Christianity - Beliefs And Teachings Flashcards
Christianity is a ___ religion
Monotheistic
God is…
Immanent - involved with the world and human lives
Transcendent - above all created things
Omnipotent - all powerful
Benevolent - loving and forgiveness
Atemporal - beyond time, and in control of time and space
Different views on the Nature of God: Plymouth Brethren
Christian denomination that focus very much on the holiness of God and his purity.
They believe that only those who are part of the Brethren are able to truly know the oneness of God.
They live as far away from the world as possible to distance themselves from evil
Different views on the Nature of God: Amish
They live as far away from the rest of the world to avoid sin
They believe that God is forgiving, but the Bible is necessary for salvation
They emphasise in works for salvation
Different views on the Nature of God: Baptist Churches
Believe that God is directly accessible by all believers
They do not believe in the need for priests
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray to God using the phrase ‘abba’ meaning daddy
God the Father
Creator of the Universe
Conveys a sense of safety and protection, which can be seen in Proverbs 18:10, where the righteous are said to be safe in God’s strength
God the Son
God incarnate
Purpose: to reveal himself to people, to sacrifice himself on the cross (salvation), and to rise from the dead (powerful and eternal)
God the Holy Spirit
Constant guide and comforter for humans
Unitarians
Denominations, such as the Christdelphians, that don’t believe in the trinity
The Nicene Creed
One of the most widely accepted statements of faith among Christian Churches
‘We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty’
‘We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ’
‘We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life’
Creation Story
Day 1 - Day and Night
Day 2 - Sky
Day 3 - Land, Sea, and Vegetation
Day 4 - Sun, Moon and Stars
Day 5 - Birds and Fish
Day 6 - Animals and Humans
Day 7 - Rest
The Fall
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge
Many Christians believe that every person born since the Fall is affected by the original sin, therefore all humans are born out of a relationship with God and need his salvation. Without salvation, there’s no hope of eternal life in heaven
Different views about the Genesis story
Take the story literally, and reject any science that suggests the world was not made in 6 days. Argue that God’s word is infallible
Many believe that the story is meant to convey important truths, but not to be taken literally. Science shows the universe is billions of years old, so the Genesis accounts can’t be taken literally. Leads to a view known as Theistic Evolution, an idea that God is the mechanism that caused evolution
Others say that God’s sense of time is not the same as ours, so the story is still valid
Natural and Moral evil
Natural - suffering created through no direct fault of humans
Moral - suffering caused by the actions of humans
Inconsistent Triad
If God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, then evil shouldn’t exist
If God is omnibenevolent and allows evil to exist, then he isn’t omnipotent
If God is omnipotent and allows evil to exist, he isn’t omnibenevolent
Irenaean Theodicy
Argue that God allows evil and suffering to exist, because through suffering we learn and develop spiritually
God would not interfere with human decisions because this would affect human free will. As long as they are open to learning from their actions they can get to heaven
Augustinian Theodicy
Evil came about through human free will, which God can’t interfere with because he wants us to have free will
He gives us the opportunity of salvation through Jesus Christ
What do Christians think about evil and suffering
Augustine: Sin is a result of our sinful nature
Other Christians believe that the world is a test
Suffering has a purpose
Jesus
God incarnate
Known as Messiah, meaning anointed one
Jews waited a long time for the arrival of the messiah, and hoped he’d be like the old Kings of Israel. His rule was not a military one but a spiritual one
He didn’t just die for human sin, but was also able to beat death and come back to life
Apostles Creed
Declaration of faith similar to the Nicene Creed, but instead primarily focuses on Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Different views about salvation
Many believe that Jesus was a sacrifice that paid for human sin once and for all
A similar view is that his death was a ransom, that paid for the release of human sinners
Roman Catholics believe themselves to be saved by being baptised and belonging to the Church
Evangelical Christians believe that is is with faith that we gain salvation
Others think that way they act that is the key to salvation, and that by doing good deeds they will be able to enter heaven
Heaven and Hell
Heaven - being in the eternal presence of God, not necessarily a place but a state of mind
Hell - some Christians see has as a complete annihilation of a human being, meaning they just cease to exist in both body and soul
Others think that hell is an eternal existence without God’s presence and blessing
Purgatory
A Roman Catholic belief
They believe that if you are not pure enough to come into God’s presence immediately, you go to purgatory to undergo purification
