Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies Route B Specification - Sin and Forgiveness

Theme 4 - Sin and Forgiveness

Crime and Punishment

• The difference between crime and sin their relationship to morality, with reference to absolutist and relativistic approaches to the morality of actions
• The different rationales given for criminal penalties: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation and a critical evaluation of the justifiability of each
• Christian teachings about forgiveness, including interpretations of teachings: Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 6: 14-15, with reference to the tension between forgiveness and punishment
• The development of Catholic teaching on capital punishment with reference to St Augustine, Letter 134(4) & 153 (3) to Macedonius and Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae 56 
• Arguments for and against Capital punishment within Christianity, with reference to Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:24 and Matthew 5:38 and non-religious view

Redemption

• The meaning and significance of the term “salvation” for Catholics and the role of grace and human freedom in redemption. How do Catholics believe the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus saves them?
• The compatibility of a belief in Hell and a belief in the unconditional love of God and the universal nature of God’s…