AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062) Past Paper PDF

Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources AQA GCSE Religious Studies A Your notes (8062) 1.1 Christianity Key Beliefs: The Nature of God Contents 1.1.1 Introduction to Christianity 1.1.2 The Nature of God...

Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources AQA GCSE Religious Studies A Your notes (8062) 1.1 Christianity Key Beliefs: The Nature of God Contents 1.1.1 Introduction to Christianity 1.1.2 The Nature of God 1.1.3 The Trinity Page 1 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources 1.1.1 Introduction to Christianity Your notes Christianity Christianity is the main religious tradition in Great Britain and one of the most diverse Christianity is a major religion based on the life of Jesus Christ It’s an Abrahamic and monotheistic religion The other main Abrahamic religions are Judaism and Islam Denominations Christianity has lots of different denominations The number of Christian denominations around the world is huge They have different histories, different traditions and a variety in the styles of their church services Some, such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, have hundreds of millions of members Others, such as the Pentecostal Church, are seeing rapid growth all over the world In the UK, Anglicans are the most common denomination, followed by Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists Despite the fact there are different types of Christians, they all belong to the main group called Christianity They all believe in one God, follow the teachings of Jesus and use the Bible as their holy book Page 2 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Your notes Denominations of Christianity Page 3 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources 1.1.2 The Nature of God Your notes The Nature of God: Omnipotent, Loving & Just Christians believe that God has various qualities, some of God’s qualities are not possible for humans to achieve but others are. Five important qualities of God are: Omnipotence Just Omnibenevolence Immanence Transcendence How are these qualities demonstrated by God? Omnipotence God created the universe and everything in it God’s omnipotence is seen through his miracles performed by Jesus The bible says: 'nothing will be impossible with God’ (Luke 1: 37) Just With unlimited power and authority, God is believed to be the perfect giver of justice As God is all-loving, he will never support injustice, ill-treatment, prejudice or oppression God gave Moses the Decalogue outlining how he expected people to behave In the bible God said: ‘let justice roll like a river’ (Amos 5: 24) Page 4 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus taught that God would judge all people according to how they had cared for others. Your notes ‘In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’. (Matthew 7:12) Omnibenevolence God created humans in his image (Genesis 1: 27) highlighting his love to his creation God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son highlighting that God was willing for Jesus to be crucified to save humanity In the teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5: 43) Immanence God’s immanence refers to His presence within His creation A belief in God’s immanence holds that God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. In other words, there is no place where God is not ‘One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all’ (Ephesians 4: 6) Transcendence God has control and authority over His creation God is outside of humanity's full experience, perception or grasp Page 5 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55: 9) Your notes Why are these qualities important to believers? Omnipotence Christians will show determination and resilience when faced with a problem God has a plan for everyone. Therefore, Christians should trust in, and be guided by God Just Christians will work for justice in society to demonstrate God’s qualities of being just and compassionate They will think about the consequences of their actions as they will want to be rewarded by God on the Day of Judgement. They believe that any wicked actions will be addressed and made fair Omnibenevolence Christians will try to love each other in their daily lives by following the Golden Rule Christians will ‘love their enemies’ to demonstrate agape Immanence God's immanence gives him the awareness of and compassion for our suffering and sin Christians believe that God is present and this provides comfort Transcendence God's transcendence gives him the power to heal, rescue, and redeem. It means he is beyond the limits of all we understand, he can perform miracles to change the fortunes of those who are struggling The Problem of Evil & the Christian Response to this The Problem of Evil Evil and suffering exist in the world Evil can be separated into two types, Moral Evil and Natural Evil Christians believe God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omni-benevolent (all-loving) and omniscient ( all- knowing) so evil should not exist. Because evil does exist it leads to a number of possibilities Page 6 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources God is simply not powerful enough to stop evil God does not know that it is happening Your notes God simply does not love us enough to want to stop the evil Christians tell us that he can do all of these things so it leads some to question God’s existence John Mackie expressed this philosophical ‘problem of evil’ using the inconsistent triad which states that because evil exists either: God is omnipotent but not omnibenevolent or God is omnibenevolent but not omnipotent or God does not exist The Inconsistent Triad How Christians Respond to idea of Evil and Suffering God created people with free will and because people are not programmed like computers, they can choose whether to do good or evil. When people choose evil, suffering happens To some Christians life is a test. The way people react to suffering and evil determines whether they go to heaven or hell in the afterlife. For example, the Book of Job and how Job responds to suffering in the bible Others say that ‘God works in mysterious ways’ and He has reasons for letting evil and suffering happen, but humans will never be able to understand that God has a plan Page 7 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources How Christians physically respond to evil and suffering In responding to the problems of evil and suffering, Christians follow the teachings and actions of Your notes Jesus, who taught his followers to respond in certain ways Prayer: (asking God to help those who are suffering - this type of prayer is called intercession and is found in nearly all types of Christian worship). Service: (Actively helping those who suffer) many Christians help in hospitals and hospices, organise food and clothing for the homeless in the UK, raise money to help less developed countries, etc. Worked Example Which one of the following is not part of God’s nature? [1 mark] A. Just B. Limited C. Loving D. Oneness Answer: B - Limited (1) All of the other answers are qualities associated with God’s nature. Limited implies that there are limits to God’s powers. Something Christians do not believe Examiner Tips and Tricks How Christians respond to the ‘problem of evil and suffering’ can relate to both how they can accept that suffering exists in a world created by God, but also how they might physically respond to suffering with their actions (prayer and service) Page 8 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources 1.1.3 The Trinity Your notes The Oneness of God & the Holy Trinity The Trinity The Holy Trinity is the belief that God is Three-in-One, or Trinity, God the Creator and Father, Jesus as the Son of God Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God at work in the world The Trinity All are both worshipped, and acknowledged as separate persons of the one God The Trinity is not explicitly stated in the New Testament but it has become something that marks Christianity out from other monotheistic religions such as Islam and Judaism, which reject the idea that Page 9 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources God can be three Your notes The Nicene Creed A key source of authority for believing in the Trinity is the Nicene Creed The statement is recited by Christians of many denominations in their regular acts of worship The Creed was drawn up in 325 CE by the Council of Nicaea (a gathering of all bishops from across the world) ‘We believe in one God, the Father the Almighty … We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God … We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life’ (The Nicene Creed) The Creed also affirms the unity of the Church, baptism and repentance for the remission of sins, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgement, and everlasting life The Influence of the Trinity on Christians How the belief in the Trinity influences Christians today As the Father, God is loving so Christians may feel loved and demonstrate love for others for example by giving to charity As the Son, God was incarnate He lived and died among humans so Christians know that God can understand them He can feel pain like we do so Christians can pray to God for help As the Spirit, God is a source of spiritual strength Christians can feel the Spirit at work in their lives and this strengthens and supports them The Trinity is a mystery so Christians can accept that there are things that they cannot know about God The Trinity explains many things in the Bible so Christians can understand events like the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism. They can also understand the importance of the Trinity for baptism. In the name of the Father, Son & Spirit Worked Example Which one of the following is the idea that God is three-in-one? [1 mark] Page 10 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources A. Atonement B. Incarnation Your notes C. Salvation D. Trinity Answer: D - Trinity (1) All of the other answers are keywords associated with this topic but it is Trinity that means the idea that God is three-in-one Examiner Tips and Tricks You are expected to not only know what the Trinity is, but also how belief in the Trinity influences the way that Christians lead their lives. This could be the individual elements of the Trinity or the Trinity as a whole. For example, a 4 mark question might ask you to: Explain two ways in which belief in the Trinity influences Christians today In response, you could write about how a belief in God as ‘The Father’ might lead them to give to charity and care for others just as God as ‘The Father’ loves and cares for us. OR It may lead Christians to accept that just as ‘The Trinity’ itself is mysterious and difficult to understand, Christians must accept that there will be things within their own lives that they cannot fully comprehend. Page 11 of 11 © 2015-2024 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers