christian beliefs Flashcards
omnipotent
all powerful and almighty (refers to the nature of God)
omnibenevolent
the state of being all loving or good. often an characteristic attributed to God
the Trinity
the 3 persons of God- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
incarnation
God becoming human in the form of Jesus
atonement
the belief that Jesus’ death on the cross healed the rift between humans and God
resurrection
the belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, conquering death
Sacraments
an outward sign of an invisible and inner blessing of God- e.g Baptism and Eucharist
evangelism
the practice of trying to convince those who are not Christian to believe in God- preaching the gospel to others with the hope of converting them to Christianity
key teaching for omnipotence
exodus 7-11, the 10 plagues are sent to Egypt in the story of Moses
key quote for omnipotence
exodus 14:21 “then Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and all that night the lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left
key teaching for omnibenevolence
John 3:16 “ for God loved the world so he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
key teaching for the problem of suffering
Epicurus “is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
key quote for the problem of suffering
Job 1-6 “i know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted”
key quote for the trinity
John 10:6 “my father and I are one”
how old is Christianity?
over 2000 years old
how many Christians are there worldwide?
approximately 2.2 billion
transcendent
above/beyond everything
immanent
within the world
ineffable
cannot be put into words
beliefs about the Trinity
the 3 parts of God are all God , but different persons of God
God the father
a puzzle and a mystery to humans, beyond human understanding. He has a caring and loving relationship with humans- like father and child. he is transcendent (beyond us and entirely above the universe), Omniscient and omniscient. he is the creator of the universe
God the son
Jesus Christ- many believe he was God incarnate (God in human form). He was a revelation of God on earth and a moral teacher
God the Holy Spirit
sent to earth after Jesus’ ascension, guides Christians to live their lives in the best way, gives comfort, courage and inspiration. The hold spirit is spiritual rather than physical, within everything and everyone and is an immanent presence who helps strengthen faith
natural evil
natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earthquakes and drought
moral evil
theft, murder, rape, lying
how might a religious person respond to the problem of suffering?
God has given each person free will. God shares in our suffering. Suffering is soul shaping. Suffering is payment for our sins. Suffering is a test
responses to suffering
prayer, reading the bible, studying the lives and responses of those who suffered (e.g Jesus or Oscar Romero). Believing that the afterlife is a reward for those who suffer or that suffering is a part of God’s plan or through service to others through charities for example, helping the less fortunate
Theodicies
the answers that theists give to the problem of suffering
Augustine’s theodicy
evil is not God’s fault but the result of human choice to misuse free will. God sets out how a person should act and deliberately disobeying God’s rules is why evil happens
Irenaeus’ theodicy
The purpose of evil and suffering is to help us to develop into good and moral people. God made humans in his image but that does not mean humans are perfect. Evil and suffering develop faith and compassion. God allows people to carry out acts of moral evil to learn from their mistakes. this also allows those affected to learn forgiveness
the story of Job
God allows a man to be directly attacked by Satan. Job loses everything he has one after another including his children. Job remains faithful throughout and as this was a test from God- which Job passes at the end Job is rewarded for his faith- which was so strong it endured despite all the suffering he had to experience
what did God create on day 1?
light
what did god create on day 2?
the sky
what did God create on day 3?
the earth, seas and vegetation
what did god create on day 4?
the sun and the moon
what did god create on day 5?
animals of the air and sea
what did God create on day 6?
land animals and humans
what did god do on the 7th day?
he rested
did God create the world in 7 days?
the word for days could also be translated as age or era- so some Christians believe that God created the world in 7 eras of time rather than all at once
the fall
Adam and Eve were happy in the garden of Eden, but a snake tempted Eve and convinced her to tempt Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. This was what god had forbade them from doing and they were thrown out of the garden of Eden. This brought pain, suffering disease and death to the world and created a rift between humans and God
fundamentalist?
the bible is the literal word of god breathed into man
conservative/traditionalist?
people with genuine experiences of god wrote the bible so it is the word of god through the word of man
liberal?
the bible has authority but it is the word of man
ascension
the event 40 days after the resurrection where Jesus returns to God the father in heaven
crucifixion
a Roman method of execution where criminals were nailed to a cross- this was how Jesus was executed
what happens on Palm Sunday
Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, people wave palm branches
what happens on the Monday after palm Sunday?
Jesus goes to the temple, he overturns the money lenders table and is upset that they are making money out of those who want to pray, this upsets the authorities
what happens on Thursday in the last week of Jesus’ life?
Jesus and his disciples share a meal- the last supper. he gives them bread saying it is his body and wine, saying it is his blood. he says one of them will betray him, one will renounce him etc
where does Jesus go to pray before he is crucified?
the garden of Gethsemane
who denies Jesus three times?
Peter
why is the crucifixion important?
Jesus’ death ties in with key ideas of salvation, atonement and sacrifice. Christians also believe that Jesus dying on the cross reconciled them with God, allowing them to enter heaven- atonement
main points of the crucifixion
Jesus is executed by the Romans
The soldiers mock Jesus and put a crown of thorns on him
He is crucified at a place called Golgotha
2 criminals are executed with him
Jesus is mocked by people in the crowd
Jesus prays while on the cross and dies
why was Jesus not the king everyone expected?
he rode on a donkey
who discovered the Jesus’ body was gone?
3 female followers
what did Jesus do after he was resurrected?
he prepared his followers for life without him and then ascended to heaven
what is Jesus’ death?
an act of atonement, reconciling humans with god after Adam and Eve fell from grace, Jesus paid the price through his death of atoning for human sin
original sin
the sin some Christians believe we are born with as a result of Adam and Eve disobeying god and introducing sin into the world- it is a built in urge to commit sin and disobey god
sin
any action or thought that separates humans from God
salvation
saving the soul from sin so it can g to heaven and be close with God
grace
god’s love and support
how can you try and achieve salvation through grace?
pray to god
go to confession
be baptised- as this washes away original sin
believe in Jesus as your saviour
how can you try to achieve salvation through good works?
help others
have faith in God
follow the 10 commandments
help others and volunteer
heaven
a state of eternal happiness in the presence of God; the place of eternal peace ruled over by God
hell
a state absent of God; the eternal suffering without God; sometimes ruled by Satan
purgatory
the state where souls are cleansed in order to enter heaven
Satan
the devil- the power and source of evil
afterlife
what Christians believe follows life on earth
day of judgement
a time when the world will end and every soul will be judged by God and punished or rewarded
what is the gospel of John sometimes called and why?
the eschatological gospel, because there are frequent references to the afterlife
summarise the parable of the sheep and the goats
Christians believe there will be a day of judgement, they will be judged by god on the quality of their lives. on this day Jesus will return to earth in a second coming and human life on earth will end forever. This belief is known as Parousia.
when Jesus returns to earth, everyone will be gathered before him and he will separate people from each other like a shepherd. Those who helped others will go on his right and will go to heaven, they are the sheep. those who did not help others will go on his left and will go to Hell
what does Jesus say will happen to people after he judges them?
“they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”
why did the sheep go to heaven?
“for i was hungry and you gave me something to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, i was a stranger and you invited me in, i needed clothes and you clothed me, i was sick and you looked after me, i was in prison and you visited me” the sheep did not do this directly to Jesus but by helping others they helped Jesus.
why did the goats go to hell?
“for i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, i was a stranger and you did not invite me in, i needed clothes and you did not clothe me, i was sick and you did not look after me, i was in prison and you did not visit me”. The goats did not directly not do these things to Jesus, but they did not do them to those who needed them so by extension they did not do them to Jesus
summarise the parable of Lazarus and the rich man
There was a rich man who lived in luxury and there was a poor beggar named Lazarus who lived outside his gate, Lazarus suffered greatly and eventually died. The rich man also died. Lazarus went to heaven where he received his reward for all his suffering while the rich man went to hell where he would suffer for eternity. The rich man begged Abraham to bring Lazarus back to life so Lazarus could go and warn his brothers so that they would not make the mistakes he did and end up in hell as well
what does the parable of Lazarus and the rich man show?
that there is a clear divide between those who will be rewarded in heaven and those who will be punished in hell, and that the afterlife is only achieved by good faith and good actions regardless of wealth or success in earthly life
