1.1 Flashcards
How are the Jahwist and Priestly creation accounts different?(4)
PRIESTLY
-Creator reffered to as ‘God’
-Creation begins with a dark void and primordial waters
-God then creates everything, but man last at the same time as women
-Man and woman are equal
-Creator is portrayed as very distant and he creates with his voice
JAHWIST
-Creator is referred to as ‘LORD’
-Creation begins with the earth and the heavens, then man, everything else, then women from a rib of man lastly.
-Man is superior to woman
-Creator is portrayed as much more direct and caring about humans rather than the land
-Lord creates using his breath.
What are the key ideas that Christians take from the creation story?
-Stewardship: God created everything in the world hence we must respect and protect it.
-God created deliberately; no accidents: Everything God creates is good and worthy of protection.
-Dominion: God entrusts humanity to take care of the world as we are at the top of the hierarchy
-There is a special relationship between God and the world and God and humanity
Describe the Big Bang Theory and what it suggests?(4)
-Universe began 13.7 billion years ago as an infinitely dense single point.
-At a quantum level, it is possible for things to just spring spontaneously into existence.
-Singularity expanded, forming subatomic particles, these formed atoms, elements, galaxies and eventually our solar system.
-No time before the Big Bang because time itself was created by the Big Bang. There is also no outside the universe because space itself was created by the Big Bang.
-Suggests that there is no need for God, creation was accidental - therefore there is no purpose to life.
What are some reasons for Humans to care for the world?(4)
Religious
-God gave us the task of stewardship
-Wouldbe disrespectful to misuse something that God loves and created.
-We should preserve the world for future generations because He made it for everyone.
-“Eat the fruits but do not destroy the trees; the trees are not your enemies” Deuteronomy 20:19-20
Non-religous
-Only world we currently have so we should look after it
-We are much more rational beings than any other, therefore we have a greater responsibility to care for the world because we have the capacity to
-We have created many of the world’s problems ourselves, hence we should also solve them.
What is the idea of Commonality and its counterpart - Dominance?(4)
-Theory of Samsara means that all organisms are tied up in the same process of rebirth, a frog can be reborn as a human and visa versa.
-While humans are more logical than other animals, it doesn’t make us ‘better’. We only value rationality because it is a skill that we posses over them - many animals are faster, stronger than us.
-We evolved in the same way that other animals evolved, we are just another animals. This follows Darwin’s theory of evolution, that states many species, maybe all species, evolved from one common ancestor species.
-God made humans in his image, unlike other animals; humans have souls and can be moral and hence can have a relationship with God.
-God bestowed on us dominance and stewardship: “Go forth and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds.” (Genesis 1:28)
-Humans have earned the right to have dominance. We have proved ourselves “fittest”, as it is us that are top of all food chains.
What are Christian teachings on animal rights?
-‘God blessed Noah and said “All the animals, birds and fish will live in fear of you. They are all placed under your power. Now eat them as well as green plants”’. (Genesis 9)
-“Good people take care of their animals, but wicked people are cruel to theirs”. (Proverbs 12)
What are some arguments for belief in the soul, afterlife?(5)
Near death experiences - many people see a tunnel of light, some may see religious figures or dead relations. Some people can accurately describe things that happen to them whilst they were ‘dead’.
This could be true, because if the brain is not functioning at the time then it cannot be responsible for the experience. Also most near death experiences are very similar. This may suggest that people are all experienceing the same afterlife.
This could be false, because if a person is dying they may release endorphins - creating a sense of peace. Cells in the eye all firing at once may create a tunnel illusion. The experience may happen moments before or after the brain stops functioning, hence it appears to come from moments when the brain had no function.
Religous beliefs. Holy books, the Bible for example, promise a type of afterlife - stating that people have souls. Christians for example believe that Jesus rose from the dead, his tomb was empty, and he appeared to his disciples.
This could be false, because it is more likely that the disciples stole the body, or women went to the wrong tomb, or that Jesus did not even die. Maybe the ressurection is a story not to be taken literally.
What are some arguments against belief in the soul, afterlife?(5)
There is no physical, or biological evidence of a soul, in fact conciousness seems to come from the brain. Feuerbach argued that people want to believe in a God because it seems to solve their problems. People make up beliefs in a heaven because they want to believe in it.
Occam’s razor states that the simplest or most likely solution is the best. There is no need to believe in spiritual things because neuron activity already explains conscience.
This could be false, just because something is the most likely answer it does not mean that we can just cancel out the other possibilities. Furthermore, it is possible that if the soul is spiritual then there would be no way to see it physically, or in the body.
Religous beliefs. Buddhists do not believe that people have a soul because they say that there is no permanent self(anatta). Everything changes in people all the time, hence to have a fixed and unchanging part of a person is impossible.
When a person dies, it is their karmic energy that is reborn. This has no personality and is not fixed, not the same as a soul.
What are Christian teachings on the soul and the body based off?(2)
Christian teachings on the soul and body is based both on both Jewish and Greek thought.
Augustine compared the relationship between body and soul to that of a horse(body) and rider(soul). This implies they are separate. Greeks also had this dualist view of the world; there are spiritual things and material things, a human is made up of both.
Jewish thought tended to see human being as one whole identity - it didn’t divide them into physical and spiritual.
What are Christian teachings on the soul and the spirit?(2)
In the Bible, in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians writes “and I pray to God for your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless…”. This implies in fact that the soul, spirit, and body are all different. The soul is the origin of personality, human self-awareness; the spirit is the part of a human which worships God.
Conversly. In Genesis 2 the LORD creates Adam’s body from mud and “breathes into him the breath of life” - “becomes a living soul”. It then reads “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead”(James 2:26). This implies that the soul and spirit are interchangeable, or maybe the spirit is still the part which worship God, but is part of the soul.
What are religous and non-religious views on Selfishness?(4)
People should not be selfish, they should show agape to others.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). St Paul writes “Honour one another above yourselves.”(Romans 12:10).
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the supreme example of selflessness. “[Jesus]Love one another as I have loved you”(John 15).
Non religous views. Selfishness is generally seen as poor quality morals, but people may argue that it is natural. Every human is biologically programmed to survive; putting your own needs first.
However, if people were only concerned with themselves then people may say or do hurtful things because they do not care about the consequences of their thoughts or actions.
What are religous and non-religous views on Greed?(4)
Material possesions can be a barrier to a relationship with God. “[St Paul]The love of money is the root of all evil”(1 Timothy), and “[Jesus]it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”(Matthew). This is why the early Christian church shared all their possesions and took collections of money to help the poor.
Non religous views. Greed is usually seen as a bad thing, but the idea of captialism arguably is about greed and making more money. Many people would also argue we live in a consumer society that encourages greed.
However, greed for more power and land has often lead to war. Greed for more money and success might might make people exploite others. 16% of the world’s population use 80% of the natural resources.
What are religous and non-religous views on Ignorance?(4)
The Bible reads;”[Jesus]Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, this implies that ignorance can be justified. However, it is also says in the Bible; “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden by the commandments, even if he did not know it, he is guilty and shall be held responsible for his sin.”(Leviticus 5).
Non religous views. Many people think it is unfair to punish someone if they genuinely did not know what they were doing wrong; hence why children under 10 cannot be held responsible for criminal offences by law(varies in countries).
However, some people have never been taught right from wrong for example the Edlington brothers case - people might commit crimes if they do not know that it is the wrong thing to do. Furthermore, many types of prejudice are caused by ignorance.
What are Christian teachings on Sin?(4)
All people sin; “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves”(1 John 1:8). However, we should try to avoid sinning as much as possible; “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell”(Matthew 5:29).
For Roman Catholics confession is a sacrament and an individual is expected to confess regularly. In the Lord’s prayer, there is the line “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” - implying that we be forgiven but also forgive others.
However, should in no sense is sin justifiable. Adam and Eve’s sin brought mortality into the world. Many of the things that cause great suffering are sins; murder, theft, torture.
What are the three arguments within Hard Determinism?(5)
Genetic Determinism - Nature - Genes control physical characteristics, and they control character traits also. This means a person’s choices are influenced by nature, hence why drug addictions run in families.
This may be false because twins often have different characters - but the same genetics. Our nature and genetics might influence the choices we make, but that does not mean we have no free will.
Psychological Determinism - Nurture - Children learn by imitation, which means that early influences are surely the most powerful. If a child comes from a family in which violence is used to solve problems then they may turn to violence later in life.
This may be false becuase children brought up in the same family can still end up being very different people. They are influenced by their upbringing, but still have an element of choice. Furthermore, people will often have many influences outside their family - maybe school or friends or role models.
Physical Determinsim - Neither - It is the physical laws of the universe that limit what we can and can’t do, hence our choices are also limited by the physical laws of the universe. We may believe we have free will but it is just an illusion - our brains compute inputs from the outside world, combine these with the inputs of our body and produce an output that appears as a choice.
