8 markers

• why christmas is important (gifts)

  · Reveals God’s love for the world.

  · Celebrates the incarnation.

  · Time for families, as Jesus was born to a human family.

  · Time to reflect on the Christian message of peace.

  · Without Jesus’ birth, salvation would not possible.
• evangelical views on the Bible

  · Believe the Bible is the “Word of God”. Its authors were guided by divine inspiration, so the Bible is infallible.

  · Believe the Bible had human authors so is not infallible. Some Biblical stories are metaphors, not literally true.

  ( The Bible needs to be interpreted for the modern world.)
• the Bible and salvation

  · Some Protestants: the Bible is the only source of authority as it contains everything needed for salvation.

  · Catholic and other Protestants have different sources of authority: they accept the Bible, Church teachings, human reason and the conscience.
• The Holy Spirit

  · The Holy Spirit has a particularly important role in Evangelical worship.

  · The Holy Spirit my influence worshippers in their prayer, and move them to shout out praise for God.

  They Holy Spirit is believed to responsible for miraculous events which happen during worship, e.g. speaking in tongues and faith healing.
• catholics view on Heaven

  · Catholics and many Protestants see it as a reward for those who live a good life through faith and obedience to God.
• evangelical views on heaven

  some evangelicals believe that due to sin no - one deserves heaven . God saves some from hell as an act of grace.
• heaven (liberal views)

  · Some Liberals do not see heaven as important, and focus on improving this world. They see heaven as a metaphor for living a moral life.
• hell

  · Seen as punishment for an evil life, or not repenting for serious sins.

  · Some Christians see hell as incompatible with an loving God.
• importance of incarnation

  jesus' birth fulfils the prophesies in the Old testament that predict that God would send a Messiah (Christ)

  the incarnations show's God's love for humanity as he sent his Son to die for us.

  christians believe that God understands our suffering as Jesus lived as a human + experienced emotions such as grief and suffering, just as we do .

  an important moment in salvation history , as God sent His son to repair the rift between God + humanity

  is one of the most important christian beliefs + found in creeds.
• importance of christmas

  Reveals God's love for the world, as He sent his son to save humanity.

  Celebrates the incarnation , God becoming human in the form of Jesus.

  christmas is a time to reflect on the christian message of peace , reflecting the angels' words to the shepherds after Jesus' birth "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace"

  through his death, Jesus makes salvation + eternal life possible for christians. without Jesus' birth this would not have happened.
• the purpose of infant baptism

  • they believe that children shoudl be a part of the christian community as baptism is the way a person joins the christian faith
  • baptism is the start of a person's spiritual life
  • they believe that there is biblical evidence, which supports the practice (eg: when st paul converted a man to christianity, the bible says that "same hour of night... he was baptised with all his family." - acts 16:33
  • catholics believe that baptism is required to remove original sin
• adult baptism purpose pt 1

  • they believe that christian church should be a community of people who have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus
  • they believe that young children are not capable of making a personal commitment to the Christian aith
  • it follows the example of Jesus, who was baptised as an adult
• adult baptism purpose pt 2

  • they do not believe that a priest performing a baptism has any power to remove original sin , they believe that when a person commits to christianity , they begin a new spiritual life + God removes their sin as an act of grace
  • the Bible suggest that baptism should take place when they are older ( John 3:3-5)
• the importance of the Lord's prayer


  it gives a model for how to pray provided by Jesus himself

  the Lord's prayer has been used in worship by christians since the earliest days of christianity.

  it is used in nearly all christian services + in ceremonies such as baptism , marriage +funerals.

  it contains key christian teachings such as worship of God, submission to God's will + asking for help + forgiveness
• purpose for christians praying

  Christians might use prayer to ask God to forgive their sins

  christians might pray to God seeking advice + guidance when faced w a difficult problem

  christians have a way to praise + thank God for things He has done for them.

  christians might pray to God for help , for themselves or others (eg: healing an illness).

  expression of faith

  christians speak to God + develop a personal relationship w him.
• creation story

  creation is the most powerful demonstration of God's omnipotence

  Creation shows that human life is special + we are made in the image of God

  Source of christian ethic (eg: taking care of God's creation / or for some, heterosexual relationships)

  the story of the fall gives an insight into human nature and helps explain why evil and suffering happen ina world created by an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God.