Christianity: Beliefs Flashcards
(45 cards)
what are the four characteristics that christians believe god to have/be?
they believe god to be..
- omnipotent
- omnibenevolent
- omniscient
- Just
what does it mean for god to be omnipotent
This means that God is all powerful meaning that he has the power to do as he wishes
what does it mean for god to be omnibenevolent
This means that God is all loving. God has unconditional love for the universe and everyone within it
what does it mean for god to be omniscient
This means that God is all knowing
what does it mean for god to be just
This means that God treats everyone equally and will never support ill treatment or injustice of any kind.
what does the problem of evil and suffering challenge
the problem of evil and suffering challenges beliefs in the qualities of god. It questions that if God is all loving then why does he allow those he ‘loves’ to suffer and endure pain. It also states that If God is all powerful then why does he not stop suffering from occurring within the world as surely if he was all powerful he could and would stop suffering and evil and if god was just, why does he allow acts of injustice to take place.
what are some response to the problem of evil
- some christians states that God only bought suffering into the world and continues to keep it in the world in order to help us understand happiness as without suffering or ‘bad’ things happening in our life, how would we know how to appreciate beauty and happiness?
- Some Christians say that God is not to the one to blame for the suffering which we experiences but it is us as suffering is a consequence of original sin.
What is the belief in the oneness of God and the trinity?
Christianity is a monotheistic religion, meaning that they only believe in one God. However, christians believe that the one god is a trinity of three persons. The phrase ‘persons’ does not mean three different people but more so three ways that god can be known in. They are all seperate parts with different characterises but they all makeup up god
what are the three persons within the trinity
THE FATHER-the creator of all life, he is all powerful, all loving and all knowing
THE SON- jesus, who was both fully human and fully god whilst on earth, came to earth to save mankind from their sins
THE HOLY SPIRIT-the unseen power of god who acts as a guide
how does the belief in the trinity influence christians
It allows christians to understand the love which God has for them therefore influencing them to prayer more in order to gain a closer connection to God
what do christians belief about creation
Christians believe that God is the creator of the universe and everything within it and most believe in the story of genesis.
explain the story of genesis
the story of genesis states how God created the world in 7 days and it describes the creation of Heaven and Earth. It started with light then sky then plants and seas then the sun, moon and starts then the creatures that lived in the sea then animals and humans
what are some views on the story of genesis
some Christians are liberalist meaning that they take the story of genesis metaphorically and symbolically, they believe that God created the world but not in 7 days. They believe that the story is more of a teaching to represent god’s power rather than factual information
Other Christians are literalist meaning that they take the story of genesis to be factual ,real and exact and they believe that the writers were directly inspired by god and so therefore there were no mistakes
what is the scientific reasons behind the creation of the universe that you could use as an opposing view to the religious reasons
- the universe was created by the Big Bang, which was an explosion of particles which created the earth
- Everything else on earth came about by the scientific method of evolution
finish this quote “in the beggining,god created…”
the heavens and the earth
finish this quote ‘in the beginning was the word..”
and the word was with god and the word was god
how do christians think that god’s omnipotence can be shown?
- through the creation of the world
- through miracles performed by Jesus
what does agape love mean and why is it important to christians
agape love means ‘self-giving’ or ‘self-sacrificial’ and it is important to christians because this is the love that Jesus showed, especially when he was on the cross-he was sacrafcing his live for mankind
what is meant by “moral evil” and how does it stand as evidence to show that god is not responsible for suffering within the world
moral evil is suffering which is inflicted on people by other e.g murder. God is not responsible for people’s actions as god gave us free will and so therefore he is not responsible
what does god being ‘transcendent’ mean
it means that god is beyond space and time
what are human beings made in and what does it mean
human beings are made in the image of god and so therefore every human life has value regardless of their age, sexuality,disablility etc
what is the incarnation and explain how the incarnation/ birth of Jesus took place
Incarnation means ‘embodiment’ and it’s the christian belief which states that God took on human form as Jesus (So therefore Jesus was God in human form).
The incarnation started by Mary and Joseph become pregnant with a child. However, Mary was a virgin and so her pregnancy was confusing to both her and Joesph but on two separate occasions an angel came to Mary and Joseph and explained to them that their child was no ordinary child and that their child was conceived by the holy sprit.
what does the incarnation show about God
it shows God being immanent within the world through the incarnation of Jesus for around 30 years
what do christians believe about Jesus
that he was fully human and fully god