Christianity

• The incarnation is the belief that God became human in the person of Jesus. Stories of the incarnation are called nativity stories. Christians believe that God became human so that he could repair the relationship between God and humans. This was done through Jesus living a perfect example of a human life so that humans have an example to follow, and through dying on the cross. Christians believe that when Jesus died he took on human sin so he received the punishment instead
• In the nativity story there are many pieces of evidence that Jesus was the son of God. Firstly, his birth was a miracle as Mary was a virgin. This fulfilled a prophecy in the Old Testament which said, 'a virgin will conceive...' Jesus' birth was announced by the angel Gabriel and later celebrated by a whole host of angels who announced his birth to some shepherds. Finally, a star appeared in the sky over the place where the baby Jesus was living with his parents. Maji (wisemen) followed the star in the belief that a king had been born. When they came to Jesus' house they presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts were very symbolic. Gold symbolised that Jesus was a king. Frankincense symbolised that he was God, and the myrrh symbolised that Jesus would die for sins
• Today the belief in the incarnation is included in the Apostles Creed, an important set of beliefs which unites different Christians, 'I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary'
• Jesus followers believed he had resurrected for the following reasons: 1. The stone had been removed from the tombs entrance, 2. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, 3. Jesus appeared to his other disciples
• Jesus told Mary, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell your God. Today Christians believe that Jesus ascended to heaven because he had completed his work on earth
• Why is the resurrection important?


  • The resurrection shows that Jesus was not just a normal man – he has power over death, so must be God
  • The resurrection shows that Jesus defeated sin and death when he died on the cross
  • The resurrection shows that Jesus' claims about himself were true, therefore his promises about life after death must be true
  • The resurrection shows that Christians can also hope to be raised from the dead and have an eternal life
• In this unit we learnt about salvation history - how God has acted in history to save humans from sin. This was through covenants with people such as Adam, Noah and Abraham
• After Noah's flood sin returned to the world
• The incarnation is the belief that God became human in the person of Jesus. Stories of the incarnation are called nativity stories. Christians believe that God became human so that he could repair the relationship between God and humans. This was done through Jesus living a perfect example of a human life so that humans have an example to follow, and through dying on the cross. Christians believe that when Jesus died he took on human sin so he received the punishment instead
• In the nativity story there are many pieces of evidence that Jesus was the son of God. Firstly, his birth was a miracle as Mary was a virgin. This fulfilled a prophecy in the Old Testament which said, 'a virgin will conceive...' Jesus' birth was announced by the angel Gabriel and later celebrated by a whole host of angels who announced his birth to some shepherds. Finally, a star appeared in the sky over the place where the baby Jesus was living with his parents. Maji (wisemen) followed the star in the belief that a king had been born. When they came to Jesus' house they presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts were very symbolic. Gold symbolised that Jesus was a king. Frankincense symbolised that he was God, and the myrrh symbolised that Jesus would die for sins
• Today the belief in the incarnation is included in the Apostles Creed, an important set of beliefs which unites different Christians, 'I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary'
• Jesus followers believed he had resurrected for the following reasons: 1. The stone had been removed from the tombs entrance, 2. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, 3. Jesus appeared to his other disciples
• Jesus told Mary, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell your God. Today Christians believe that Jesus ascended to heaven because he had completed his work on earth
• The resurrection shows that Jesus was not just a normal man – he has power over death, so must be God. The resurrection shows that Jesus defeated sin and death when he died on the cross. The resurrection shows that Jesus' claims about himself were true, therefore his promises about life after death must be true. The resurrection shows that Christians can also hope to be raised from the dead and have an eternal life