Christian Beliefs Flashcards
Apostle
Each of the 12 chief disciples of Jesus Christ or an important early Christian teacher
God
The supreme being
Blasphemy
A religious offence which includes claiming to be god
Orthodox
A branch of Christianity mainly practiced in Eastern Europe
Catholic
A branch of Christianity, based in Rome and led by the pope
Resurrection
- rising from the dead
- Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Day
- an event recorded in all four gospels and a central belief of Christianity
Ascension
- the event, 40 days after the resurrection
- when jesus returned to god
Day of judgement
- a time when the world will end and every soul will be judged by god and rewarded or punished
Purgatory
- the intermediate state where souls are cleansed in order to enter heaven
Satan
- name for the devil
- the power and source of evil
History of Christianity
- 2000 year old
- founded on the belief that Jesus died and rose from the dead
4th century: official religion of Roman Empire
1054: Christianity split into western roman Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity
16th century: Church of England is formed
Core Christian beliefs
- Monotheism
- Jesus is the son of god and he spread the teachings of Christianity
- God is limitless so he isn’t restricted to 1 particular gender
- God doesn’t have a physical body
Qualities of god
- omnipotence (all powerful)
- omniscience (all knowing)
- omnibenevolent (all loving)
- omnipresent (everywhere a all times)
- imminent (working in the world)
- transcendent (outside of time and space)
- god is just
Natural evil
Things that cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans
Moral evil
- actions done by humans that cause suffering
Problem of evil
If god is all loving and all powerful then why does evil exist- therefore good doesn’t exist
Theodicy
Christian solution to the problem of evil which says evil is here for a different reason so god can still exist
Who created inconsistent triad
J. L. Mackie
What is the inconsistent triad
- if god is omnibenevolent
- if god is omnipotent
- then why does evil exist
Augustine’s theodicy
- humans created suffering
- Adam and Eve disobeyed the rules god gave them, and wee punished from turning away from god
- their actions caused the suffering and evil in the world
- therefore, god does not stop suffering because we deserve it as a punishment for our sins and the sins of Adam and Eve
Irenaeus’ theodicy
- when god made the world, it was not perfect: god put suffering in the world because god knew it would be good for us
- suffering helps us to develop characteristics like kindness and forgiveness
- if we lived in a perfect world we would never develop into good people
- this is called ‘soul-making’ because suffering makes us better people
What is the holy trinity
- god the father: god is the judge, the creator of humanity and the world, sustains and rules everything
- god the son: redeemer and saviour, represents god in the world, performed miracles
- god the Holy Spirit: invisible power of god which, part of god that works within the world, helper and guider
What is the genesis creation story
- story of creation
- many Christian’s believe that this is true
- god created the world in 6 days
What do creationists believe about the creation
- The bible is inerrant (can’t be wrong) because it from god
- The world is only 6000-10000 years old a they use the bible to track it
- They don’t believe in fossil evidence as the only story of creation is the 6 day story in genesis
What do catholics believe happened to create the world
- god caused the Big Bang
- John Paul II said “ the bible is not a book of science” meaning it tells us why the world is here (god) but not how
What is the john creation story (New Testament)
- the belief that all of the holy trinity created the world
- including god the son as the logos or voice of god
What is the incarnation
- becoming flesh, god incarnate: jesus was god in human form
- Jesus as fully human but fully god a the same time: hypostatic union
- nativity: story of Jesus’ birth
What is the immaculate conception
- the gospels show that Jesus was conceived immaculately (not sexually) by Mary: jesus is special- the anointed one
- the immaculate conception shows hat jesus is incarnate made flesh in human form, fully god yet fully human and thus god the son as part of the trinity
Why is the incarnation important
- shows that god is omnipotent as he could create himself a body and send it to earth
- allows Christians to learn how to get close to god
- start of Christianity
- god became human in order to show people a better way to live
Why was Jesus crucified
- the Roman governor thought jesus was committing blasphemy
- they tortured him as they thought h was mad for calling himself the son of god
Why is the crucifixion important
- show that jesus was fully human and fully god at the same time a he was willing to undergo all human suffering
- shows that suffering is okay, because jesus suffered on the cross and was rewarded so the same thing will happen to humans
- jesus atoned for our sins because he loved humanity, meant we could now g to heaven to be with god
- gives Christians hope that their sins will be forgiven and will be saved
- shows god is omnibenevolent as he sacrificed his only son
What is the resurrection
- after jesus was crucified, he was put in a tomb
- 3 days after he died, some of Jesus’ followers went to the tomb to anoint the body and prepare it for burial but the body of jesus was nowhere to be found
- angels told Jesus’ followers that he had risen from the dead
- Jesus made several appearances to his disciples and told them that he had risen from the dead
Why is the resurrection important
- many Christian’s think its a reality so it will happen to them when they die
- life after death is real, gives hope for an afterlife
- proves jesus was god incarnate so was telling the truth
- proves that god is omnipotent as he rose from the dead
What is the ascension
The rising of jesus to heaven after 40 days to his disciples
Why is the ascension important
- gives Christians hope for a life after death with jesus
- hows that jesus is with god. Paves the way for the coming forth Holy Spirit to provide comfort and guidance
- inspires Christian’s to live a old life so they can remain close to god in the afterlife
- no need to fear death because they believe resurrection is a reality
- end of Jesus’ earthly life
When does judgement happen
2 possible options:
- Personal judgement: happens as soon as you die, you will be judged immediately and your soul will go to heaven or hell
- Day of judgement: on the day of judgement, jesus coms down to earth. All humanity will be judged at the same time at the end of time. It is important that Christian’s follow Christian morality and the teaching and example of Jesus to be judged well
What does the parable of sheep ad goat teach us
- if you do good deeds, no matter to which person, you will get into heaven
What is heaven
- eternal life and peace for people that have done good acts
- a place free from sin and suffering
- at one it’s god incarnate his kingdom
- everyone can go to heaven in particular if you’re a baptised Christian
Beatific vision
The belief that heaven is not a physical place but a spiritual existence where our souls will live or join with god after death, but we have no physical body
Is heaven spiritual or physical
- some think its a physical place and we have a physical body
- other belief in beatific vision
What is hell
- state of existence without god for people that have done bad acts ad lived in sin
- often depicted a the place of eternal suffering terror, fire rules by satan
Is hell spiritual or physical
- some think its a physical place of punishment, torture and pain, with the devil
- others think it is spiritual and your soul is taken away from god which is the ultimate punishment for Christian’s
What is salvation
- to be saved from sin and be granted eternal life with god
- sin separates humans from god who is holy
- salvation enables humans to be close to god in the
- Jesus the is the saviour as he died for us even though he was innocent
Ways to saved
- salvation through merit
- salvation through grace
Salvation through merit
- a person achieves salvation by having faith in god, being a good person and obeying gods law
Salvation through grace
- salvation is given by god through faith in jesus. If you believe in him you will get to heaven
- it is not earned or deserved but is a gift from god because he loves us - god is omnibenevolent
