Christianity : Beliefs and Teachings Flashcards
(60 cards)
What does monotheistic mean?
Monotheistic refers to a religion that has only one God.
Give three characteristics of God
omniscient
omnibenevolent
immanent
omnipotent
Describe what it is that Christians believe about God’s nature that makes him a fair judge.
Christians believe God’s perfect nature and omniscience make him a fair judge.
How do Christians believe God has provided a perfect example of godly living?
Jesus was God incarnate, he lived a perfect life on earth and provides an example of godly living.
What is the Holy Trinity?
The Holy Trinity are The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is one God with three persons.
State three Christian beliefs about the Trinity.
Christians believe that each person of the Trinity is equal, they are each distinct and they have a perfect
relationship.
State two Christian denominations that do not believe in the Trinity.
Unitarians and Christadelphians do not believe in the Trinity.
What reasons do some Christians have for not believing in the Trinity?
Some Christians do not believe in the Trinity because they think it may lead to the idea that there is more than
one God.
Describe the way in which God creates in Genesis 1.
God creates through speech.
How is the creation of humans different to the way God creates the rest of the world?
When God creates humans he uses something he has already made, ‘the dust of the ground’, and he breathes
life into Adam. Everything else is created through God’s speech.
What is the role of the Spirit in creation?
The Spirit hovers and waits to bring life into the world. God’s breath into Adam was also his Spirit bringing life.
State one reason why the role of the Father, the Spirit and the Word in creation is important to Christians
It is important because it shows that the whole of the Trinity were involved in Creation. It reinforces their
monotheistic understanding of God.
State the roles given to Adam and Eve by God.
Adam was created to care for the earth and Eve was to be his helper. They had to rule over the birds, fish and
animals.
What is the rule that God gives to Adam and Eve?
They must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
What causes Eve to disobey God?
Eve disobeys God when the serpent tempts her, suggesting that the fruit looked good to eat and that God
would not punish her.
Describe the effect of the Fall
The Fall caused humans to no longer be in a relationship with God. Human sin is a barrier to this relationship.
As a result, humans require salvation, which is provided through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
It also introduced death into the world.
When considering the accounts of creation from Genesis, what three things do all Christians agree on?
All Christians agree that God created the universe, he acted out of love and goodness, and humans are made
in his image.
Why do some Christians believe that the most appropriate way to understand Genesis is as a myth?
Some Christians believe that the most appropriate way to understand Genesis is as a myth because of the
differences in writing style between Genesis 1 and 2 and because of scientific research.
What is another name for the literal approach to interpreting Genesis 1–3?
Creationism
How do Christians who take the literal approach respond to the fact that the biblical accounts conflict
with scientific evidence?
They reject anything which disagrees with the biblical accounts of creation.
What is natural evil?
Natural evil is evil caused by nature, e.g. volcanic eruptions.
What is moral evil?
Moral evil is evil caused by human decisions, e.g. murder.
Summarise the problem of evil.
God is omnipotent and benevolent and yet suffering exists in the world. Either he cares enough but lacks the
power to stop it, or he has the power to stop it but he does not care enough to do so.
(Mackie’s inconsistent triad)
In what way does the Lord’s Prayer help believers to depend on God and trust him even in times of
suffering?
In the Lord’s Prayer, believers trust in God’s will in their lives. They depend on him for their needs and ask that
he delivers them from evil.