Christianity: Beliefs Flashcards
What are the means of salvation?
. Law
. Grace
. Spirit
What are Christian beliefs about the ascension?
. Took place in Bethany
. Happened 40 days after resurrection
. A cloud received Jesus and he was carried up into heaven
. Marked the end of Jesus’ life on earth
. Two men appeared in white robes to the disciples
. Two men told them that just as they had seen
. Jesus ascend to heaven, would return to earth in the same way
. Showed truth of Jesus’ promises, e.g. about heaven and that just as Jesus had risen to heaven, so his followers can too
How does the the belief in the Trinity influence Christians?
. God is loving, so Christians may feel loved
. Should love others e.g. give to charity.
As the Son:
. God was incarnate.
. Lived + died among humans
. Christians know that God can understand them, feel pain + misery like we do
. So might be influenced to become doctors
As the Spirit:
. God is a source of spiritual strength
. Christians can feel the Spirit at work in their lives and this strengthens + supports them.
.Trinity = mystery so Christians can accept that there are things that they cannot know about God.
. Believing that God is Father may influence some to become good fathers.
What are Christian beliefs about the causes of sin?
. Sin caused by many things:
. The mind, e.g. lust (Matthew 5:28 – ‘Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart’)
. Greed
. Love of money (Luke 16:13 – ‘You cannot serve both God and worldly things’)
. Violence (Matthew 5:39 – ‘Do not resist one who is evil – if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him also’)
. Satan causes people to sin, temptation
. Temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1–13), where Jesus is tempted by such things as bodily hunger and promises of worldly power.
. Some understand ‘lead us not into temptation’ in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13) to mean, ‘Do not let us be tempted to sin by others, by ourselves, or by Satan’.
. Belief in story in the Book of Genesis
. Sin originated in the Garden of Eden, when humans disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit because they thought they could be like God.
Is suffering due to the fact that God is not actually loving? - intro
. Suffering is caused by humans through free will + may be a test of faith
But
. An omnibenevolent God would not want suffering to exist
Is suffering due to the fact that God is not actually loving? - paragraph 1
. Yes
. Christians believe that God is all-loving
. A loving God would want to stop all suffering, and if he has the power to stop suffering, then suffering should not exist
. If God is a loving God, he would know that humans are weak, and would end suffering.
. Applies to life after death, an all-loving + just God would not allow people to suffer after they die but the Bible teaches that hell is real (e.g. in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats)
. Not just that God allows suffering but the extent of suffering is huge, e.g. those who are victims of crimes such as rape, murder, arson, theft
Is suffering due to the fact that God is not actually loving? - paragraph 2
. No
. Humans are responsible for what they do to others so a lot of suffering is caused by ourselves, not by God
. Being expelled from Eden for disobeying God was our fault for misusing our freewill and choosing to cause suffering
. This leads on to us (through having free will) to have the power and the choice to reject the moral rules in the Bible and cause other people to suffer.
. Despite being all-powerful, God suffered on the cross, so if God can suffer, so can we.
. Love does not exclude suffering.
. Parents discipline their children through love, to make them better people and doctors can inflict pain on their patients to cure their illnesses.
. Suffering could be a test of faith which God will reward with eternal life.
Is suffering due to the fact that God is not actually loving? - conclusion
. Yes
. Since God created humans, why would a loving God create people who experience suffering from each other + through forces of nature
