{ Christianity: Principal Beliefs Preliminary Course
Humanity & Divinity of Christ
{ Human and Divine with neither impinging on the other. The Council of Ephesus (431) & The Council of Chalcedon (451)
Genealogy Birth Occupation: Carpenter Eats, drinks, feels pain, dies Prays Participates in Jewish rituals and festivals e.g. the Passover, wedding of Cana Baptised Christ the Human
Performed miracles Healing miracles Exorcisms Miracles over nature Reveals the divine potential of humanity Profound wisdom (knows the heart of man) Resurrection from the dead Ascension into heaven Christ the Divine
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me [ while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus restores sight to the blind man (John 9)
{{ Physical Blindness Spiritual Blindness The Teachings of Jesus Christ
{ John 11 The resurrection of Lazarus
christ-accomplished-by-his-death/ christ-accomplished-by-his-death/ christ-accomplished-by-his-death/ Ephesians 2: 1-10 What has the Lord done for us?
The Death & Resurrection of Christ
Christians have traditionally believed that Jesus died for our sins More adequate reflections on the death of Jesus highlight the notion that death is an integral part of the human condition and one which is shared by Jesus Other ways of appreciating the importance of the death of Jesus include seeing the death of Jesus as evidence of the unconditional love of God, or seeing Jesus' selflessness even unto death as a model for discipleship Christ’s death
The fundamental Christian belief in the resurrection of the body, as evident in the Nicene Creed is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ Whilst Jesus' resurrection and ascension are depicted slightly differently in the Gospels of John and Luke, both stress the importance of the resurrection as carrying the meaning of eternal life that overcomes the limitations of human mortality Was the tomb found empty at night time or during the day? [ John’s account – Jn 20 vs Luke’s account – Lk 24] Christ’s resurrection
Why did Jesus have to die for our sins?
What are Christians called to do? Live a life of service To be witnesses of Christ To make Christ’s message known to the world Discipleship Table fellowship Free the oppressed Bring good tidings to the afflicted To love Forgive Bind up the broken- hearted Proclaim liberty to captives Clothe the naked Feed the hungry Comfort those who mourn To bring peace To hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness
{ John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
{ Keep Christ in your hearts and you will recognise his face in every human being. What do you think St Paul & JPII meant by these statements?
What does ‘trusting in God’ mean for us?
Revelation
{ John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
{ Transcendent, immanent, powerful but through Jesus empties himself fully to be powerless. Find your life by losing it.
Redemption & Salvation
The nature of God & the Trinity
{ y-Bible.html Using the link above summarise key point about the Trinity.
Attributes of God Omniscient Omnipotent Omnipresent Immutable Holy Righteous Sovereign Just Love Mercy Trinity Eternal Unchanging Infinite Self-existent Self-sufficient
A symbolic Christ Light (John 8:12) Bread of life (John 6:32) Gate for the sheep (John 10:7) Good shepherd (John 10:11) The darkness of rejection and death does not overcome this light Gives nourishment of God’s word to ready us for the world to come. We can only enter through his way. He protects and guides his flock, they know him.
A symbolic Christ The Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) The vine (John 15:5) God’s revelation to humanity on how to reach him. The source of life and righteousness
The Holy Spirit: Christ’s Advocate