1. B601 revision: Belief about Deity Aim: to revise key concepts

2. Definitions game: You each have a card with a key word and a definition on it. They do not match. We will begin with one person reading out their key word-the one in bold. Whoever has the definition reads this out, then reads out their key word. Whoever has the definition to this key word reads this out, and so on..

3. Christian beliefs about God: Christians believe that there is only one God-this is called monotheism. Some of the qualities they attribute to God: Omnipotent: God s all powerful Omniscient: God knows everything Omnipresent: God is everywhere at the same time Omnibenevolent: God is all-good and all-loving

4. One of the key qualities is the concept of the Trinity. This is one of the most difficult areas for people to understand. It was developed in the 4 th century CE after much discussion by Christians. It is the idea that God can be understood in three different ways: GOD THE FATHER GOD THE SON GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

5. GOD THE FATHER: God is the creator of everything. God is like a “loving parent”- God will act as judge and punish but will also forgive if humans show they are sorry.

6. GOD THE SON: GOD IN THE FORM OF JESUS Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God, God incarnate (in human form). Jesus was born of a human mother and lived a human (but sinless) life. Jesus showed people how to live in the right way so they could enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus showed God's love by being crucified so humans could be forgiven for their wrongdoing. God showed power over death when Jesus rose from the dead-the resurrection.

7. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT: GOD AT WORK IN THE WORLD After the resurrection, Jesus is said to have stayed on Earth for a short while. He then went to heaven-the ascension- and God sent the Holy Spirit. This is the power of God at work in the world to guide and support Christians.

8. The core beliefs about God can be found in the Apostles Creed.

9. Reasons for belief in God Cut out and sort the cards under the appropriate headings (10 minutes)

10. Miracles: “ An event which breaks natural law” “A sign” “Mighty works”

11. Miracles in the Old Testament: Many show God helping the Israelites- when Moses was leading them out of Egypt and being pursued by Pharaohs army, he is said to have parted the Red Sea On another occasion the Israelites were fighting the Amorites-God helped by throwing giant hailstones, killing the Amorites.

12. Miracles in the New Testament: God taking human form as Jesus. Jesus` miracles can be divided into 4 groups: 1. Natural miracles: e.g. calming of the storm

13. 2. Casting out demons: casting out demons from Legion

14. 3. Healing the sick: restoring sight to the blind, healing the paralysed

15. 4. Raising the dead: Jairus` daughter

16. Miracles today: Throughout the history of Christianity there have been many thousands of events, claimed as miracles whose details have been lost. The events at Lourdes in France (1844-79), and The miracle of Knock in Ireland (1879) are two important events which you need to know for the exam. Read through the events on pages 10 & 11. Make sure you know the details so you can describe this in an exam question. Write bullet points, draw pictures, design a cartoon strip, act it out in pairs, write a song or a poem, draw a flow diagram, or do anything else you can think of in order to get the events clear in your heads.

17. Exam questions on Belief about Deity: Remember each question in the exam is composed of 5 parts, a-e. Parts a-d are AO1 questions. These require you to describe, explain and analyse, using knowledge and understanding. Part e is the AO2 question- this is worth half of the marks and require you to use evidence and reasoned argument to express and evaluate your personal responses and different viewpoints. In other words they are looking for you to give your opinion and back it up with reasons and evidence, BUT ALSO give others viewpoints-if you JUST give your viewpoint, with no reasons or evidence, you wont get many marks!

18. Exam question: a)What is a God? (1 mark) b)State two things which Christians believe about miracles (2marks) c)Describe Christian beliefs about God (3 marks) d)Explain why Christians believe in God (6 marks) e)“If God existed we would know it” Discuss this statement. You should include different, supported points of view and a personal viewpoint. You must refer to Christianity in your answer. (12 marks)