Christian beliefs (Religious studies B)

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  • Created on: 02-11-18 15:28
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  • Christian beliefs (AQA Religious studies B)
    • 1.1.2 The Creation of the universe and humanity
      • Genesis Chapter 1
        • God created the universe in 6 days genesis story cue cards link
        • Day 7 he rested and made it a Holy day.
      • Genesis chapter 2-3
        • God created man (Adam) and woman (Eve) from Adam's rib
        • Lived in Garden of Eden till they disobeyed God
      • Literalist Christians: Believe Genesis is the scientific truth
      • Conservative Christians: Believe Genesis is roughly true, believe each day to be millions of years
      • Liberal Christians: Believe Genesis is metaphorical
      • Beliefs about creation are important to Christians today because they show the world is good, God created humans in his image so they have self-knowledge and free will to choose between good and bad, God gave people stewardship of the Earth and how well people perform as stewards will affect their judgement
    • 1.1.3 The incarnation
      • Christians believe God became a human in Jesus
      • Jesus had a virgin birth
        • Makes him God not human
      • The incarnation story link
      • Significance
        • Shows God's love and teaches them how to live
        • The basis of the Christian faith
        • Humans can see what God is like
        • The process of salvation began
    • 1.1.4 Key events of Jesus' life
      • Last supper
        • Last meal with disciples in Jerusalem
        • Prophesised a betrayal
        • Established Eucharist, this bread is my body this wine is my blood
      • Betrayal and arrest
        • Jesus is betrayed by one of his disciples –   Judas brought the chief priests and the temple guards to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane “He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”  Luke 20:47-48
      • Trial
        • After he was arrested, Jesus was taken for trial by the Jewish Council, called the Sanhedrin. They condemned him for claiming to be “the Christ, the Son of God”, which for them was blasphemy (speaking disrespectfully about God) The next morning Jesus was taken before Pilate, the Roman Governor and accused of being the King of the Jews. Pilate tried him for treason (attempting to overthrow a government), but couldn’t find him guilty. As it was Passover (Jewish festival) ,Pilate offered to release either Jesus or Barabbas, a Jewish freedom fighter. The crowd chose Barabbas and Jesus was condemned to be crucified.  
      • Cruxcifixion
        • Jesus was crucified on a hill called Golgotha (place of the Skull) outside Jerusalem . A crown of thorns was placed on his head and a sign placed above his head which said he was the King of the Jews. The crowds mocked him and challenged him to come down from the cross. As he was being crucified, Jesus said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” There was a robber on either side of him and one of the robbers asked Jesus to save him to which Jesus replied, “Today you will be with me in paradise” The crucifixion lasted just over three hours before Jesus cried out “Father in your hands I commit my spirit” then Jesus died in agony.
        • Through Jesus’ death on the cross God forgives people for their sin.     Without the cross there would be no forgiveness so people would go to hell  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Romans 5:8 –               “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried” Nicene Creed
      • Ressurection
        • Resurrection - After Jesus was killed on the cross his body was buried in a sealed tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, one of the Sanhedrin. Early on the Sunday morning Jesus’ women followers went to anoint his body with spices. However, they found the tomb empty. Two men, wearing white (angels) appear and told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus himself, then appeared to them.   Jesus appeared several more times to his disciples: -      to two of his followers on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus -       and to the twelve disciples in the Upper Room when he let his disciple Thomas touch his wounds.
          • •       The resurrection shows that Jesus has defeated sin and death as it says in the Bible “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 15:57 •       It is evidence that there is life after death as Jesus appears to his disciples in the Upper Room and lets Thomas touch his wounds •       It is the basis of Christian belief as it proves that Jesus is the Son of God –         St Paul wrote “If Christ had not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” 1 Corinthians 15:17
      • Acension
        • 40 days after his resurrection Christians believe that Jesus ascended (was taken up) into heaven. He told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, he was taken up from them in a cloud and two men appeared and told them that Jesus had been taken into heaven. “While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Luke 24:50-52
          • •       It reminds Christians that Jesus has gone to heaven to prepare a place for them so they do not need to fear death •       Through the ascension Jesus is no longer restricted by time and space so he can be with them on earth wherever they are
      • Temptation
        • After his baptism, Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil  “For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Sata” .Mark 1:12-13
      • Baptism
        • Jesus was baptised in river Jordan by John the Baptist. “At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17
    • The problem of evil and suffering
      • Types of evil
        • Natural evil: The suffering that is created through no direct fault of humans e.g. earthquakes, floods, illness.
        • Moral evil: The suffering that is caused by the actions of human beings Eg. Murder, terrorism
          • Moral evil is seen by Christians as ‘sin’, an action carried out which is morally wrong which goes against the teachings of God e.g. against the Ten Commandments, “You shall not  murder, you shall not steal” (Exodus 20:13-15)  
      • Problems about the existence of evil raises about the nature of God  
        • The questions, “Where does evil come from?”  and “Why is their evil and suffering in the world?” have always challenged Christian beliefs about God and is one of the reasons people are atheists, The problem of evil has been called “the rock of atheism”
        •  The existence of evil is difficult to explain and seems inconsistent with a belief in a righteous God. John Mackie calls it the inconsistent triad
        • If God was omnibenevolent and loved His creation, He would want to stop evil. However evil exists, so he must not be able to stop evil, thus He is not omnipotent. If God was omnipotent, He would be able to stop evil if He wanted to. However He is choosing not to stop evil and thus must not be omnibenevolent. If God is omniscient he must have known all the evil and suffering that would come from creating the universe in the way he did. Therefore, he should have created the universe in a different way to avoid evil and suffering.
        • Therefore, if God exists, there should be not evil and suffering in the in world.
        • As evil and suffering exits, either God is not omnipotent, or God is not omnibenevolent or God is not omniscient or God does not exist
        • Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil and Suffering
          • The Devil
          • The Fall
          • The story of Job
            • suffering is part of God’s plan which is beyond human understanding
          • Psalms:
            • show that suffering can bring believers to a deeper knowledge of God 
          • Jesus:
            • God understands what it is like to suffer
      • Philosophical Responses to the Problem of Evil and Suffering
        •  Love cannot be forced.  . So it is within the relationship between God and Humanity God wants people to freely love him.  
      • Practical Responses to the Problem of Evil and Suffering
        • Prayer
        • Action
    • Eschatology: Life after Death
      • Eschatology refers to religious beliefs about death, judgement and life after death
      • Heaven -  a holy, happy and peaceful state of being with God after death which lasts forever. 
      • Purgatory Roman Catholics believe that only those who die without sin (perfectly purified – the saints) can go straight to heaven. Other believers (imperfectly purified) are not pure enough to go into God’s presence so need to be purified to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven. Purgatory is the intermediate state, where souls are purified so they are holy enough to enter heaven Roman Catholics often pray for the souls of those who have died in the hope that they will not have to spend too long in purgatory
      • Judgement: Christians believe that God is just and fair, and so cannot let evil go unpunished so God will judge as to how they lived their life on earth and decide whether they will go to heaven or hell 
      • Why teachings about life after death are important to Christians today
        • Because Jesus was raised from the dead, death is not something to be afraid of
        • People will be judged on how they live their life, so Christians try to live a good life so that they go to heaven and not hell
        • Evangelical Protestants believe that if you die with unforgiven sin you will go to hell
        • Roman Catholics believe that unless you are a saint you have to go to purgatory to be purified of your sins before you go to heaven
        • •       Beliefs about life after death give meaning and purpose to life (Research shows that Christians suffer less from depression and are less likely to commit suicide than atheists and agnostics)  

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