Chapter 1: Catholic Christianity Flashcards
What is the Creation of Adam? Where is it?
A painting of Adam that shows bringing Adam to life. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
What do the Genesis stories provide for catholic beliefs about creation?
The foundation of beliefs and also God’s nature as creator
What are some key features of the painting?
- Adam is not yet fully alive
- God and Adam are lying in similar positions and both look powerful
- God appears to be older than Adam
- Adam is shown as a perfect man, full of strength and potential
- God is bringing humans to life rather than another species
- God and Adam are reaching there hands out to each other
- God is carried through the air by a group of angels
What is the effect of God being carried by angels
Shows that God is transcendent (beyond the universe)
What is the effect of Adam being lifeless?
Humanity depends on God for life
What is the effect of God and Adam in similar positions?
reflects the teaching that humanity is made in the image of God genesis 1
What is the effect of God being old?
Shows he is ancient and eternal while humanity is not
What is the effect of God and Adam reaching out to each other?
There is a longing for a close relationship between God and humanity
How does creation of Adam not reflect catholic beliefs?
- Genesis 2 says God brought Adam to life by breathing into his nostrils
- God and Adam are shown as the same size implying they are equal
How is God’s nature shown in creation of Adam?
He is creator, transcendant and omnipotent
What is Genesis 1
A poem about creation that is not scientific
What does Genesis 1 teach about God is creator?
- God is the only creator who created everything
- All creation is special because it was created by God
- Human share qualities with God because he made them in his image
What does Genesis 1 show as God as omnipotent?
- God has the power to do whatever he wants
- He creates things from nothing
- He can make everything exactly how he wants it ‘very good’
- Inspires Christian’s to trust in God because he has the power to do anything
How does Genesis 1 show God as transcendant?
- God only needs his own word in order to create ‘Let there be..’ and there was
- God is beyond human understanding which inspires awe
What is Genesis 2?
Another account of creation which explains how everything was made
How does god bring Adam to life?
- By breathing into his nostrils, ru’ach is Hebrew for breath, which translates as spirit
- humans share the spirit of god
- Gods spirit gives humans some of his qualities
How are humans given gods free will?
- God tells Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
- therefore he gives him a choice to decide for himself if he will eat from the tree
How is stewardship shown in Genesis?
- in Genesis 1, god tells Adam and Eve to ‘subdue’ the earth and ‘have dominion’ over every living thing
- this shows humans have been given power and authority to rule over alll other creatures
- Genesis 2 god stays to Adam ‘till it and keep it’, this suggests looking after the world with care and love
- these show Christian’s have a duty to look after the environment on behalf of God
Why do all [people have dignity? (Worthy of honour and respect)
- because all people are equal since they have all been created by God and share in the qualities of god
Why do catholics belive all life is holy?
- it has been created and blessed by God
- sanctity of life
- against euthanasia
How is the Bible the word of God?
- God guided the writing of the Bible through the Holy Spirit
- The Bible contains th word of God given by the prophets (people inspired by god)
- The bible tells of the actions and teaching of Jesus in The gospels
- The Bible contains the writings of the apostles (Jesus’ closest followers that were filled by the Holy Spirit)
What do the Magisterium do?
- interpret the bible
- are constantly inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit
- authority of the church
- help catholics understand the meaning of the bible
What do the Catholic Church teach about Genesis stories?
They should not be interpreted literally, this means that catholics can accept some of the scientific explanations of how the universe was created
What are fundamentalists?
People who belive the bible to be a literal account
What are the main messages from the creation stories?
- God made everything
- Everything that god made was good
- humans are the high point of gods creation
what is natural law?
Natural law refers to the moral principles and values that are thought to be inherited to all humans
Why do catholics belive humans are born with natural law?
- God made all of creation good, and humans are part of it
- Humans are made in the image of God, they share in his qualities of being good
Why is following natural law important for catholics? What do humans not need?
- Following natural law is important because it is part of Gods will for humans
- Humans should not need rules to tell them what is right
what are the basic natural laws?
- do good and avoid evil
- protect and preserve life
What did the second Vatican council stress about science and religion?
- that religion and science support each other
- Catholic Church is very supportive of advances in science that help people to understand god’s creation
- Religion and science come up with different answers because of the why and the how
What are 3 reasons why catholics belive they should care for the environment?
- all creation is special because it was made by God, catholics can show their love for God by taking care of the world he’s created
- god made humans stewards of the earth, so humans have a responsibility to look after the earth from god
- Jesus taught Christian’s to love your neighbour as yourself, so Christian’s are expected to understand how littering and polluting the earth will affect all human life, their neighbours
Caring for the environment?
natural resources
delicate balance
- there is a delicate balance with creation, damaging one aspect hurts others
- Natural resources should be used in a way to preserve them for future generations
what did the Vatican do for the environment?
- installed 2000 solar panels on the roof of its main halls
- reduced the vaticans carbon emissions by 200 tonnes per year
What are different ways catholics can be stewards?
- at a local level
- at a national level
- at a global level
Give examples of a local level.
- throw away less waste
- recycle more
- walk, cycle or use public transport instead of driving
- take part in local environmental projects
Give examples of a national level.
- put pressure on companies to ensure they follow environment-friendly policies
- support/buy products from environment-friendly businesses
- put pressure on politicians to support laws protecting the environment
Give examples of a global level.
- put pressure on government to implement policies agreed and international meetings
- help to expose international companies that threaten the environment
What is sustainability?
- living in a way that respects the environment and its natural resource in order to keep everything in balance and in harmony
Why is being sustainable important for catholics?
- god made everything good, so all creation is important and valuable
- promoting sustainable living helps to respect the goodness of all god’s creation
What is CAFOD? What does it aim to do?
- the official aid agency for the catholic chruch in England and wales
- help people living in poverty, in order to create a more balanced world
What does CAFOD do to support sustainability?
- encourages people to live more simply and use fewer natural resources by giving awards to communities
- Supports projects that use renewable energy
- Works with farmers to help them adopt sustainable farming methods
- Helping to found campaigns to help the environment
