christian beliefs and practices
nature of god
omnipotent
benevolent
just
omniscient
omnipresent
christian view on evil and suffering
- its caused by humans; god doesnt interfere with humans free will
- its a test; follow the teachings of christianity to pass
- develop in moral character; grow closer to the likeliness of god
- reason is unknown; found out in the end of time
what might an atheist say about evil and suffering?
- if god was omnipotent hed have the power to stop it
- if god was benevolent he wouldnt want humans to suffer
- if god was just he wouldnt make innocent people suffer
- if god was omniscient he would know it was going on and would stop it
beliefs about the trinity
- one god but hes three persons [father/son/holy spirit]
- each person is experienced in a different way
- the father; omnipotent/present/scient creator
- the son/jesus; the human incarnation of god [fully god and fully human]/ he was sent to earth to save humans from sin
- the holy spirit; gods presence on earth today who guides and supports christians
what does genesis say about creation?
- 7 days of creation
- he did something different everyday and rested on the seventh day
- d1: light and dark
- d2: sky
- d3: land, sea and plants
- d4: sun, moon and stars
- d5: fish, sea creatures and birds
- d6: animals and humans
- d7: rested
whats theistic evolution?
they use science and the bible; started off with the big band 13.8 billion years ago
what does john say about creation?
- the word is jesus
- the trinity was present at the begining of time
quotes for t1:
"in the begining gos created the heavens and the earth"
"for god so loved the world he gave his one and only son"
"he will judge the world with justice"
"and god said 'let there be light!' and there was light"
"in the begining was the word and the word was with god and the word was god"
"he created man in his own image in the image of god he created him"
beliefs on afterlife
- ressurection; if people believe in god and jesus they will have a life after death for eternity
- some believe its a full body resurection but some only believe its the soul
what is the parable of the sheep and goats?
- story told by jesus; some interpret it as how god will judge them based on how they treated others
- left [goats] is punishment
- right [sheep] is heaven
beliefs on heaven
- no sadness
- being with god for eternity [not a literal place]
- follow jesus' teachings
- influences them to act good
beliefs on hell
- punishment
- for sinners
- painful and unhappy
- some believe that god is too loving so he wouldnt create such a place [hell is a symbol of life without god]
- some believe its just a warning to ensure humans behave as god wants
quotes for t2:
"the one who believes in me will live even though they die"
"whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"
"then they [the goats] will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous [the sheep] to eternal life"
"he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more"
"throw them into the blazing furnance where there will be wheeping and gnashing of the teeth"
quotes for t2:
"the one who believes in me will live even though they die"
"whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"
"then they [the goats] will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous [the sheep] to eternal life"
"he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more"
"throw them into the blazing furnance where there will be wheeping and gnashing of the teeth"
incarnation
- jesus was born by the virgin mary
- god took on human form and was on earth
- important because it shows that jesus is apart of the trinity
baptism of jesus
- jesus was baptised by his cousin john in the river jordan
- a voice from heaven said he was his son
- important because it shows jesus is the son of god and although he was without sin it shows a christian what they should do to remove sin
miracles and parables
- jesus did many miracles [like bringing people back to life]
- jesus told stories with meanings like the parable of the sheep and goats/the parable of the good samaritan [taught them how to behave]
- important because his mircales prove that he was god incarnated and his teachings show what they should believe in and how to live
holy week
- final week of jesus' life
- palm sunday; enters jerusalem on a donkey
- the last supper; says to his disciples to remember his body with bread and blood with wine [hes arrested]
- good friday; the crucifixtion; he is sentenced to death
- important because the last supper is remembered and re enacted at the eucharist which reminds christians of gods sacrifice / his crucifixtion shows that god was prepared to sacrifice his son for the sins of humans [enables them to acheive salvation]
easter sunday [the resurection]
- after the third day of crucifixtion jesus rose from the dead
- important because it proves that jesus was the son of god / shows there is a life after death and they will be ressurected
great comission and ascension
- after his resurection jesus spoke with the disciples and told them at the great comision ti spread the gospel
- he then ascended into heaven to be with god; christians are waiting for him to return at the end of time on earth
- important because it gave the disciples clear instructions on how to spread the gospel / tells christians that jesus was fully god and returned to god; hes still alive
quotes for t3
"they crucified him along with the criminals (...) jesus said 'father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing"
"but when they entered they did not find the body of the lord jesus"
"surely this man was the son of god"
"after the lord jesus had spoken to them he was taken up into heaven"
"the word became flesh and made his dwelling umongst us"
sin
- deliberately going against what god wants
- people sin because god gave them free will
original sin
- adam and eve failed to follow gods instructions on not to eat the fruit from the garden of eden so he punished them [suffering in life]
- due to this christians believe everyones born with the inclination to sin
- some believe baptism washes this away
- some believe because of original sin humans have moved away from their relationship with god
personal sin
humans use their free will to behave in a way that goes against gods wishes
to get rid of sin:
- prayer and repentance; god is all loving so he'll forgive them
- confession; catholics can confess to a priest and god will forgive them through the actions of the priest