Christian beliefs & quotes

RS AQA GCSE

Genesis 3:17 cursed

"Cursed is the ground because of you..."

John 8:7 don’t throw stones

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Exodus 20:13 murder

“You shall not murder.”

Genesis 3:23 banished

"So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden..."

Matthew 25:31-46

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

Matthew 25:46 sheep goats final line

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 14

Jesus walked on water

Mark 3 & 4

He ate bread and he slept

What are God’s defining qualities?

He is omnibenevolent (all loving), omnipotent (all powerful), just, omniscient (all knowing/seeing)

What is the problem of evil and suffering?

If God is all-loving and all-powerful why is there evil/suffering, if he is truly all-loving he would use his power to end suffering/evil, he must be not all loving, not all powerful or not either (inconsistent triad)

What are some reasons for the problem of evil and suffering?

God gave humans free will, a lot of evil and suffering caused by humans (moral evil vs natural evil), to take away free will would be more cruel

What is the Holy Trinity?

The Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son

What are the rules of the Holy Trinity?

God is one being but all 3 (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), they are all both each other and not each other (oneness of God)

What are the different Christian beliefs about creation?

Young earth creationists, old earth creationists and evolutionary theists

What is the role of the Word and Spirit?

Genesis (1:1) states that God created the universe through the Holy Spirit, Gospel of John (John 1:1) states in the beginning there was the Word and the Word was God, Word refers to Jesus (Son), shows Holy Trinity has existed since the beginning of time

What do Young Earth Creationists believe about the creation of the universe?

They believe that Bible is all true and meant to be taken literally - world created in 6 days by God and is 6000 years old

What do Old Earth Creationists believe about the creation of the universe?

Bible is all true but some parts are symbolic/unclear - e.g. the world is older than 6000 years and not necessarily created in 6 days as the timing was all symbolic

What do Evolutionary Theists believe about the creation of the universe?

Bible isn’t accurate and was created/written by people, world created by scientific explanation, Genesis is all symbolic and shows older/past views and beliefs

Quote for the creation of the universe

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

Quote for creation of humanity

“So God created mankind in his own image…” Genesis 1:27

General beliefs about the afterlife

Heaven - an eternal life/paradise for your soul after death. Hell - eternal punishment. Soul and body separate, soul is resurrected, all people will be judged in some way at some point, not clear if heaven is physical/metaphysical, afterlife is gift from God, depends on faith in God

What do Christians believe they will be judged on?

Good works - good/moral/kind actions, obeying God’s laws. Grace - having faith/belief in God

Different beliefs about resurrection of humanity

Some believe only the soul is resurrected soon after death, some agree but think it will be on judgement day not soon after death, Catholics & Orthodox believe both body and spirit will be resurrected, physical body lost at death is restored/transformed into new spiritual body

Catholic view on life after death

Believe in purgatory - a place for those who need extra purification before heaven, means you are judged right after you die and there will be no day of judgement

Universalism

Belief that all humans will be saved (can’t go to hell/there can’t be a hell if God is truly omnibenevolent)

What is the last judgement/judgement day belief?

A day where everyone, living or dead, is judged by God - many believe that God will come to earth and everyone will be resurrected and judged

Resurrection or reincarnation?

RESURRECTION!!! Reincarnation is being reborn - Christians do not believe this

Solutions for the problem of evil and suffering

judgement day - natural evil (evil not caused by humans) is a test of faith, trust that God has a plan, natural evil punishes those who have caused suffering, free will - evil is chosen

What does the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats teach?

In serving others people are serving God, those who help everyone no matter what, are selfless and show compassion are those who will go to heaven, those who ignore others and are selfish/only help those who they think can help them back or are deserving will go to hell

What is sin?

An immoral act which goes against divine law and God’s instructions/wishes

What is original sin?

Sin caused by Adam and Eve - all of humanity has an in-built tendency to disobey God from birth

1 Corinthians 15:40 heavenly and earthly bodies

”There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies…” 1 Corinthians 15:40

1 Corinthians 15:44 natural spiritual body

“It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:44

What was the sequence of Jesus’ life? (+ holidays celebrating certain parts)

Incarnation → birth (Christmas) → crucifixion (Good Friday) → resurrection (Easter Sunday) → ascension

What does incarnation mean?

To take a human form/become flesh

Matthew 1:18 (they is Mary & Joseph, she is Mary)

“before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18

Why do Christians believe Mary’s son was descended from God?

He was not conceived naturally - Mary was a virgin, Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit and Joseph was not his natural father - proof to Christians that Jesus was the son of God (part of the Trinity)

Why is Jesus’ incarnation and birth so important to Christians?

Incarnation is proof that he was God’s son (as he was not conceived naturally) his birth was natural and proves that he was both fully human and fully divine being, meaning that while he is part of the Holy Trinity, he was also human and therefore this was God showing himself in human form

Why does it mean so much that Jesus was God in human form/God incarnate?

Through Jesus God was able to connect/relate to humanity, he was human so can understand their suffering/lives/minds, was able to live a life free of sin so sets example for humanity as God was able to stay pure even as a human

What happened at the crucifixion?

Jesus was sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, was fixed to a cross and died that way, he forgave those he crucified him, his body was buried in a cave-like tomb

Why do some Christians not believe in hell being eternal punishment, and what is an alternative?

If God is truly all loving he would not subject anyone to eternal suffering, possible alternative is an eternal state of mind of being cut off from God/the possibility of God

Why is Jesus’ crucifixion so important to Christians?

Jesus was both fully God and fully human so experienced all the pain of crucifixion, means God understands and can sympathise with human suffering, Christians accept that suffering is a part of life as it was part of Jesus’ life, crucifixion allowed for resurrection to happen which proved Jesus’ honesty and that he truly was God’s son, crucifixion made up for original sin as Jesus took on all of humanity’s sins and sacrificed himself (atonement), sacrifice made salvation possible for humanity

Luke 23:34 Crucifixion quote

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

What happened at Jesus’ resurrection?

3 days after crucifixion, some female followers visited his tomb, his body was not there, they saw a man dressed in white and begged him to return Jesus’ body, he said he was Jesus, Mary Magdalene told the disciples that Jesus had risen

Luke 24:5-6 resurrection

”Why do you look for the living amongst the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”

Why is Jesus’ resurrection important to Christians?

Jesus’ resurrection proved that he was God incarnate, stems belief/hope in life after death and resurrection, shows power of good over evil and life over death, tells Christians their sins will be forgiven if they repent and follow God’s laws, means Christians will be resurrected if they welcome Christianity and Jesus’ teachings into their lives, no need to fear death, proof God had accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and reconciled with humanity, proof of God’s love, means humans can now receive forgiveness for their sins

What evidence is there for bodily resurrection and spiritual resurrection?

Bodily - Jesus was resurrected with physical body, was able to eat/drink etc, Gospels insist he was not a ghost, was visible to disciples. Spiritual - science shows body decays after death, some people cremated so body lost, disciples may have felt his presence rather than actually seeing him

What happened at God’s ascension?

After meeting with his disciples and asking them to continue his work, Jesus was taken up and joined the Father in heaven

Why is the ascension important to Christians?

shows Jesus is with God in heaven, paves way for God to send Holy Spirit to provide comfort and guidance

Luke 24:51 ascension

“While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.” Luke 24:51

What is salvation?

Salvation is being saved from sin and the consequences of sin, repairs damage done by sin and reconciles person with God

What is atonement?

The restoring/reconciling of the relationship between God and humanity. Jesus took all of humanity’s sins on him when died and atoned for them all - HE MADE SALVATION POSSIBLE

How can people achieve salvation?

Through grace (belief/faith in God) and good works (obeying God’s law and doing good)

What does the Holy Spirit do?

Gives grace to Christians and guides them in their daily lives to help them achieve salvation

How do Chrisitans respond to the problem of evil and suffering? (6)

Suffering causes Christians to help practically, e.g. by joining charities such as Christian Aid, test of faith so suffering will be rewarded, some lose their faith as they cannot believe in a loving God that allows suffering, those who cause moral evil will be sent to hell, suffering is a part of life, not meant to be understood why evil and suffering is allowed but must trust in God and power through