Christianity Exam Q 1

Question 1

Which one of the following describes the meaning of the word ‘omnipotent’? [1 mark]
A All-loving
B All-powerful
C Just
D Creator

Answer 1

Al powerful

Question 2

Give two Christian teachings about original sin.

Answer 2

Original sin means the first sin of Adam and Eve.
 They disobeyed God by eating fruit from the forbidden tree.
 That knowledge concerns sexual awareness / the sexual act.
 Eating the fruit made them aware of their own sinful act.
 The result is separation from God.
 Another result is death.
 Humans are now born with a built-in tendency to sin.
 Jesus’ death atoned for original sin,

Question 3

Explain two ways in which Jesus’ crucifixion influences Christians today.
[4 marks]

Answer 3

Jesus’ crucifixion was predicted by scripture / Christians believe that the crucifixion fulfilled scripture / which influences them to rely on scripture and to obey its commands.
 Jesus forgave the guards who crucified him / so Christians can look forward to forgiveness for their own sins.
 Jesus promised the repentant sinner that the man would be with him in Paradise / so Christians are encouraged to believe in and look forward to life after death.
 The Roman centurion said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God’ / so Christians can believe that Jesus was the Son of God.
 Jesus experienced great suffering, spiritual and emotional / together with a feeling of absolute desolation and isolation / Knowing this, those who suffer in these kinds of ways will be better able to bear their suffering.
 Christians may be led to a deeper commitment / eg to worship.
 Some might be influenced to follow Christian teachings, etc

Question 4

Explain two Christian teachings about the incarnation.
01.4
your answer.
Refer to sacred writings or another source of Christian belief and teaching in
[5 marks]

Answer 4

The incarnation of Jesus is the teaching that Jesus is God made flesh / God in human form: John 1:14.
 Jesus was fully God and fully human / He was God the Son, and part of the Trinity.
 God was incarnated as Jesus / for around 30 years.
 Two of the Gospels explain that the incarnation was brought about by God’s power /
rather than by the normal means of sexual reproduction.
 The fact that Jesus was fully human / means that he was able to suffer / and these two
ideas are together in the (Nicene) Creed: Jesus became incarnate from the Virgin Mary /
and for our sake he suffered and was buried.
 Textual references: eg the appearance of the angel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) / and to
Joseph in Matthew (1:20-21).
 Jesus’ incarnation means that he was able to understand what it is like to be fully human /
eg the misery of human suffering.
 The incarnation shows how much God loved the world and human beings

Question 5

‘A loving God would not send anyone to hell.’
Evaluate this statement.

In your answer you should:
 refer to Christian teaching
 give reasoned arguments to support this statement
 give reasoned arguments to support a different point of view
 reach a justified conclusion.
[12 marks] [Plus SPaG 3 marks

Answer 5

rguments in support
0
 The Bible insists that God is loving / eg John 15:9: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that those who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life / This kind of love would not include hell.
 God is a fair judge / a fair judge would not sentence anybody to pain and torment / so God would not send anybody to hell.
 Eternal punishment would be pointless and unloving / so God would not do anything that is 8

MARK SCHEME – GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES – 8062/13 – JUNE 2018
pointless.
 Some Christians are universalists / and argue that everyone will eventually respond to God’s
love / repenting and being forgiven for the sins they may have committed, etc.
Arguments in support of other views
 The Bible refers to hell as a real place / a place of fire and torment / In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, it says that those who do not look after others will depart into eternal punishment / God’s love therefore includes hell.
 Some will understand hell as separation from God / or as a person’s state of mind / where they punish themselves for their own misdeeds / This idea of hell does not mean that God is unloving.
 Some will argue that hell is an invention used by Christians (and others) / it is a threat of punishment in order to make sure that people follow Christian teachings / Alternatively, there is no God to send anybody to hell in the first place.
 God gives free will / so the choice is for people to make / so God has to accept the choice of some to reject him, etc.

Question 6

1 Which one of the following is the book in the Bible in which the story of 1
Creation can be found?
A Exodus.
B Genesis.
C Proverbs. D Revelation.

Answer 6

Genesis.

Question 7

Give two qualities which Christians believe describe the nature of God.

Answer 7

Omnipotent/loving/just/One/Trinity/merciful/forgiving/omniscient/eternal

Question 8

Explain two ways in which belief in the resurrection of Jesus influences 4 Christians today

Answer 8

 gives Christians faith that they will be raised from the dead, by
proving that it is possible, helps them overcome fear of death,
encourages some to lay down their life for their faith
 creates faith that good can triumph over evil, so helps Christians
face persecution and suffering
 proves that Jesus was God’s son, so gives authority to his teaching
and example and gives them stronger reason to follow his teaching

Question 9

Explain two Christian teachings about judgement

Answer 9

judgement will happen after death: everyone will be raised from the
dead and will face God/Jesus for judgement; this may happen at
the end of time or Second Coming. Apostles’ Creed
 they will be judged on the basis of what they have said and done:
how they have used their ‘talents’, how they have helped others;
Matthew 25 parables of the Talents and the Sheep and the Goats
 after judgement they will be sent to heaven, hell or purgatory;
explanation of concepts of heaven/hell/purgatory. Matthew 25:46, John 5:29

Question 10

‘If God were loving, there would be no suffering in the world.’ 12
Evaluate this statement.
In your answer you should:
 refer to Christian teaching
 give reasoned arguments to support this statement
 give reasoned arguments to support a different point of view  reach a justified conclusion.

Answer 10

Arguments in support
 letting people suffer is cruel; humans who allow others to suffer are
denounced for it. No acceptable reason can be given for the
suffering of so many innocent people, particularly children
 if there is a purpose to suffering, it could be achieved in some other
way that does not result in such misery. So much suffering as part
of the evolutionary process suggests a creator that does not care  even if God is not the cause of suffering, he should be able to stop
it; since he doesn’t, he must not be loving.
Arguments in support of other views
 if God constantly intervened to prevent suffering, it would remove one of his greatest gifts to humans, free will
 suffering enables spiritual growth and deepens trust in God. The existence of suffering inspires people to reflect the love and compassion of God in their response to those who are suffering
 some Christians believe that God is all-loving but not omnipotent, and so although he would wish to remove suffering, he cannot
 humans are limited and so cannot understand God’s purposes for
his world; as the book of Job states, they are called to trust.

Question 11

Which one of the following is the idea that God is three-in-one? 1
A Atonement. B Incarnation. C Salvation. D Trinity

Answer 11

Trinity.

Question 12

Give two reasons why the disciples believed Jesus was alive after his 2 resurrection.

Answer 12

They saw him/he spoke to them/the tomb was empty/he ate with them/ it was the fulfilment of prophecy

Question 13

Explain two ways in which the belief that God is just influences 4 Christians today.

Answer 13

• it influences them to try and be fair towards others/this is because
they believe God loves them and is fair to them too/they have experienced the justice of God so they want others to experience it, etc
• it influences them to try to bring about justice in the world/this is because God cares about justice/they will try to end injustice, etc
• they believe that God is pleased with people who are just and fair like him/so they will try to develop this quality/God sets them an example to follow

Question 14

Explain two Christian teachings about the means of salvation.

Answer 14

• the law of God shows Christians how to live/the Ten
Commandments teach God’s way, how to avoid sin and how to live a good life/if people could keep God’s law they would get the most out of life. Exodus 20 etc
• the grace of God makes it possible for Christians to be forgiven and make a new start/God sent Jesus as a Saviour, to die for the sins of everyone/to offer them the chance to turn away from their sins and follow him. Romans 10: 9–11, Ephesians 2:5, I Timothy 1: 15–16, etc
• the Spirit of God gives Christians the power to keep his law/the Holy Spirit lives in Christians and makes them gradually more like Jesus/in this way Christians become the sons and daughters of God/they are part of his family. Galatians 4: 6–7, Romans 8: 3–4,

Question 15

‘The Bible tells Christians all they need to know about God’s creation.’ 12
Evaluate this statement.
In your answer you should:
• refer to Christian teaching
• give reasoned arguments to support this statement
• give reasoned arguments to support a different point of view • reach a justified conclusion.

Answer 15

Arguments in support
• Genesis 1 shows how God is the Creator and that he created light
simply by his word/this is all they need to know/God creates just by
speaking/there was no effort involved
• the Bible tells people why the world was created/science does not
answer ultimate questions/this helps people understand their
purpose

• other views about how the world was created have not been
proved/only the Bible has authority because it is God’s word/so this is all Christians need to know, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• the stories of creation in the Bible are more like poetry and myth/ they do not give a scientific account of how everything began/for this Christians need to consider scientific research
• the Big Bang Theory and the theory of evolution have lots of support from scientists and some of them are Christians/these views help Christians to understand how God created everything/ the Bible does not tell Christians this so they need more than the Bible
• the Bible was written a long time ago/it does not contain up-to-date knowledge about the universe and biology/if Christians depend completely on the Bible they will not understand God’s creation very well

Question 16

Which one of the following is not part of God’s nature?
A Just
B Limited
C Loving
D Oneness

Answer 16

Limited

Question 17

Give two Christian beliefs about God’s creation of the world

Answer 17

God made the world perfect/good.
• God’s creation of the world teaches Christians that they have a responsibility for the world.
• God created the world from nothing / although some believe that he created from chaos.
• In the beginning, the earth was dark/void / there was darkness on the face of the deep.
• The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
• Credit any correct and relevant material eg from the creation stories, eg that what God created
was good / light was created first / day separated from night / morning and evening / separation of the waters / creation of dry land / seas / plants / sun & moon / birds & sea creatures / land animals / the Sabbath / details from the story of the creation and fall of humanity, so long as they are relevant to God’s creation of the world / creation beliefs appear in other books, eg Psalm 75:3, that God maintains the created world in existence.
• Jesus (in John’s Gospel) as the Word existed at the point of creation / he was in the beginning with God.
• All things were made by God/Jesus / in him was light / the light was the life of men,

Question 18

Explain two ways in which belief in hell influences Christians

Answer 18

Many Christians are influenced by the belief that they will be judged when they die (eg as in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31-46) / and that being sent to hell/eternal torment is a real possibility, so they may decide to follow Jesus’ teachings.
• In both Christian literature and artwork, hell has been pictured as a place of punishment / a place of unquenchable fire and torment / so a big influence on Christians here is to make them scared of going there.
• Belief in hell as a place of suffering influences Christians to follow Christian beliefs and teachings so that they will not be sent there.
• Some Christians understand hell as a metaphor for separation from God / which again influences them to follow Jesus’ teachings.
• Some see hell as a free choice to deliberately turn away from God / so most do not reject God.
• Some see the idea of hell as so horrible that they reject the idea of it / they are influenced to
believe in universalism / that everybody will be saved / because God is a God of love

Question 19

Explain two Christian beliefs about the role of Jesus Christ in salvation

Answer 19

• Salvation means to be saved from sin and the consequences of sin.
• Some Christians believe that sin entered the world through the ‘original sin’ of Adam and Eve /
when they ignored God’s command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil / the
result of disobedience was separation from God, and death (Genesis 2 & 3).
• Christians believe that salvation from sin comes from the life and teachings of Jesus / St Paul
explains this in Romans 6:23: ‘The wages of sin is death, but God’s free gift is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord’.
• Jesus was aware that his death was necessary in order to restore the right relationship between
humans and God / to make forgiveness and eternal life possible for all people.
• Jesus allowed himself to be crucified by the Romans / even though he was innocent of the
charges brought against him by the Romans and the Jews / so his crucifixion was the execution of an innocent man / Jesus was the Son of God, so he had miraculous powers / and could have escaped crucifixion / and some of those near him at the crucifixion urged him to do that (Matthew 27:42 – ‘
’).
• After his death in this way, the Gospels record that Jesus rose from the dead / and that God
accepted Jesus’s sacrifice as an ‘atonement’ for human sin / the idea of the Atonement therefore means that salvation became available for all humans / because Jesus’ suffering and death restored the right relationship between humans and God / so the author of 1 John says: ‘If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ. He is the atoning sacrifice for sins’ / humans can return to paradise/live for ever in paradise / by believing in Jesus and following his teachings.
• Peter says (Acts 4:12) that salvation exists through Jesus and no one else: ‘there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.’
• St Paul summarises Jesus’ role in salvation by saying: ‘If you say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ (Romans 10:9-10), etc

Question 20

‘The resurrection of the dead is the most important Christian belief.’

Evaluate this statement.

Answer 20

For most Christians, suffering, and death are the worst things they have to deal with / so if they believe that the dead are resurrected, then they no longer have to fear suffering or death.
• Christians fear separation from their families at death / so belief in resurrection to heaven means that they will be reunited with those they love.
• Christians believe that after their resurrection they will live forever in God’s kingdom / in a state of perfect happiness.
• Ideas such as these are the central claim of Christianity: that Jesus was God incarnate / crucified, resurrected and ascended / and is the means of salvation from sin, since Jesus’ death and resurrection atone for human sin.
• St Paul states clearly that God raised Jesus from the dead
• There is so much evidence for the resurrection of Jesus that it must be true / the four Gospels all have an account of the resurrection of Jesus / so the resurrection of Christians must also be true / and must be the most important Christian belief.
• St Paul reached this conclusion at his trial described in Acts 24, where he says that he is on trial for his life because of his belief that the dead will be raised to life, etc

Arguments in support of other views
• Some might argue that belief in God as Creator is the most important Christian belief / since for resurrection to be important to believers, people have to be created first.
• In the same way, some might argue that the most important belief is that God is good / this is not obvious from all the evil in the world / but if God is not good then there will be probably be no resurrection.
• Equally, some might argue that the most important Christian belief is not just in the resurrection of the dead but in resurrection to judgement / this can be seen in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25) / which teaches that the dead will be resurrected to God’s kingdom or else to eternal fire / so the most important belief must be to follow the teachings of God/Jesus to avoid being sent to hell.
• Some might argue that belief in resurrection of the body is more important than belief in resurrection of the soul / eg because Jesus’ resurrection was bodily / or else that resurrection is a metaphor for being with God in some unknown way.
• Some might argue that all Christian beliefs are equally important / and that the incarnation / crucifixion / resurrection / ascension / Pentecost are all equally necessary for Christian belief / belief in human resurrection is just one part of a connected group of beliefs

Question 21

Which one of the following is not a means of salvation?
A Law
B Grace
C Sin
D Spirit

Answer 21

Sin

Question 22

Give two Christian beliefs about Jesus’ Ascension

Answer 22

Jesus rose / was carried up into heaven / Jesus met with God in heaven.
• It took place in Bethany.
• It happened 40 days after the resurrection.
• A cloud received Jesus.
• It marked the end of Jesus’ life on earth.
• Two men appeared in white robes.
• The two men told the disciples that just as they had seen Jesus ascend to heaven / he would
return to earth in the same way.
• It was the point at which the disciples began to worship Jesus.
• At this point the disciples became joyful / were no longer sad.
• Jesus also told the disciples about the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• It showed the truth of Jesus’ promises, eg about heaven / proved Jesus was right.
• Jesus’ disciples were present.
• Jesus rose to heaven so Christians can too,

Question 23

Explain two ways in which belief in the Trinity influences Christians today.
[4 marks

Answer 23

As the Father, God is loving / so Christians may feel loved / so should love others / for example by giving to charity.
• As the Son, God was incarnate / lived and died among humans / so Christians know that God can understand them / can feel pain and misery like we do / so Christians can pray to God for help / they might be influenced to become doctors or nurses.
• As the Spirit, God is a source of spiritual strength / so Christians can feel the Spirit at work in their lives / this strengthens and supports them.
• The Trinity is a mystery / so Christians can accept that there are things that they cannot know about God.
• The Trinity explains many things in the Bible / so Christians can understand events like the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism / also they can understand the importance of the Trinity for baptism / in the name of the Father, Son & Spirit.
• Believing that God is Father may influence some to become good fathers.
• For some, the idea of three persons in one confuses them, because it is difficult to understand,
etc.

Question 24

Explain two Christian beliefs about the causes of sin.

Answer 24

• Sin can be caused by many things, particularly the mind, eg: lust (Matthew 5:28 – ‘Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart’) / greed/love of money (Luke 16, the unjust steward) / love of material things (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’ / repeated sin (Jesus in John 8:34: ‘Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin’), etc.
• Some believe that Satan / the Devil causes people to sin / tempts people to sin, eg the temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1–13), where Jesus is tempted by such things as bodily hunger and promises of worldly power.
• Also, 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’.
• Some Christians believe the story in the Book of Genesis, where sin originated in the Garden of Eden / when humans disobeyed God / ate the forbidden fruit / thought they could be like God.
• Some think that all humans inherit the ‘original’ sin of Adam & Eve / some understand Jesus’ forgiveness of the sins of the paralysed man (Mark 2:1–12) in this light.
• Some believe that God causes sin / because as the Creator God is responsible for everything that exists / God made humans imperfect / God gave us free will / so for these reasons humans sin.
• Sin can be caused by separation from God / eg Adam and Eve were punished by being thrown out of the Garden.
• Credit wider social causes of sin, such as poverty, upbringing, addiction

Question 25

God cannot be loving because people suffer.’ Evaluate this statement.

Answer 25

Arguments in support
• Christians believe that God is all-loving / a loving God would want to stop all suffering, and has the power to stop suffering, so suffering should not exist.
• If God is loving God would know that humans are weak, and would end suffering.
• This applies to life after death as well – an all-loving and just God would not allow people to suffer
after they die / but the Bible teaches that hell is real / eg in the Parable of the Sheep and the
Goats.
• Most natural disasters are not caused by anything done by humans and animals / so God should
take control of disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods, etc.
• God created humans, so why would a loving God create people to suffer?
8

what they do.’ (Luke 23:34), etc.
• It is not just that God allows suffering / the extent of suffering is huge, eg those who are victims of crimes such as rape, murder, arson, theft / why would a loving God allow so much suffering? etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• Humans are responsible for what they do to others / so a lot of suffering is caused by ourselves, and not by God (references to Genesis – humanity being expelled from Eden for disobeying God).
• Having free will means that humanity must 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 himself suffered on the cross, so if God can suffer, so can we / perhaps God is all-loving but is not all-powerful.
• By suffering on the cross for human salvation, Jesus atoned for human sins in order to release/redeem humanity from suffering and sin: eg John 3:16: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that those who believe in him should not perish …’
• One answer to suffering is prayer / as in the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1–8).
• Love does not exclude suffering / parents discipline their children through love, to make them
better people / doctors can inflict pain on their patients to cure their illnesses.
• A world without suffering would be a toy world / we have to learn through suffering, etc.
• Some see suffering as a test of faith, following which God will reward them with eternal life.
• Suffering is needed as a balance, to appreciate the good / without bad, good cannot be
recognised / suffering teaches us to look after the world.
• Our response to suffering is important, eg