catholic christianity

• protestant views on pilgrimages

  • good can be encountered anywhere so going on pilgrimage does not achieve anything that couldn’t be done at home
  • pilgrimages can lead christian’s to do the wrong thing when they are away from home- martin luther reformation, “countless occasions to sin”
  • the veneration of Mary and saints is wrong because only god should be Venerated, shouldn’t be going to lourdes
  • some protestants would go to jerusalem because it’s where jesus lived and walked as God
• resurrection is a key belief of catholics

  “i look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” -nicean creed
• the rising of lazarus shows us that jesus has power over death.
• because of jesus resurrection catholics do not belive that death is the end
• 3 main parts of funeral

  • the vigil, evening before funeral gather to sing hymns in home or church
  • the main funeral liturgy, mass of funeral service. mass will have eucharist this remind the congregation of paschal mystery
  • the rite of committal, in the cemetery or cremation, the family say their goodbyes, they believe they will be reunited with loved ones in heaven
  • the eucharist is shared during the funeral this brings the congregation into communion with one another and the deceased through christ
• why do people have funerals

  • communion of the deceased, the eucharist links us with those who have “fallen asleep in the lord”
  • the proclamation of eternal life to the community assures the community that there is hope for life after death
• the architecture design and decoration of catholic churches

  • sowa: catechism says whenever possible catholics should build places of worship to meet and praise together
  • the catechism also says these places should be “in good taste” and “worthy” places as they are to act as a “house of god” and Jesus should be seen as active and present there
• different types of architecture —

  • gothic, notre dame, high steeples to send prayers to god, small windows, ornate masonary work, focus of holy family
  • baroque style, la sagrda de familia, gold or marble, time consuming and lots of people to create, big windows, dome shape, focus on saints and disiples,
• significance of sacred objects within catholicism-

  • they are used to help practice faith
  • often have symbolism which clearly points to catholic belief
  • sowa; catechism teaches “all the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to christ”
• sacred objects

  • pateh; used to hold host, gold or silver plated, expensive, indicates importance of eucharist
  • chalice; silver or gold, holds wine which becomes blood of jesus, expensive indicates importance of blood it holds
  • stoup; found at entrance contains holy water, provides access to holy water to bless themselves, represents baptism and being free from sin
• hunger cloths depict scenes of jesus life, reminds of his suffering, often made by cafod to remind christian’s to work for justice
• • the church is covered in the colour of the liturgical season, reminds catholics where their focus of prayer should be
  • statues of saints like peter and joseph, seen as role models, allow a focus for catholics to reflect on the way we lead our lives
  • the stations of the cross, reminders of jesus love for us and what he went through for us
• religious art

  • the catechism teaches that sacred art can evoke faith and adoration by portraying the transcendent mystery of god
  • icon of christ in sinai, oldest known icon of christ, he has two different facial expression that emphasises christs two natures as both fully god and fully human
  • fresco by giotto of st francis, it shows us that being a saint is refreshing but not easy, saints face mockery and rejection in the name of christ, the fresco reminds us the key belief of incarnation, god became a human being and all creation is important and blessed
• • some christian’s such a quaker’s believes that using images may lead people to worship things that are not god for example a picture, which is idolitry. quakers would argue meeting places can be pleasant without the need for images , like a bright room with flowers
  • some christian’s such as catholics would argued using images in worship is not idolattu because we do not worship the images themselves they are just a reminder of who we are praying to
  • st john of damascus defended using images as he argued god had come as a physical man
• St peter statue, holds keys to heaven; “i will give to you the keys to the kingdom of heaven”

  st peter has his hands raised as to bless the church as popes do today
• pieta: a picture or sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ on her lap or in her arms.

  mary is viewed as a young woman, purity someone without sin won’t age.

  Michelangelo didn’t want to reflect death but the belief of jesus freely fulfilling gods will to bring us salvation
• The cross

  • Symbol of both death and life
  • Although Jesus died on the cross, the fact it is empty points to the resurrection and Jesus' victory over death
• The cross in Catholic Religious practice

  • Catholics make the "sign of the cross" during prayer
• Crucifix

  • Reminds Catholics of the suffering Jesus endured to bring about our salvation
  • Reminder of the Catholic belief in Jesus' love for us
• Many Catholics choose to wear a crucifix as a constant reminder of God's love
• Fish symbol


  Represents the declaration of the Catholic belief that Jesus is the saviour of the world
• Dove


  Symbolises peace and the Holy Spirit
• The Catechism teaches that a dove, water and fire are useful symbols to help us understand the nature of the Holy spirit
• Alpha and Omega


  First and last letters of the Greek alphabet, represent Jesus as the First and the Last
• The Alpha and Omega are on the Paschal, or Easter candle which is lit on Holy Saturday in the evening
• The Alpha and Omega point to the Catholic belief in the Incarnation as by describing Jesus as "The first and the last" is to acknowledge him as God
• The four evangelists


  • Symbolised in religious art as winged creatures, carrying the Gospel to the four corners of the earth
  • Matthew as a winged man
  • Mark as a winged lion
  • Luke as a winged ox
  • John as an eagle
• Winged man (Matthew)


  Presents the birth stories and family tree of Jesus, stressing the incarnation and Jesus as a human being
• Winged lion (Mark)


  Shows a courageous, miracle working figure of Jesus who rises again to heaven, strong and victorious
• Winged ox (Luke)


  Stresses the sacrifice of Jesus, and oxen were often offered as sacrifices in the ancient world
• For believers, the resurrection is a mystery beyond words and human comprehension, so symbolism is used to help explain it
• Catholics believe that symbols can help us understand things that cannot always be captured in words
• The Catechism teaches that the Dove is an acceptable symbol of the Holy Spirit and can teach us about the nature of the Holy Spirit where words cannot sufficiently
• Catholics believe that symbols are useful as they can be good reminders of deep truths
• Symbols such as the Alpha and Omega capture the essence of Catholic belief instantly
• A Catholic may use symbols, such as the crucifix worn around their neck or in the home, to provide a reminder of their faith
• d question evaluations

  teaching of the church or catechism:

  • this can be seen as a strong argument as it’s based on the teachings of the church, the church was founded by jesus who catholics believe is god, is guided by the holy sprit who protects the church from error and the pope and bishops are the successors of the apostles, therefore if the church teaches () this should be seen as a robust point due to the church’s authority
• d questions evaluation

  • scientific evidence =
  • this could be seen as a strong point due to the evidence we have concerning (). science takes a very methodical approach to gathering evidence and this evidence can often be tested. scientists will explore a range of theories before deciding on what is most likely and so due to the scientific method used in establishing this evidence that () this can be seen as robust
• d question evaluation

  • if you have no authority but it’s a reasonable view point
  • the argument lacks strength as it’s subjective, although some people may believe () this is based on their personal opinion, others may hold personal opinions which are significantly differ y to this view such as believing () therefore as this argument is based on an opinion and although people have a right to hold it. it is not considered robust
• sowa “the trinity is one, we do not confess three gods, but one god in three persons” cathechins confirms one god