Chapter 1- Catholic Christinaity

Question 1

What is Michelangelo’s creation of Adam?

Answer 1

Creation of Adam is an artwork painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, painted by Michelangelo in the 16th century. It is a famous artwork that reflects Catholic teachings about creation where God made the universe. Creation is told in Genisis which is the first book of the Bible and provides foundation for christian beliefs about creation and the role of God as the creator

Question 2

How are Christian views surrounding creation presented in The creation of Adam?

Answer 2

.Adam is not fully alive as he is waiting for God to gift him life which shows humanities dependency on God

.God and Adam are similarly muscular and in similar positions suggesting that humanity is made in the image of God

.God appears older than Adam, God is eternal whereas man in not.

.Adam appears as a perfect man which reflects how God made him “very good”

Question 3

How can Creation Of Adam be seen as inaccurate ?

Answer 3

Paintings allow artists to express their beliefs which may be hard to express through word, but they are limited and sometimes their art can be seen as misleading.

.Genesis explains how God breathed into the nostrils of Adam in order to give him life and not by touching him

.God and Adam are of similar proportion suggesting that God and humanity is equal which opposes Catholic teachings

Question 4

What is Hildreth Meire’s mosaic?

Answer 4

In the early 20th century Hildreth Miere creates a number of mosaic’s in New York. Her most famous being a mosaic of the hand of God

Question 5

How does Hildreth Meire’s mosaic show Catholic beliefs?

Answer 5

. Lines are extended from the hand to the edge of the universe depicting the edge of the universe, reflecting how God created everything in the universe and his power and influence touches everything in the universe

.Gods hand is large compared to the clouds above it which helps to show God’s power and greatness

Question 6

Compare Creation of Adam with Hildreth Meire’s mosaic

Answer 6

Whereas Creation of Adam focuses on everything in humanity, the mosaic conveys a sense of God is always creating everything. Mosaic is more abstract showing only hand presenting God as infinite,
lacks God’s relationship with humanity

Question 7

How is creation shown in Genesis 1?

Answer 7

It describes God’s creation of the universe and how he created it over six days using the power of his word. Catholics don’t believe it as a scientific account of creation but teaches more important truths about God’s nature and his role within creation

Question 8

How does Genesis show God as transcendent?

Answer 8

God only needs his word in order to create, above and beyond the created world. Belief in transcendence means God is beyond human understanding. God cannot be described in human words or fully understood by human minds inspiring awe

Question 9

How does Genesis show God as omnipotent?

Answer 9

God has the power to do as he wishes, creating things from nothing. God made everything ‘very good’ and can make things the way he wishes. Belief in God’s omnipotence inspires trust in God as they know he has the power to do anything

Question 10

How does Genesis show God as creator?

Answer 10

God is creator of everything and only creator emphasising monotheistic belief. All of creation is special as created by God and therefore treated with care and looked after. God created humans in his image and therefore humans share qualities with God and allow them to have a close relationship

Question 11

What is shown in Genesis 2?

Answer 11

It explains how God made humans in his image. God created the first man Adam by breathing into him. God breathes his spirit into humans and therefore humans share the Spirit Of God giving humans qualities

Question 12

How does Genesis 2 show free will?

Answer 12

Shows that God has given humans free will. God made the Garden Of Eden for Adam and Eve to live in. God explains to Adam how he may eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although commanding not to eat from the tree he gives Adam the choice to decide whether or not to ear from the tree

Question 13

What do Christians believe about free will?

Answer 13

Free will doesn’t mean humans can do as they like without expecting consequences. Christians believe that by using free will to sin results in turning away from God, hence why evil exists in the world. Using free will to live in a way that pleases God brings humans closer to God

Question 14

How do the Genesis creation stories teach christians about Stewardship?

Answer 14

God tells Adam and Eve to ‘subdue’ the earth and ‘have dominion’ over every living thing suggesting humans have been given the power and authority to rule over other creatures. God puts Adam in the garden to ‘till it and keep love’ suggesting looking after the world with care and love. These two verses teach Christians that they have a duty to look after the environment on behalf of God. Christians believe that the world is a gift from God and God expects them to protect and care for the world in return.

Question 15

How do the creation stories show dignity?

Answer 15

Genesis 1 states that humans are made ‘in his image’ therefore all humans are equal because they have all been created by God and share the qualities of God. For Catholics this means that all persons have dignity and are therefore worthy of honour and respect, respecting their own dignity and the dignity of others

Question 16

How do the Genesis stories show the sanctity of life?

Answer 16

Genesis 1 shows how God blesses humans after he creates them. Christians believe that all life is holy as it has been created and blesses by God. The idea that all life is holy and sacred is known as the sanctity of life. For Catholics, the belief in the Sanctity Of Life shows that every stage of life should be treated with care and respect. This is an important reason why Catholics oppose euthanasia and abortion

Question 17

What does the Old Testament contain?

Answer 17

The Old Testament describes how God guided the Jews throughout their early lives in history before the arrival of Jesus. It contains:

Law- first five books telling how Jews became the people of God. Also contains the guidelines and laws that God wants Jews to follow, including the Ten Commandments

History- how God guided Jews and how they often refused to listen. These stories were included to help later generations from avoiding the same mistakes

Wisdom- mixture of poems, psalms and poems and books of advice to help people understand their faith and live in a way that pleases God.

Prophecy- books of the prophets which challenged people to stay faithful to God and taught them that God is active in the world

Question 18

What does the New Testament contain?

Answer 18

Deals with the life and teachings of Jesus and his apostles who are Jesus’ earliest followers and became leaders of the early Church. Contains:

The Gospels- covers the actions and teachings of Jesus

The acts of the apostles- tells some of the events of the early church

The Epistles- letters written by the apostles and discuss how to follow Jesus’ teachings in everyday life

The Book Of Revelation- written by the apostle John. Includes his own mystical visions which some believe to be describing the end of the world

They were accepted into the NT because they were backed with the authority of one of the apostles, they were written early on, they agreed with the teachings and accounts of Christian beliefs. They were accepted by all Christian Churches at the time

Question 19

How is the Bible the word of God?

Answer 19

The Bible is considered the word of God as it believes throughout the Bible God speaks to his people.

.God guided the writing of the Bible through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence and love in the world who guides people to do the right thing and know the will of God. Christians call this guidance inspiration. They believe the writers of the Bible where inspired or guided by the Holy Spirit

.The Bible contains the word of God given by the prophets. These were people inspired by God and they warned and guided people to remain faithful to God passing on God’s word and message

.The Bible tells of the actions and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels as Jesus is the word of God made flesh and through Jesus God speaks directly to all his people.

.The Bible contains the writings of the apostles in the Epistles. The apostles were Jesus’ closest followers and they were filled with the Holy Spirit which inspired them to preach and teach God’s word

Question 20

How is the Bible interpreted nowadays through the Magisterium?

Answer 20

The Bible was written a long time ago by people living in a very different time and society therefore Catholics need guidance on how to interpret the Bible today and how to apply its teachings to their everyday lives

Catholics are guided in their interpretation of the Bible by the Magisterum which is the teaching authority of the church, which comes from the Pope and the bishops which have the authority to shape and confirm the church’s teachings

Catholics believe that the Magisterium are constantly inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. This means that they can trust the Magisterium to interpret the meaning of the Bible

“Sacred scripture is the word of God”

Question 21

What are the Catholic interpretations of the Genesis stories?

Answer 21

The Genesis stories explain how God created the universe and humanity. The Catholic church considers these stories as myths which means that they intend to convey deep or spiritual truths and they aren’t meant to be taken literally. Catholics believe the creation stories are not meant to be scientific explanations of how creation happened which means that Catholics can accept the creation stories alongside the theory of evolution and Big Bang theory

Main point of the creation stories

• God made everything
• Everything that God made was good
• Humans are the high point of God’s creation

Question 22

What are fundamentalists interpretations of the Genesis stories?

Answer 22

Fundamentalists are Christians who interpret the Bible more literally and many believe the Bible is a factual record which describes events exactly as they happened. This is because the Bible is the word of God and therefore must be accurate in all aspects, God loves humans and therefore wouldn’t mislead them by giving them factually wrong information, humans are the high point of God’s creation

Fundamentalists therefore believe that God created the world in 6 days and therefore with the theory of evolution. Some are happy to accept aspects of science but evolution is a big no

Question 23

What is Natural Law?

Answer 23

Natural Law refers to the idea that humans are born with an understanding of what’s right and wrong. This understanding is natural as it is part of human nature.

The Catholic Church believes that humans have natural law because of the way God made all of his creation ‘good’ and humans are made in the image of God where they share his qualities of being good

The Catholic Church believes that following natural law is important because it is part of God’s will for humans and they should follow it as God created it inbuilt. Humans should not need rules to tell them what is right or wrong as natural law states that humans should know this intuitively

The most basic element of natural law is the ability to distinguish between what’s right and wrong but there are other moral principles such as protecting and preserving life, relating to the sanctity of life

Question 24

Explain the Catholic Church’s opinions on science

Answer 24

The Second Vatican council stressed that religion and science supported one another and they didn’t have to contradict one another. The Catholic Church is very supportive of science’s advances so that Catholics can understand God’s creation. Religion tries to explain why things happen whereas science looks into how things happen

Question 25

Why do Catholics believe that they should care for the environment?

Answer 25

All of creation is special as it has been created by God to be good and means that every part should be valued. Catholics can show their love to God by taking care of the world he left for them

God made humans stewards of the earth and humans have been given a responsibility by God to look after the earth.

Jesus taught Christians to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ and christians can interpret this as them sharing the world with others so Christians are expected to understand how their actions may affect later generations

Question 26

What are the Church’s teachings on caring for the environment?

Answer 26

The church teaches that there is a delicate balance within creation and damaging one aspect of the environment may affect other elements as well . Natural resources should be preserved for future generations. Christians are expected to understand how their actions may affect later generations

For example, the church is helping to protect the environment by installing thousands of solar panels on the roof of their main hall. Reduced their carbon footprint

Question 27

How can Catholics care for the environment at a local level?

Answer 27

At a local level:

• throw away less waste and recycle more.
• walk, cycle or use public transport more
• take part in local environmental projects
• educate others
• encourage churches

Question 28

How can Catholics care for the environment at a national level?

Answer 28

At a national level:

• put pressure on politicians to support laws that protect the environment
• support and buy products from environmentally-friendly businesses
• put pressure on companies to ensure that they follow environment friendly policies

Question 29

How can Catholics care for the environment at a global level?

Answer 29

At a global level:

• put pressure on governments to implement policies agreed at international meetings
• boycott or help to expose international companies that threaten the environment

The Catholic Church teaches that it is not only important to talk about being environmentally friendly but also it is important for them to take real action. One person may not make a difference but working together for the same goal will add up to make noticeable progress

Question 30

How does sustainability link to Catholic beliefs?

Answer 30

Much of the worlds energy and products come from natural resources and sustainability involves using natural resources at a rate they can be replaced. Sustainability links to the way Catholics believe all creation is important and valuable. Catholics believe that promoting sustainability helps respect the goodness of Gods creation

Question 31

Explain CAFOD’s work on sustainability

Answer 31

CAFOD is the official aid of the Catholic Church in the UK and aims to help people living in poverty, in order to create a more balanced world. CAFOD supports projects that promote sustainable living and help protect the environment

Question 32

Give examples of the ways CAFOD supports sustainability

Answer 32

Encouraging people in England and Wales to live more simply by using fewer natural resources

Working with smaller groups like MONCLAR in Sri Lanka which helps farmers to adapt sustainable, effective and inexpensive farming methods

Setting up or supporting projects that use sustainable energy