Christianity Paper 2 Flashcards
The nature of God
Christianity is a monotheistic religion
God is:
Omnipotent (the 10 plagues of Egypt) (creation)
Omniscient
Omni benevolent
(God so loved the world that he sent his only son so that people could have eternal life - John 3:16)
Saint Paul writes of how gods love is more powerful than anything else ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord’
Omnipresent
Eternal
Transcendent
Immanent
Creator - ‘In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth’
God is the uncreated creator, – the first cause
Designer - Aquinas
Theodicies
• evil exists as a test of faith in God, as seen in the book of Job. Those who remain loyal, and strong, will be rewarded in heaven with God.
• the book of Job also shows that gods ways are beyond human understanding (transcendent) and we are not meant to understand the complexities of such a powerful God
• God has given each person free will, and people must make their own choices
• there is a force of evil in the world known as the devil
• God shares in our suffering
• suffering is a result of sin
• how we deal with suffering gives us the opportunity to become better people – it is soul shaping
The Apostles Creed
- proclamation of faith/statement of the most important Christian beliefs about the nature of God, including the role of the Trinity and key beliefs about the after life
recited in church services and baptisms
oneness of God and the trinity - God is experienced in three different ways, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
‘I and the Father are one’
‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me’
Six days of Creation
Day 1 - separates light and darkness
2 - separates the waters and creates the sky
3 - separates the sea from the land
4 - creates sun, moon and stars
5 - creates fish, birds, sea monsters
6 - creates animals and humans
Word and spirit in creation
‘In the beginning was the word. And the words was with God. And the Word was God’
‘Word’ is Jesus / others think it is God’s creative self-expression
Garden of Eden
Genesis 2, Adam lives in paradise and God creates a companion for him from his rib ‘Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man’
Incarnation of Jesus Christ
Jesus was God the Son born on Earth in human form
incarnation - ‘the Word (Jesus) became flesh’
added a human nature to His divine nature
not conceived via sexual intercourse (annunciation)
‘Son of the Most High’
Jesus is the Second person of the trinity
Life of Jesus
Born Jesus of Nazareth was born a Jew c.7-4 BCE
he began preaching at about the age of 30
regarded as a rabbi
many of his followers believed he was the Jewish
Claim of Messiah troubled the Roman authorities
Resurrection
Arrested and crucified
After his death his tomb was found empty by Mary Magdalene
many of his followers claimed to have experienced meeting the resurrected Jesus.
Christians believe that after a period of forty days Jesus returned to the Father. This is known as the ascension.
Miracles of Jesus
Natural miracles
Casting out demons (exorcism)
Healing the sick
Raising the dead
Final miracle was raising the dead
