Teachings Revision

The nature of God:

 There is only one God.

 Atemporal: He is outside time.
 Transcendent: He is above all created things and exists outside space and time.
 Immanent: He is involved with the world and human lives.
 He is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.
 He is forgiving.
 He is a judge – “And He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

Different views on the nature of God:

 Baptist church believe God is accessible by all believers

 Plymouth Brethren – focus on his purity and holiness
 The live away from the rest of the world to avoid pollution of evil
 Amish do the same as they believe world is polluted with evil
 Hillsong church focuses on the Grace of God
 Salvation is not through works. Only through God’s benevolence and grace

The concept of God as a Trinity:

 Trinity means three united as one

 The bible states God has three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
 Father:
o Believe He is creator of the universe – “creator of heaven and earth”
o Has a loving and personal relationship with believers
o Coveys a sense of safety and strength
 Son:
o Is believed to be God incarnate
o Born of Mary by the Holy Spirit

“Conceived by the Holy Spirit/Born of the Virgin Mary”

o 100% human and 100% God

o Came to earth for three main reasons:
 To reveal Himself to people and teach them how to live
 To receive punishment for human sin and so bridge the divide between
mankind and God.
 To show that he has power over death.
o Ho Logos: the Word.
o The Word: agent of God in creation.
 Holy Spirit:
o Paraclete: constant guide and comforter of Christians
o Pneuma (wind): the life that God breathed into man.

“The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” – 1 Corinthians 3:16

The Nicene Creed

  Used by Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants
 The first council of Nicea was the ecumenical meeting of Christians

The account of Creation in Genesis 1:

 All Christians believe God created the universe.

“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing would have been made that has been
made.” – John 1:3

 Over six days, through the power of His Word, he creates everything.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” – John 1:1

 Creation demonstrates God’s power and purpose

 The creation of Humans:
o Humans are created as distinct from the rest of Creation
o Humanity made in likeness of God – imago dei
o Humans are given two purposes: fill the Earth and look after it – stewardship.
 Humans named the animals, which shows their stewardship.

The account of Genesis 2:

 Provides a second account of creation which starts with the Creation of humanity
 Adam means humanity while Eve means beginning
 God breathes life into Adam.

“And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” – Genesis 2

 In Genesis 2 God also tells Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
 God creates Eve to help Adam

“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” – Job 33:4

The fall:

 Adam and Eve ate from ToKoGE after serpent convinced them
 Tells them they surely ‘won’t die,.’ instead, they will be like God
 Original sin entered through disobedience
 God is shown here as being anthropomorphic: he “walked” in the garden “in the cool of the
day”
 No one takes responsibility and so God punishes them:
o Serpent loses legs
o Eve experiences pain in childbirth
o Adam will have to work for a living
 But: God gives them clothes - omnibenevolent

Literal interpretations of the Creation story:

 Creationists: think bible should be taken as an absolute truth

The creation story as a myth:

 Give us important truths about the uniqueness of humans and the possibility of humans
having a relationship with God
  Some believe in Theistic evolution
 Believe the evolution process started by God and that is how creates life

The creation story as compatible with science:

 Some think God and we have different times (1 day for us is 1 billion years there)

Evil and Sin:

 Original sin entered through Adam and Eve disobeying God

 Sin separates humans from God.
 Suffering and death are a result of original sin
 Evil is the opposite of Good
 It is personified as the Devil
 Satan was expelled from heaven for sinning
 The bible says Satan tempts humans to disobey God
 People can resist the devil like Jesus
 But he will still test your faith
 There are two types of Evil:
o Natural Evil – suffering created through no direct fault of humans
o Moral Evil – suffering created through the direct fault of humans
 Mackie’s Inconsistent triad: the problem with evil is that God’s omnipotence and
omnibenevolence can’t both exist while evil does.

Evil theodicies:

 Irenaean theodicy:
o God allows Evil
o This is so humans can learn what is good and right
o He wants our souls to develop
 Augustinian theodicy:
o Evil isn’t something as it the absence of goodness
o Evil enters through Original Sin
o It is through free-will that evil is allowed to exist
o Free-will is proof of God’s omnibenevolence
o Angels create natural evil through misuse of free will.

Jesus’ life:

 Found in the four Gospels and the New Testament

 Jesus’ life is and examples are important because they give them a pattern for their own life
 Also, by sacrificing himself, he repaired the relationship between God and humans
 Jesus as the Son of God:
o Believe he was God incarnated
o Placed in Mary by Holy Spirit
 Jesus as the Messiah:
o Messiah means “anointed one”
o Christians refer to Jesus as King or Lord
o They believe he was sent by God to be the saviour of humanity
o He was the messiah for all people
  Jesus as Lord and Saviour:
o Jesus was sent to Earth to take the punishment for all human sin
o He also did so to repair the relationship between God and humans
o His death was sufficient payment for human sin because he was born without
original sin
o He was 100% human and 100% God

“If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe with your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9

The sermon on the mount:

 Recorded in Matthew 5 – 7
 Contains Jesus’ teachings
 The Sermon can be divided into six sections:
o The Beatitudes [5:3-16]
o Jesus and the Law [5:17-48]:
o True discipleship [6:1-18]
o True righteousness [6:19-7:12]
o The narrow gateway [7:13-23]
o Building on solid foundations [7:24-29]
 The Beatitudes [5:3-16]:
o Beatitudes means blessings
o In this part Jesus describes the attitudes and qualities that God wants His followers
to develop and that he will bless
o These qualities include meekness, mercy and peacefulness
 Jesus and the Law [5:17-48]:
o Jesus replaces the way believers should understand the law
o He teaches obedience to the law must come from the heart
o He looks at how what a person thinks and does are just as bad
o This is because God knows all of our thoughts as well as our deeds
o Also, it is because people’s thoughts and emotions influence their actions
 True discipleship [6:1-18]:
o Here he focuses on what it means to be a true follower
o Jesus requires disciples to be sincere in all they do, known only to themselves and
God
o This assures they only do this for God
o He gives a pattern for prayer – the lord’s prayer
o Offers a structure for believers to base their prayers on
o It starts with the worship of God, then it moves on to request that God meet their
daily needs
o Then they ask for forgiveness
o The forgiveness should be reflected in the believer’s life
 True righteousness [6:19-7:12]
o Wealth:
 Jesus tells not worry about building up treasure on Earth
 A person cannot worship both God and money
 He says that love of money is wrong
 This because it may leave to greed
 o Judging others:
 No person is perfect
 So, no one should judge another person
 Jesus uses the brother, sawdust and plank analogy
 His point is until a person is perfect, they may not judge the sin of another
 Instead a person should focus on how to become closer to God
 The narrow gateway [7:13-23]:
o Jesus warns difficulty of being a Christian
o He uses the narrow gateway and wide gateway analogy
o Following the narrow path will lead to live in heaven
o Following the wider path will lead to destruction
 Building on solid foundations [7:24-29]
o Says putting his words into practice would be like building your house on a solid
foundation and will help you deal with life’s problems

Jesus’ example:

 Jesus’ example is core to Christians as it is through him that God chose to reveal himself
 They follow Jesus’ life to see how to live their life
 Jesus taught agape through spending time with society’s outcasts
 Agape is a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers discomfort, and even death, for the benefit
of other people without expecting anything in return
 Christians today follow his example and help those in need

How Christians follow Jesus’ example:

 They will practice agape

 They will forgive each other
 They will preach his message
 They work together waiting for the building of God’s kingdom
 They will practice evangelism

Different Christian beliefs about Jesus:

 Liberal Christians will look for the meaning behind events such as a virgin birth, healing
miracles, nature miracles and the resurrection
 They think the stories are parables
 Conservative Christians believe the Bible is literally the Word of God

The incarnation:

 His incarnation means he is free of Original Sin

 Believe Jesus as God incarnate could perform miracles
 This is how he demonstrated he was God
 He provided a glimpse of heaven where there is no evil or suffering
 The purpose of his incarnation was to die
 It was to die for human sin

The crucifixion:
  Jesus suffered the full pain of a human death

“Suffered under Pontius Pilate/Was crucified died and was buried.”

 Because of this they believe Jesus can understand human suffering

 This is the low point of Jesus’ life as it seems like evil won
 Christians also believe his crucifixion was an atonement sacrifice
 Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross fulfilled many of these prophecies

The resurrection:

 Jesus did not remain dead

“On the third day He rose again from the dead.”

 The four gospels have an account which claims the tomb was empty
 This demonstrates Jesus’ power over death
 This was evidence he was God incarnate
 This also showed that God believed that his death was enough to pay for human sin
 Christians find hope in the resurrection as they believe they will be raised from the dead to
spend eternity in heaven
 This is confirmed in John 11:2

The ascension:

 Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection it is said Jesus ascended back up to heaven

“He ascended into Heaven”

 This may be viewed literally or symbolically

 Literally – he actually went to heaven
 Symbolically – the rising represents the of good over evil and that he lives alongside with
God and reigns with him
 Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for believers
 In acts it also talks about him acting as high priest
 This means Jesus would no longer need any more sacrifices
 This means Christians believe they can pray to God knowing they are going to be forgiven in
put back in a relationship with him

The Apostles’ creed:

 Believed to be developed by 12 apostles

 It is a way of summing up Christian Doctrine
 It is a way of challenging any heresies

Different Christian beliefs about the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension:

 These are examples of God working in the world

 Different Christians emphasise different events
 A crucifix may be used in worship to focus on the meaning of death of Jesus
  A crucifix may be used in worship to focus on the meaning of Jesus’s sacrifice and suffering
 Empty cross found in protestant church to symbolise Jesus rose from the dead

The concept of Salvation:

 Original sin fractured relationship with God

 Up to humans to repair relationship
 Christians believe God repaired relationship by sacrificing himself
 This is known as atonement

Atonement:

 Jews made agreement with God that God would care for them if they followed his laws
 This is known as the Covenant
 The ten commandments are part of the Covenant
 However, due to sin the deal fell through
 God made a way for Jews to atone
 He did this through having them offer regular sacrifice on the Day of Atonement
 The Day of Atonement happens once a year

“On this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.” – Leviticus 16:30

 On this day the high priest would enter the innermost part of the Temple called ‘the Holy of
Holies’
 The priest would walk through the veil to separate him from the rest of the temple
 This would be because the priest would into the presence of God
 Then he would make an animal sacrifice
 Blood of animals would bring reconciliation
 Christians believed high priests stood in for Jesus
 As Jesus was truly in the presence of God and sacrificed himself
 In a letter to the Hebrews the writer makes it clear that Jesus’ sacrifice was superior
 Because of this a new covenant was made between God and mankind

“We have been made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all” – Hebrews
10:10

The law:

 In the past religious laws created too high of a standard

 This showed that all humans were sinful and imperfect
 However, in Hebrews 9:26 tells Christians that Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all
 This means under the new covenant everyone can atone

“he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice
of himself.” - Hebrews 9:26

Grace:

 The new covenant means that Christians are saved through the grace of God
 God’s grace means that humans have his blessing (even though they are imperfect)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” – Ephesians 2:8
Sin:

 Sin first entered the world in the Fall

 Original sin brought death

“For the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” – Romans 6:23

 However, humans continue to sin and disobey God

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” – 1 Corinthians 15:22

 According to Paul only through God’s grace, that salvation may be reached (see Ephesians
above)

Redemption:

 Redemption is process of buying something back or paying off debt

 Christians use the word ‘redemption’ to describe what they believe God has given them
 Christians believe salvation is God paying off human sin

Repentance and forgiveness:

 Christians believe that in order to be saved they need to say sorry for their sins and ask for
forgiveness
 They accept God’s help to live a good life
 God helps them with His Holy Spirit which now lives within them

Different Christian views about salvation:

 Views include that:

o Jesus’ death was a ransom paid for human sin once and for all
o By enabling Himself to become human, it works the other way, which means
humans can achieve a union with God
o Roman Catholics believe that by participating in Church and being baptised they will
be saved
o Evangelical Christians believe that it is through faith in Jesus they will be saved
o By doing good deeds that they will be saved and go to heaven

Apocalyptic ideas in the Early Church:

 Believe Jesus will return and rebuild the world without sin and evil
 They believe that they live in the end time, the last days of the world
 The word used for this is ‘eschaton’
 One of the eschatological beliefs was that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
 This event is known as the Parousia
 The end time was described in a dramatic way, such as in the biblical book of Revelation
 These ideas about the end of the world were apocalyptic
 Some are still waiting for Parousia today
 Others try to calculate it using signs in the bible
 Others believe that eschaton and Parousia are different ways of God expressing his plan is
still to be completed
  However, most Christians tend to focus on Christian life rather than Parousia

Resurrection and life after death:

 Christians believe humans have an immortal soul

 It is a soul that separates them from all other creatures
 In Genesis 2:7 it says that God breathed life into Adam
 This means humans and other creatures received life in a different way
 Humans are sacred because they have a soul
 God says that the physical body is God’s temple, where his spirt can live (1 Corinthians 3:16)
 In 1 Corinthians 15:42 – 44 it says spiritual bodies will be resurrected
 Jesus’ resurrection and ascension are proof of life after physical death
 Resurrection is also an eschatological belief because many Christians believe that at the end
of time all the dead would be judged by God

Hell:

 In the old testament hell is referred to as ‘sheol’ which is a place of departed souls
 In the new testament Jesus refers to Gehennah (hell)
 For a long time, hell was thought to be a place of eternal torture for non-believers
 This was used as a tactic to scare people into becoming Christians
 Some see hell as a place where the soul and physical body cease to exist
 Other Christians believe that hell is a way of expressing an eternal existence absent of God’s
presence and blessing.

Heaven:

 Christians believe that heaven means being in the eternal presence of God
 This is not necessarily a place but a state of mind
 The bible describes heaven using many images, including those of binding light, singing and
beauty
 This is seen in the book of Revelation 4 in the New Testament
 Heaven is believed to be a place where suffering and evil don’t exist

“For there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away” – Revelation 21:4

 A belief in heaven encourages people to believe in God

 It also comforts in times of suffering
 Christians believe that after death this is where they will spend eternity

Purgatory:

 This is a Roman Catholic belief

 Purgatory is a place for humans to purify themselves for God
 ‘The final purification of the elect’ is how it is described in the Catechism
 They also believe that prayers can help in purgatory

Different Christians beliefs about life after death:

 All Christians believe that everything is part of God’s plan which will end with a good
outcome
 Most Christians focus on doing good deeds now
 This is because according to Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the sheep and the goats in
Matthew 25, unless they help others their salvation and eternal life in heaven might be at
risk

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” – Matthew
25:46