Christian beliefs

• God's characteristics


  • Omnipotent
  • Omniscient
  • Omnibenevolent
  • Just
• Omnibenevolent

  God is all-loving
• Evidence of God's omnibenevolence


  • The beauty and harmony of the world
  • God's allowance of non-believers to have the capacity of redemption and salvation
• Psalm 145:9: 'The lord is good to all;he has compassion on all he has made'
• God's goodness and compassion extends to everyone and everything he has created, regardless of differences or circumstances as it reflects the belief in god's universal love towards all beings
• Omnipotent


  God is all-powerful
• How God shows his omnipotence

  • God creating the universe out of nothing
  • God allowing Jesus to perform miracles as his Prophet
  • God can create any outcome according to his divine will
• Luke: 'For nothing is impossible with God'
• God's power is unlimited and he can accomplish anything
• Natural Evil


  Suffering caused by events that have nothing to do with humans, and which are to do with the way the world is
• Moral Evil


  Suffering caused by humans acting in a way that is considered morally wrong
• Irenaeus' view


  Evil is necessary for human moral and spiritual development and is part of God's purpose
• Augustine's view


  Since God gave people with free will, we were able to freely choose to do evil as well as good
• Christian views on why God allows evil and suffering

  • As a punishment when we have done wrong
  • Caused by the devil
  • Dualist view - the universe can only survive if there's a balance of good and evil
• Omnipotent


  God is almighty, has unlimited power
• Omnibenevolent


  God is good and all-loving
• Omniscient


  God is all-knowing
• Omnipresent


  God is everywhere, in all places at all times
• Eternal


  God has always and will always exist
• Creator


  God is responsible for bringing the universe into existence
• Immanent


  God is present in the world permanently and is involved in what takes place
• Transcendent


  God is outside of the limitations of time and space
• Trinity


  Defines God as three forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy spirit
• Christians believe that god can be found in three forms-the Father,the Son and the Holy Spirit
• "one God in three persons"
• Incarnation


  God in human form
• God as Father


  • The creator, the giver of life, who takes a father's interest in humans
  • All powerful (omnipotent)
  • All knowing (omniscient)
  • All loving (omnibenevolent)
  • Present everywhere (omnipresent)
• God as Son


  • Became incarnate on earth and in history through Jesus
  • Christians believe Jesus was both fully human whilst on earth and also fully God at all times
• God as Holy Spirit


  • Christians believe that Jesus left his Holy Spirit to guide and comfort them after his death
  • The holy spirit is the unseen power of God at work in the Church and world today
• The Holy Trinity does not make sense


  Some may argue that the belief in the Trinity is contradictory. God cannot be one and also Jesus at the same
• Christianity is a monotheistic religion


  The Trinity opposes this key belief, because the Trinity states that there are three persons in one God
• Creation


  The act of God creating the world and everything in it
• To religious people, the things that are created naturally come (sometimes indirectly) from God
• Ultimately, even the manufactured objects come from God, because religious people believe God made humans
• The Creation Story: Book of Genesis

  1. In the beginning God created heaven and the earth

  2. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light

  3. God divided the light (Day) from the darkness (Night)

  4. God saw that it was good

  5. God said, "Let there be space between the waters"

  6. The waters separated into the oceans below and the clouds above

  7. God saw that it was good

  8. God said, "Let the waters be gathered together in one place (seas) and let the dry land (Earth) appear"

  9. God said, "Let the plants and trees grow on this land"

  10. God saw that it was good

  11. God made two great lights to mark the festivals- the sun for the day and the moon for the night

  12. God also made the stars

  13. God saw that it was good

  14. God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind"

  15. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth"

  16. God saw that it was good

  17. God said, "Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals"

  18. God said, "Let Us make human beings, someone like me to look after the earth"

  19. God made humans and saw that it was good

  20. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground"

  21. On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation. He looked at the world and saw that it was good. So God rested. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation
• God


  • Omnipotent
  • Benevolent
• In Biblical times a 'day' meant a period of time
• Fundamental Christians


  Any Christian who believes that the stories in the Bible are true
• Liberal Christians


  Any Christian who believes that the words of the Bible are not taken as pure fact and open to interpretation
• God wanted humans to spend the seventh (Sabbath) day, thinking of God and not concentrating on themselves