Christian beliefs Flashcards
Describe Christian beliefs about ‘The passion’
- The last supper - Jesus shared last supper of break and wine with disciples and predicted one would betray him
- Betrayal and arrest - Soldiers came for Jesus, Judas betrayed him by telling the soldiers where he could be found
- Crucifixion - Jesus was sentenced to death on a cross as he was accused of blasphemy, tried and found guilty
- Resurrection - Jesus was brought back to life three days after his crucifixion
- Ascension - Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection
Describe beliefs about Jesus
- Seen as incarnate Son of God
- Birth fufilled prophecy of christ coming to earth as a saviour promised by God
- ‘Son’ part of trinity that makes up Christian understanding of God
- He is omnipotent and omniscient
- Forgave sins and performed miracles, like his resurrection
- People worshiped and prayed to Jesus
Describe Jesus as a human
- Born to a human - mary
- Had a human body
- Jesus got tired, thirty and hungry
- He showed human emotions such as amazement and sorrow
- He prayed to God
- He died
Describe atonement and salvation.
- Jesus’ death was as a divine sacrifice and represents God’s love for humanity
- Sacrifice was an offering to restore relationship between God and humanity
- Victory of good over evil - Jesus was used as ransom to stop devil having hold over humanity
- Represents price being paid for forgiveness of humanity
- Confirm believe in an all-powerful and loving God
- Give humans hope they will be rewarded in the afterlife if they follow the example of Jesus
Christian beliefs about life after death
- Resurrection - life after death is not the end and is proved by jesus being resurrected
- The soul - Death is the only end of the body but the soul is immortal. Souls will either go to heaven of purgatory (waiting room to be cleansed before heaven) if cannot achieve salvation go to hell
- Judgement - Christians accept God is just and will decide destination of soul and every human given the opportunity of salvation
- Heaven - mentioned in the bible, some believe physical place, others believe state of being united with God. No sin, suffering or sadness
- Hell - Where unrepentant sinners go after death if they have not accepted God’s offer of forgiveness
What is liturgical worship?
- Christian worship according to set pattern or regular basis (e.g a sunday)
- Set prayers, readings and use of book of common prayer
- Catholics and Anglicans
What is non-liturgical worship
- less formal, does not follow a set pattern
- unscripted and improvised
Explain the importance of Christian worship.
- Eucharist/mass/holy communion - bread and wine (representing blood and body of jesus christ) distributed around the congregation
- Charismatic worship - pentecostal churches often have non-litergical worship including clapping or dancing as well as the use of music, emphasising the importance of spreading the Gospel. Can also include speaking in tounges. Represents being filled with the Holy spirit
- Personal/private prayer - a person spending time alone praying, or praying quietly as a group or simply reading the Bible
- Silence - some Christians, e.g Quakers, follow no set pattern and sit in silence for significant periods of time
Describe Christian baptism
Infant
- baby baptised in belief it will cleanse them from original sin
- Parents and godparents make promises on behalf of the child
- Sign of cross made on baby’s forehead and water poured on their head from church
- Lighted candle is given to represent light of Jesus
Adult
- each candidate asked questions about their faith and asked personal testimony about why they wish to become a christian
- baptised through full immersion
Describe and explain the eucharist.
- Re-enactment of the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples
- Bread represents body of Jesus and wine his blood
- Catholics believe in ‘transubstantion’ - bread and wine become body and blood of Jesus
Describe the nature and importance of Christian prayer.
- get closer to God and communicate with him
- praise god of thank him for what he has done
- to ask for God’s help
- to say sorry to God when a person feels they have done something wrong
Describe different types of prayer in Christianity.
- set prayers - some have prayer book that’s used in their sundays services of worship. Many prayers reflect key christian beliefs and praise or thank God for what he has provided
- Informal prayer - people pray privately either silently or aloud. Some christians use the bible to help them understand the prayer they are offering to God
- The lord’s prayer - most famous prayer, believed Jesus taught to his followers. Contains many key Christian beliefs about God
Describe the Christian celebration Christmas
When/Why
- Celebrates incarnation and birth of Jesus - when God’s son came to earth in human form
- celebrated on 25th December
How
- Cards and presents given, houses decorated, special church services e.g midnight mass
- families come together to share special meal and special church service
Importance
- Many Christians express meaning of Christmas by helping others and sharing with them
- festival of advent marks beginning to Christian year and countdown to Christmas, four sundays before Christmas-period of preparation
- advent calendars used to count down
Describe the Christian festival easter
- remembers the crucifixion and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus
- Good friday is when Jesus crucified, easter sunday resurrected
- hot cross buns eaten and crucifixion sometimes re-enacted to remember crucifixion of jesus
- cards and presents may be given and easter eggs eaten to represent empty tomb of jesus
- story of resurrection helps Christians have faith in external life and confirms belief about
God - Holy week is the final week of lent leading up to easter - commemorates last week of Jesus’s life
Importance of the church in the local community.
- Unites local community - clubs for children such as sunday school, social groups such as coffee mornings, bible study where Christians can discuss and understand faith
- provides support and comfort when needed
- can give advice and sources of authority e.g vicar and minister
-Ecumenism - breaking down barriers between different Christian denominations - groups of christians visiting eachother or sharing buildings/joint services - gives identity and belonging to people in a community
out reach work - volunteering or working in positions that allow them to go into local community - working with families to resolve problems, visiting those in prison or hospital, organising and running community activities
Worshiping through living practices - celebrating special events and festivals and holding events such as baptisms, marriages and funerals, to help mark important milestones in community
