Christian beliefs

• Denominations of Christianity: Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic.
• Denomination: Distinct groups within Christianity with their own beliefs and traditions
• Christianity is monotheistic: There is only one God who creates and sustains everything
• Quote: The Nicene Creed begins with 'We believe in one God'
• Quote: Ten commandments: 'You shall have no other Gods before me'
• God lives without the restrictions of gender, showing both traditional male characteristics (power and strength) and female (care, gentleness, love)
• God is considered to be holy, meaning he is worthy of worship
• God's nature is unique to him, it makes him perfect and means humans cannot achieve most of his qualities
• God is omniscient (all-knowing): Christians should prevent wrongdoings as God knows what you do, they should instead focus on good deeds so God sees this and lets you into heaven
• Quote: 'The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God'
• God is omnipotent (all-powerful): Christians understand that God made the world through this belief, they should feel safe and protected, but also be obedient to god and follow his commands
• Quote: 'Nothing is impossible with God'
• God is benevolent (loving): God created humans because he desired to bestow love on them, God only wants what is best for humans, Gods greatest act of love was giving Jesus, Christians should feel safe and loved and understand they are never alone, and should reflect this love to each other
• Quote: 'For God so loved the world he gave his only son'
• God is Just (bringing about fairness): He will never support injustice or oppression, so when Christians encounter these they should oppose them. Christians should understand doing good brings about reward, and sinning brings about punishment
• The problem of evil and suffering: How can god be omniscient, benevolent, and omnipotent if his creation can suffer.
• God treats all people fairly as he is just, and is incapable of wrongdoing. Therefore, Christians must have faith that God only wants the best for them in hard times
• God may have a reason for allowing evil and suffering but it is beyond human comprehension
• Evil and suffering may be a test from God to see who deserves to go to heaven or hell
• The problem of evil and suffering can argue against Gods existence as it is illogical for him to let his creation suffer when he has these qualities. Is he really possessive of these qualities.
• God has to know his creation is suffering because he is omniscient, but maybe he does not have the power to fix it.
• The Trinity: The belief that God is one God but exists as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• The Father: Creator of Earth and all living things, he has the qualities of omnipotence, omniscience, benevolence, and justice
• Impact of the Father: Christians feel protected and safe, Christians avoid wrongdoings so they can meet the Father in heaven
• Quote: (Lords prayer): 'Our Father in heaven'
• The Son: Incarnated through Jesus, he is fully human and fully God
• Impact of the Son: Makes God personal: he understands what it is like to be human, and Christians can gain a better understanding of god, Makes God immanent: he is with humanity
• The Holy spirit: Came once Jesus ascended back to heaven, he is influential, giving guidance and sustaining life on Earth, the unseen power of God
• Impact of the Holy Spirit: God is always with his creation, so they should feel safe and loved, they see that God can be both transcendent and immanent
• Some people believe the Trinity is a difficult concept to understand: how can god be one person, but also three all at the same time
• Creation: The act by which God brought the universe into being, found in Genesis chapter 1
• Creationists: Christians who believe the genesis story of creation is completely accurate
• Quote: 'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth'
• God created the Earth in 6 days, resting on the 7th, he made it good and perfect
• The creation story emphasises and supports the belief God is the creator of everything
• The Holy spirit was also present in creation, displaying how the spirit sustains life when the Father and the Son cannot be there
• Quote: 'The spirit of God was hovering over the waters'
• Some Christians believe the trinity is part of the mystery of God, we are meant to not be able to understand it as we do not understand his nature
• The Son (The Word) was also present in the beginning of the world
• Quote: 'In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God' - The Son is God (Trinity)