Christian Flashcards
1
Q
How do Christian’s see god as omnipotent?
A
- the creation of the universe itself
- the wonders of the universe, which owes its existence of his creative and sustaining power
- the miracles performed by Jesus and the miracle which are claimed to sometimes occur in the modern world
2
Q
How do Christian’s see god as omnibenevolent?
A
- Christians see Jesus’ death on the cross as the supreme example of the love
- they believed this showed love because the sacrifice of Jesus then allowed human beings the chance to enter heaven but many people find it hard to believe that there is an all-loving god when they see so much suffering in the world
- suffering actually leads some Christian’s to feel closer to god; they feel that god is sharing their pain and giving them the strength to cope
3
Q
How is gods all-loving nature shown in the bible?
A
- much of Jesus teaching is about the love of god, which is universal and unconditional
- Jesus told the Parable of the Prodigal Son, illustrating this love
4
Q
What does just mean?
A
To be fair -> to operate in a way which gives everyone equal value and equal rights, rather than being discriminatory
5
Q
Why is important for Christians to believe god is just?
A
- the bible portrays god as just and say he expects believers to behave justly -> this means not only threatening their fellow-human beings fairly, but also doing what it takes to relieve suffering and injustice (many Christian’s work for justice in society because of this)
- bible contains rules for life, such as the 10 commandments, which believers are expected to obey
- Jesus taught that god would judge all the people according to how they had cared, or not cared
6
Q
What are the 10 commandments?
A
- only one god
- don’t make idols
- keep gods name holy
- remember the Sabbath
- honour your parents
- don’t commit murder
- don’t commit adultery
- don’t steal
- don’t lie
- don’t covet
7
Q
Why do people think that god exists in heaven above?
A
- god exists outside of time or space. If god is all knowing and all seeing, god couldn’t be a part of this world -> this means for us more of an observer
- people cannot find god, as he exists outside of our universe
- people who believe that god is not present in our world believed that god is transcendent (beyond human experience)
8
Q
Why do people think that god lives in the world
A
- many Christians believe that god acts in the world. When people are heroic, this is god acting through people
- also people have visions and experiences of god. There are miracles in the bible, and also at places like Lourdes
- please who believe that act in the world, believe that good is immanent (near or god within all)
9
Q
Why do people that god is personal?
A
- many Christian’s believe that god is a personal god, or one that cares for humans in their day to day life. God speaks to people in day to day life
- priests believe that they are ‘called’ by god to do their job
- Christian’s often pray to good for guidance or support and feel that their prayers are answered
10
Q
Why do people think that god is impersonal?
A
- this belief about god is that he he is more of a force in the world than a being with human qualities. Many feel that their individual prayers go unanswered, or not answered in that their expect
- even though god is real, god is something that is separate from human beings. So, other people believe that god is more complicated than being something you can ‘talk’ to
11
Q
If god is all loving and all powerful then why do people suffer?
A
- Christian are also very aware of the evil and suffering going on in the world. Evil is usually seen as the opposite of goodness. Evil is something which results in pain and suffering
- suffering is something we all encounter. Human beings experience pain, illness, loss and finally death. It’s a problem for many problem
- 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
12
Q
What is an example of moral evil?
A
The act of humans which are considered to be morally wrong
13
Q
What is an example of natural evil?
A
Natural disasters which humans have no control over
14
Q
How does the existence of evil undermine what we know about god?
A
- according to Mackie, if we accept that god is omnipotent and omnibenevolent then we have to say suffering and evil doesn’t exist
- as suffering and evil clearly does exist, we must challenge these traditional ideas of god
- either god is not all loving or all powerful, or he does exist
15
Q
How do Christians try to solve the problem of evil and suffering?
A
- suffering is a punishment for wrong doing
- suffering is a test of faith in gods, if we pass the test then we will go to heaven
- suffering is a form of education for our souls, by suffering we grow spiritually and learn to take responsibility and help others
- suffering is needed as a balance -> to appreciate good, we have to be able to recognise evil or bad
- the free will defence god is all powerful and all loving, but he wanted humans to be fed, which is why he put the tree in the garden of Eden. We often choose to be disobedient to god and we’re greedy and selfish. This is why the world is a mess
