Different Views

Question 1

How to reach salvation

Answer 1

• Plymouth brethren: Focus on holiness and purity, live very separate lives to avoid evil
• Amish: Believe they must practice life of salvation by works, believe he is forgiving and so you must live by the laws and commands of the Bible
• Hillsong Church: focuses on forgiveness, doesn’t believe anyone can do anything to reach salvation, only need belief
• Baptist Church: Believe God is directly accessible to all believers

Question 2

Different views of Trinity

Answer 2

• most Christians believe in the Trinity: father, son, spirit
• unitarians don’t believe in the Trinity as it suggests there is more than one God and they see it as going against the second commandment “you shall have no other gods before me”

Question 3

Interpretations on Genesis story

Answer 3

Literal (creationists approach): Believe it is gods actual words, believe the world is 5700 years old, Genesis provides accurate historical account

Liberal (theistic evolutionists): it’s a myth, not taken literally, stories give us important truths about uniqueness of humans and gods relationship with humans, view that evolution was a process started by God

Liberal: more than a myth but the days shouldn’t be taken literally, gods timing is different to ours, each day represents millions of years, compatible with evidence provided by science

Question 4

Irenaean theodicy

Answer 4

• The free will defence
• humans have the ability to make decisions and are conscious of their choices
• if God wants people to respond to his love, people must be free
• God can’t interfere therefore, as humans would no longer be free
• for free choice to be made, people have to live in a world where things can and do go wrong
• when we make bad choices we learn from our suffering and mature
• suffering is good as it teaches us
• everyone go to heaven and continue becoming like God

Problems:

• consequences too severe for not choosing obedience
• some suffering doesn’t help us mature
• no incentive to be good if all go to heaven

Question 5

Augustinian theodicy

Answer 5

• God created a perfect world
• Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought evil
• all descendants of Adam: all share his sin
• natural evil is punishment for the sins of humanity
• this distance us from God and created an environment where moral evil flourished

Problems:

• gods product is defective
• couldn’t God predict that would happen
• God cause suffering after Adam and Eve

Question 6

Different Christian beliefs about Jesus

Answer 6

• all believe that he is both God and man
• liberal Christian look for the meanings behind these events, believe that they are meant to teach about how Jesus put Christian love into action
• conservative Christian say God can do anything as he is omnipotent, so virgin births and miracles are possible

Question 7

Different Christian beliefs about the incarnation

Answer 7

• conservative Christians: take the view that the events actually took place
• liberal: see Ascension as metaphorical
• protestant church emphasises the idea that the cross wasn’t the end so they have an empty cross

Question 8

Christ in salvation different views

Answer 8

• Jesus was a sacrifice paying for human sin
• Jesus’ death was a ransom paying for the release of human sinners
• Jesus enabled humans to achieve a union with God which saved them
• Roman Catholics: saved by being baptised and belonging to a church and their participation in sacraments eg Eucharist
• evangelical Christian: saved by faith in Jesus
• other Christians : doing good deeds reaches salvation