Christianity - Beliefs and Teachings

Question 1

What do Christians believe Jesus died for?

Answer 1

Jesus is believed to have died for the sins of humanity so that Christians can hope to spend eternity with God in heaven.

Question 2

What are the Gospels?

Answer 2

The Gospels (meaning Good News) are records of Jesus’ life.

Question 3

What are some of God’s believed traits in Christianity?

Answer 3

• God is atemporal; “the eternal king”
• God is omniscient; he knows and sees everything.
• God is transcendent; above all created things.
• God is immanent; involved with the world and human lives.
• God is benevolent; he loves and cares for everyone.
• God is omnipotent; “the almighty”
• God is just “He will judge … in righteousness”

Question 4

Who are the Plymouth Brethren?

Answer 4

A Christian Denomination that focus on the holiness of God and his purity. The Brethren live separate from the rest of the world to remove themselves from evil.

Question 5

Who are the Amish? (+ views on salvation)

Answer 5

The Amish live in their own communities, and separate themselves from the pollution of sin in the world. They believe that living in accordance with the laws and commands present in the Bible is necessary for salvation.

Question 6

What is the Trinity?

Answer 6

The Bible presents God as a holy trinity (three united in one), as being one God but having three distinct parts: The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

Each person of the Trinity is distinct. All persons of the trinity are equal; they have the perfect, complete relationship. Each person has a different role.

Question 7

What role did God the Father play? (+ Quote)

Answer 7

The creator of the universe.
‘The Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth’.
“the righteous are said to be safe in God’s strength”

Question 8

What does it say about God the Son in the Apostles’ Creed? Explain the quote.

Answer 8

• Jesus wasn’t conceived naturally
• He was placed in Mary by the Holy Spirit
• Jesus is free of all sin because he was not made by two humans.

‘I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary’.

Question 9

Why did God come to Earth in the form of Jesus? 3 Marks.

Answer 9

• To reveal himself to people, and to teach them how God wants people to live. (showing his love and power).
• To sacrifice Himself on the cross, receiving God’s punishment for human sin in order for repentant people to be forgiven.
• To rise from the dead to show that God has power over death, that he is eternal, and that Christians, too, may have an everlasting life in heaven and after death.

Question 10

What is The Holy Spirit’s role as God?

Answer 10

• The Holy Spirit is the part of God that is with Christians as their constant guide and comforter
• The spirit helps Christians live in the way God wants them to

“the Spirit of truth… for he lives with you and will be in you”

Question 11

Do all Christians believe in the Trinity?

Answer 11

Almost all Christians do, but Unitarians such as the Christadelphians do not believe in the Trinity (they think it challenges the monotheistic nature of Christianity).

Question 12

State 3 beliefs from the Nicene Creed.

Answer 12

The belief in:
- God the Father, the creator of the heavens and Earth
- Jesus Christ, son of God, who died for our sins.
- Holy Spirit, which gives life.

Question 13

Describe the accounts of Genesis 1.

Answer 13

God created the heavens and the Earth in 6 days, saying everything into existence, creating humans in his own image.
- God is omnipotent
- humans are distinct from the rest of his creations; given the responsibility to look after the Earth as stewards

Day 1 - light (DAY AND NIGHT)
Day 2 - SKY AND WATER
“let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water”. the vault was called ‘sky’.
Day 3 - LAND AND SEAS AND VEGETATION
‘God said “let the land produce vegetation”… And it was so’
Day 4 - STARTS AND SUN AND MOON
Day 5 BIRDS AND FISH
Day 6 - ANIMALS AND HUMANS
‘Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness” - humans are distinct

Question 14

Describe the accounts of Genesis 2.

Answer 14

Day 7 - the day of rest. God blessed the day and made it holy. God made man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils life. God put the man in the Garden of Eden and told him.
“You must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
God them took one of the mans ribs, and made a woman.

Question 15

What was the role of the Holy Spirit in the story of Creation?

Answer 15

“The Spirit of God hath made me”
The spirit is not only the creator of the physical form of man, but also the life giver.

Question 16

Describe the account of the Fall - Genesis 3. And the implications.

Answer 16

• The story of the fall, eating from forbidden tree of knowledge, original sin, broke perfect relationship between God and humanity
• neither Adam nor Eve took responsibility for their actions, punishment:
  -> “pains in childbearing very severe” “dust you will return” “through painful toil you will eat food”
• The fall has affected all humans born since, and we need God’s salvation. We must redeem ourselves to have eternal life w god in heaven
  -> God is all living and cares for us, even in our sinful broken states

Question 17

What do Christians believe about how evil and sin entered the world?

Answer 17

Sin and evil entered the world through the original sin, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

“… sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”

Question 18

Explain the two types of Evil.

Answer 18

Natural evil is suffering created through no direct fault of humans (natural disasters etc)
Moral evil is suffering caused by the actions of humans.

Question 19

What is the ‘problem of evil’?

Answer 19

if God is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, then why does evil exist? Mackie’s inconsistent triad.

Question 20

Explain Irenaean theodicy in relation to evil.

Answer 20

• Irenaean theodicy: God allows suffering and evil to exist, so that humans can choose and learn what is good.
• Soul making theodicy – thru suffering, we learn and develop spiritually
• God’s interference would take our free will away

Question 21

Explain Augustinian theodicy in relation to evil.

Answer 21

• Augustinian theodicy: there is no evil – absence of goodness.
• Through the original sin, evil entered God’s perfect creations
• Through human free will, evil comes into existence
• Interference would take our free will away

Question 22

Explain modern Christian views on the problem of evil.

Answer 22

– conservative Christians see suffering as a result of sinful nature of humans
- Others see the word as a test, suffering allows us to see and turn towards Jesus
- Others say God is transcendent, and we cannot understand everything he does

Question 23

What do Christians believe about Jesus?

Answer 23

• Jesus was God incarnated (God in human form)
• conceived by the holy spirit (free from sin)
• referred to as the ‘Messiah’ (anointed one)
• sent by God to be the saviour of humanity
• sent to Earth to take the punishment for all human sin
• sent to restore broken relationship between humanity and God
• as a result of his death, humans were forgiven by God
• Jesus made it possible for Christians to spend eternity in heaven with God

Question 24

Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount can be divided into what sections?

Answer 24

1 - The Beatitudes
2 - Jesus and the law
3 - True Discipleship
4 - True righteousness
5 - The Narrow Gateway
6 - Building on solid foundations

Question 25

What does Jesus teach in the first section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 25

The Beatitudes (blessings).
- Jesus describes the qualities/ attitudes God wants his followers to develop, that he will bless.
- He focusses on meekness “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”
- mercy “blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
- peacefulness “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Question 26

What does Jesus teach in the second section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 26

Jesus and the Law.
- Jesus teaches that obedience to the law must come from a person’s heart
- He teaches what a person is thinking is as bad as the actual actions
- (e.g. anger that is about hate from someone else is as unacceptable as murder).
- (e.g. lust is the act of ‘committing adultery of the heart’)
- you should not just love your neighbours, but also love your enemies.

Question 27

What does Jesus teach in the third section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 27

True discipleship
- Jesus describes that a true disciple is sincere in all they do, keeping fasting and charity private
- he dismisses outwards acts of religion that are done for show
- He gave a pattern of prayer where people are straight to the point (Lord’s prayer)

Question 28

What does Jesus teach in the fourth section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 28

True righteousness
- Jesus warns believers not to build up treasures on Earth or to worry about they earthly needs, as they should have faith that God will provide for them
- true riches are spiritual ‘treasures’, which cannot be stolen or destroyed
(e.g. the qualities in the Beatitudes represent some of the heavenly treasures.)
- love for money is wrong

‘How can you say to your brother “Let me take take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite’

• unless a person is perfect, they are in no state to judge the sins of someone else
• instead u should focus of how to become closer to God

Question 29

What does Jesus teach in the fifth section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 29

The Narrow Gateway
- Jesus warns the life of a believer is difficult
He uses the analogy of a broad and narrow pathway.
- The broad pathway leads to destruction, but is an easier way of living, but doesn’t lead to God’s blessing
- The narrow gateway is challenging, but leads to rewards in heaven which are eternal

Question 30

What does Jesus teach in the sixth section of the Sermon on the Mount?

Answer 30

Building on solid foundations
- Jesus teaches a strong foundation is important
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like wise man who built his house on the rock”

Question 31

Explain what is meant by the incarnation.
(+ Describe implications)

Answer 31

Incarnation means to take on flesh. Jesus is incarnated as God, or God incarnate.
He is God made man.
He is fully human but also fully God.

(Implications)
- He is not affected by the original sin all humans are a product of
- He can perform miracles, showing Christians glimpse of heaven

Question 32

Explain what is meant by the crucifixion.
(+ Describe implications)

Answer 32

• Jesus was nailed to a wooden cross and left to die there
• it was a common form of execution used by Romans
• death was slow and painful

(Implications)
- Jesus suffered the full pain of a human death
- Jesus can understand human sifferent
- atonement sacrifice

Question 33

Explain what is meant by the resurrection.
(+ Describe implications)

Answer 33

• 3 days after crucifixion, Jesus rose from dead
• Jesus has power over death as he is fully God
• He is free from the original sin that leads to death, and so he can rise over it

(Implications)
- God was satisfied with his sacrifice to pay the debt of human sin
- perfect relationship between God and humans restored

“I am the resurrection, he who believes in me will live even if he dies.”

Question 34

Explain what is meant by the ascension.

Answer 34

• 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus rose of heaven
• Represents success of good over evil
• Jesus was final sacrifice, and now we are forgiven

“He was taken into heaven as the disciples watched him”

Question 35

Explain the concept of salvation.

Answer 35

• Adam and Eve sinned causing the perfect relationship between humanity and God to break.
• The broken relationship needed to be fixed
• God himself decided to incarnate in the form of Jesus on Earth
• Jesus then died as a sacrifice, the final sacrifice (atonement)

Question 36

Explain the concept of atonement.

Answer 36

• God provided a way of atonement for the Jewish people through regular atonement sacrifices (offerings) on the day of atonement
• Jesus was the final atonement sacrifice, above all other previous sacrifices
  “on this day shall atonement be made for you”
  “we will have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ”

Question 37

What is grace?

Answer 37

Through God’s grace, we have his blessing despite being flawed (his love and mercy).
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith”

Question 38

What is the Christian view of redemption?

Answer 38

God has redeemed humans, and offers to pay for our debt of sin through salvation. In order to be saved, they need to repent for their sins and accept God’s help (through Holy Spirit) to live a good life.

Question 39

Christian diverging views on salvation.

Answer 39

• Jesus was the final sacrifice that paid for human sin once and for all
• Roman Catholics think baptism and belonging to the Church leads to salvation.
• Evangelical Christians think faith in Jesus leads to salvation.
• Others think good deeds and your actions lead to heaven and salvation.

Question 40

What is the second coming of Jesus called?

Answer 40

Parousia

Question 41

Christian beliefs on resurrection after death.

Answer 41

• Humans possess an immortal soul distinct from our physical body
• Resurrection is belief that at the end of time, everyone will be raised to be judged by God

Question 42

Christian beliefs on Hell.

Answer 42

Hell is rarely mentioned in the bible, so there are lots of different views.
- a place of indescribable eternal torture, suffering etc.
- annihilation, the soul ceases to exist
- eternal existence without God’s blessing

Question 43

Christian beliefs on Heaven.

Answer 43

• in eternal presence of God
• no suffering or evil
  “a rainbow encircling the throne of God”
  “no more death or mourning or crying or pain”

Question 44

Christians beliefs on Purgatory

Answer 44

Roman Catholic believe in purgatory.
- If you die in a good spiritual state, you go to heaven
- otherwise, you undergo purification to achieve holiness so you can enter heaven in purgatory