Christianity: Beliefs Flashcards
At which 3 times is the Holy Trinity included in worship?
- When Christians bless themselves ‘in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’
- In prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer, Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed
- In some hymns
Are the 3 parts of the Trinity treated as equally important?
Yes
Summarise the Trinity in 3 points
- One God
- 3 distinct persons
- Each of the persons is God
What is the Nicene Creed?
It is an important statement about the belief of the Trinity for Christians. It gives details of each role of the Trinity
Describe the 3 parts of the Trinity
- The Father is the creator of everything - ‘maker of Heaven and Earth’
- The Son is Jesus who came to Earth as God in human form
- The Holy Spirit is the invisible power of God that works within us to guide and inspire us
What is a source of wisdom for the Holy Spirit?
Matthew 3:13-17
‘..saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove…’
What are the 2 main ways that Christians can interpret the Story of Creation?
Literalists
Non-literalists
What do Literalist Christians believe about Creation?
- The Creation story as it is told in the Bible is literally true, because the Bible is the Word of God
- God created the world in 6 days
- They do not accept scientific views about the world like the Big Bang Theory
What do non-literalist Christians believe about Creation?
- God created the world but not exactly how the Bible describes it
- The Genesis story of Creation is a metaphor for Creation - one ‘day’ may actually refer to a much longer period of time
- Science and religion can work together to explain how the Earth came to be what it is today - the Bible explains why God made Earth and science explains how
Which source of authority explains how God gave commands for Earth to be created?
John 1:1
‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God’
Which source of authority shows the role of the Spirit of God in the Creation story?
Genesis 1:1-2
‘…the Earth was formless and empty…and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters’
Why is the Creation story still important to Christians today?
- The Creation is seen as an important gift from God, which shows his love for us
- It gives proof that God exists, even if some Christians have different ideas about it
- It sets out the role and place of humans within the world - as ‘stewards’ of his creation
Why is Jesus so important to Christians?
- His birth fulfilled the ancient prophecies
- It shows how God took human form to get closer to us
- Jesus is the ‘son’ part of the Trinity
Where is information about Jesus’ life found?
In the Gospels, the first 4 books in the New Testament
They describe his birth, life and death
What is a good source of authority for the Incarnation?
John 1:14
‘…the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…’
What does it mean to say that Jesus was divine?
It means that he was God
In which 5 ways is Jesus shown to be divine in the Bible?
- He is omnipotent and omniscient
- He forgave sins
- He performed miracles
- People worshipped and prayed to him
- He was resurrected after death
In which 6 ways is Jesus shown to be human in the Bible?
- He was born to a human mother
- He had a human body
- He got tired, hungry and thirsty
- He showed human emotions and amazement
- He prayed to God
- He died
What is ‘The Passion’?
It is a phrase that Christians use to describe the last few days of Jesus’ life. It contains a number of key events
Briefly describe the Last Supper
Jesus shared his last meal with his disciples, where bread was broken and wine drunk. It was here that he predicted that one of his followers would betray him later
‘…I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the Kingdom of God’ - Luke 22
Briefly describe the betrayal and arrest
Soldiers came for Jesus when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas had betrayed him by telling the Roman soldiers where they could find him
‘Judas…arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords’ - Mathew 26
Briefly describe the crucifixion
Jesus was sentenced to death on a cross as he was accused of blasphemy and was found guilty
‘Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the skull’ - John 19
Briefly describe the resurrection
Jesus was brought back to life three days after he was crucified
‘He is not here; he has risen!’ - Luke 24
Briefly describe the ascension
40 days after he was resurrected, Jesus ascended to heaven
‘He was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God’ - Mark 16
Why is the Passion important to Christians?
- They prove that Jesus was the Son of God and came to Earth in human form, therefore he is worthy of respect
- They demonstrate the belief in life after death, which offers hope to Christians
- They show the relationship between God and Jesus - through the death of Jesus, God saved humanity
- They help Christians to understand the sacrifice that Jesus made which reinforces his importantance within the religion
- The bread and the wine is a tradition at the centre of Christian faith today
What is the Eucharist?
The service where bread and wine are given to the members of the church
What is salvation?
It refers to being saved from sin through belief in Jesus
What is atonement?
The idea that humans are reconciled and forgiven by God through redemption
It is the mending on the relationship between man and God, which was broken when Adam and Eve disobeyed God
What is the role of Jesus in salvation?
Christians believe that through God sending Jesus to Earth, the sins of humanity can be forgiven
Jesus, who was perfect and without sin, offered redemption for humans by sacrificing his own life
What is the source of authority for salvation?
Acts 4
‘Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no-one else’
Why are salvation and atonement still important to Christians today?
- They restore the relationship between God and humanity
- They confirm belief in an all-powerful and loving God
- They allow humans to understand the importance of being reconciled with other humans
- They give humans hope that they can follow the example of Jesus to be rewarded with eternal afterlife
Briefly describe the concept of resurrection
Death is not the end - they believe that the resurrection of Jesus proves that life after death is possible
‘one who believes in me will live, even though they die’ - John 11
Briefly describe the conecpt of the soul, in relation to life after death
Death is only thre end of the body - the soul is immortal
Souls that have been saved go to heaven (or purgatory for Catholics)
Souls that do not achieve salvation will go to hell
This is shown in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats
Briefly describe the concept of judgement, in relation to life after death
Christians accept that God is just and that he will decide everyone’s fate after they die
They believe that Jesus is also involved in judgement and that he will offer everyone the chance of salvation
‘we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ’ - 2 Corinthians 5
Briefly describe heaven
Heaven is mentioned in the Bible though it is rarely described
It is a reward for those who have lived their lives without sin
There is no sin, sadness or suffering in heaven
‘Great is your reward in heaven’ - Matthew
Briefly describe hell
Hell is where unrepentent sinners go after death, if they have not accepted God’s offer of salvation through Jesus
Because God gave us free will, there must be an opportunity for people to reject God
It is a place of pain and suffering, separated from God
‘they will go away to eternal punishment’ - Matthew
What are some divergent beliefs about Christian eschatology?
- All Christians believe in life after death
- Some think heaven and hell are physical places, others see them as spiritual ideas
- Some believe that even those without faith, who have lived a good life will be rewarded
- Some believe in the Second Coming, when Jesus will return to Earth
- Some see life as a test for final judgement
What are the 2 main types of evil and suffering?
Moral evil (actions carried out by humans) Natural evil (events caused by nature)
What are 3 ways in which Christians may question the existence of God?
Omnibenevolence - is he is all-loving, why would he want us to suffer?
Omnipotent - if he is all-powerful, he could stop suffering
Omniscient - if he is all-knowing, he would know how to stop suffering
How is God described in the Bible?
‘The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger’ - Psalm 103
‘He is a God of justice’ - Pslam 50
Outline what the Bible says about evil and suffering
- Genesis says that God created a perfect world
- Adam and Eve used their free will to disobey God and allow evil and suffering to enter the world
- God sent Jesus to Earth to overcome the evil in the world and die for the sins of humanity
- Some believe that evil came into the world through the devil, for example when he tempted Adam and Eve
What are the 5 main Christian responses to evil and suffering?
Job's suffering Free will The Vale of soul-making Prayer Charity
Describe how the story of Job is used by Christians to respond to evil and suffering
The Bible describes how Job endured many forms of suffering, such as losing his family, yet he still did not lose faith
He trusted in God and believed that suffering was part of God’s plan for him
Though he did not understand why he was suffering, he trusted God and was rewarded
‘The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends’ - Job 42
How does free will explain evil and suffering?
God gave people free will and Christians recognise that humans sometimes choose to turn away from God
This explains the reasons behind moral evil
These theories are shown in St Augustine’s Theodicy
What is the Vale of soul-making?
Instead of making humans morally perfect from the start, he deliberately us them ‘unfinished’ so we can the Creation process ourselves
Evil and suffering can make us stronger and appreciate the better things in life
Philosopher John Hick put forward this theory
How does prayer reduce evil and suffering?
Many Christians pray to God as a response to evil in the world, so that God will give them strength to cope with the problems they face
Christians believe that even if their prayers are not answered in the way they want, God has a plan for everyone
How does charity reduce evil and suffering?
Many Christians have been inspired by suffering in their own lives to try and help others
For example, Chad Varah set up the Samaritans as a result of the suffering he saw in London
