Christianity: beliefs content Flashcards
Omniscient
all knowing
Omnipotent
All powerful
omnibenevolent
all loving
omnipresent
always present, in everything, all seeing
judge
the one that defines good or bad
eternal
present from the start of the world right up until the very end
immanent
God is here right now, present in this moment watching over us
Transcendent
beyond or above the range of normal or physical human experience
personal
within us for some, knows us, speaks to us
impersonal
vast and beyond human understanding
forgiving
allows humans to make up for when they have sinned
The Nicene creed
a creed written by christians in 325 AD, a statement which outlines what christians believe about God. used predominantly by catholic church however all christian denominations have it with their foundations
The Trinity
father, son, holy spirit
Catholic view on the trinity
focus mainly on the father, and his sacrifices for mankind. focus heavily on confession and praise to God.
Church of England view on the trinity
focus predominantly on Jesus and his teachings of acceptance and love while on the earth
quaker view on the trinity
focus a lot more heavily on the impersonal nature of God, fascinated by the Holy Spirit. very rarely focus worship on Jesus
Christian beliefs about God and ‘good’
- God knows what is good.
- God’s actions are good.
- God’s commands are good.
- God is the source of all goodness.
The problem of evil
An argument written first by Epicurus and then developed further by J.L Mackie, a huge thorn in the side of christians. “The Rock of Atheism”- David Hume
Natural evil
evil and suffering which is NOT directly caused by human actions. eg. earthquakes, Disease.
Moral Evil
evil and suffering that is a direct result of human action. eg. war, bullying.
The Inconsistent triad
If God is all loving (meaning he doesn’t want us to suffer), and all powerful (meaning he can control anything), why does evil still exist?
Theodicy
A christian theory that attempts to contradict the problem of evil.
St Augustine’s Theodicy
focuses on Adam and Eve story or ‘the fall’. states that evil and suffering entered the world when the humans disobeyed God (ate the apple). therefore, moral evil is the fault of human’s free will. natural evil is supposedly the fault of angels who are being naughty and disobey God (rubbish IMO), and so none of it is God’s fault!!!
St Irenaeus’ theodicy
Argues that suffering and evil is a test for humans. states that humans cannot truly reach a state of goodness without having to suffer first. calls suffering ‘soul building’. says it is a worthwhile pain, a few decades suffering for a chance of eternity in paradise.
‘Creationist’ approach to the genesis story
They believe the story word for word, that God created the whole world in 7 days, via the methods mentioned in genesis. they believe blatantly that the big bang theory is WRONG, and that the bible is inerrent (without error) and so it shouldn’t be questioned.
The Catholic church view on the genesis story
They believe that the genesis story is simply a symbol of God’s power, put in a dramatic way. the catholic, (and generally the majority of christians’) viewpoint is that they back the science that is available, and claim that it was God that made things like the big bang happen.
Logos
the word of God, this is why jesus is often called ‘the word’.
God, the fathers, role in creation
created order, ensured goodness, gave purpose, gave natural order to creation.
God, the son, role in creation
As the Logos, caused creation to happen through God’s words
God, The spirit, role in creation
creates a connection between man and God, brings life and animation into creation.
The parable of the sheep and the goats
A parable told by Jesus. states not to be a sheep, following others actions, but to be instead a goat, who helps others and goes away from norms to live a truly good life. also states that there will be a day of judgement on which the sheep and goats will be separated, the sheep sent to hell, the goats to heaven.
