Christianity : Key Beliefs Flashcards
What is the trinity?
- The orthodox Christian view of God
- 3 persons of God
- Father, Son, Holy Spirit
Where is the doctrine of the Trinity laid down?
In the Nicene Creed
God the Father
- Maker of Heaven and Earth
- Omni
- Begot the Son
God the Son
- Jesus
- Sacrificed himself for our salvation
- A guide and protector
Holy Spirit
- Giver of Life
- Impregnated Mary
- Symbol of love and peace
- God acting in our world
Unitarianism
Christians who reject the idea of the Trinity
Principle of Transitivity of Identity
Theory against doctrine of Trinity
What is the Cloud of Unknowing?
It is okay not to understand God
What does the Prophet Isaiah say?
“With whom, then, will you compare God”
Implies that God is supposed to be beyond our comprehension, so we will never understand him or the Trinity
Key beliefs about the Crucifixion
- Jesus was crucified on a cross
- “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
- Crucifixion is symbolic for how Jesus died for our SALVATION
- Christians can now have a FULL RELATIONSHIP with God
- Allow them to go to heaven and hell, allow God to love them, allow them to be blessed by God, the most IMPORTANT THING IN CHRISTIANITY
Key beliefs about the Incarnation
- God took human form through Jesus
- Holy spirit impregnated Mary
- “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”
- A key belief in the Trinity
- Demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit, and how it can act in our world
Key beliefs about the Resurrection
- Jesus came back to life 3 days after he was crucified (Matthew)
- “He has risen”
- Key belief because it implies God’s Omnipotence and Omnibenevolence
- He is so powerful that he can overcome death
- Which gives us faith in him
- Because he accepted Jesus, he will do the same for his followers.
- This motivates Christians to act well in life in order to go to heaven like Jesus did
Key beliefs about the Ascension
- 40 days after his resurrection, he returned to God
- He returned to God the father in heaven
- “he was taken up into heaven”
- Symbolic of how God will judge us and allow Christians to enter heaven in the same way that Jesus did
Original Sin
- Humans are born with an inner tendency to commit sin
- This is because Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, against God’s will
- This burdens humanity with ‘Original sin’, because all humans descend from them
How did Jesus deliver us from salvation?
- Jesus delivered us from sin
- By acting as a scape goat, where Humanity burdened him with our sin
- The fact that God accepted him into heaven shows his forgiveness
- And that Jesus’ sacrifice was essentially atonement and the restoration of our relationship with God
Grace
God’s unconditional love for everyone
Salvation through spirit
- Allows Christians to understand God and therefore have a sense of guilt about wrongdoing
- Meaning they can correct their actions and go to heaven, salvation
What is the link between Salvation and Atonement?
By Jesus delivering Humans from salvation, it allowed for a process of Atonement to take place.
How could Jesus’ death be seen as a ransom?
Adam and Eve’s sin sold humanity to the devil, so God paid Jesus’ death to the devil as a ransom to save humanity
What is the ‘Word’
The word is essentially the three persons of God who were existent at the beginning of the universe
Quotes for Life after Death
“and the everlasting” - Apostles
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat” - Parable of Sheep and Goats (you go to heaven if you are generous)
“Then they will go to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” - Parable of sheep and goats
