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RE > Christianity - Key Beliefs > Flashcards

Christianity - Key Beliefs Flashcards

1
Q

The nature of God

A
  • God has no restrictions caused by physicality but exists as a spiritual being that defies description
  • Christians consider God to be holy, which means something set apart from everything else for a special purpose and worthy of worship
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2
Q

The nature of God

Quote

A

A key statement of belief called the nicene creed begins :’We believe in one God’

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3
Q

God as Omnipotent

A
  • In order to be the perfect ‘supreme being’, it is important that God is omnipotent.
  • This means all powerful with limited authority - there’s nothing God cannot do or achieve
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4
Q

God as Omnibenevolent

A
  • Christians believe that because God loves humans, he wants the best for them
  • They believe that God created humans because he is all loving and desired to bestow his love upon creatures
  • This encourages Christians to love each other in their daily lives by treating everybody with care and respect
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5
Q

God as Omnipotent

Quote

A

-In the Bible Gabriel answered mary when she questioned her forthcoming pregnancy:
‘Nothing is impossible with God’

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6
Q

God as Omnibenevolent

Quote

A
  • Christians believe that God’s greatest act of love was sending God’s son, Jesus to earth
  • ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ - John
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7
Q

God as Just

A
  • With unlimited power and authority, together with totl love, God is believed to be the perfect giver of justice
  • As the ultimate source of justice, God will never support injustice,ill treatment, prejudice or oppression
  • Therefore Christians should do all they can to prevent these wrongs wherever they encounter them
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8
Q

The Trinity

A

The trinity describes all three of the following at once:

  • There is only one God
  • Each person of the Trinity is fully God
  • The persons of the trinity are not the same
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9
Q

God the Father

A
  • Believed to be the creator of the earth and all living on it
  • As creator of life, he acts as a good father to his children
  • He is believed to be omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipresent
  • Christians believe that the first person of the trinity is God the Father
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10
Q

God the Son

A
  • The second person of trinity is referred to as son of god and became incarnate on earth and in history through jesus
  • Christians believe Jesus was both fully human whilst on earth and aldo fully god at all times
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11
Q

God the Holy Spirit

A
  • Christians believe that once Jesus left earth, God sent the holy spirit to influence, guide and sustain earth and all life on it.
  • The holy spirit is believed to be the unseen power of god at work in the world in the past, present and future
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12
Q

Nicene Creed

A
  • First adopted in A.D 325 at the council of Nicea
  • The roman emperor had convened the council of nicea in an attempt to unify the christian church with one doctrine, especially on the issues of the Trinity and the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ
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13
Q

Christian beliefs on Creation

Genesis

A
  • Christians believe that God created the earth and all things living on the earth
  • Many believe that although it may not be scientifically accurate, this account contains the religious truth, explaining that the process of creation was Gods choice and that God designed and caused it to happen
  • ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’
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14
Q

Summary of Creation story in Genesis

A

.In the beginning - God started creation

  1. The first day - light was created
  2. The second day - the sky was created
  3. The third day - dry land, seas, plants and trees were created
  4. The fourth day - the Sun, Moon and stars were created
  5. The fifth day - creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created
  6. The sixth day - animals that live on the land and finally humans, made in the image of God were created
  7. By day seven, God finished his work of creation and rested, making the seventh day a special holy day.
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15
Q

Quote on creation:

GENESIS

A

“in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. And God said let there be light and there was light”

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16
Q

Quote on creation:

John

A

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”

17
Q

Different beliefs on: The resurrection and Life after death

A
  • Some believe that just a person’s soul is resurrected

- Others believe that both the body and soul will come back to life in heaven

18
Q

Quote on resurrection

A

“It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” - Corinthians

19
Q

Different Christian beliefs about the afterlife

A
  • Christians believe that human beings receive eternal life as a gift from God
  • The afterlife either begins upon death or ta the day of judgement when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.
  • Apostles creed says “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting”
20
Q

Different Christian beliefs about judgement

A
  • Some Christians believe that this judgement will happen when they die.
  • Others believe that there will be a Day of Judgement at the end of time, when everybody will be judged at the same time.
  • Some believe that judgement will happen in two stages: an initial personal judgement when you die, followed by the definitive judgement at the end of time
  • Some believe in the Second Coming - the return of Jesus from Heaven to Earth. This will herald the general resurrection of the dead, the last judgement of the dead and the living, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth.
21
Q

Evidence supporting belief about judgement

A

The Parable of the Sheep and Goats is found in Matthew
-In this parable, Jesus uses the example of a shepherd who separates his sheep from his goats in order to help his followers understand what judgement will be like.
-Jesus explains that people will be separated into two groups:
those who have lived good lives and believed in God will be put on one side and have a place in Heaven
those who have rejected the belief in God and sinned in their lives will be placed on the other side and will go to Hell

22
Q

Different Christian beliefs about Heaven

A
  • Some believe it is just a spiritual existence of being united with God
  • Others believe it is a physical place of perfection and bliss
23
Q

Different Christian beliefs about Hell

A
  • Some believe that it is a spiritual separation from god forever
  • Some believe it is a physical place of pain and toment
24
Q

How does beliefs about the nature of God influence Christians?

A

Omnipotent- Pray to him and ask him for a miracle, worship him and thank him for creation he created with his power

Omnibenevolent - encourage christians to love each other and treat gods creation with respect and love, Christians feel comforted in times of difficulty as know god loves them and will reward them

Just- encourage christians to treat others fairly too, Christians should be motivated to do good deeds as know god will judge them well

25
Q

How does beliefs about the Trinity influence Christians?

A
  • Reminds christians that God is holy and beyond our understanding - therefore worthy of our worship
  • May help christian to relate to god in different ways - as a good parent (father), a friend who is more like us (son) or as a presence with them (holy spirit)
26
Q

Christian response to problem of evil and suffering

A
  • God gave humans free will and they chose to disobey him which caused suffering- evil is human fault. Natural evil is a punishment for disobeying God too
  • Humans only have limited understanding and knowledge of God so they should trust in him because he is just
27
Q

Different interpretations of creation?

A

Liberalist - God created world in exactly 6 days iyt of nothing despite scientifc chellenges

Compatibilist - May be human error in bible nad so try to fit biblical account with science

28
Q

Different interpretations of creation?

A

Liberalist - God created world in exactly 6 days out of nothing despite scientific challenges

Compatibilist - May be human error in bible nad so try to fit biblical account with science

Symbolist - Bible written by humans as a symbol to understand God and give key messages. Message from creation story is that god is omnibenevolent, omnipotent and has given us a place in the world

29
Q

How does beliefs about creation influence Christians?

A
  • Christians may treat earth with care - looking after environment, as they believe earth is Gods creation and must look after it
  • May believe all human life is precious as we are made in Gods image. May disagree with abortion or euthanasia as goes against sanctity of life
30
Q

Beliefs on incarnation

A
  • Christians believe that jesus was God becoming flesh. He was fully god and fully human. “The word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us”
  • Mary was a virgin and did not conceive jesus sexually. “she was found to be pregnant by the holy spirit”
31
Q

How does beliefs about the incarnation influence Christians?

A
  • Influences christian to follow his teachings because he is god so has authority
  • Influences christians to worship him and pray to him because he is God
32
Q

How does beliefs about the crucifixion influence Christians?

A
  • A christian may sacrifice their life to save others
  • Encourages them to do good and ask for forgiveness as if they accept jesus sacrifice, sin can no longer destroy their lives because God forgives
33
Q

Beliefs on resurrection and ascension

A
  • According to accounts in the bible, on the 3rd day after jesus death his followers went to his tomb and found it empty. An angel told them that jesus had risen from dead and they should pass the news on.
  • Bible teaches that over next few weeks jesus appeared several times to his followers, After 40 days christian believe that jesus returned to heaven leaving earth physically (ascension)
34
Q

How does beliefs about the resurrection and ascension influence Christians?

A
  • Influence christian to believe in life after death because jesus proved it was possible to come back when you have died
  • Influence christians to feel less afraid of death because they know they will be with jesus in heaven when they die
35
Q

What is sin and salvation?

A
  • sin = any action against gods will
  • Humans have free will and have chosen to sin. Some christians believe in original sin where adam and eve disobeyed god and since the all humans have an inbuilt tendency to do wrong
  • Jesus brought about salvation when he died on the cross to take the punishment for humans so the can get back to god
36
Q

How does beliefs about sin and salvation influence Christians?

A
  • Show love to others who are in need like god showed love to humans when he sent jesus to save them
  • Follow example of jesus to show they believe in him and can receive eternal life
37
Q

Role of christ in salvation

A

-Christian believe that Jesus’ death makes up for the original sin committed by adam and eve and can bring people back to god
-As son of god, jesus could easily have avoided being crucified, but jesus knew that is death was necessary to restore the relationship between god and believers, make opportunity for salvation available to everyone
“For as in Adam all die, in Christ all will be made alive”

38
Q

Atonement

A

-As the bible makes clear, atonement removes the effect of sin and allows people to restore their relationship with God. This is only possible because jesus atoned for the sins of mankind when he died and rose again.

39
Q

How does life after death influence christians?

A
  • Christians will try to follow god’s commands and help others to make sure that when they are judged by god they will enter heaven
  • It gives christians the reassurance that death is not the end and that they can see their loved ones again

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