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RE - Christianity : Beliefs and Teachings (remember to always be thinking…

- - - - All powerful ; capable of anything
      - Unlimited authority
    - - 'And God said, 'let there be light,'and there was light.'
    - - They would follow the rules set out by God as he has unlimited authority, also because he can reward them in any way
  - - - Loving of all humans
    - - 'God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'
    - - God loves all, so Christians won't be prejudiced
      - Aspire to show agape as God and Jesus does/did
  - - - Able to differentiate between right and wrong, able to judge human character
      - Bringing about what is right and fair or making up for a wrong that has been comitted
    - - The Ten Commandments show how he opposes injustice
      - 'Do not kill'
    - - Act justly in the eyes of God to not be punished for sinning
      - Avoid prejudice and stereotyping
      - Professions such as lawyers or police
- - - - A loving God wouldn't allow for pointless suffering
        
        William Rowe's fawn
        
        God would only inflict or allow suffering where there is a greater good to be achieved, if he was loving
        Fawn : Objectively better to prevent suffering - it doesn't prevent good nor create a greater evil
        
        If God was loving - 0 pointless suffering in world, yet there is such as genocide
      - Inconsistent triad
        
        Omnipotence + Omniscience, knows all instances and has power
        If he were loving as defined Bible - patient kind and persevering, he wouldn't want us to suffer
        
        If God was loving - 0 suffering
    - - God would allow suffering to exist as it helps to better people
        
        St Irenaeus : When humans respond positively to suffering, it helps us to grow spritiually and morally, we learn how to make morally correct decisions
        
        Likely to be accepted into heaven
        
        Therefore God can still be loving, as this is what a loving God would want for us. The suffering/evil present is negated by the insurmountable greater good
        
        Strive towards God's likeness
      - He didn't create suffering
        
        St Augustine : God created a world devoid of evil
        Gave humans and angels the blessing of free will (because he is loving), and through their own actions they introduced decay and sin into the world
        
        Adam and Eve ate from forbidden 'tree of knowledge of good and evil'
        Didn't resist Satan's temptation
        Disobeyed God
        Threatened God's position as judge with their knowledge
        
        This shows that God is still loving, as if he had stopped them, he would be taking the gift he had given them (free will)
        And therefore he had to allow the suffering to exist as the consequence
    - - Suffering doesn't always better people, some end in death, particularly miscarriages are pointless suffering which a loving God wouldn't allow
      - Even if he didn't create it, he still actively allows it to exist to this day
      - Therefore my view is most persuasive
- - - - Created Earth + all living things
      - Protective and supportive father
      - Omnipotent,benevolent,omniscient, and omnipresent
    - - Incarnation of God through Jesus
    - - Unseen power of God, guides and influences actions of earth and all life on it, to sustain them
- - - - 'yom' means age not days
  - - - Neither contradicts with the other
        
        Myth view - Genesis isn't a scientific account, only explain religious truths, so doesn't contradict with big bang theory
      - Both agree on the beginning of the universe
        
        Scientists suggest nothing happened before universe, coinciding with Genesis 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'
    - - Only one set of events can be true
        
        Fundamentalist view - Genesis is infallible and cannot be wrong , God created light , not the Big Bang
      - The events directly contradict
        
        There can't have been light before the sun, as all light in our solar system is from that star
    - - According to the non-literal and myth view, Genesis is a religious story/myth which has the purpose of revealing religious truths, not showing what actually happened in the creation of the universe
  - - - 'without him nothing was made that has been made.'
    - - 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'
  - - - To act as stewards who manage and protect it
        
        ''as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries'
      - 'and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food'
- - - - Justified Conclusion
        
        God is omnipotent and has many natures which contradict such as being transcendent and immanent, so it is fully possible for Jesus the Son of God to be similar in that nature
        
        Jesus wasn't omniscient as at the incarnation he willingly became fully human, so had to give up some of his divine knowledge (temporarily)
      - Agree
        
        The stories of incarnation are supported by evidence of Jesus performing miracles
        
        Walking on water, turning water into wine
        
        The Bible is infallible
        
        It is the word of God, a voice from heaven said 'You are my Son'
      - Disagree
        
        Human and Divine cannot co-exist
        
        Human is limited, God is omnipotent
        
        Some stories in the Bible about Jesus suggest he doesn't know everything
        
        When Jesus talks to his disciples about the end of the world he says that no-one knew what would happen
    - - Saviour such as Jesus, who cleansed humanity of their sins and allowed them passage into heaven
    - - A religious offense including claiming to be god
    - - Rising from the dead
    - - Becoming flesh, taking a human form
  - - - The execution of Jesus on Good Friday
      - Influence
        
        Act morally to obey God's wishes
        
        As Jesus did by willingly sacrificing Himself on the cross for humanity
        
        Do social work
        
        Offer themselves to the service of God as Jesus surrendered himself to God's will
      - Reasons for death of Jesus
        
        Political
        
        The Sanhedrin wanted him dead as his teachings/interpretation contradicted theirs
        
        Pilate sentenced Jesus as releasing him would be disloyal to Caesar
        
        Theological
        
        To atone for our sins
        
        To enable us access to heaven
        
        To save us from Original Sin
    - - Jesus rising from the dead on Easter day, as recorded by all four gospels - the central belief of Christianity
        
        Influence
        
        Confirms Jesus' divine power, as he overcame death, which means Christians would believe in his teachings, as the teachings of God
        
        They would believe that God is omnibenevolent as He sacrificed His own Son to atone for Original Sin, granting access to heaven
      - Beliefs on the resurrection (say that resurrection is possible, counterarguments given too below)
        
        RCC + Orthodox
        
        Bodily resurrection to glorified state without suffering
        
        No suffering : 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes'
        
        Other Christians
        
        Spiritual resurrection only
        
        Story of the dragonfly
        
        Confined to barriers of pond
        
        Once climbing out, they cannot nor want to return and they are free to live in the new world which they had entered
        
        Evidence supporting
        
        John Hick Replica Theory (Bodily resurrection)
        
        People are given a new immortal body when resurrected, does not age or decay
        
        All four gospel accounts share the same details meaning they are reliable
        
        e.g. Mary Magdalene is said to be witness to the resurrection on all four counts
        
        Problems with belief
        
        No evidence of a physical place for the physical body to exist, no evidence of the physical existence of heaven (Bodily resurrection)
        
        Heaven is an undetectable place to humans who are still alive
        
        No evidence for the existence of immortal souls (Spiritual resurrection)
        
        Soul is an undetectable substance to humans and their medical equipment
    - - Jesus Christ rose to heaven on the 40th day after the Resurrection
        
        Needed 40 days to give teachings to his disciples, to enable them to become apostles, and spread the great commission
      - Non-literal
        
        Imagery just shows that finality of Jesus' last appearance
      - Myth
        
        The story is simply symbolic of God's forgiveness and omnipotence
      - Influences
        
        Influences them not to sin
        
        Imminence of Judgement Day because Jesus has returned to God, to help judge
        
        Influences them to believe in the divine kingship of Jesus
        
        Miraculous event
        
        Influences them to believe in his teachings, as he is the Son of God
      - 'he left them and was taken up into heaven'
      - 'he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight'
    - - Jesus/God judges the dead and decides where every person should be sent
        
        Judged after death
        
        Judged on Day of Judgement, when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead
      - Catholic belief in purgatory
        
        Further penance for sins before being allowed to enter heaven
  - - - Through works
        
        Having faith in God and obeying Christian morality
        
        A view stressed in Old Testament of Bible
      - Through grace
        
        Given through faith in Jesus, gift for the faithful
      - Some believe mixture of both methods is needed, while others believe there is evidence that salvation through grace is enough
      - Both means or only through grace?
        
        Both
        
        'But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?'
        
        'But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace'
        
        Only through grace
        
        'The one who believes in me will live, even though they die' - said by Jesus
        
        'He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy'
    - - Jesus' death was an act of atonement and the reconciliation of humanity with God through sacrifice
      - Jesus' death payed the debt caused by human sin
  - - - 'if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away'
    - - 'For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners'
    - - Augustine said that fallenness and sin from the disobedience of Adam and Eve were passed on through sex
        
        All humans were sinful from birth
    - - Feel a need for a saviour (Jesus) to atone for their Original Sin