Christianity: Beliefs and teachings

• Monotheistic


  Believing in one God
• Characteristics of God


  • Eternal
  • Omniscient
  • Immanent
  • Benevolent
  • Omnipotent
• Christians believe God is a fair and righteous judge of humans
• Christians believe God has provided a perfect example of godly living when he came into the world as Jesus
• Holy Trinity


  The concept of the three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as one God
• Beliefs about the Trinity


  • Each person is God
  • Each person is distinct
  • All persons are equal
• Some Christians see the belief in the Trinity as going against the idea of one God
• Some Christian denominations, like the Christadelphians, do not believe in the Trinity
• Creation in Genesis


  1. God brings order to chaos

  2. God speaks things into existence

  3. God names parts of creation

  4. God creates humans in his image
• Role of the Spirit in creation


  The Spirit is present, 'hovering over the waters', preparing to bring life
• Role of the Word in creation


  The Word (Son of God) is present with God before creation, and through him all things are given life
• Humans


  • Made in the image of God
  • Given authority over the earth
  • Given the ability to make choices (free will)
• The Fall


  1. God places a rule on Adam and Eve

  2. Adam and Eve disobey God

  3. This destroys their perfect relationship with God

  4. God punishes Adam and Eve and sends them out of the Garden of Eden
• Original sin


  The first occasion on which mankind disobeyed God, affecting all people since
• Christian interpretations of the Genesis creation story


  • Literal interpretation
  • Mythological interpretation
  • Theistic evolution
• Christians agree that God created the universe
• Creationists believe the world is approximately 5,700 years old
• Theistic evolutionists believe life developed through evolution, but that this process was started by God
• Some Christians believe the 'days' in Genesis 1 do not need to be taken literally
• Creationists would argue that the world is approximately 5,700 years old
• Creationists


  Christians who argue that as the Bible is inspired by God, and as God's word is infallible, it should be taken as an absolute truth
• This approach leads some Christians to a view known as Theistic Evolution
• Theistic Evolution


  They believe that life developed through the process of evolution, but that evolution was a process that was started by God and is the mechanism by which God brings about life
• Many Christians do not think that the days referred to in Genesis 1 need to be taken literally because they would say that God's time is not the same as our time
• This view would suggest that each day of the week in the creation story actually represents a longer period of time
• This makes the creation account more compatible with the evidence that science provides about the age and development of the earth
• Myth


  A story that is used to convey important truths but is not meant to be taken literally
• Christians believe that original sin caused humans to lose their immortality and because of this all humans will one day die
• Suffering caused by death is therefore a direct result of original sin
• When humans today continue to disobey God, their sin creates further suffering in the world
• This leads to the problems of evil, which says: If God is benevolent then he would care enough to stop the suffering caused by evil, but he can't - perhaps he is not omnipotent. But if he is omnipotent and has the power to stop suffering but he won't, maybe he doesn't care much, so he is obviously not benevolent
• It seems that it is impossible to hold on to a belief in an omnipotent and benevolent God when evil and suffering exist in the world
• Natural evil

  Suffering created through no direct fault of human, including natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods
• Moral evil


  Suffering caused by the actions of human beings
• For Christians, Jesus' life is important because it gives them an example for their own lives
• Jesus' death is the sacrifice that provides the means by which humans can be brought back into relationship with God
• Incarnation


  God in human form
• Jesus' conception was not natural but he was conceived by the Holy Spirit
• The Old Testament contains prophecies about God coming to Earth, and Jesus' miraculous conception and birth fulfil these prophecies
• Messiah

  The 'anointed one', referring to Jesus as King or Lord