Christian Beliefs

Christian Beliefs

1. 1.1 The God of Christianity

   • The Holy Trinity :
     • Matthew 3 v16-17: Baptism of Jesus
       • "This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased"
     • God the Father: transcendant and ipersonal
     • God the Son: immanent and personal
     • God the Holy Spirit: immanent and impersonal
     • There is one God who exists as three persons
   • Omnipotent
   • Omnibenevolent
   • Omnicient
   • • The Father
     • The Son
     • The Holy Sprit
     • God
   • Worship and Belief
     • The Cross
       • Three parts of the cross show the tree parts of the trinity
     • The Nicene Creed
       • Statment of belief that the Holy trinity exists, recited by Christians at Church
     • Prayer
       • The Holy Spirit lives inside Christians to help them pray
     • Following the examples of Jesus

2. 1.2 The Creation of the Universe & Humanity

   • Genesis 1 : first Biblical account of Creation
     • Day 1: Heavens and the Earth. Light and dark/ day and night
       • Day 2: Seperated the sky from the water
         • Day 3: Land and vegetation. Seperated the land from the sea
           • Day 4: The Sun, the moon, the stars. Morning and Evening
             • Day 5: Creatures of the water and every winged bird
               • Day 6: Wild animals, live stock and Mankind
                 • Day 7: God rested upon his creation
   • Genesis 2: second Biblical account of creation
     • Concentrates on the development of humans and how Adam and Eve were created
   • Contradictions between the two biblical accounts of creation
     • Genesis 1 had an account of each day
     • Genesis 2 focuses on how Adam and Eve were created
     • Genesis 2 gives an account of man being created before animals
     • Genesis 1 does not have ay rules
   • Views of the Bible
     • Metaphorical
       • Many Christians believe that this account is a metaphor and is not literally true.
         • The Genisis story could help people understand that God is the creator of all things
           • Scientific ideas such as Evolution and the Big Bang Theory go against the creation story
     • Literal
       • Other Christians believe that the Bible is the sacred word of God and should therefore be interpreted literally where possible
         • Creationists believe that the world was made in six days approximately 10,000 years ago
   • Importance
     • Proves God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent
     • First Biblical account of the trinity (God, Word, Spirit)
     • First account of Free Will
     • Explains how everything was made
     • Why suffering exists
     • Tells a Moral story

3. 1.3 The Incarnation

   • Christians believe that Jesus was God in a human body
     • Jesus was God- HUMAN and DIVINE at the same time
       • God became flesh and blood to take an active role in people's lives
         • Jesus is also known as Immanuel : "God with us"
   • Importance
     • Jesus's Teachings came from God
     • Jesus's crucifixion is as an act of atonement that takes away people’s sins
     • Shows God is omnibenevolent because He wants to understand humans more
     • Incarnation is celebrated annually at Christmas
   • John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"
   • 100% human & 100% divine?
     • Matheatically and logically incorrect to have traits that total 200%
     • Impossible to be human and divine at the same time
     • God shouldn't be associated with humans as he is greater and more powerful

4. 1.4 Last Days of Jesus Christ

   • Betrayal
     • Judas agrees with the High Priest to betray Jesus, for money
     • Whilst Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas kisses him on the cheek
     • Luke 22:47
   • Last Supper
     • Jesus broke the bread, saying 'this is my body', then blessed the wine, saying 'this is my blood'.
       • First ever Communion
     • The final meal that Jesus shared with his Apostles before his death.
     • Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him
     • Luke 22:7-23
   • Arrest
     • Judas comes to Jesus with the High Priests, an armed crowd
     • Jesus was unarmed so Peter cut off an ear of the sodier to defend Jesus but Jesus heals it
       • Shows Jesus is omnibenvolent, even to his enemies
     • Jesus is arrested by the Temple Guard at the Garden of Gethsemane
     • Luke 22:47-53
   • Trial
     • Jesus was taken before the High Jewish Council where he was accused of Blasphemy
     • The Jews declared that Jesus claimed to be the son of God, however he never said that
     • Pilate: "I find no reason to condemn this man"
       • Herod: "There is nothing this man has done to deserve death"
     • The crowd managed to persuade Pilate to crucify Jesus
     • Luke 23:1-25
   • Crucifixion
     • Jesus is so frail after being whipped and beaten, that he cannot carry his own cross
       • shows that Jesus was human
     • On top of his cross was a sign that said "king of Jews"
     • Jesus died on the cross as a sacrafice for Christians and took upon their sins
       • Celebrated on Good Friday
     • Luke 23:25-43
   • Resurrection
     • Two women found Jesus's tomb was empty
     • Two men in bright shining clothes told the women that Jesus has risen
     • The women told the Disciples who didn't believe them at first
       • in Galilee Jesus told his disciples: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'
     • Luke 24:1-12
   • Ascension
     • Jesus took his disciples out of the city where he was blessing them
     • While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
       • Jesus died proving he was Holy
     • The disciples worshipped Jesus and when they got back to Jerusalem they spent their time in a Temple, praising God
     • Luke 24:50-53

5. 1.5 Salvation

   • Salvation is being saves from sin and the consequences of sin
   • Original Sin
     • When Adam and Eve disobeyed God will (Genisis)
     • Christians are born with the original sin therefore they need to get Baptised in order to be welcomed into the Chritian community
     • Adam and Eve were sent to earth because of they did not listen to God and ate the apple from the tree of knowledge
   • Jesus's Death
     • An act of self sacrafice
     • An act of love for all human beings
     • An example of God's Grace
     • An at of obedience to God's will
     • Atonement
     • Redemption
   • Parable of the Sheep and Goats
     • Sheep represent those who helped others and were kind and caring so go to heaven
     • Goats represent those who did not help others and will go to Hell
   • Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
     • The rich man did not help Lazarus, a poor beggar, so he went to Hell
     • Lazarus was rewarded for his hardships and went to heaven

6. 1.6 Eschatology

   • Day of Judgement: God asseses a persons life and actions deciding where they sould spend their afterlife
   • Heaven: Place of eternal paradise where Christians believe they will go
   • Purgatory: Souls of the dead are cleansed and prepared for Heaven
   • Hell: place of punishment and seperation from God
   • Beliefs about death, judgement and the final destiny of the soul
   • Particular judgement: The divine judgment that a departed person undergoes immediately after death
   • Resurrection: God will raise the dead bodies including Jesus
   • Salvation by faith (sole fide)
   • Salvation by works
   • God will eventually send everyone to heaven because he is omnibenevolent
   • Life after death can be seen as a reward for Christians, and can spend their afterlife with God

7. 1.7 The Problem of Evil

   • Atheist Philosopher JL Mackie expresses the Proble of Evil in an inconsistant Triad
     • • Omnipotent
       • Omnibenevolent
       • Evil
     • God is said to have traits of omnipotence and omnibenevolence
       • If God is loving he would want to removie suffering and evil
         • If God is powerful he is able to remove all the sufferng and evil
           • Therefore both God and evil cannot exist together - yet suffering exists
             • Therefore God cannot exist
   • Biblical Solutions
     • Psalm 119: suffering is a part of life
     • Christians can pray to God asking Him to comfort them in their times of trouble
     • One day all suffeing will come to an end
   • Theoretical Solutions
     • 1.8 Thodicies
       • St Irenaeus' Theodicy
         • Develop a moral character and move from being made in the 'image of God' to the 'likeliness of God'
         • God allows evil and suffering for the grater good; soul making
         • Rejections
           • Evil can make someone a terrible person
           • If a baby dies, they are not able to develop their soul
       • St. Augustine's Theodicy
         • Adam and eve brought moral and natural evit into existence when they abused their free will
         • God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins so we can reach Heaven
         • Therefore Adam and Eve are responsible for the existence of sufferng, not God
         • Rejections
           • Must believe in the creation story to believe this
           • How can humans be punished for something they didn't do?
     • God gave humans free will to act as they wish
     • Suffering helps develop good characteristics
   • Practical Solutions
     • Develop positive qualities such as commpassion, kindness, courage and honesty
     • Help each other to make the world a better place and learn how to improve things
     • Pray for God's help and encouragement