AQA GCSE RS A: Christianity: Beliefs and Teachings

Christianity

A religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant (there are different denominations of this).

God

The creator and sustainer of all that exists.

Attributes

A quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

Holy

Set apart for a special purpose and worthy of worship.

Omnipotent

All-powerful.

Omnibenevolent

The quality of being perfectly good, an attribute that belongs only to God.

Agape

Unconditional love.

Just

Fair - giving everyone equal value and equal rights.

Evil

That which is opposed to the moral law and thus entails sin.

Suffering

The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.

Omniscience

All-knowing.

The Devil/ Satan

A supernatural evil power - tempts humans into behaving badly and disobeying God.

Free Will

The idea that human beings are free to make their own choices.

Eternal

Everlasting.

Transcendent

Going beyond the limits of ordinary experience.

Immanent

Existing and operating within nature.

The Trinity

The three persons in one god: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God the Father

Creator of life, acts as a good father to his children. He is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipresent.

God the Son

Incarnate through Jesus. He was fully human on earth whilst being fully God at all times.

God the Holy Spirit

The unseen power of God at work in the world.

Equilateral Triangle

The simplest and most common symbol of the Trinity. Each side represents one of the Persons of the Trinity.

Shamrock

Symbol of the Trinity used by St Patrick when teaching the Christian faith in Ireland.

Borromean Rings

Symbol of the Trinity from mathematics. When together, they support each other and are inseparable. When one is removed, they fall apart. A symbol of strength and unity and the unending, eternal love of God.

Triskelion

Celtic spiral symbol used by Christians to represent the Trinity.

Monotheism

Belief in one God.

Tritheism

The belief that there are three gods. Some believe Christianity is an example of tritheism because of the Holy Trinity.

Omnipotent

All-powerful.

Omniscient

All-knowing.

Omnibenevolent

All good & all loving.

Omnipresent

Present in all places at all times.

Creation

The act of creating the universe or the universe which has been created.

Genesis 1:1-3 Quote

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Ans God said, "Let there be light," and there was light." Genesis 1:1-3 (NIV)

Genesis 1:1-3 Summary

The story of creation in the Bible. God created everything out of choice and continues to this day. The Holy Spirit was active in creation.

John 1:1-3 Quote

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3 (NIV)

John 1:1-3 Summary

The story of creation in the Bible. Everything was created through the word who was God and with God. The Word is the Son of God (Jesus) and was involved in creation.

Transcendent

Beyond space and time.

The Trinity

Father, Son, Holy Spirit. If God is the Trinity, then it must have existed before creation so must have created the world.

Creeds

Statements of belief.

The Nicene Creed

"We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth." The Nicene Creed

The Word of God

Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit

The third person in the Trinity. Shows God in action.

Myth

A traditional story that is fictional, using symbolism to deliver a profound message. Some Christians believe the creation story is a myth and teaches religious truths about the Nature of God and His relationship with His creation.

Stewardship

Responsibility towards the Earth to love, respect and care for all beings equally. God has given this responsibility to humans.

Afterlife

Life after death.

Revelation 21:4 Quote

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4.

Resurrection

The act of rising from the dead.

Judgement Day

Occurs at the End of Time, during the Second Coming, when Jesus will judge the living and the dead.

Purgatory

A state of final purification or cleansing (they are purged of sin), which one may need to enter following death and before entering Heaven. Catholic belief.

Judgement

The act of judging people and their actions.

Christian Judgement

Christian's believe that when they die, their souls will await Judgement Day when they will be rewarded with heaven or punished with hell.

The Particular Judgement

Catholic belief - occurs immediately after an individuals death.

The General/ Final Judgement

Catholic belief - takes place at the Second Coming, Jesus will judge those living and dead.

The Second Coming

Jesus will return in glory, bringing this age of time and space to an end and judge the living and the end, sending people to heaven or hell.

Heaven

A state of being (not a physical place) with God outside time and space. A community. A timeless existence of beauty and goodness. Many Christians use earthly images of what people most desire to help explain this.

Hell

An eternal separation from God due to deliberate rejection of a relationship with Him. The Bible depicts a place of unquenchable fire and Medieval images can be seen of this (Doom Paintings) but most Christians now reject this literal view and consider it a metaphor.

Incarnation

God becoming flesh, taking human form.

Conception

The moment at which a female becomes pregnant.

Virgin Conception

The work of the Holy Spirit whereby Mary miraculously conceived and bore Jesus while she was a virgin.

Messiah

Anointed one, saviour sent by God.

Blasphemy

An act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred. Jesus warned against calling him the Messiah as his opponents would have had him arrested for blasphemy.

John 1:14 Quote

"The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14.

Word of God

Jesus Christ - the Word has existed before time so Jesus was born fully divine.

Nicene Creed Quote on Incarnation

"conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary," Nicene Creed

Creed

A statement of belief.

Jesus' Knowledge

As God, Jesus' knowledge was unlimited. However, sometimes it appears that Jesus' knowledge was limited (such as when he couldn't perform miracles in his home town as the people there rejected him). Jesus became fully human at incarnation and so had to give up much of his divine knowledge.

Mother Theresa

Left comfort of the convent to live among the poorest of India. This is imitating the same humility and selfless love that God showed through the incarnation.

Father Kolbe

Offered his own life to save someone else's in Auschwitz. This is imitating the same humility and selfless love that God showed through the incarnation.

Crucifixion

A type of execution in which a person was nailed to a cross.

Blasphemy

An act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred. A crime that was punishable by death under Jewish law.

Treason

Betrayal of one's country. A crime that was punishable by death under Roman law.

Pilate

The Roman governor of Judea who sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Messiah

Anointed one.

Sanhedrin

The supreme council of the Jews.

Zealots

People who banded together during the time of Christ to violently resist Roman occupation.

Resurrection

The act of rising from the dead.

Resurrection Appearances

Jesus appearing after he had resurrected from the dead.

Ascension

The "going up" into Heaven of the Risen Christ forty days after his Resurrection.

Martyr

A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.

Passover Lamb

A Christian symbol of resurrection, it represents Jesus' sacrificial death.

Salvation

The act of delivering from sin or saving from evil. This cancels out original sin and promises eternal life in heaven.

Atonement

Reparation (amends) for a wrong or injury. Jesus' death is seen as atonement as he pays the price for all human sin and God reconciles himself with humanity.

Reconciliation

The restoration of relationships. God's relationship with humans was reconciled through his self-sacrifice (Jesus) so humans could be reunited with God in heaven.

Grace

God's gift of friendship and life that enables us to share his life and love. God loves humans despite what we do or do not do. Salvation is given freely through faith in Jesus.

Forgiveness

Stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what they have done wrong.

Incarnation

God becoming flesh, God in human form.

God in Christ

God healed the separation between Himself and humans by sending Jesus.

Forgiveness of sins

The crucifixion of Jesus made the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation possible.

Amazing Grace

A hymn written by John Newton who had been an irreligious slave-trader. He thought he was going to die in a storm and said "Lord have mercy on us," and they survived. He saw this as an act of God's Grace and eventually became a priest, campaigning for the abolition of slavery.

Holy Spirit

3rd person of the Trinity, a source of strength who guides the Church..

Good works

Good deeds; doing good things. Salvation comes of doing good things, faith in God and following God's law.

James 2:17 - Good works

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - Grace

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8-9.

Sin

An immoral act considered to be against divine law. Separates humans from God.

Original Sin

Adam and Eve disobey God's command not to eat fruit from the tree of good and evil. The result of this was separation from God and the introduction of death into the world.

Sinfulness

Humans are not inclined to do as they are told, including disobeying God which damages their relationship with Him.

Sinful Thoughts

Thoughts against God's divine law. Can lead to sinful actions.

Sinful Actions

Actions against God's divine law

Free will

God's gift to human beings of the freedom and ability to choose what to do. Humans should make choices that God would approve of otherwise they will separate themselves from God.

Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-19)

A set of laws for responsible behaviour, which, according to the Bible, were given to Moses by God.

Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

The teachings of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount in which he describes the actions and attitudes that should characterize Christians and by which one can discover genuine meaning and happiness.