sin and forgiveness

Question 1

absolutism

Answer 1

the belief that there are certain actions that are always right or wrong. the belief that moral law exists eternally and are not just human inventions

Question 2

eucharist

Answer 2

• meaning ‘thanksgiving’
• the name catholics use to describe the rite where the bread and wine become the body and blood of jesus and is received by the people

Question 3

evangelisation

Answer 3

• means ‘spreading good news’
• the sharing of the gospel and life of jesus with others

Question 4

forgiveness

Answer 4

• the act of pardoning someone for the offences they have caused you
• overlooking a persons faults

Question 5

punishment

Answer 5

the consequences of a wrong decision and a penalty imposed by a person in authority on the person who has committed wrongdoing

Question 6

relativism

Answer 6

the belief that there is no moral law and that rules that govern what is right and wrong are human inventions and change

Question 7

salvation

Answer 7

the belief that through jesus’ death and resurrection humanity has achieved the possibility of life forever with God

Question 8

sin

Answer 8

acting against the will or laws of God

Question 9

3 types of criminal penalties

Answer 9

• retribution
• deterrence
• rehabilitation

Question 10

strengths of retribution

Answer 10

• it is an equal and fair response to crime, as the punishment is proportionate to the crime committed
• consistent with the teaching of exodus 21:23-24, “an eye for an eye”

Question 11

weaknesses for retribution

Answer 11

• using the death penalty as retribution is controversial
• if taking a life is wrong, then surely it is wrong to use it as a punishment

Question 12

strengths of deterrence

Answer 12

• it can prevent people from engaging in criminal activity
• the threat of execution after committing a crime could end up saving a life as someone may think twice before committing a crime

Question 13

weaknesses of deterrence

Answer 13

• some suggest harsher punishments do not necessarily put people off offending or reoffending, meaning that it might not be an effective form of punishment
• countries with death penalties for murder still has murders being committed
• it is impossible to deter everyone from breaking the law
• people could be unable to make rational decisions due to a mental illness

Question 14

strengths of rehabilitation

Answer 14

• it recognises that people who have done wrong need to turn their lives around so they do not become trapped in a life of crime
• it is consistent with the christian belief that all people are created imago dei and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect

Question 15

weaknesses of rehabilitation

Answer 15

• in 2019, sir Martin Narey, the former director general of the prison service in england and wales, said that the rehabilitation currently offered in prisons was not enough to fix the problems that many criminals had faced in their childhoods
• some people may feel that rehabilitation is not a sufficient punishment for someone who has done wrong

Question 16

jesus’ teachings on forgiveness

Answer 16

• he forgave zachaeus who had abused his position of authority to take money from others (luke 19:1-10)
• the parable of the prodigal son (luke 15:11-32)

Question 17

explain the 1986 jill saward case study and how it is relevant to sin and forgiveness

Answer 17

• jill saward had been brutally raped by two men from a gang
• the prison sentences given to the men who raped her were short as the judge felt that her trauma had not been enough to justify a longer sentence
• she campaigned against such unfair justice until she died in 2017
• she forgave the men who did this to her because she knew that not forgiving and remaining angry would destroy her even more
• she forgave because she wanted to be worthy of god’s forgiveness

Question 18

when was capital punishment abolished in the UK

Answer 18

1969

Question 19

pope st john paul II arguments against capital punishment

Answer 19

• “punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon”
• “as a result of steady improvements in the organisation of the penal system, such cases are very rare”

Question 20

bible quote for capital punishment using the concept of imago dei

Answer 20

• “whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for his own image God made humankind” - genesis 9:6

Question 21

bible quote from exodus for capital punishment

Answer 21

“eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” exodus 21:24

Question 22

christian argument against capital punishment using the gospel matthew

Answer 22

• “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” - matthew 5:38-39

Question 23

non-religious arguments for captital punishment

Answer 23

• for crimes like murder, capital punishment is justified
• if someone has murdered another person, they deserve to die because they have shown they do not respect life

Question 24

non-religious arguments against capital punishment

Answer 24

• there is a risk that the wrong person is executed
• for example, george kelly in 1950 was executed, where it was later found that it was another person who had committed the crime
• two wrongs do not make a right

Question 25

capital punishment

Answer 25

the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime

Question 26

non-religious argument for capital punishment using the example of capital punishment in japan

Answer 26

• hanging is the main form of capital punishment
• a method of capital punishment would include the criminal unknowing of their day of execution
• it is considered acceptable in japan because of the support of public opinion

Question 27

st augustine argument for capital punishment

Answer 27

“it is the states job to execute the wrath of the wrongdoer”