Re all in one THEORY

• Key Quotes & Evidence for the Christianity Topics (Exam Components 1 and 2)

  • "Turn the other cheek" Matthew 5
  • Exodus 20: The Decalogue (Ten Commandments)
  • "You shall not kill"
  • "Honour your mother and father"
  • "Do not commit adultery"
  • "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5
  • "Treat others the way you would like to be treated" The Golden Rule
  • "Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God" 1 John
  • "Love the Lord your God… and Love your Neighbour as yourself" Greatest Commandment: Matthew 22
  • "Life begins at conception" Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" Jeremiah 1
  • "You are all one in Christ Jesus" St Paul
  • "God created man in his own image" Genesis 1
  • "God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Genesis 2
  • "Your body is a temple" 1 Corinthians 6
  • "So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 24
  • "The Lord our God, the Lord is one" Deuteronomy 6
  • Catholics believe the authority of the Church comes from the Magisterium (the Pope and his Bishops)
  • "God is the author of Sacred Scripture (Bible)" Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • "I am the way the truth and the life, no one goes to the father except through me" Said by Jesus: John 14:6
  • "Then God said, 'Let there be light!' and there was light" Genesis 1 proves God's power
• Gospel Stories or Parables

  • The Parable of the Good Samaritan
  • The judgment parables (e.g. the Sheep and the Goats,
  • Lazareth & the Rich Man)
  • The story of Job
  • The story of the adulterous women
• Creation ex nihilo


  Creation out of nothing. Before God created the universe, nothing existed. Only God can create out of nothing.
• Evolution


  The process of mutation and natural selection which leads to changes in species over time to suit particular environments.
• Imago Dei


  In the image of God. The belief that human beings are uniquely a reflection of God's personhood. Unlike the other animals, human beings are rational, free and moral.
• Inspiration


  "God breathed". The belief that the Spirit of God guides an individual to act or write what is good or true.
• Omnipotence


  The belief that God is all powerful.
• Revelation


  The word used to describe all the ways in which God makes himself known to human beings. God does this finally and fully in the person of Jesus Christ.
• Stewardship


  The duty to care for creation responsibly as stewards rather than consumers, and to protect it for future generations.
• Transcendence


  Existing outside of space and time; God exists in a way that makes him nothing like anything else that exists, above and beyond creation.
• God alone created the universe, freely, directly and without any help.
• God is eternal. In the beginning, before the creation of the universe, before time exists, only God exists.
• God is transcendent. God is beyond time and space.
• God is creator. God created heaven and earth.
• God is omnipotent. He was able to create something out of nothing.
• God is omnibenevolent. God loves creation into being.
• Catholic and Fundamentalist Understanding of Genesis Creation Accounts

  • Catholic Understanding
  • Evangelical or Literal Christian Understanding
• Catholics accept the Genesis creation stories as myths (a story that conveys a deep or complex truth). It is not meant to be taken literally.
• Catholics accept the Big Bang Theory and it was a Catholic priest, Georges Lemaitre, who first put forward they Theory.
• Several Popes, starting with Pope Pius XII in 1950, have taught that there is no conflict between Darwin's theory and the Catholic understanding of God's deliberate, purposeful creation of human beings.

  
• Scientific arguments for the origins of the universe


  • The Big Bang
  • Problems with accepting the Big Bang Theory
• The Big Bang is a description of how scientists believe the universe began. They believe that the universe was caused by a huge explosion about 20 billion years ago.
• Stephen Hawking says that when we look closely at the number of galaxies and their development the universe can be aged at roughly 14 billion years old.
• Charles Darwin suggested the theory of evolution in 1859 following a number of years of research.
• The Church teaches that there had to be an 'intelligent mind' behind evolution or there would have been total chaos. This 'intelligent mind' was God.
• Saint John Paul II wrote an encyclical in which he emphasised that the Bible has to be read carefully and that science contributes to the Church's wisdom and understanding.
• Jewish views on creation


  • God is the source of all life and referred to throughout the Torah as the sole creator
  • Genesis (the first book of the Torah) tells two creation stories
  • Traditionally Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the day when God created the world and marks the beginning of the New Year
  • Some Orthodox Jews believe these stories are true accounts. Other, perhaps more Reform Jews, believe that the creation accounts are stories which shouldn't be considered as historical facts.

  
• The Liberal Protestant Attitude on Abortion


  • Abortion is wrong, but it must be permitted in certain circumstances
  • Jesus told Christians to love their neighbour and abortion may be the most loving thing to do
  • Christians should remove suffering and abortion may be needed in order to do this
  • Life does not begin at conception but at some point during the pregnancy
  • Christianity is concerned with justice. If abortions were banned an unjust situation could arise.
• The Catholic Attitude on Abortion


  • The Catholic Church teaches that all direct abortion is wrong whatever the circumstances and so can never be permitted
  • Life is holy and belongs to God; therefore only God has the right to end a pregnancy
  • Life begins at conception, abortion is therefore taking life
  • The Ten Commandments say that it is wrong to take life. (Thou shalt not kill)
  • A foetus is a human being and abortion destroys its right to life, so it follows that abortion is wrong
  • They believe that adoption is always a better solution to unwanted pregnancy than abortion as it preserves life and brings joy to a new family.
• The Humanist Viewpoint on Abortion


  • Abortion is often a morally acceptable choice to make for some, this choice is personal
  • Humanists do not think all life is "sacred"
  • They do not think that human life begins at conception. Usually more concerned with quality of life rather than the right to life
  • Would put the interests of the woman first as it's her happiness that matters. She exists already unlike those of the unborn foetus which is not a person, with its own feelings and consciousness
  • All possible options should be explored – adoption might be the best solution in some cases, or on reflection a woman might decide that she could look after a sick or disabled child.
• The 1967 Act states that an abortion can be carried out if two doctors agree that the mother's life is at risk, there is a risk of injury to the mother's physical or mental health, there is a risk that another child would put at risk the mental or physical health of existing children, or there is a substantial risk that the baby might be born seriously handicapped.
• The 1990 Act states that abortions cannot take place after 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless the mother's life is gravely at risk or the foetus is likely to be born with severe mental or physical abnormalities, because advances in medical techniques mean such foetuses have a chance of survival.
• What does Genesis 1 & 2 teach about the nature of God?


  • God is omnipotent
  • God is transcendent
  • Humans were created imago dei
  • All human life belongs to God
• King life


  The Ten Commandments say that it is wrong to take life. (Thou shalt not kill)
• A foetus is a human being and abortion destroys its right to life, so it follows that abortion is wrong
• Adoption


  A better solution to unwanted pregnancy than abortion as it preserves life and brings joy to a new family
• God is omnipotent


  He can create from nothing. "In the beginning God created…" (Genesis 1:1)
• God is transcendent


  He says "Let there be…" and it appears. He needs nothing beyond His own words to create
• Humans were created imago dei

  "Let us make mankind in our image" (Genesis 1:26), "I will make a helpmate for man" (Genesis 2:18)
• All human life belongs to God


  "God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became alive." (Genesis 2:7)