christian beliefs

nature of god

“we believe in one god” - nicene creed

“nothing is impossible without god” - omnipotent, god created the world from nothing (ex-nihilo), gods miracle of parting the red sea

“god so loved the world, that he gave us his one and only son” benevolent, he sent us his son to die for our sins

“for you are all one in christ” god is just, judges everyone fairly parable of sheep and goats, gods laws promote justice like the 10 commandments

evil and suffering: To trust God even if they do not understand, and live a Christian life as far as possible, “"Into thy hands I commit my spirit"

Give practical help / eg by helping victims of crime / working as a doctor or nurse / joining an organisation such as Christian Aid / helping refugees / etc.

the trinity

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” - the bible

father- Love others like the father loves. Also look after creation as the father made it ​-genesis quote

son- God can understand us as humans as Jesus was human so Christians can pray to God for help (JESUS IS INCARNATE) -(god incarnate)

holyspirit - Christians can feel the Spirit at work in their lives and this strengthens and supports them.

creation

• believe not scientifcally accurate but contains religous truth (non literalist)

• created the world in 6 days ex nihilo

  “in the beginnings god created the heavens and the earth”

  “the word was with god, and the word was god” - jesus was involved in creation

Influence them to be stewards and look after the world (‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’)

Influence that God is all powerful and worthy of worship of he made the world. (GENESIS QUOTE and exnihilo

the incarnation

“the word became flesh - the incarnation is the teaching that jesus is god made flesh, god in human form, thus his words have great authority since they are the word of the god

jesus was fully human and therefore, he could suffer, and it teaches christians to turn to god for help

cruxificion

“father into your hands, i commit my spirit’ - jesus trusted god at a very difficult point, and thus we need to turn to god, because suffering is inevitable

and jesus’ sacrfice for us on the cross gives hope to chirstians that their sins will be sincerly forgiven if they sincerly repent

resurrection and ascension

resurection - jesus had risen from the dead “he is risen” and over the next few days he appears to several people as he had prophesised

the ascension - happened 40 days after the resurrection, and he returns to god the father in heaven

resurrection - “he is risen” - to believe good over evil, and to believe that there is a life after death and our actions affect our consequences

ascension - Live good lives to join Jesus in heaven with God “faith without actions is dead” and Christians might be influenced to think of heaven as being literally up in the sky as Jesus rose “he was taken up into heaven”

afterlife and judgement

Resurrected and receive eternal life and this is a git from god

you are judged by god, and will be sent to heaven, hell or purgatory (catholic)

some believe judgement happens soon after death

and some belief judgement happens on the day of judgement

judgement: parable of sheep and goats

1. God judges peoples’ actions during their lives / so they would try to please him / lead a moral life/worship God.​ (parable of the sheep and the goat)

2. Some believe in judgement to a literal hell / so they are influenced by fear to avoid breaking Christian rules.

heaven and hell

heaven- reward for faith and actions “ faith if not accompanied by action is dead”

purgatory- in between state in order to enter heaven

hell- state of existence without god

parable of lazarus and rich man and lazarus , rich man ended up in hell for not doing the right thing

Christians are influenced by the belief that they will be judged when they die as hell is a real possibility Influences them to fear hell

Follow Jesus’ teachings to not get separated from God and not reject God.

sin and salvation

sin - separates humans from god

original sin- built in tendency (adam and eve who committed the first sin)

free will- use this freedom to make choices god will approve

salvation- saved from sin and granted an eternal life with god

“for it is by grace you have been saved” (free gift of gods love), and by doing good work, following teachings such as the 10 commandments

role of christ in salvation

crucifixion makes up for the original sin of adam and eve - role of chirst was necessary to restore relationship between god and humanity

god accepts jesus’ sacrifice on behalf of humanity “for god so loved the world, that he gave us his one and only son’

atonement- removes effects of sin and allows us to restore our relationship with god

“jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins’

Worship

why- praise and thank god, ask for forgiveness

liturgical -set structure of prayer (catholic) (familiar and tradition)

non - hymns, no set order (methodist) ( less formal, more modern)

informal - dancing, clapping (pentecostal) or silent reflection (quakers) (more personal, less formal)

prayer

prayer- close relationship with god, gives a sense of peace, helps in times of trouble

“by prayer..present your requests to god”

set- lords prayer

informal- made by your own words

why pray - to say sorry, to thank god

the lords prayer- how jesus taught his disciples, model of a good prayer, shows the importance of forgiveness forgive others in order to BE forgiven

baptism

“therefore go and make disciples of all nations”

importance of baptism-recieve gods saving grace, cleansed of sin

jesus was baptised “in the same of the father, the son, the hs”

infant- catholic , removed original sin, parents than god for new baby, child in church asap (great comission)

believers- baptist, old enough to make a mature decision, life dedicated to jesus

Holy communion

catholics- transubstantion

protestant- symbolic

“this is my body..do this in rememberance of me”

importance

individuals- receive gods grace, strengthen their faith, closer to god

communities- belivers together by sharing the bread and wine, support for those going through a tough time

wider society- work for equality, love all

pilgrimage

why- strengthen faith, forgiveness for sin

LOURDES, virgin mary appeared in a vision to st bernadette, she dug in the ground and found holy water with healing properties

you go to lourdes to pray for healing

or to bring back water in the spring for loved ones who are disabled

IONA- St columba established a monastic community,

its quiet - spend time praying “do not be anxious..by prayer..present your requests to god”

also attend services in the abbey

festival celebration

lights- jesus coming into the world of darkness

midnight mass reflects the joy felt on the night of jesus’ birth

gifts - the gifts given by the 3 wisemen to jesus

christmas is the incarnation of jesus

and easter is the RESURRECTION

“he is risen”

orthodox christians walk around with candles in procession as if in jesus’ emptu tomb

good friday, processions led by person carrying the cross

church LOCAL

the Church (collective) - support local projects such as food banks to support the needy, campaigns for justice, the trussell trust providing emergency FOOD

the chuch (individual) - bible study groups, obtain spitirual guidance, youth groups

street pastors: golden rule, faith if not accompained without actions is dead, the parable of the good samaritan (help everyone), parable of sheep vs goat (treat all people as though they are jesus)

street pastors- responds to drunkness, antisocial behaviour, listen to peoples problems, discourage illegal drug use

mission and evangelism

“therefore go and make disciples of all spirits”, all christians have a duty to spread the gospel and tell others of their faith, and persuade others to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour

the alpha course - evangelism (spread faith), have discussions about religion etc

church growth

spreading faith - social media, inviting people to christian meetings

importance of world wide church

work for reconcilliation (because jesus’ death helped restore the relationship between god and humanity - for god so loved the world he gave us his only son)

corrymeela - brings together different faiths, move away from violence

desmond tutu- campaigned against apartheid in south africa (didn’t allow the use of violence)

persecution

“ do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good “ - encouraged to show forgiveness

examples of persecution - forced to pay extra taxes, job discrimination

persecution can have a positive effect as it stregnthens faith and turn to god just as jesus did when he suffered “father into they hands i commit my spirit”

christians smuggled bibles into the ussr to provide comfort

world poverty

cafod, christian aid

parable of rich man and lazarus, parable of good samaritan

for the love of money is the root of all evil

cafod- short term aid such as food water during global conflict , but tearfund provides long term aid for communties to be more reliant