Religious studies

• 3 main natures of God

  He is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and Just
• other natures of God


  transcendent - beyond space and time, controlled by neither

  omnipresent - everywhere

  omniscient - all knowing
• how God is omnipotent


  - all powerful.. this is shown in the Bible because he created all things and performed miracles
• 2 ways Gods omnipotence may influence Christians


  1. may influence them to pray to God more and ask for more miracles e.g to cure a sick relative

  2. may influence them to worship him and thank him for the creation hr created with his power
• Quote illustrating God's omnipotence


  "You have made the heavens and the Earth by your great power."
• How is God Omnibenevolent

  He is all loving

  He promised his people salvation

  His fulfillment of his promise was his son Jesus Christ
• 2 ways Gods omnibenevolence may influence Christians


  1. may encourage them to love each other in their daily lives and treat Gods creation with care and respect

  2. may lead to Christians feeling comforted through difficult times as they know God loves them and will reward them in heaven
• Quote illustrating God's benevolence


  "For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in loving kindness."
• How is God just?

  - fair to all people

  shown in Bible because he will judge whether people will go to heaven or hell or judgement day
• 2 ways Gods Justness may influence Christians


  1. encourages Christians to treat others fairly too

  2. influences them to be motivated to do good deeds in their life and follow the Bible teachings, because they know God will judge them
• Quote illustrating God's justness

  "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you"
• Inconsistent Triad


  The idea that the set of omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent cannot all exist at the same time

  JL Mackie
• What is agape love?

  christian, unconditional love
• what are the types of evil, and define them

  moral evil: evil caused by humans

  natural evil: evil not caused by humans
• what do some people argue about the existence of God in relation to the presence of evil

  some argue that this evil means God cannot exist/ his nature isnt true, because if he is:

  omnipotent, he would stop the evil

  omnibenevolent, he would want to stop the evil

  omniscient, he would know evil exists and would want to stop it
• what do some Christians believe about evil

  they believe in the devil/satan, who is an evil force that tries to tempt humans into behaving badly and disobeying God. so, evil perpetrated by them is a result of the devils work
• arguments against saying the nature of God is false/God cannot exist

  -God gave humans free will and they choose to disobey him, which can cause suffering. evil is humans' fault

  - natural evil is a punishment for disobeying God

  - Humans only have limited knowledge and understanding of God so they should trust in him because he is just
• Define polytheism


  belief in more than one god
• What do Christians believe about God


  that is he one, but at the same time 3 persons
• What is the Holy Trinity

  God the father

  God the son

  God the Holy Spirit
• Who is God the Father?

  the creator of the earth and all life
• Quote depicting God the Father


  "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth."

  - strong evidence of monotheism
• Who is God the son

  Jesus Christ - both fully God and fully human - the saviour that became incarnate, to come to earth to save all humans
• Who is God the Holy Spirit?

  the unseen power of God at work in the world
• what is the importance of the Holy Trinity

  - it helps Christians gain an understanding of God who is really beyond human understanding. this can make them feel closer to God
• how does the Holy Trinity influence a Christians life?

  - it may help Christians relate to God in different ways, which can encourage them to pray more and help them feel less alone

  - it reminds Christians that God is holy and beyond our understanding, therefore worthy of worship
• how can God be related to in different ways?

  as a good parent: - father

  as a friend who is like us - the son

  as a presence with us - the holy spirit
• main christian belief about creation

  God created the earth and all living things inside it
• where are the main different accounts of the creation story in the Bible

  Genesis 1 and John 1
• what does Genesis 1 say about creation

  it includes the story of how God created the world in stages over 6 days and rested on the 7th
• Quote about God's glory in creation (Genesis 1)

  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"
• Quote about the holy spirit in creation (Genesis 1)

  'the spirit of God was hovering over the water
• when was the creation story in John 1 written

  it was written around 600yrs after Genesis 1 and after the death of Jesus
• what does John 1 say about creation

  Indicates how the trinity has always existed from the start of time
• Quote from John 1 Creation story

  "In the beginning was the Word"
• 2 Similarities between the two creation stories

  - both acknowledge God as the creator of life and light

  - refer to the origin of the Earth (..."In the beginning")
• 2 differences between John 1 and Genesis 1 creation story

  - John 1 states that God spoke through the Word but Genesis 1 states that He spoke directly

  - John 1 was written 600 years after Genesis 1
• Difference between Genesis 1 and 2 creation story

  - Genesis one states that humans and animals were created on the same day

  - Genesis 2 implies humans were created first
• what are the different types of Christians in relation to beliefs about creation?

  -Literalists/ fundamentalists

  - Compatibilists

  - Symbolists
• What do Literalists believe about creation?

  that the bible is the exact word of God so it must be literally true and nothing can be wrong. this means that God did create the world in exactly 6 days out of nothing, despite scientific challenges