Christian beliefs Flashcards
Belief about the nature of God
monotheistic religion- all Christians believe there is only one God. Nicene Creed-“We believe in one God”.
Qualities of God
God is omnipotent “Nothing is impossible with God”
God as loving-God created humans because he is all loving and desired to bestow his love upon creatures. This encourages Christians to love each other in their daily lives by treating everyone with care and respect. Christians believe that God’s greatest act of love was sending God’s son, Jesus, to earth. “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son”
God as just-God is believed to be the perfect giver of justice God will never support injustice, ill-treatment, prejudice and oppression. Many people question why a loving God would allow people to suffer rather than prevent the evil actions of others from happening. Christians believe that a just God treats all people fairly and is incapable of making a wrong judgement so Christians are sure they can trust God even when things appear to be going wrong.
The Trinity
There is only one God
Each person of the trinity is fully God.
The persons of the Trinity are not the same.
God the Father- “Our Father in Heaven” creator of Earth and all living things on it.
God the Son- became incarnate on Earth. Christians believe Jesus was both fully human whilst on Earth and also fully God at all times.
God the Holy Spirit-Christians believe that once Jesus had left the Earth, God sent the Holy Spirit to influence, guide and sustain the earth and all life on it. The Holy Spirit is believed to be the unseen power of God at work in the world in the past, present and future.
Different Christian beliefs about creation
Christians believe that God created the earth and all living things on the earth. may not be scientifically accurate, this account contains religious truth explaining that the process of creation was God’s choice and that God designed and caused it to happen. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” happened in six periods of time after which God rested.
The virgin conception
Many people question the virgin conception because it is not a natural thing to happen and is unlikely to have happened since. evidence that Jesus is incarnate fully God yet fully human
Son of God- Incarnation
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” gives his words, deeds and promises great authority as they are the word of God, delivered by a man who was fully God as well as fully human. The belief that Jesus was God incarnate makes it easier for Christians explain and accept as truth some of his miracles whilst on earth, including miracles and resurrection.
The crucifixion
Jesus forgave the guards that crucified him because they did not realise the significance of what was going on. “Father into your hands I commit my spirit” The crucifixion gives Christians confidence that if they accept Jesus’s sacrifice, sin can no longer destroy their lives because God forgives those who faithfully ask for forgiveness. They believe that suffering is a part of life, just as it was a part of Jesus’s life and that having also experienced it, God understands what the sufferer is going through.
The ascension of Jesus
Jesus had the special power of God to rise from the dead, it is equally possible that the same power means he was able to leave the earth physically and return to heaven. “When he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven”
The significance of the ascension
For Christians, the ascension shows that Jesus is with God. It paves the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit to provide comfort and guidance.
The significance of the resurrection
Christians believe the resurrection shows the power of good over evil. Christians believe that by accepting Jesus, they can also be resurrected in some way and so they have no need to fear death. Jesus’s resurrection assures Christians that God will forgive their sins if they follow the teachings of the Christianity and by doing so, they will become closer to God in this life and beyond. Without their resurrection, there would be no Christian faith.
The belief in the afterlife
Christians believe that human beings receive eternal life as a gift from God. The Apostles’ Creed- “he will come to judge the living and the dead”
The belief in judgment
Christians believe that it is God who decides the fate of those who die. God will take into account the life of the person and the extent to which they have tried to get close to him. The parable of the sheep and goat- gives Christians a criterial God uses in judgment and shows what they need to do to be saved. In serving other people, Christians are serving him. “I am the way and the truth and the life”
The belief in heaven
Some Christians think heaven is reserved for Christians who have lived good, principled lives and pleased God in doing so. spiritual existence of peace and happiness in the eternal presence of God as it is seen as a place of peace, joy, and freedom from pain.
The belief in hell
Christians understand it to be a state of existence without God as it is depicted as a place of eternal suffering, terror, fire and torture ruled by Satan. There is debate whether a loving God would condemn people to eternal torment and pain more modern interpretation- hell is an eternal state of mind of being cut off from the possibility of God and this would be what awaits a person who throughout their life did not acknowledge God or follow his teachings.
Belief in sin
Sin is any action or thought that separates humans from Go. Some Christians believe in the idea of original sin where human beings are born with in-built tendency to do wrong which is introduced in the story of Adam and Eve where despite the paradise they lived in, they sinned against God by breaking an instruction from God. This instruction was not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Christians believe God gave humans free will in order to choose how they live their lives as this does not mean they can do whatever they want. They believe that if people use their free will to make choices that God would not approve of, these will be sinful and will separate them from God.
