Christianity Beliefs Flashcards
Omnipotent
The idea that God is all powerful, all mighty and unlimited; this can be seen in “God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light”
Omnibenevolent
The idea that God is all-loving and infinitely good; seen in him paying the ultimate sacrifice in the form of his son Jesus Christ to atone for humanity’s sins
Omniscient
The belief that God is all-knowing and is greater than us
Trinity
The concept of God as three persons: Son, Father and Holy Spirit
Incarnation
the idea that God became ‘flesh’ or human in the form of Jesus
Annunciation
The announcement from Gabriel to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus
Atonement
the belief that Jesus’ death on the cross healed the ‘rift’ between humanity and God
Sacraments
An outward sign of an invisible and inward blessing by God ie. Baptism or communion
Evangelism
Preaching of the gospel to others with the intention of converting them to the Christian faith
Monotheism
The belief in one God
Theodicies
Theodicies are theories about why evil and suffering exists from a religious perspective:
- Human being have free will and so evil is moral evil
- There is a force for evil in the world such as Satan
- Suffering is the result of original sin
- Suffering is a test
Book of Job
Teaches us that God does not cause suffering but allows it; sometimes this may be the result of Satan and is a test to see how faithful we remain
Trinity
The belief that God exists as three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
God the Father
The omnipotent, omniscient and transcendent part of God who is the creator of the world but also has a personal and caring relationship with believers
God the Son
God incarnate as Jesus Christ who came to teach people about God and to atone for their sins through his sacrifice on the cross
God the Holy Spirit
The force which was left behind after Jesus’ ascension to lead and guide Christians; the immanent form of the Holy Spirit usually represented as a dove
Creator
God created the heavens and the earth; Genesis 1 states “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth”; after everything he created he stated “it was good” - he is pleased with his creation
John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” - shows that God is Jesus incarnate
Salvation
The belief that orignal sin has separated humans from God and the sin is passed from generation to generation - Jesus’ sacrifice healed this rift and now Christians can live eternally with God
Resurrection
The belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, conquering death - “I am the resurrection and the life”
Ascension
The belief that Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after his resurrection - after the ascension the Holy Spirit was left on Earth
Eschatology
Belief about the last things: death, judgement, heaven and hell; but it is believed that death is not the end - shown by Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection
Judgement Day
The belief that there will be a day where people are judged by God for how they lived their lives - when Jesus will return to Earth again in the Second Coming
Beliefs about Heaven and Hell
Some Christians believe that Heaven and Hell are physical places but others believe that they are symbols to represent either being with God eternally or being separated from God eternally
