Section 1 Beliefs and Values - Keywords

Atonement - Reconciliation between God and humanity. 

Catechsim - Official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Compassion - A feeling of pity which makes one want to help the sufferer. 

Creeds - Statements of Christian beliefs. 

Faith - Firm belief without logal proof. 

Incarnation - The belief that God took human form in Jesus. 

Monotheism - Belief in one God. 

Repentance - The act of being sorry for a wrongdoing and eciding not to do it again. 

Salvation - The act of delivering from sin, or saving from evil. 

Trinity - The belief that god is three in one. 

Unity - God's way of being one. 

Virgin Birth - The belief that Jesus was not concieved through sex. 

The meaning

• Christians believe there is only one God who is in the world as three persons. Christians believe that God is one because everything in the universe shows it was made by one God. 

• When Christians speak of God as one, they call this God's substance. When Chistians talk about God at work in the world they call it the three persons of God: 

• The Father who created everything.
• The Son who showed what God is like and saved people from sin. 
• The Holy Spirit who brings the prescence of God into people's lives. 

Christians only worship one God. The Trinity is a Unity. 

• The belief that God is one of the first 10 commandments: "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" - Jesus said this one of the greatest commandments. 
• Belief in one God is the teaching of the Catholic Church (Magisterium) in the Creeds (We believe in 1 God) and the Catechsim (Catholics are taught to believe it.
• Christians believe that God is omnipotent , and only if God is a Unity can God be all powerful so there can only be one. 
• Jesus said "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and al your mind". 

• The Trinity helps Christians understand the different ways that God has shown his presence in the world.
• The Bible shows the trinity when at the Baptism of Jesus, the Father speaks, the Son is baptised and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove. 
• Belief in the Trinity is a prt of Apostolic Tradition, and Christians must believe the teachings of the apostles. 
• Belief in god as Trinity is the teaching of the Church through the Creeds and the Catechism. 

Meaning 

• Believing that God is the Father means that Christians should have a father-child relationship with God. 
• It also shows that God has a relationship of love and care with his creation.
• In the 'Our Father' , Christians learn that God provides daily bread and protection from evil simply because he is 'our father'. 
• Because God is the Father, Christians can turn to him when they are in need. 

Importance

• Jesus called God his Father and told his disciples to call God, Father. The teachings of Jesus are the basis of the Christian faith. 
• The Creeds and Catechsim teach Catholics to call God their Father. 
• If God had not ben our Father, he would not have sent Jesus to explain how Chrsitians should live and to save poeple from their sins. 
• Believing in God as the Father allows Christians to have a personal relationship with God. 

Meaning

• God created the universe and all the things in it, so life has a meaning and purpose given to it by God. 
• God created the universe out of nothing so he is all-powerful and is the cause of all life.
• As God has created the universe, the universe must be good.
• God has created human beings in his image, so humans are special. 

Importance

• God's omnipotence - only an all-powerful God could create the universe. 
• That the universe is not an accident. It was created by God, who is good, for a purpose. 
• The life is sacred becasue God created it and what God creates must be holy, so we need to treat creation carefully and with respect. 
• God's love for humans. God created the world for humans and gave them their purpose in living. 

Meaning 

• Jesus is God incarnated. So in Jesus, humans can see the nature of God. 
• As son of God, Christians believe that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. 
• As God's Son, Jesus had God's powers on Earth, which explains why he was able to work miracles. 
• As the Son of God, Jesus's death was a sacrifice for the sins of the world, bringing God's Salvation and, by rising from the dead, God's son also brought eternal life. 

Importance 

• Only the Son of God could bring salvation from sin and give people the chance to enter heaven. 
• Believing in Jesus as the Son of God gives Christians the chance to see the love shown by God's Son, leading them to share God's love with their neighbours. 
• Beliveing that Jesus is the Son of God is a teaching of the Creeds and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 
• Believing that Jesus is the Son of God is important because only God's Son could institute the Mass which bring Christ into lives today.

Meaning

• The Holy Spirit is the measn by which God communicates with humans, bringing God's presence into the world. 
• The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible so that its writings reveal the nature and will of God.
• The Holy Spirit is how God helps the Church to kep the Apostolic Tradition and to give true teahings in the Magisterium.  
• The Holy Spirit brings God's love and strength to Christians today. 

Importance 

• It is the third memebr of the Trinity and God's presence in the world. 
• Through baptism and reconciliation, it removes people's sin, allowing them to have eternal life. 
• It inspires the teachings of the Church so the teachings of the Church should be obeyed as if they were the teachings of God. 
• Its gifts enable Christians to live lives full of love, joy and peace helping Christians live the lives Jesus wants them to live. 

Meaning

• Sin is an action that breaks God's law and makes it difficult to be in contact with God because sin seperates a person from God.
• Salvation means being saved from sin.
• The death of Jesus was the sacrifcie needed to bring salvation from sin. So jesus is the savoiur of the world because he brought forgivness and eternal life. 
• Catholics believe that today, salvation comes through the Church and is brought about by recieving the sacraments and leading a Christian life.

Importance

• Without salvation, a person's sins will send them to hell or purgatory after death. 
• It is the only way that Christians can have eternal life with God.
• It was the reason why God became man. Salvation from sin was the purpose of the life, death and ressurection of Jesus.
• It is the reason why the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, confirmation, healing and the mass are so important. 

Meaning

• Going to weekly Mass and praying every day. 
• Taking the other sacraments of the Church.
• Following the Christian life as shown in the teachings of the Church.
• Using their talents and abilities in the service of God. 

Importance

• Jesus said that loving God is the greatest commandment, Christians believe Jesus is God's Son therefore following his teachings helps them to gain eternal life.
• By loving God, Christians are living the life God wants. 
• Loving God is a way for Christians to thank God for all his love. God showed his live by sacrificing his Son to bring humans eternal life. 
• The Church teaches in the Catechism that all believers should love God, as this is the basis of Christian life. 

• Using their abilities and talents as God intends so that others benefit from them will affect a Christian's choice of career, marriage partner, use of money etc. 
• Showing respect towards God's creations will affet a Christian's life because they will have to make sure that the Earth and all the creatures on it are cared for. 
• Following the rules set by God (The Ten commandments and the Sermon on the Mount) is bound to have a big effect on a Christians life.
• Following theur calling from God (vocation) will have a huge effect on a Christian's life if they are called to priesthood, the religious life, or service to the poor. 

Jesus says that the second commandment is to love your neighbour as you love yourself. This means that a Christian's love for their neighbours:

• needs to be as it is for themselves.
• is second only to love of God Himself. 
• is what God wants from Christians. 

This Christian teaching is important becasue:

• It is a commandment from Jesus.
• By loving their neighbour Chrsitians are doing God's will. 
• It is not easy to do but can lead to eternal life. 

The Parable of the Good Samaritan 

• Christians need to show love to everyone. 
• Loving your neighbour can make the difference between life and death.
• Loving your neighbour is what God wants.
• Shows Christians that loving your neighbour is not easy but it is what christians have to do. 
• It explains that your neighbour is anyone needing help, whatever their race or religion 

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goat 

• Christians need to show love to everyone in need, because anyone in need could be Jesus. 
• By showing love for others, Christians are showing love for God.
• God will judge people on their actions and how they treat others. 
• By showing love for others, Christians are showing love for God.
• Loving others means caring for those people who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, short of clothes, sick or in prison.
• Showing love to those who are suffering is rewarded by eternal life with God in heaven. 

Carmelite nuns are a mainly contemplative religious community who spend their lives in prayer and study. They show their love for God in the following ways:

• The nuns take out Evangelical counsels (vows of poverty, chastity and obedience) to show their complete love of God.
• The nuns follow the Carmelite Rule, meaning they they:

 - Meditate day and night on the Word of the Lord.

 -Celebrate the Eucharist every day.

 -Do manual work. 

• The nuns spend almost twelve hours a day in prayer, worship and contemplation of God. 
• The nuns live away from the world trying to come closer to God. 

The Missionaries of Charity were founded by Mother Teresa in 1950. They express their love for others by: 

• As well as taking the evangelical counsles (vows of poverty, chastity and obedience), they also serve the poorest of the poor.
• For about twelve hours a day, the nuns and monks love others by working in centres run by the order. 
• Some centres are for the abondoned and dying of all castes and religions, to help them die with dignity, surrounded by God's love.
• The Missionaries also run orphanages, AIDS hospices, and care the lepers, refugees and victims floods, pandemics and famine in order to share God's love with others. 

Love of God in local area (parish)

A Catholic Church shows love of God by: 

• Provides worship so that people can show their love of God in the celebration of Mass.
• Keeping the blessed sacraments in the tabernacle so people can show their love of God by adoring the Body of Christ. 
• Offering the Sacraments so that people can show their love of God through baptism, first confession and comunion, confessions, confirmation and marraige. 
• Giving regular Bible readings and homalies explaining those readings to the people so they can learn more about God and how to show their love for Him. 

Love of others in a local area (parish) 

A catholic church shows love of others in a local area by: 

• Making sure that a Catholic grows up surrounded by people who not only share the same beliefs but also love them as brothers and sisters in Christ. 
• Supporting the local Catholic primary and secondary schools, Communion and Confirmination to help parents to keep thier baptismal promises. 
• Providing social facilities such as youth clubs, uniformed organisations and mother and toddler groups. 
• Providing help for the needy through such groups as the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP), CAFOD, lunch clubs for the elderly and so on.