Christianity - practices Flashcards
What is salvation?
- belief that through God’s grace, Jesus’ death and resurrection brought about salvation for humanity. saving of the soul and entering eternal life in heaven
“The way, truth and life”
Explain two contrasting ways that Christians worship (4 marks)
“Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before our worship”
Liturgical worship- when Christians worship according to a set pattern on a regular basis. Se prayers and readings, led by the priest
Non liturgical worship - less formal than liturgical worship, doesn’t involve a set pattern and can involve more unscripted or improvised forms of worship
Informal worship- spontaneity in their style of worship, having no fixed nature, clapping, dancing, and music (charismatic worship)
Private worship- spending time alone and considering ones faith or connecting to God, involve reading the Bible, praying, meditating
No set pattern of worship- Quaker worship- following no set pattern of worship or serves. Attend meetings where followers sit in silence, anyone can decide to speak or read
It is better for Christians to worship privately than publicly. Evaluate this statement (12 marks)
Agree: Private worship- spending time alone and considering ones faith or connecting to God, involve reading the Bible, praying, meditating
Private worship can provide a focused environment for reflection, repentance, and personal spiritual growth. It allows individuals to tailor their worship to their specific needs and circumstances, fostering a closer bond with God.
Private worship ensures that worship is genuine and not performed for social approval.
Although to counter this, Christians need both private and public worship because each has a different meaning / e.g. feeling close to God but also part of God’s people / one does not have more meaning than the other.
- individual Christian can choose they want to worship in private/whereas in public worship they have to follow what everyone else is saying and doing/this has more meaning because they can put their heart and soul into it. ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’.
Jesus told his disciples to pray in private because God would see them/and they wouldn’t be tempted to show off/it will have more meaning because they are following Jesus’ teaching, ‘go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.’
Disagree: Christians will feel supported by others when they worship in public / this has just as much (or more) meaning because they are part of a community / they may struggle to worship on their own. ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them’
Public worship facilitates participation in communal sacraments like the Eucharist or Holy Communion, which are central to many Christian denominations. These rituals provide spiritual nourishment and a shared experience of faith.
Many forms of public worship e.g liturgical, non liturgical, informal/charismatic
conclusion: i disagree with this statement. Christianity emphasies the importance of community and collective faith. e.g Eucharist and shared traditions in the church
both forms of worship play significant roles in a Christian’s spiritual life. A balanced approach that incorporates both can help individuals grow in faith while fostering a sense of community.
Purpose of prayer
- Adoration (praise)
- Contrition (apology)
- Thanksgiving (thanks)
- Supplication (request)
“Is anyone among you suffering. Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise”
Explain two contrasting ways that Christians pray (4 marks)
- Set prayer- Prayer book that is used in their Sunday service of worship and holy days. Church of England has a “book of common prayer”. They are easy to follow ad give a sense of solidarity
- Informal prayer- when people pray by themselves privately, can include praying silently or aloud. Some Christians use the Bible to help them understand the prayer they are offering to God
“Be constant in God”
Explain two contrasting types of Baptism
Believers Baptism- initiation into the church, by immersion of water of people old enough to understand the ceremony and who have made decision to live a Christian life
Infant Baptism- sacrament of initiation of babies and young children into the church
“Truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit”
Infant baptism is not as important as believers baptism.
AGREE
Agree: takes place as a baby, “Basis of the whole Christian life”, welcomed into the church and removed original sin
- sign of the cross is made on the baby’s forehead
Baptism is meant to wash away a person’s sins / Infants are too young to have sins / so the ritual of infant baptism is less important than the informed consent of believers’ baptism. ‘and wash away thy sins,’.
Baptism. BAPTISTS. should be a personal decision to become a member of the Christian Church / Infants are not capable of taking personal decisions / which lessens its importance by comparison with a believer’s decision to be baptised.
Infant baptism is not as important as believers baptism.
DISAGREE
CATHOLICS
Everyone descends from Adam / and so everyone inherits Adam’s sin through seminal identity / so this sin needs to be removed as soon as possible by the actions of the Church in baptising infants / Infant baptism is therefore necessary to do this. ‘by one man sin entered into the world,’
Everyone has a tendency to sin / so everyone needs salvation / including infants / Baptism then brings the infant into the Church as early as possible / so the child has the support of the entire Christian community.
Eucharist (Holy Communion)
- celebrates Jesus’ sacrifice through his death and resurrection. Christians give thanks to God for his creation of the world and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Interpretation of the Eucharist
Catholic: transubstantiation- bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus. Christ’s presence in them is the “real presence”
Protestant- bread and wine are symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus
Orthodox accept Eucharist as a sacrament, though its not possible to explain the transubstantiation as it is a divine mystery
Quakers- don’t practice or observe Eucharist or other sacraments, they find sacred in all of life
“I am the living bread” Jesus
What is the importance of the Eucharist?
- it is a sacrament, an outward sign of inward grace
- remembers the Last Supper, when Jesus gave instructions to his disciples to remember him through bread and wine
- marks sacrifice made by Jesus through his death
The celebration of Holy Communion (Eucharist) is the most important part of Christian life
Evaluate this statement
AGREE
Agree: - it is a memorial of Jesus’ sacrificial death, inaugurated by Jesus himself on the night before he died. “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me”
Without Jesus’ sacrificial death, there would be no salvation
Jesus said “I am the living bread” Eucharist brings you closer to Jesus
The Catechism of the catholic church describes the Eucharist as the “source and summit of the Christian life”
To counter this argument, you cannot receive holy communion if you haven’t been baptised, baptism is the gateway
- brings people together and is an act of fellowship between Christians “Where two or thee are gathered, I am there” millions gather every Sunday for this
The celebration of Holy Communion (Eucharist) is the most important part of Christian life
Evaluate this statement
DISAGREE
- ## Quaker Christians do not celebrate Holy Communion or any other sacrament. Instead, they try to carry the Sacred into every part of their lives, believing their is “something of God” in everybody
Give two reasons why Christians feel pilgrimage is important
- bring feeling of hope for Christians
- brings this feeling of closeness with God
- brings opportunity for Christian’s to pray it a particularly sacred place
- sense of Christian community
Explain two contrasting examples of Christian pilgrimage
Lourdes: people will visit and pray in the sanctuary of our lady Lourdes. They will take place in torchlight procession each evening, attend mass in the grotto, drink the water from the spring, spend time in prayer and reflection
Iona: place of pilgrimage where aunts are believed to have lived and prayers have been answered. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Deeply spiritual , pilgrims spend time here in reflection
Christmas: importance for Christians
- Jesus is the central figure in christianity
- celebrating his birth is important
- god has become incarnate in the world
Without Jesus, there is no salvation - marks start of Christian religion
‘All this took place to fulfil what the lord has said through the prophet ‘the virgin will conceive and give birth to a sin, and they will call him immanuel’
Easter: importance for Christians
- Jesus is the central figure in christianity
- on Good Friday Jesus died as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity (atonement)
- without Easter there is no salvation
- on Easter Sunday Jesus rises from the dead, conquering death, sin and giving people eternal life
- Easter give hope of an afterlife
‘If Christ has not been raised, our faith us useless’
‘Easter is the most important celebration’
Evaluate this statement
AGREE
Agree- ‘if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins’
- all of Christianity hinges on resurrection which is celebrated at Eater
- easter is essential for salvation
- without the crucifixion, there is no atonement
- without the resurrection there is not eternal life
- easter is therefore important because of what is being celebrated and what this means for Christians today (salvation and eternal life)
- easter gives Christians evidence about Jesus, it is essential for demonstrating his identity as Son of God
- Eater celebrates Jesus’ victory over sin and death
‘Easter is the most important celebration’
Evaluate this statement
DISAGREE
- “Christmas reveals the immense love of God for humanity”
- Easter is about your own salvation whereas Christmas it about giving to others
- Christmas is more important because the incarnation is more significant- if Jesus had not been born, God would not have entered the world
- Without Christmas, Eater would not have happened (and so everything achieved at Easter depends on Christmas)- it is most important
- the nativity (which is celebrated at Christmas) is central to christian faith- the word becomes flesh
- Christmas brings more people together and involves more people
- Christmas is about giving to others, coming together, and thinking of the less fortunate which is putting faith into action rather than thinking about your own salvation
Why the local church community is important?
- unites the local community
- provides support and comfort when needed
- gives identity and belonging to people
centre of christian identity: place for family celebrations, baptism, marriage to funeral, place for religious celebrations like easter Sunday, church organises events to bring people together
Street Pastors
- many Christians choose either to volunteer or to work in positions that involve going into the community
- trained volunteers who provide help in the community
- help build community relations and work for safer streets
Explain two contrasting teaches about evangelism (5 marks)
‘Christ has no body now but yours’
‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’
- Promoting unity among the world’s Christian churches/share their beliefs with others
- Some Christians reject this and evangelism: and say that God will welcome people of all good will into heaven
Explain two contrasting ways that Christians can support food banks in the local community (4 marks)
- Some Christians donate money to local Charites who organise food banks so that food stocks can be maintained for those who need them
- Some will work as volunteers to sort, parcel up and distribute food that arrives in food banks, sort food into categories
- Many churches run food banks or offer premises for them to operate in
“Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me” Jesus
Explain two reasons why evangelism is important for the Christian Church. (5 marks)
- Some Christian’s believe that the primary mission of the Church is to evangelise. This is clear from Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus tells his disciples to ‘go and make
Disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit’. Therefore, evangelism is important because it is commissioned and commanded by Jesus in the New Testament - Some Christian’s believe that salvation can only be found through Jesus Christ and so they have a duty to tell as many people about his teachings and possible. It is important to try and help as many people as possible by introducing them to Christianity. John 14:6 teaches ‘I am the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the Father except through me’. This demonstrates why evangelism is important because Christian’s may believe people will not be saved unless they have developed faith in Jesus
Give two ways in which Christian churches respond to persecution (2 marks)
- praying for the persecuted
- helping the persecuted e.g to escape where they are being persecuted
- giving practical help through charities
- educating others about persecution
Explain two Christian teachings about reconciliation. (5 marks)
- ‘clothe yourselves with compassion’
- god reconciled himself to us through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
