beliefs & teachings

• THE TRINITY: the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all representing God but not each other


  -God the Father

  -God the Son

  -God the Holy Spirit

  (The Nicene Creed)

  (Sign of the Cross)

  
• THE FATHER:

  -during Jesus's baptism he speaks from heaven saying Jesus is his Son

  • Matthew, "This is my own dear son with whom I am pleased."

  -creator of the universe (Our Father)

  -protects and loves us as a father would.

  -loving father of all people (omnibenevolent)
• THE SON:

  -during his baptism, the voice "This is my own dear son with whom I am pleased" confirms Jesus' identity as the Son of God. 


  -incarnate as God in human flesh

  -descended to Earth to show God's love for us
• THE HOLY SPIRIT:

  -during Jesus' baptism the holy spirit descends from heaven onto Jesus in the form of a dove

  -represents God's spirit


  -giver of life (Nicene Creed)

  -proceeds from the Father and the Son (Nicene Creed)
• BIBLICAL CREATION:

  • Day 1: heaven & earth, light & dark
  • Day 2: separated earth from the sky
  • Day 3: dry land, plants & trees
  • Day 4: sun, moon, stars
  • Day 5: birds & fish
  • Day 6: humans & animals
  • Day 7: God rested


  GENESIS CREATION:

  • God created heaven and earth
  • Adam -> dust on the ground and breath of life in his nostrils
  • Garden of Eden -> grew trees out of the ground.
  • created birds & animals so Adam wouldn't be lonely
  • Eve -> God put Adam to deep sleep and removed 1 rib
  • Genesis, "until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
• TEMPTATION

  • God commanded Eve to not eat the fruit
  • she was tempted by the serpent
  • shared it with Adam
  • first sin -> banishment from Eden


  -Eve was condemned to bear children in pain and have Adam rule her

  -Adam was condemned to work hard for life

  • Genesis, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
• INCARNATION= at Christmas when God became flesh, taking human form through his Son Jesus.

  • Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit to bear God's Son
  • fully human and fully divine nature

  RESSURECTION= at Easter when Jesus rose from the dead; the event was recorded in all 4 gospels and became the central belief of Christianity
• ESCHATOLOGY: catholic beliefs and teachings on life after death

  • death is not the end
  • the soul goes to heaven, hell or purgatory
  • judged on how well we have followed God's teachings
  • following the 10 commandments

  
• DIVERGENT CHRISTIAN BELIEFS:

  • Protestants: don't believe in Purgatory. some believe there's no hell. there are different levels of heaven
  • Evangelical Protestants: believe in resurrection of the body. we will all be raised on Judgement Day to be judged by God
  • Liberal Protestants: believe the soul lives on eternally after death in the spirit world. the soul's afterlife is based on how well the person lived their physical life
• SALVATION & GRACE

  • SALVATION: humans can be saved from sin by believing in Jesus
  • GRACE: all blessings in life given by God
• • Jesus came to Earth for Christians to receive forgiveness
  • Jesus healed a broken relationship between humanity & God
  • without salvation we are excluded from God's presence after death
  • Jesus is the saviour of the world
  • his death brought forgiveness of sins

  John, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believed in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
• THE PASCHAL MYSTERY: the events that occurred in the last week of Jesus's life (Holy Week).

  • the journey that Jesus went through to save humanity from sin
  • teaches Catholics that pain & suffering are part of life
  • if we follow Jesus' teachings and have faith we will reach heaven
• Deuteronomy, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."

  • emphasizing the belief in monotheism
  • there is only 1 God
• Nicene Creed:

  • There is one God who exists in three persons.
  • God the Father is the creator of all things.
  • Jesus, the Son of God, suffered and died as fully human to save us from sin.
  • Jesus rose from the dead and is seated in Heaven as the Son of God.
  • God the Holy Spirit gives life to all things.
  • The Holy Spirit inspires people and shows them the will of God
• • Genesis, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
  • Genesis, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them"
• Stewardship: the responsibility God gave us to look after one another and his creation


  Dominion: God put us in charge of the Earth's maintenance and keeping it under control
• Genesis, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
• PASCHAL MYSTERY:

  • Life: Jesus was the Son of God, who was born to the Virgin Mary and lived his life in human form.
  • Death: Jesus was trailed for blasphemy and sentenced to death in order to save us from our sins
  • Resurrection: Jesus was raised from the dead 3 days after his crucifixion.
  • Ascension: Jesus rose to heaven 40 days later to be seated on the right hand of his Father.
• • 'tri' means three persons within The Trinity
  • 'unity' means the three persons are all one God
• • God the Father is the creator of all things
  • God the Son is God incarnated as a human through Jesus Christ
  • God the Holy Spirit is the power of God which is active in the world & draw people to Him.
• The nature of humanity:

  • fallen
  • soul
  • morality
  • creative
  • rationality
  • free will
• Fallen:

  • this term relates to original sin
  • the idea that all human are born with a tendency to sin
  • the belief that when Adam & Eve disobeyed God they ‘fell’ from perfection & brought evil into a perfect world.
  • when Adam & Eve brought sin into the world it separated human from God
• Soul:

  • the Church teaches that when the physical body dies the non-physical part (the soul) lives on.
  • the soul is God-given & immortal
  • only humans have souls which makes us unique from all other life forms
  • the soul & body unite to make one being
  • the soul is immortal but the body is mortal
  • when the body dies the soul is uplifted to be reunited with God at the final resurrection
• Morality:

  • humans are made in the image & likeness of God
  • we lead moral lives by knowing right & wrong
  • only humans have morals which separates us from other creatures
• Creative:

  • God created humans to procreate
  • Genesis, "Be fruitful and multiply"
• Rationality:

  • God made humans as rational beings
  • we have the ability to reason & make decisions which separates us from other life forms
• Free will:

  • God gave us free will so we are able to choose between different courses of action
  • we take responsibility for our own actions
  • humans can make their own decisions & choices
• • omnibenevolent: God is all loving
• • omnipotent: God is all powerful
• • eternal: God is everlasting
  • he has no beginning & no end