth - fictional story with a profound message delivered through symbolism - message or symbolism is important rather than what happened
What’s the message of Genesis
God is the sole and omnipotent Crestor
God is source of everything in the universe and sustains it
God created a universe that was ordered and not chaotic
Every aspect of gods creation was good - that it’s fulfilled his purposes for it
Humans are created in gods image and reflect gods capacity for creativity and relationship
Human beings are given authority over the rest of the created world
What’s the importance of beliefs about Genesis 1 for Christians
The message is true and that they live in an ordered world, created by a sustained God - universe is not by change and human lives have meaning and purpose
Even when things go wrong they return positivity and not to ignore issues but Rather think through and then act on their beliefs
Therefore they have a responsibility to treat everyone equally and show all created beings. Human and non human love and respect
The power humans have been given has responsibility not privilege - stewardship not dominion
What are Christian teachings about death
It’s not an end, it seperates life on Earth from life with God. Death is not something to be feared - many believe they will be reunited with loved ones who have already died which helps them with the awful pain of bereavement
What’s the afterlife expressed as in a quote
In revelation “he [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” - revelation 21:4
Why is resurrection important for Christians
If death was really an end - Christianity is nothing more than the worship of a martyr (Jesus)
Belief in resurrection treats the physical body as an integral and valuable part of what it means to be human
The body is “a temple if the Holy Spirit” and should be treated with respect - some believe it will be restored to life; for them the concept of resurrection is of a physical resurrection. Others believe it’s spiritual and not physical
What is meant by resurrection
They believe God will raise them back to life before judgment day
“When the dead rise, they will neither marry not be given in marriage” - Jesus (mark 12:25)
Tell me about purgatory
Roman Catholics believe in it, an intermediate state of existence between death and the afterlife
After the death of the body, soul goes to purgatory if it’s destined for heaven - a place of purification for the soul so it can become pure and holy enough to enter heaven
Not a physical place
Tell me some questions about the afterlife
Where is the place they go? How will we recognise eachother? Will the body we died in be damaged?
What’s the difference between a humanist funeral and a Christian funeral
Humanist funerals take place at the cemetery or crematorium where disposal of body will take place, focus on persons achievements in life
Christian funerals have references to the afterlife and redirection and preserve the body
Tell me the Christian beliefs about judgement
There will be a judgement day at the end of time and all will be judged by Jesus according to how they behaved
“Will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead” - nicene creed
Tell me the 2 stages of judgement believe by the catechism of the Catholic Church
Particular judgement occurs immediately after the death of a person
General/final judgment takes place as the second coming which is believed to be when Jesus will return in glory to earth, bringing the age of time and space to an end, he will judge those still alive and those who are dead and will be assigned to heaven or hell
What do most Christians believe what will happen after they die
Their souls will wait for judgement day - from there they will be rewarded with heaven or punished in hell
Some Christians reject the idea of the second coming and final judgment - think Jesus was trying to express something human beings cannot fully understand, but in a way they could make some sense of.
Also believe creeds Should be understood in the same way. They don’t deny that humans will be called to account for their lives, but they disagree about context and the way in which its to be interpreted
Tell me his judgement is referred to in Jesus’ teaching
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 19:1-31) warns that ignoring needs of others may have eternal consequences
Parable of sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46) message that on judgement day some will be rewarded for helping others and go to heaven and other will be sent to hell Becuase they did not
Tell me the Christian interpretations of heaven
Use earthly images to explain their understanding of heaven - teaches heaven is a state of being and not a physical place
Tell me the Christian interpretations of hell
The bible depicts hell as a place of unquenchable Fire
Teach hell is eternal separation from God - results from deliberate rejection of any relationship with him. It’s not what God decides for people it is down to human free choice
“God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a wilful turning away from God … Is necessary and persistence in it until the end” (catechism of the Catholic Church)
What does incarnation literally made
Means embodiment and refers to the belief that God took on human form as Jesus God the sun
Tell me the quotation showing the incarnation of Jesus the son
“The word became fresh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only [son], who came from the father, full of grace and truth”
Tell me about the incarnation of Jesus
Christians believe that Jesus was both fully divine (pre-existent word of God) and fully human (conceived by and born of Mary)
In the New Testament, those who wrote it struggled with idea Jesus was divine and human - “if anyone acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we Know and rely on the love God has for us” (John 4:15-16)
Tell me the different views on the birth of Jesus
Both gospels of Matthew and Luke state Mary was a Virgin
Luke said Mary was told that she would conceive through the power of the Holy Spirit - taken up by nicenes creeds statement that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”
Some think the virgin birth actually happened but some think it’s a myth, believing that a metaphor was being used to show that Jesus was not simply a human but was in a unique sense the son of God - he was fully divine and fully human.
What’s one problem with with understanding I. Jesus as both fully God and fully human
How to understand the knowledge of Jesus
Many occasions in bible where appears his knowledge was limited - eg when the people of his home town rejected him so he couldn’t perform miracles
When speaking about the end of the world, he said to disciples no one knew what would happen but if he was really divine (God) how could he not do or know these things
- one solution is that God was properly human and gave up his knowledge. Jesus was still fully God in his relationship with and understanding of God, but he made this act of supreme self giving
What’s the importance in the belief in the incarnation for Christian lifestyle
Helps understand the extent of gods love for his humanity - shows how they should live
His son was sent as an atonement sacrifice for our sins
What was the crucifixion
Jesus was arrested, tried and convicted of blasphemy by the Jewish religious authorities - a crime punishable by death
Handed him over to Roman governor Pilate and Jesus was found guilty so they were allowed to kill him
Crucifixion was agonising in a cross left to die
Tell me the account of the crucifixion Mark 15:21-39
Jesus was slipped of his clothes, nailed through his edits and hoisted up - it took6 hours for him to do and Mark recorded the final 3
Why did the son of God die
Jesus was born in Palestine when Romans controlled the country as a part of their empire. The religious leaders of the Jews made up the SANHEDRIN - the ruling council and Jesus came into conflict with them as he helped people on the sabbath - some considered that and other thins blasphemy
At the time there were other groups eg zealots which were a problem for Romans but Pilate put down rebellions but each time made them more likely to recur instead of solving it and, he wanted to release Jesus but if he did he would be hated by Caesar - so he was forced to sentence him to death
Jesus had to die to fulfils gods commands for him, without his death, human beings could not be reunited with God and could not enter heaven - humans had strayed from gods ways, separating themselves from him - death would atone for separation
How do Christians see Jesus
See his death as an atonement
Main approaches are:
On the cross Jesus bore the consequences and penalty of human sin
This was God taking the initiative in reconciling humanity to God
It inspires human beings to take the moral lead in reconciliation in the world today
What’s the salvation
Christians believe that the death of Jesus was central to gods plan of salvation
How was Jesus death was an act of atonement and reconciliation
Human beings create a Barrier between themselves and God by thinking only of themselves, Jesus death was a necessary atonement, Becuase human beings could not deal with this problem of selfishness themselves
Christians believe relationship was so damaged that drastic action was needed and so he could reunite with him it heaven
Believe Jesus when willingly into this as it was only way for reconciliation to happen
What’s atonement
Making amends, idea that 2 people can put their differences aside
What’s reconciliation
Restoration of friendship or relationships
How do Christians take the initiative in reconciliation
Christians should offer them selves to the service of god, try to carry out their wishes eg work as a volunteer with homeless or train as a nurse to help others - all there are following Jesus example of showing love for others
Take initiative and trying to repair the world, not leaving it to someone else
Tell me what happened in the resurrection
Jesus was buried in a rock tomb but a man couldn’t take care of his body because the sabbath was about to start - no work could be done
A huge boulder rolled across the entrance - the women returned as soon as it was light on Sunday and found stone rolled to one side and the body was gone and the women were told Jesus had risen
How are the accounts of the resurrection different
Matthew, Luke, John and John
In Mark, a young man in white told them Jesus has risen and should return to galilee to meet him
According to John, person revealed himself to Mary Magdalene as Jesus come back to life. John says she returned to the disciples and told them she had seen him
What is the ascension
The fortieth day after the resurrection
In one account, Jesus is described taking his disciples to a place called Bethany and blessing them. Then he is taken up to heaven
Most Christians think story was intended not to be taken literally as if Jesus was lifted up and taken to heaven by gods power, rather, the writer uses imagery to stress the finality of this appearance
Some fundamentalists take event literally that Jesus was hidden by a cloud and disappeared into another dimension
Why is the resurrection important to Christians
His resurrection from the dead is proof that he is the son of God, showing gods triumph over evil and death, a symbol is the Passover lamb carrying a banner of victory
Tell me some ways that shows Jesus did not rise from the dead and replies to the points
The women went to the wrong tomb and when the man said he’s not here - he was redirecting them - women knew where he was buried as they accompanied Joseph when taking body to the tomb
Jesus was not actually dead when taken off the cross and got himself out of the tomb - would not have been able to get himself out, if someone got him out someone would have seen him and could not live hidden forever
The disciples were deluded - the appearances of Jesus were just wishful thinking - Jesu resurrection was the last thing expected, they were hiding for fear of being arrested
The story was made up by disciples to gain prestige - but they wouldn’t have they were persecuted from the start and began to talk about Jesus and most became martyrs for their beliefs
What’s the story of original sin
Found in Genesis 3, in the story of Adam and Eve disobey gods conmand not to eat fruit from the tree of good and evil - serpent tempted them to think gods command arose out of his concern for himself and not from what was best for them - said they would become like God himself and they gave in and are their fruit - first and original sin. As a result, God gave certain punishments and Adam and Eve were thrown out of Eden
How do Christians take the story of the original sin
Took story literally that we are all descendants of Adam and Eve so we are all seperates from God and in danger of recieving eternal punishment, meant they could not put it right, only God was able to deal with barrier caused by sin - God did this through incarnation and death of Jesus
God In Christ offered salvation that cancelled Out original sin and offered promise to eternal life
Most Christians don’t take story literally but think it conveys a religious truth that humans seem to have a natural inclination to do what they are not told to which damages relationship with God
How is salvation shown through law
“Salvation through works” - a relationship must be earnt with God, some agree it can be done with obedience and law which others show we must use our actions and love for others is more important
What is salvation
Means being accepted by God and being assured of eternal life
What’s meant by grace
Refers to the unconditional love that God shows to everyone, even when seemed undeserved
What’s salvation through grace and spirit
Claim that the sacrifice of Jesus made jt missive to reconcile with God
Christians believe they continue to receive his grace through presence in hold spirit
Tell me the meaning of the hymn amazing grace
Expressed a mans belief that God had saved him
