beliefs and teachings

• one god

  • teaching of the bible
  • jesus taught there is only one god
  • god's unity is the teaching of the magisterium, the creeds and the catechism
• nicene creed - explains that one God exists as three persons who are all equal and eternal
• believing in god the father


  • relationship with God should be like a child's relationship with their father
  • God has a continuing relationship of love and care with his creation
  • god will provide for and protect his people because he is 'our father'
• god the son


  • jesus is God who has become human being
  • christians can worship jesus because he is God
  • Jesus was conceived by the action of the Holy spirit (virgin birth)
• God the holy spirit


  • God communicates with humans
  • inspired the bible
  • all the sacraments of the church put believers into communion with Christ
• trinity reflected in worship


  • every mass begins with a welcome in the name of the Trinity
  • worshippers state their belief during the Nicene creed
  • Trinity is the main belief of the Nicene creed
  • helps christians understand the presence of God in the world
• what does creation show about the nature of God?

  omnipotent - created the universe out of nothing

  omnibenevolent - created a world for humans and made it a good place for them to live with all the things they need

  a creator - created the heaven and the earth

  eternal - he had no beginning or end
• different Christian views on creation

  fundamental protestsants

  • word of God so it is true and Genesis is factually correct. They do not accept the Big Bang theory or evolution

  protestants

  • bible is Word of God but not his actual words. Accept the Big bang theory and evolution

  liberal protestants

  • Bible is people's words about God rather than the words of God. They accept the Big Bang theory and evolution
• development of the doctrine of the trinity

  Debates in the church about the nature of the Trinity

  debates let to Trinitarian heresies like Arianism - the son of God was created by God after the creation

  councils of nicaea settled the problem with the trinity and formed the Nicene creed as a statement of Christian belief
• trinity's importance to catholics

  trinity helps catholics understand the different ways that God has shown his presence in the world: God the father shows great care for his people, God the son helps understand the love of God and the sacrifice he gave leading to salvation from sin, God the Holy spirit helps understand the presence of God in the world and the strength it brings catholics

  Jesus' last words in Matthew's gospel told christians to baptise in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy spirit
• humans were made in the image of god

  • each human is special and sacred in God's sight
  • humans are more than animals and not used as objects
  • humans have fundamental rights such as freedom of conscious and expression
• stewardship

  • catholics need to look after God's creation to pass onto future generations in a better state than they recieved it
  • make sure creation is not exploited by humans resulting in things such as pollution
  • make sure that the earth's resources are equally shared out fairly
  • make sure that humans treat God's creation harmoniously
• virgin birth shows that

  • jesus was he Son of God and not just a human being sent by God
  • God was in him and he was in God
  • Jesus had two natures- human nature where he was a human being and Divine nature where he was God
• incarnation importance

  • in Jesus, the incarnate word of God, humans can see what God is like
  • John's Gospel says in jesus the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us - showing the glory of God
  • incarnation shows that God cared so much for the world that he came to Earth in Jesus to save the world from their sins and to demonstrate what God is like
• paschal mystery

  • last supper - jesus instituted the eucharist
  • crucifixion - jesus died on the cross for our sins
  • resurrection /ascension - jesus was taken up from his disciples into the clouds
• original sin - inherited from the actions of Adam and Eve

  personal sin - actions that breaks God's law
• importance of salvation

  without salvation there can be no real relationship with God

  without salvation a person's sins will prevent them from entering heaven

  salvation from sin was the whole purpose of Jesus coming into Earth
• Grace comes through

  • receiving the sacraments of reconciliation, confirmation, baptism, Eucharist during mas
  • leading a good Christian life

  this means catholics are able to maintain the grace and salvation necessary for them to enter heaven
• biblical teachings of salvation and grace

  • John's Gospel - for god so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, whoever believes in him shall have eternal life
  • acts of the apostles - st peter preached that salvation comes through Jesus alone
  • CCC - no one but God knows who will and will not be savedx
• eschatology - religious beliefs of death, judgements and life after death
• the church teaches in the catechism:

  • when people die, they are judged by God
  • christians who are perfectly purified will go to heaven
  • christans who have died with unforgiven sins will go to purgatory to be purified
  • very evil people who have rejected God will go to heaven
  • christ will return at the end of the world when the dead will be raised
• importance of life after death

  • they believe god will judge them at the end of their lives so it gives then an incentive to live a good christian life by loving God
  • they believe sin can stop you from entering heaven so they will try avoid committing sins
  • beliefs give their lives meaning and purpose
  • trying to love your neighbour is bound to affect a catholic's life and explains why catholic charities such as CAFORD are so involved in helping those in need
• salvation means being saved from sin; two types of sin: original sin (washed away at baptism) and personal sin (consequences of a persons own actions)