Jesus and Suffering Flashcards

1
Q

Describe what St Augustine Taught About the Trinity.

A

-St Augustine used an analogy of love to explain the Trinity.

-He taught “There are three things in love, as it were a trace of the Trinity…he that loves, that which is loved, and love.”

-St Augustine based this upon the teaching in John 4:8 which states that “God is love.”

-Hence, the three aspects that make up love must have been present in God from all eternity – even before God have made any creatures to love.

-Therefore, there must be a Triune God because He is loving so three persons must be present to reflect the three aspects of love.

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2
Q

Describe the Importance of the Trinity for Catholics

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-Without a doctrine of the Trinity, it would not be possible for Christians to believe that Jesus is God. This belief is probably the most important Christian belief.

-The Trinity’s importance is demonstrated by its central role in religious practice. For example, the sign of the cross is Trinitarian. Moreover, many prayers are said in the name of the Trinity such as the end of the Eucharistic prayer.

-The Nicene Creed, which expresses belief in the Trinity, is also recited by Catholics during prayer and worship. This is a way of reminding worshippers of Christianity’s main points.

-Furthermore, worshippers are declaring publicly this is what they truly believe, the creed is said together by all- a sign they share these beliefs and its binds them as a group with common beliefs.

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3
Q

Describe Catholic Beliefs About the Trinity

A

-Catholics believe that God is one yet consists of three persons in the Godhead: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

-The doctrine asserts that the three persons are distinct, coexistent, coeternal, and coequal. This belief is based on biblical testimony, coined by Tertullian, and formalised in the Nicene Creed.

-Catholics may explain this through St Augustine’s analogy of love, “There are three things in love, as it were a trace of the Trinity…he that loves, and that which is loved, and love.”

-God is taught to be love in John 4:8, so these three aspects must have been present in God from all eternity – even before God have made any creatures to love.

-Therefore, one God can be three persons as because God is love, three persons must be present to reflect the three aspects of love.

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4
Q

How are Catholics Influenced by Belief in the Trinity

A

-Catholics will be influenced to confirm their belief in the Trinity through external expressions.

-This will be through outwards signs of faith such as the Sign of the Cross.

-Catholics will also say the Nicene Creed every week at mass to remember the ‘mystery’ of the nature of God.

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5
Q

Evaluate Catholic Beliefs About the Trinity

A

-Catholics provide a convincing argument because the idea of God being love is a helpful one for Christians because it makes clear that love needs to be an important part of every Christian’s life.

-It emphasises the importance of relationships for humans as although we do not exist as three persons in one being we are made for communion.

-This reflects the divine relationship between each member of the Trinity. However, in St Augustine’s model the lover and the beloved are clearly persons, while the third member, “love” itself is not a person.

-This can be problematic as it might downplay the personhood of the Holy Spirit in the context of the Holy Trinity.

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6
Q

Describe Jewish Beliefs About the Trinity

A

-Jews believe that there is one, indivisible God. This means that God cannot be separated into parts.

-Jews are told this directly in the Shema, “The Lord is one.”

-This shows that there is only one God but mentions nothing else related to being made up of different persons.

-In turn, jews believe that belief in a Trinity is a challenge to the belief in one God.

-Instead, they believe that God can only be described by His attributes such as that He is creator and judge.

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7
Q

How are Jews Influenced by belief in the Trinity

A

-Jews will be influenced to write God as G-D and to not have statues in synagogues.

-Jews believe there is only one God so only He is worthy of worship.

-Therefore, they will write God as G-D to avoid blasphemy and give their full respect to the one God.

-Jews will also not have statues in synagogues to avoid worshipping false Gods.

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8
Q

Evaluate Jewish Beliefs About the Trinity

A

-Jews provide an unconvincing argument because elsewhere in the Torah, other being are named in the place of God.

-This is seen in Genesis when, “The spirit hovered above the water.”

-Hence there, must be persons to God as only He existed before creation.

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9
Q

Describe Christian Beliefs About the Trinity in the Old Testament

A

-Other Christians believe that there is a triune God. This means that God exists as three persons in one being.

-They believe this because of Biblical interpretations expressing the existence of the Trinity including the Old Testament.

-For example, the very first line Genesis 1:1 uses the word Elohim for God. This is interesting as it uses the plural suffix ‘im’ which suggests a plurality to God.

-Genesis also shows the trinity through God saying, “Let us make mankind in our image,” as He uses plural pronouns.

-This shows other Christians that there are persons to God.

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10
Q

Describe Christian Beliefs About the Trinity in the New Testament

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-In the New Testament, all members of the Godhead appear at Jesus’ baptism.

-Moreover, Jesus Himself mentions each person when He taught to, “Go baptise in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

-Therefore, one God can exist in three persons as there is testimony from eyewitnesses of all three persons being seen/ heard together.

-Jesus who is Himself God also acknowledges the distinction of the members of the trinity.

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11
Q

How are Other Christians Influenced by Belief in the Trinity

A

-Other Christians will be influenced to focus on the Trinity when evangelising.

-This is because Jesus directly gave the Apostles this as a command.

Therefore, other Christians will continue to do the same today.

-This will include the Sign of the Cross during baptism as commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission.

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12
Q

Evaluate Other Christian Beliefs About the Trinity

A

-Other Christians provide a convincing argument because ‘liars make bad martyrs.’

-Many early Christians were killed for proclaiming their faith such as St Paul who wrote about the Trinity in his letter to the Corinthians.

-Therefore, they are likely to be correct as if they had not been eyewitnesses to the evidence for the Trinity, they would have likely given up their lie.

-However, the language used in Genesis may be seen as God referring to Himself in a royal sense to show His majesty over creation rather than to show His plurality.

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13
Q

Describe Catholic Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Catholics believe that Jesus was God incarnate.

-This is important because it shows how much God loves human beings, because the Son willingly gave up His equality with God and became a human being.

-This is evident in the Kenosis hymn: “But emptied Himself taking the form of a slave.”

-This means that God, in Jesus, has experienced what suffering is like through His death on the cross. Catholics can be comforted in their suffering through this.

-Therefore, Jesus was more than just a good man because through His suffering on the cross, He has brought humanity redemption.

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14
Q

How are Catholics Influenced by Belief in the Incarnation

A

-Catholics will be influenced to try to connect with God through their suffering.

-Jesus experienced suffering like humans do so Catholics can be comforted by this in their own suffering.

-To do so, they may focus on the sorrowful mysteries to help them reflect on Jesus’ suffering to help with their own.

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15
Q

Evaluate Catholic Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Catholics provide a convincing argument because Jesus’ divinity was proved by His resurrection. Jesus rose from the dead to save us, but this is something only God can do.

-However, some may argue that the resurrection as evidence for Jesus’ divinity is weak because it was a ‘collective delusion’.

-Although, this is unconvincing as there were over 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection, so this is very unlikely.

-The atheist historian Gerd Ludemann even said that “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’s death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”

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16
Q

Describe Atheist Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Atheists only believe Jesus was human and not fully God also. This is because it is a historical fact that Jesus existed.

-Christian critic Bert Ehrman said, “One of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified.”

-Atheists also acknowledge Jesus’ teachings and how they can be used to live a good life such as His teachings at the Sermon on the Mount. Hence, they believe Jesus may be a source of moral authority.

-However, Jesus’ supernatural actions lack evidence in comparison to His humanity. Therefore, atheists believe He was only human, not divine.

17
Q

How are Atheists Influenced by Belief in the Incarnation

A

-Atheists will be influenced to debate with Christians over the evidence for Jesus’ divinity.

-Christians believe that Jesus’ divinity has been backed up enough through the testimonies in the Gospels, Acts and Paul’s letters.

-However, atheists disagree so may debate with Christians over the accuracy of these sources and whether they can be trusted.

-Despite this, atheists may still use some of Jesus’s teachings as a source of moral authority such as the Golden Rule.

18
Q

Evaluate Atheists Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Atheists provide an unconvincing argument as Paul’s letters are dated to be formalised at most two to three years after Jesus’ death.

-This makes them strong sources as they are more likely to be correct.

-Therefore, Jesus’s divinity has been backed up by the Gospels written by the Apostles who followed Jesus as he preached but also Paul’s testimony.

-Hence, Jesus was more than just a good man because His divinity has been proven across multiple sources.

19
Q

Describe Other Christian Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Other Christians believe Jesus was God incarnate, fully human and fully divine. This is evident by the events in His life such as His miracles.

-In the Gospel of John, we are told, “Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out! “The dead man came out.”

-This teaches Christians that Jesus was able to raise people from the dead also shown in Mark when He raises a little girl.

-This is something no ordinary human can do. Hence, Jesus must be God as He was able to raise people from the dead.

20
Q

How are Other Christians Influenced by belief in the Incarnation

A

-Other Christians will be influenced to follow the example of Jesus.

-This is because He prayed for and helped and healed those who suffered such as the blind and lepers.

-Hence, other Christians may choose to get jobs such as doctors and nurses so like Jesus they can also reduce the amount of suffering.

21
Q

Evaluate Other Christian Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

-Other Christians provide an unconvincing argument because the laws of nature are fixed and unvarying.

-Hence, when a miracle goes against these laws, it is highly unlikely that the miracle is correct as we observe the laws of nature daily unlike miracles.

-This is heightened by the fact that witnesses of miracles are often uneducated or from ‘ignorant nations’ so their testimonies are likely to be invalid.

-Therefore, Jesus was only human as there is weak evidence for His divine and miraculous actions whereas there is only strong evidence for His existence.

22
Q

Describe Jewish Beliefs About the Incarnation

A

Jews would not accept the idea that any human being could be God. Hence, they do not believe Jesus was God incarnate.

-They would view the worship Christians give to Jesus as a breach of the first commandment, “You shall have no other Gods before me.

-The Incarnation also requires belief in the Trinity, which Jews would also reject because they consider that it means belief in three Gods.

-This is fundamentally opposed to Jewish monotheism. Therefore, Jews reject the belief in God incarnate.

23
Q

How are Jews Influenced by Belief in the Incarnation

A

-Jews will be influenced to write God as G-D and to not have statues in synagogues.

-Jews believe there is only one God which opposes the idea that God can be incarnate.

-Therefore, they will write God as G-D to avoid blasphemy and give their full respect to the one God.

-Jews will also not have statues in synagogues to avoid worshipping false Gods.

24
Q

Describe Catholic Teachings About the Incarnation and How it Answers the Problem of Evil

A

-The incarnation is important to Christians because it means that God, as Jesus, can identify with humans. The incarnation is a demonstration of God’s love for humanity.

-In Jesus, they see a God who loves them so much, He took on a human form and sacrificed His life for them. Jesus fully understands what it means to be human.

-Christians believe Jesus is with us in our suffering because He Himself experienced suffering and did not run from it but bore it out of love.

-We may not understand why God allows suffering but should trust God because He knows what we are going through.

25
Q

Describe what Pope St John Paul II Teaches in Salvifici Doloris.

A

-In his letter, Salvifici Doloris (which means ‘the saving power of suffering’) Pope St John Paul II said, “In order to perceive the true answer to the ‘why’ of suffering we must first look to the revelation of divine love.”

-This shows that the only way human beings can grasp the ‘why’ of suffering is to try and understand the depth of God’s love for human beings, which Jesus showed through his willingness to die on the cross.

-He also says that if Christians willingly ‘offer up’ their own suffering in prayer for the sake of others, they can somehow share in the saving suffering of Jesus.

-This is very difficult to understand but Pope St John Paul II believes that if we try and bear our suffering patiently and offer it to God in prayer, that God will somehow be able to use it to bring about good for others.

-If a Christian can do this, it is an act of love which is like Jesus’ own act of sacrifice.