Beliefs
the trinity
one God who manifests in three forms, father, son and holy spirit but this is still ONE God
the father is the omnipotent, transcendent creator
the son is the human incarnation who saves humanity from sin
the holy spirit is God’s active presence in the world today
→ this is the mystery of the faith because Christians don’t believe it can be fully understood
→ “the father and I are one”
this influences Christians to read the bible and learn more as well as going to church to understand and worship properly. they might feel close to God via the holy spirit
the nature of God
transcendent - outside the universe, beyond space and time (father)
immanent - involved with the world, close to humanity (son and spirit)
eternal (father son and spirit)
omnipotent “with God, all things are possible”, pray to him to help you
omniscient “nothing is hidden from Gods sight”, to do good and avoid sin
omnibenevolent “God is love”, be loving and forgiving and repent for your sins
just “he is a God of justice”, treat people fairly
the problem of evil
if God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent then how could evil exist. this challenges beliefs about the nature of God, also the idea of hell?
St Augustine | he blames original sin, saying Adam and Eve causes original sin and ever since all humans are born into a sinful world | “sin entered the world through one man” | it is not just to blame all of humanity for what Adam and Eve did |
John Hick | said that the world is a place for our souls to develop as part of God’s plan and suffering and evil is needed for this development which is required for going to heaven | St Paul said “suffering produces perseverance” | there are some examples of evil which are unnecessary |
a loving God would not send anybody to hell?
→ sending people to hell would go against his omnibenevolent nature, he is merciful and wouldn’t want anyone to suffer for eternity
→ God should be just and forgiving “not seven but seventy seven times” instead of sending people to hell for eternity
→ it is an important part of his omnibenevolence to send those who don’t do good to hell showing his just nature
→ the Bible teaches that hell is a physical place where sinners are punished and why would this have been created if he was not going to send anyone there
creation
belief that the world is God’s creation and he created it in six days
→ the sun was made on day four but there was light on day one…
quotes for this:
“through Him all things were made”
“God created the heavens and the earth”
literalists believe that the story is LITERALLY true, whereas non-literalists believe that the story is a metaphor with a spiritual truth and therefore believe that science and religion can be harmonious
afterlife
Christians believe that there is life after death, they believe in the day of judgement and furthermore heaven and hell
→ resurrection of Jesus
→ the parable of the sheep and the goats about the day of judgement
do we need to do good or just believe in faith to make it to heaven
‘those who believe in me will have eternal life”
vs the parable of the sheep and the goats
heaven | “my Father’s house has many rooms” → heaven is absolutely a physical place and we will have a physical resurrection | St Paul said “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” → heaven is a spiritual state | do good works, follow God, feel hope |
hell | “fiery lake of burning sulphur” | “state of exclusion from God” | avoid sin, follow God, question the nature of God |
incarnation
the 3 main views of Jesus today:
Jesus didn’t exist
Jesus was the son of God
Jesus was a man but not a God (a carpenter from Nazareth, philosopher, teacher)
term | definition |
incarnation | becoming flesh, taking human form |
resurrection | Jesus rising from the dead on easter day |
blasphemy | religious offence, including claiming to be God |
crucifixion | Roman method of execution |
ascension | the 40 days after resurrection when Jesus went back to heaven |
hypostatic union | Jesus is both fully God and fully human |
the holy trinity | father, son and holy spirit: all are one God however three distinct persons |
reasons to believe Jesus is the son of God:
Jesus was conceived asexually and Mary was a virgin
no mention of his birth in history
angels tell Mary she will give birth to the son of God
reasons why these stories should be taken with a pinch of salt:
written by humans
have been translated multiple times
could be edited to fulfil personal agendas
lost materials
quote | explanation |
“the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” | God turned himself into flesh form and came down to earth with us |
“Jesus is the Messiah" | n/a |
this supports the idea of the trinity and the nature of God
leads people to feel gratitude as well as celebrating Christmas
crucifixion
atonement | make amends for loss or damage |
forgiveness | let someone off after they have done something bad |
reconciliation | restoring a friendship/relationship |
sacrifice | to give up something for something/someone else |
suffering | a state of pain or loss |
this happened on good Friday and this was him paying the price for human sin and restoring the bridge between humanity and God
→ “Christ died for our sins”
this allowed sin to be forgiven and shows God’s omnibenevolence
this will cause Christians to be thankful as well as avoiding sin and praying for forgiveness. also holy communion (eucharist)
resurrection
when Jesus rose from the dead on easter Sunday
→ “he has risen”
this confirms that Jesus is divine and opens the door for salvation and eternal life (even leads some to believe in physical resurrection)
they will celebrate Easter, feel hopeful and comforted
ascension
this was 40 days after his resurrection and Pentecost was when the holy spirit was sent down to earth after to provide salvation
“i am ascending”
this confirms Jesus’ divinity so they should follow his teachings, this gives hope that Christians can be reunited with Jesus in death
Jesus’ events
crucifixion | resurrection | ascension |
act of atonement enables forgiveness and salvation and enables the other events shows omnibenevolence | hope for life after death Jesus is divine | Jesus is divine Holy Spirit can be sent into the world for salvation hope for life and reunition after death |
sin
we are all sinful (personal sin as well as original sin) which is why salvation is necessary
original sin
Adam and Eve disobeyed God leading to natural evil and sin
this means we are all born with the inclination to sin
personal sin
individual humans use free will to sin
personal sin is more likely due to original sin
→ “sin entered the world through one man”
→ “all have sinned and fall short”
salvation
we need salvation (being saved from sin) because we are all sinful
this can happen due to crucifixion, resurrection and ascension
means of being saved | quote | explanation |
law | “keep his commands” | salvation is gained by following God’s laws and performing good work and being of good faith |
grace | “Christ died for our sins” | salvation is gained through Jesus’ crucifixion, we cannot gain our own salvation instead it must be gifted from God |
spirit | “the Advocate will teach you and remind you of everything I have said” | salvation is gained with the help of the Holy Spirit |
→ the influence of belief in salvation is that Christians will follow God’s law, have faith in Jesus, evangelise so they can also be saved