GCSE R.E.

MARRIAGE...

• was designed and created by God
• is a solemn agreement made between 2 people in front of God
• is the only suitable relationship in which sexual intercourse can take place
• is the ideal relationship in which to bring up children
• within marriage a couple should be faithful to each other

3 MAIN PURPOSES OF MARRIAGE...

• provide each other with help and support in both the good and bad times
• to have sexual intercourse in a secure environment where both man and women can feel equally loved
• to have children and bring them up in a Christian home

MARRIAGE IS IMPORTANT FOR CHRISTIANS BECUASE...

• it is a gift from God and he intended man and women to live together
• Men and women should help and support each other and be faithful
• it is for bringing up children

BIBLE TEACHINGS...

• "Do not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14)

· Divorce is wrong according to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.

· Although divorce is not encouraged in Christianity, many churches now allow it.

· In the Roman Catholic Church a marriage can only be ended by an annulment.

· An annulment is only given if a marriage can be proved invalid and it is then considered never to have taken place.

· "What God has joined together let no man separate" (Mark 10/Matthew 19).

· Marks Gospel there are NO grounds for divorce and Jesus says "Anyone who leaves their wife and marries someone else commits adultery" .

· "Do not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14).

· Marriage is intended to be permanent .

• in the church of england the marriage is taking place in the sight of God
• the most important witness at a Christian wedding is God
• rings are exchanged as a visible sign of the vows that they have taken
• a ring is a never ending circle that symbolises love which is hoped to last and grow through life in eternity
• MONOGAMY

• Quakers do not look favorably on divorce as a married couple promise to be faithful "as long as both shall live"

• Divorce is a negotiation of this promise although some do get divorced

• Some Quaker friends will be sad but sympathise with their friends for getting a divorce

• Sex cannot take place outside of marriage
• Sex must be male and female
• No gay relationships in the Roman Catholic Church

PREMARITAL

• Is sex before marriage

EXTRAMARITAL

• Is also known as adultery
• When one or both people are married and have sex outside of marriage
• All sex outside of marriage is seen as a sin by the Church

WHAT IS CELIBACY?

• A way of life where you choose not to have sex
• Roman Catholic Priests take "a vow of celibacy" as they follow in Pauls footsteps as he believed they should live a pure life and committ 100% to God and the Church

• Roman Catholics are 100% against using any form of contraception as it interferes with the natural process of conception

• Roman Catholic Church teaches that artificial contraception is wrong as sex was created for the sole purpose of having children

• Some christians believe that life begins at conception

• "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis)

• Stopping the conception of a child is a sin

• Most Christians believe that it is up to the couple to choose whether they want to use artifical contraception

THE SANCTITY OF LIFE MEANS...

• all life is sacred
• that life is special to God
• each person is a separate, living human being with many rights - espically the right to life
• human beings have a special place in Gods eyes and in Gods creation
• human beings where made in the image of God
• God has given life to everyone and only he can decide when it begins and ends

WHY HAVE AN ABORTION...

• not the right time in life to have a baby
• its a result of being sexually abused or *****
• could be a result of incest
• not in a stable relationship
• physical illnesss/deformaties
• general illness e.g. HIV/AIDS
• too young to look after a child
• stops education or career
• mental illness e.g. parent cannot mental cope with a child
• addiction problems e.g. drugs, alcohol etc

ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHINGS ON ABORTION...

• against abortion
• 1869 Pope Puis IX declared that the foetus became "ensouled" at conception and therefore all abortions are murder
• 1917 Roman Catholics declared that abortion was a sin at any stage in the pregnancy
• 1930 the Roman Catholic Church decided that abortion was only ever allowed if the mother and childs life was in danger

OTHER CHRISTIAN (FREE CHURCHES) TEACHINGS ON ABORTION...

• will allow if the mothers life or mental health is in danger
• will allow if the baby will be disabled
• will allow if the mother has been *****

NO CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION WILL BURY STILL BORN OR MISCARRIED FOETUSES

AID = artifical insemination by donor

IVF = inviro fertility treatment

AIH = artifical insemination by husband

• The embryo is 'ensouled' and destroying it is killling -- it goes against 'The Sanctity of Life'
• There is no obvious teaching in the Bible that refers to fertility treatment, as fertility treatment didn't exist in Biblical times therefore Christians disagree over whether fertility treatment should be allowed.
• In the Old Testament infertility was seen as Gods decision.
• Infertility makes people unhappy therefore some Christians believe that helping them create a family with fertility treatment should be encouraged.
• Catholic Church believe that fertility treatment is wrong. They feel that it is Gods will if people cannot have children.
• The Catholic Church are also worried about what happens to the embryos that are stored or not needed -- as this is similar to abortion.

TYPES OF EUTHANASIA...

• VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA is when somebody choses to die. It is not suicide but aided death.
• INVOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA is when someone does not actually choose to die themeselves. It is when someone chooses for you to die.
• ACTIVE EUTHANASIA is killing someone to end suffering, commiting suicide, or assisting someone to commit suicide. This might be a letal injection or overdose.
• PASSIVE EUTHANASIA is allowing people who are being kept alive artifically to die (ie by switing off a life support machine). They then die of their illness or injury.

PASSIVE EUTHANASIA is legal in Britian..... ACTIVE EUTHANASIA is illegal in Britian but lrgal in Holland..... Doctors can decide to switch off life support machines......

CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS EUTHANASIA...

• Most Christians are against euthanasia because it is taking away the life God gave you and therefore only God can take it away.
• St. Paul warns against euthanasia because he says the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which means that the body is holy and should not be destroyed for any reason.
• Methodist Churches might be more relaxed towards euthanasia because Catholics strongly believe in 'The Sanctity of Life' whereas Methodists are more lenient and feel that all humans have the right to choose a dignified death.
• Roman Catholics are opposed to all forms of euthanasia as they strongly believe in 'The Sanctity of Life'.

CHRISTIAN VIEWS ON ANIMAL TESTING & TREATMENT OF ANIMALS...

• God said in Genesis "I will make humans to have dominion* over fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle and all the wild animals on earth. Humans will spread all over the earth and subdue** it."

*dominion means rule over the earth **subdue means to make obedient

• Christians believe animals have no soul ------------------------------------------------- St. Thomas Aquinas said " It doesn't matter if we treat animals badly because unlike humans animals do not have souls." ------------------------------------------------Archbishop of Undine in Italy said "It is no sin to beat a dog to death." --------- Some Christians say "It says nothing in the bible about 'animal rights' so we can do what we like."
• Some Christians believe "Animals are part of Gods creation and should be treated with respect.
• Simon Phipps former Bishop of London said "God is fathr and we are his children... Animals are part of Gods Family."

• PREJUDICE - is the act of prejuding someone or something
• DISCRIMINATION - is when people are treated badly due to others being prejudice against them

• Christianity teaches that everyone is equal in the eyes of God and so it would be wrong to make anyone feel inferior or suffer because of any difference between them: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39)

BIBLE QUOTES ON EQUALITY...

• "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22:39)
• I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as i have loved you, you also should love another." (John 13:34)
• "There is neither Jew nor Greek, Slave nor free, male nor female, for you are one in Christ." (Luke 10:27)
• "He's not a slave, but much more than a slave, he is a dear brother in Christ." (St. Paul)

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE...

• AGAPE - denotes feelings of selflessness, respect and regard
• STORGE - parents affection for their children
• PHILIA - love of doing activities
• EROS - passionate love, with sensual desire and longing

• Born in 1929 in Atlanta
• Followed his father and became a Baptist Minister, age 19
• Was awarded a PhD in theology by university of Boston in 1995
• Awarded the noble peace prize in 1964
• Martin Luther Kings says that God wants his people to have Freedom and Equal Rights
• Martin Luther King loved everyone regardless of what they did ---- he learned to forgive people
• "Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Misssissippi. From every mountainside... from every village and every halet from every state and every city." (Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech)

• SEXISM - prejudice or discrimination against people, espically women, simple because of their sex

• "Women should remain silent in churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a women to speak in the church." (Corinthians)

ARGUMENTS FOR & AGAINST HAVING FEMALE PRIESTS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND...

• FOR - equal rights - jesus had many close friends & supporters who were women
• AGAINST - bible tradition

• Jesuses attitudes towards gender equality where good as he had many female supporters and he also broke a strong taboo when he spoke to a female in public.

MARY OF MAGDALENE

• Devoted follower
• First to see jesus resurected
• Leader of women followers
• (Not the virgin Mary)

DAUGHTER OF ABRAHAM

• Jesus faced the wrath of the Jewish leaders by healing a woman on Sabbath
• Jesus showed his regard by calling her the "Daughter of Abraham" (Luke 13:10-13)

APPROACH 1

• Many believe there is only one way of approaching God - through Jesus
• Jesus answered "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

APPROACH 2

• Christians believe that good and sincere Hindus, Muslims, Jews and others are really 'anonymous Christians'
• They will reach heaven in the end because they are really Christians but do not know it.

APPROACH 3

• All religious people concentrate on spirtiual reality wherever they find it.
• All religions are equal to each othr and help people to find God.

• Jesus' teachings empahasize forgiveness more than anything else
• God will forgive anyone who repnets their sins
• Jesus' teachings emphasized forgiveness more than almost anything else "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matther 6:12)
• Jesus still forgave people when he was nailed to the cross
• Christians believe that Jesus died for our sins, which means he forgave humanity for its mistakes.
• The "Parable of the Lost Son" teaches that you should forgive and forget. That you should treat everyone equally especially your family and friends.
• Roman Catholic Sacrement of Reconciliation recognises the importance of Gods forgiveness to all of us.
• The Eucharist or Mass is asking for forgivness from God. The Broken Bread = reminder of the broken body of God. The Wine = reminder of the blood of Jesus