Christianity- beliefs, marriage and the family, life, life and deatg

The basics:

• one God (monotheistic religion)
• 3 equal, separate, parts of God- God th father, God the son (Jesus) and God the holy spirit.
• Trinity comes from 'tri-unity' which means 3 in one
• CHRISTIANS DO NOT BELIEVE IN 3 GODS.

In worship:

• Christians bless themselves by making the sign of the cross
• Prayers in the name of the 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'- Prayers include the Lord's prayer ("our father in heaven, hallowed be your name..."), the Nicine creed ("We believe in one God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,") and the Apostal's creed ("I believe in God, the Father almighty creator of heaven and earth..."). These all refer to the Trinity.
• Hymns refering to the Trinity 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXOLEX-KXJk&list=RDGMEMMib4QpREwENw3_jAc0YgNw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU
• belief that the Trinity should be at the centre of a Christian's daily life.

Literalists (Creationists)

• Genesis story literally true, i.e. 7 day creation etc.
• Do not accept scientific theories such as the big bang or evolution.

Nonliteralists

• God created the world, but Genesis story may be metaphorical, so a 'day' may represent a longer period.
• Science and religion can explain creation together
• No conflict between science and religion

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. John 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth... Genesis 1:1-2

The heavens announce the glory of God, the skies proclaim what his hands have made. Pslams 19:1

Incarnations = becoming flesh

Jesus is:

• God
• The son of God
• The fulfillment of the prophecy of Christ coming to Earth as the saviour.
• Jesus is the Son in the Trinity
• The focus on the books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testement

Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Matthew 12:50

For even the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

Jesus performed miracles (e.g. John 21:25), forgave sins (e.g. mark 2:5-7), was prayed to and worshipped by people (e.g. Matthew 2:11) and was resurrected after dying on a cross (Mark 16:1-20). He was born to a human mother called Mary (Luke 2:7), had a human body (luke 24:39), human feelings and emotions, e.g., tiredness (John 19:28) and he prayed to God (John 11:35).

The Bible is divided into the OLD TESTEMENT, which recounts the time before Jesus lived, and the NEW TESTEMENT, which tells of times during and after Jesus was alive. 

It is also divided into 66 separate books. 39 of these are in the Old Testement, and 27 in the New Testement. These all have different names, such as Genesis, the first book in the bible, and Revelation, the last book in the bible. Different people wrote different books in different languages such as Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, and different books have different themes. Some such as Psalms are songs/poems of worship, some give the history of biblical families and some the historic events, as well as many other focuses.

Most Bibles have an index either at the start of the Old Testement and start of the New Testement, or at the beginning of the Bible, with the page numbers of the beginnings of each book.

Within books, there are CHAPTERS- the big numbers, and within chapters there are VERSES- the small numbers. 

Biblical references are often given in this form: Book Chapter:first verse-last verse.

E.g. Genesis 1:1-5 means the first 5 verses of the first chapter of the book of Genesis.

'The passion' is sometimes what these days are called by Christians.

During this time, several key events occured:

1. The last supper- Jesus had his last passover meal with his 12 disciples. The first Holy Communion happened here (Matthew 26:17-30), and Jesus startled the Apostals by predicting his betrayal by one of them, and that Peter would deny him 3 times, despite Peter's promise that he was willing to go to prison or die for Jesus.

2. Jesus' betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. In accordance with Jesus' prediction, Judus had sold Jesus to those who wanted him dead. He was in the garden to pray. While he was being arrested, he healed the ear of one of the officers after a disciple cut it off trying to protect jesus.

3. Crucifixion- Jesus was accused of blasphemy for claiming to be Messiah, and nailed to a cross to die on Good Friday. 

4. Resurrection and Ascention. After 3 days (by the Jewish Calender) Jesus rose from the dead  on Easter Sunday, before (40 days later) going up to heaven.

• Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.  And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money.  He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. Luke 22:3-6  
• And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:15-16
• Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemana... Matthew 26:36
• Carrying his own cross, he [Jesus] went to the place of the skull. John 19:17
• Why do you look for the living among the dead? he [Jesus] is not here;he has risen. Luke 24:5-6
•   After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19

Salvation = being saved from sin through belief in Jesus.

Atonement = humans are reconciled and forgiven by God

Belief:

Through Jesus' incarnation, the sins of humanity were forgiven by God, as Jesus (who was without sin) died in their place, so death does not have to be permanent for believers.

• Restores relationship with God
• Confirm belief in God
• Allow humans to understand the importance of reconciliation
• Give humans hope that they can have eternal life with God

• Jesus' sacrifice represents God's love for humanity
• His death is victory of good over evil
• His death represents the price being paid for the forgiveness of humanity.

• There is an afterlife
• The resurrection of Jesus proves life after death
• I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believe in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25
• Death is only the end of the body
• Souls that have been saved go to heaven or (in Catholicism) purgatory- where souls go to be cleansed before going to heaven
• Souls that have not been saved through belief in Jesus will go to hell
• God will decide on the destiny of every soul after death
• Heaven mentioned but rarely descirbed in the bible
• He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death of crying or pain. Revelation 21:4
• Hell is where unrepentant sinners go after death if they do not accept eternal life through Christ
• Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. matthew 10:28
• 39 atricles of religion were writeen in 1563 and are statements by the church of England on different teachings.

• Moral evil/ suffering = actions by humans that vause suffering
• Natural evil/ suffering = things not done by humans that cause suffering such as drought.

Questions:

• Why does an OMNIBENEVOLENT God allow suffering?
• Why do people need to suffer
• Why would an OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT God allow suffering?

• The heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. Psalm 50:6
• You answer us with awsome and righteous deeds, God our saviour. Psalm 65:5

• In Genesis, God creates a perfect world, but human free will makes it imperfect, as humans are able to go against God (sin).
• Jesus was sent to Earth to destroy evil in the world and save humanity by dying on the cross
• Evil came into the world by the devil

Psalms (pronounced 'sarms')

• Reassurance that suffering has a purpose and gives people the opportunity to follow Jesus' example.

Job: (Pronounced J-oh-b)

• Demonstrated strong faith through suffering including loss of family and physical pain.
• was rewarded in the end.

Prayer:

• May cause Christians to pray more
• Learn to trust God even if they don't understand.

In the bible marriage is:

• Monogamous
• Between a man and a woman
• To provide love, friendship and support
• Enjoy a sexual relationship
• To raise children
• Lifelong commitment
• A sacrament (ceremony God is involved in)
• A gift from God
• Provision of security and a stable environment for children
• Not obligatory- some people believe that marriage is a vocation which not everyone has  from God.

• That is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes united with his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:24
• So they are no longer two, but one flesh, and whatever that Lord has joined together let no one separate. Matthew 19:6

• Should be between a married man and woman
• Gift from God
• for procreation and to enjoy each other
• demonstration of commitment
• Some christians may believe that all forms of love should be acceptable, including cohabitaton and homosexual relationships
• Casual relationships and adultery are wrong
• Married couples should be faithful to one another
• In the Bible, Paul condems Homosexual acts.

• Narriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral. Hebrews 13:4

Types of families:

• Nuclear (mum, dad and their children living together)
• Blended (Stepfamilies joined through marriage)
• Extended (Including gradparents, aunts, uncles etc)
• Single parent (one parent and children)
• Same sex parents

Biblical purpose:

• Provide secure environment for married couple to have and raise children
• Provide security in society
• Teach children moral values
• Teach Children Christianity

• Resepct your father and mother. Exodus
• Parents, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Colossians 3:21

Parents:

• May believe that it is a responsibility to get married.
• Love, support and care for children
• Raise children as Christians, may take children to social events such as church, christian festivals, baptise them etc.

Children:

• Honour and obey parents
• care for parents in old age

In modern day:

• Family strengthens society
• Family is where people feel most secure

Church:

• A family that Christians are part of regardless of location.
• A community that can support families and individuals.

members of a church or parish can:

• Support expectant parents
• organise family events
• run parental support classes
• Baptisms etc in families
• encouraging children to attend church/ sunday school
• provide counselling support
• Family services designed for families to worship together
• Follow Jesus' teachings

members of a church or parish can:

• Support expectant parents
• organise family events
• run parental support classes
• Baptisms etc in families
• encouraging children to attend church/ sunday school
• provide counselling support
• Family services designed for families to worship together
• Follow Jesus' teachings

Types of contraception:

Natural- tracking fertility cycle (rhythm method)

Artificial- Bith controlpills, condoms etc

Catholic beliefs:

• contraception is unacceptable
• all sexual acts should have the possibilityof causing a child
• contraception could encourage casual sex
• natural forms of contraception are acceptable
• Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae shows that contraception is not acceptable

Protestant:

• Sex both for pleasure and procreation
• any safe method of contraception sensible method of family planning

In Christianity, marriage is intended to be a lifelong commitment (wedding ring symbolises an unbroken marriage).

Catholic beliefs:

• Divorce not recognised as marriage is for life- legal certificate not recognised.
• marriage is a sacrament and so divorce breaks a promise to God
• Remarriage not acceptable
• Annulment may sometimes be acceptable
• legal separation may be accepted if it is to protect children or similar.

Protestant Beliefs:

• DIvorce not encouraged but sometimes better than the alternative, e.g. allowing abuse to continue
• God forgives sins
• Individual ministers can always decide whether or not to marry a couple, including in this circumstance.

Therefore, what God has brought together, let no one separate. Mark 10:9

• men and women both in the image of God
• Could be believed that women were made to subordinately aid men, however the hebrew word used here* is also often used in relation to God aiding people, so this could also be interpreted to mean equal partnership.
• Christians may believe that traditional veiws are outdated
• Catholics accept that men and women were created in the image of God for different roles, which is also the reason for physical differences. 

• It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a *helper suitable for him. Genesis 2:22

• Catholics only accept male Priests
• Believe that this role represents Jesus, who was a man.
• Only BAPTISED men can hold these positions
• MAny Christians organisations promote gender equality, such as Christian aid and Tearfund

Liturgical = Worship according to pattern with set prayers, hymns etc

Advantages: Everyone knows what to do, easy to join in.

Non-liturgical = Less formal, no set pattern

Advantages: More exciting, passionate (but harder to join in.

Some componants of worship:

• Holy Communion/ Eucharist/ mass (eating bread and drinking wine from the same cup as commanded b Jesus at the last supper)
• Private prayer (spending time alone praying, praying in small group, meditation on God)

Sacrament = right of passage/ ceremony where grace/ power of God can be recieved.

Catholics have 7 sacraments- Baptism, Marriage, Eucharist, Anointing of the sick, taking holy orders, penance and confirmation

Protestants have 2 sacraments that were started by Christ- Holy Communion and Baptism.