Paper 1 ( O&G +G&E)

• God

  Creator ex nihilo (out of nothing)
• Characteristics of God

  • Omnipotent (all-powerful)
  • Omniscient (all-knowing)
  • Omnibenevolent (all-loving)
  • Omnipresent (present everywhere)
• Evil

  Absence (or privation) of good and the impulse to seek our own desires and wants
• Suffering

  Pain or loss which harms humans
• Evil is a challenge to religious belief because it challenges both God's characteristics and God's existence
• Original Sin

  Christian teaching that all humanity is born sinful, a condition or defect in human nature rather than something humans do, inherited from Adam who sinned in the Garden of Eden
• All humans are born with original sin and therefore we all have a tendency to misuse our free will and make the wrong choices
• The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 shows that when we turn our back on God and His commandments, evil enters the world
• Types of evil

  • Moral evil (caused by humans)
  • Natural evil (caused by the natural world)
• Inconsistent Triad

  J.L. Mackie's explanation of the Problem of Evil - either God is not omnibenevolent, God is not omnipotent, or God does not exist
• God did not create evil according to St. Augustine
• Augustine believed that Adam's disobedience and misuse of free will brought evil into the world
• Privation

  Absence of goodness
• All evil is either sin or the punishment for sin according to Augustine
• Seminally present

  Present in Adam's semen, so all share in his guilt
• St. Irenaeus' view on the origins of evil

  • God deliberately created an imperfect world so that humans could grow and mature through their struggles
  • We are perfected by our suffering and so evil has a purpose
• God created us in His image, but we must grow into the likeness of God through the use of our free will and improvement
• The world is a moral testing ground according to Irenaeus
• Suffering

  Makes us better people and improves our relationship with God (Augustine and Irenaeus)
• All Christians believe in the mystery of the Trinity
• Trinity

  The belief that God reveals Himself in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit
• The three persons of the Trinity are all equal and eternal, and they share the same substance/essence/divine nature</b>
• Roles of the Trinity

  • God the Father is creator ex nihilo
  • God the Son is the Saviour, Redeemer and Judge
  • God the Holy Spirit is the giver of life who inspired the prophets and writers of the Bible
• The term Trinity is not found in the Bible but the idea is
• The Trinity is not three Gods, three people or beings, or easy to understand
• Augustine's analogy of the Trinity

  Love, lover and beloved
• All Christians believe in the Incarnation
• Incarnation

  The belief that God came to earth in human form in the person of Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine
• Jesus' death on the cross is an atonement that repairs our relationship with God and pays the price for human sin
• Jesus understands the difficulty of suffering and what it means to be human
• Jesus enters into suffering, he does not avoid it or explain it - Christ is an example to us of how to face suffering
• Salvifici Doloris

  The 'Saving Power of Suffering' - Jesus' death on the cross gives meaning to suffering
• Jesus

  Understands the difficulty of suffering and what it means to be human
• Jesus

  • Enters into suffering, he does not avoid it or explain it
  • Christ is an example to us of how to face suffering
• The Pieta

  • Mary's left hand is positioned with an open palm: this is a sign Mary is at peace after witnessing her son's crucifixion
  • Mary is shown supporting the body of adult Jesus on her lap. It is a reminder of Mary holding Jesus as an infant and the love of a mother and many mothers who have lost their own children see the statues as a strange sort of comfort
  • In supporting Jesus, Mary's right hand does not come in to direct contact with his flesh, but instead is covered with a cloth which then touches his side. This shows the sacredness of Jesus' body
  • The two figures are beautiful and idealised despite their suffering. This reflects the belief of Catholic ambivalence to suffering: Jesus knows that he has done God's will and reconciled God and humanity
  • The deep shadow created by the fold of the garment next to Jesus symbolises an open womb, reminding us that the she carried Jesus in her womb, and inviting us to share the pain of her sorrow
• The Beatitudes

  A series of counter-cultural statements that challenge our view e.g. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted
• Jesus says that he has not come to abolish but to fulfil the law
• The six antitheses

  Teachings where Jesus makes the law more challenging e.g. Anyone who looks at a woman with lust commits adultery in his heart... this is because lust leads to adultery
• Jesus is addressing the root causes of sin
• Jesus tells people to be a light to the world

  Meaning we should be an example and guide to others by following Jesus' teaching