the entire of aqa gcse rs christianity key points and exam questions just before we start i want to say that this video took me over four weeks to compile and create resources so it would be much appreciated if you leave a like share and subscribe now let's get on with the video so in the whole of gcse rs christianity it's split into two sections beliefs and teachings and practices i'm going to be going through every single topic so you might want to check out the timestamps for individual topics but let's begin with creation so christians believe that god created the entire universe and the contents of it including earth and mankind the story of creation is told in chapter one in the book of genesis where it begins in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth genesis chapter 1 verse 1. the story gives a breakdown of how god created the universe which could be summarized in seven days however not all christians believe this is a literal story although some do most however do accept that god is creator and that he creates all new life the holy spirit and son are both referenced in the story to show how they are all present from day one now let's look at exam questions explain two ways belief about creation might influence christians today this is a four marker and for all of these questions i've given you a starter to help you so belief in creation allows christians to look and be inspired from nature as signs of god's work explain two christian beliefs about creation and include a source of wisdom and authority so a bible or creed or something like that so i've started off saying in the creation story the father son and holy spirit are all present between genesis and john and you can talk about how that relates to the trinity now let's look at the next topic the nature of god so christianity is a religion of over 1.5 billion people across the world today and they have so many different denominations the main three are protestant catholic and orthodox but despite this their belief in god is universal christianity is a monotheistic religion which is a fundamental belief explained in the nicene creed we believe in one god despite god being referred to as he and father christians also believe that god does not have a gender he shows both male and female characteristics god is considered holy meaning something set apart from everything else and worthy of worship they believe he is perfect whilst having distinct qualities he is omnipotent which means all-powerful shown in the bible quote nothing is impossible with god he is omni-benevolent which means all loving god so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life john he is also omniscient which means all-knowing and finally just god is the perfect giver of justice including deciding on right and wrong and being the perfect judge of deciding character so in terms of exam questions explain two christian beliefs about the nature of god i've started off saying god is omnipotent but he gives us free will shown in the creation story now the next question is a 12 marker so when you're given a controversial statement and you're supposed to evaluate it saying whether you disagree and agree and points on both sides so god cannot be omni-benevolent because there is too much suffering that is a statement so use a source of wisdom and authority and give reasons for it against so i've started you off with one reason for each so four letting people suffer is cruel and is not justified and is not justified reason for innocent tragedies like natural disasters against if god constantly interfered to prevent suffering it would remove free will which is another important part that god has given us moving on to the next topic incarnation so jesus is perhaps the most important figure in christian liturgy as not only was he an entity of god he was god in human form god incarnate the gospels of matthew and luke explain the birth story of jesus commonly told as the nativity the most important points from this was that mary jesus's mother did not conceive jesus sexually the angel gabriel appeared in order to explain that jesus was no ordinary child and therefore had no ordinary conception instead he had the immaculate conception in which his mother was still a virgin whilst some could question the conception as unnatural it is the human birth of jesus that matters as it makes him flesh in human form the gospels of mark and john make no reference to the birth of jesus perhaps because they thought the events were unimportant compared to the meaning of it an important quote that you should remember is the word became flesh and dwelt among us the explanation of jesus as god incarnate makes it much easier for christians to understand and accept jesus's more unnatural actions such as miracles miracles and curing people and his resurrection jesus was referred to as christ which means anointed one and the messiah who would save humanity from evil eventually christ himself adopted these terms explain two ways belief about incarnation might influence christians today one reason the belief that jesus was god incarnate makes it possible to follow his teachings with you know greater understanding from christians we've got another 12 marker here the stories of the incarnation prove that jesus is the son of god so i've given a reason for so the miracle nature of jesus's immaculate conception with the virgin mary could only have been god and it would only have been with god and be god who would undergo such a process moving on to the next topic the holy trinity so the concept of the trinity is that there are three persons of all which are equally god but not equal to one another it is a difficult concept to explain in words god is not a physical presence although one person jesus the son did briefly have a physical presence on earth the oneness of god is still an idea despite the trinity they can be seen god can be seen as one in three and three in one all at the same time god the father is believed to be the creator of the universe as creator he acts as a good father would to his children god the son is jesus a person of god who became incarnate human on earth while still being god and god the holy spirit influences guides and sustains the earth and all life the holy spirit is the unseen power of god at work so explain two ways christians belief about the holy trinity might influence christians today one reason belief in one person of the trinity the holy spirit makes christians feel comforted and not alone when with the holy spirit explain two christian beliefs about trinity so one belief even though christians are monotheists so they only believe in one god they believe god is revealed through three parts that are all equally god okay moving on to the next topic crucifixion so whilst christ had gained some following mainly the twelve disciples he had also managed to upset a lot of people in power chiefly the romans who had occupied israel at the time concerned that he was a rebel the romans had arrested jesus charging him with treason after accusing him of claiming to be the king of jews an important quote sir pilate asked jesus are you the king of the jews jesus replied you have said so after a trial jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion a horrific means of death used by romans in which the criminal is nailed to a cross made of wood and is left to die the four gospels all tell the story of the crucifixion however details differ in all four generally whilst jesus is on the cross he adopts a forgiving approach to the roman soldiers who stab and mock at him as well as having conversations with the two criminals either side of him who are also being crucified this crucifixion is very important because it teaches christians that sin will no longer destroy their lives because christ god will forgive all those who sin against him as long as they faithfully ask for forgiveness a key quote in this is jesus said father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing so he was still having a forgiving approach which is quite admirable an exam question explain two ways belief about crucifixion might influence christians today so i've started off saying christians ask for forgiveness because jesus died for all the sins to be forgiven so they try to stay sinless and pure by following that the next point resurrection and ascension so as christ had died on the friday afternoon he was unable to be buried due to it being sabbath so instead he was placed inside a tomb with a stone rolled in front of the entrance when some of his followers including mary magdalene went to anoint his body to prepare it for the eventual burial on the sunday morning they were shocked to find that he was not there now again the details on this story vary and differ from each gospel in one story jesus appears in front of her in another he appears on the outskirts of jerusalem to two strangers and in another mary mistakes her for a gardener however these differences are of minor importance to christians the key is that he rose from the dead cementing his status as the divine and letting christians believe that there is life after death over the next 40 days jesus appeared to his followers to spread the news of his return and now apparent power and has instructed them to go and share his views an instruction which laid the foundations for the christian church mark and luke's gospels finish with jesus leaving for its last time by ascending to heaven he left them and was taken up into heavens luke 24 51 so looking at the exam questions explain two ways belief about resurrection might influence christians today so one reason is that it gives christians faith that they will overcome fear of death a 12 mark question here the resurrection is the most important belief four all four gospels have accounts of jesus's resurrection so it must be important against god as creator is more important as we had to be made first in order to undergo what jesus's resurrection was moving on to the next topic sin and salvation so sin is any action or thought that separates humans from god as it is against god's principles or morality thoughts are considered as dangerous as they can be led to sinful actions some actions are considered sinful despite not being illegal such as adultery therefore they are not they are considered not right christians believe all humans are born with original sin which suggests we all have an inbuilt tendency to do wrong as we are all descended from adam and eve who committed the first sin by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which god forbade them from doing the result of this was a separation from god and also the end of eternity in paradise instead humans would continue to be tempted by the devil who tempted adam and eve christians believe that the devil's desire is to continue to tempt humans away from god in revenge for losing his wings because he was an angel archangel who disobeyed god therefore christians do not blame god for the existence of evil nor do they lay responsibility at god's feet god gave humans free will it gives humans choice of over how to live their lives including the guidance given to us by god for example the ten commandments in exodus or the beatitudes in matthew so the question explain two christian beliefs about salvation salvation means to be saved from sin and the grace of god makes it possible to live a good life moving on to life after death so many christians believe that resurrection is a reality made possible by jesus however there are different beliefs about what happens some believe the resurrection is of the soul immediately after death others believe it will happen in the future with the return of jesus to judge the dead the catholic and orthodox churches suggest that resurrection will occur with body and soul in which the body is transformed into a glorified state with no suffering underpinning all christian belief about death is that there is an afterlife however what that afterlife looks like and how it operates varies from denomination to denomination christians believe humans receive eternal life as a gift from god and therefore an afterlife depends on belief of god they believe that it is god who decides the fate of those who die god who will take into account the life of the person the thoughts and actions and the extent at which that person had tried to bring themselves closer to god this is illustrated in the parable of the sheep and the goats all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left so the exam questions explain two ways belief about life after death might influence christians today so i've started off by saying belief in life after death is only possible due to jesus so they should pray so christians should pray and have faith in jesus explain two christian beliefs about life after death and include a source of wisdom and authority so one belief is that if you see if you succeed a good christian life then you will be rewarded in heaven moving on to the next topic christ in salvation so in christian belief salvation means to be saved from sin and its consequences salvation allows humans to restore their relationship with god a relationship which sin has damaged there are two ways that this can come about one is salvation through good works the old testament makes it clear that a person achieves salvation by having faith in god and obeying god's law salvation through grace is the second method in which salvation is given by god through faith in jesus it is not earned or deserved but it is a gift for the faithful of these tie very closely with the role of jesus christ christians believe that jesus's death makes up for the original sin committed by adam and eve and instead of punishing mankind for his crucifixion christ chose to accept it and sacrificed himself in order to show forgiveness and wrongdoing his resurrection also shows that death can be defeated and so humans can now receive forgiveness and eternal life with god god accepted christ's death as atonement for our sin if anybody does sin we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous one he is the atoning sacrifice for all our sins 1 john chapter 2 verse 1 to 2. explain two ways belief about salvation might influence christians today so we've started it off by saying christians reconcile their sins as jesus's salvation allows humans to do the process of atonement and feel remorse for the actions that they commit heaven and hell so the separation that matthew 25 refers to is a reference to the existence of heaven and hell heaven is a place where christians can experience the presence of god eternally and hell is a place where they experience the eternal absence of god catholics believe in an intermediate stage called purgatory where souls wait to receive judgment heaven is traditionally viewed as a place beyond the clouds where god sits on a throne and is joined by angels in pictures and in paintings it's represented as a physical paradise but it is unclear from scripture whether this is a physical one or a spiritual one some christians believe that anyone who believes in jesus will go to heaven whilst others think it is for anyone who has acted as god wishes even if there are on a different faith some believe it is solely reserved for christians hell is often seen as the opposite of heaven a place of eternal suffering terror fire and torture ruled by the devil this opens the question of whether non-christians go to hell if heaven is reserved for christians which should appear unfair however as god is just and omni-benevolent many believe god will save those worthy of presence in heaven looking at the exam question explain two ways belief about heaven and hell might influence christians today some christians believe anyone who has faith in jesus receives salvation and goes to heaven so christians thus have strong faith and pray to jesus now we're moving on to christian practices so worship worship is an act of religious praise honor or devotion it may involve prayer meditation bible reading singing hymns preaching doing things within the community weekly public public worship takes place on sunday the day of the resurrection private worship takes place anytime liturgical worship is a set service that follows the same patterns a priest leads the prayer many perform symbolic actions and the congregation will sin hymns or join with chance non-liturgical worship does not have a set order or ritual non-conformist churches may have the basic structure each week but the number of hymns prayers or the order of service may be changed by the priest informal worship this may depend on spontaneous prayer or sharing of thoughts some are charismatic and may involve seeing dancing and clapping now god whether you pray either alone or with the community worship is still valued highly in christianity let's look at the exam questions so explain two contrasting ways a christian might worship i put one there liturgical which has a set pattern and is usually done within groups explain two ways in which private worship is important for christians provide a source of wisdom and authority so it gives christians a chance to spend time alone with god and it's a personal personal connection that is being made that you're not living up to a certain front with other people now let's look at the holy communion which is also known as the eucharist this is a service of thanksgiving in which the sacrificial death and resurrection of jesus is celebrated using bread and wine this is also known as mass the lord's supper the breaking of the bread and the divine liturgy eucharist celebrates the sacrifice that jesus made on the cross now for catholics the sacrifice is made real during this ritual but for other denominations it's more significant and it's an important act some christians for example catholics and orthodox believe that through the process of transubstantiation the bread and the wine literally become the body and blood of christ through the divine mystery protestant christians however believe that the bread and wine is symbolic and acts as a metaphor of the last supper and helps them reflect on jesus death and sacrifice many christians also believe that this is an important act of community bringing themselves closer to each other and closer to god now for many christians communion does not just mean remembering historical events they become a present reality if someone is going through a tough time it can give them support and encouragement and it calls on christians to love and break bread with one another so let's look at the exam questions explain two contrasting ways a christian might receive holy communion so one reason one way is how catholics receive a sacrifice and how it's made real through the process of transubstantiation explain two reasons christians celebrate holy communion so it symbolizes jesus's sacrifice and i've given you another bonus one here it's an important act of community it unites the people and it unites the church now let's look at the next topic which is prayer so prayer is communication with god either silently or through words of praise thanksgiving or confession or request for god's help and guidance set prayers have been written down and said more than once by more than one person for example the lord's prayer informal prayer is made by an individual pertaining to their own circumstance prayer may take place in a humble position for example kneeling down with hands pressed together or it could be in a stood or seating position catholics use a rosary which is similar to a necklace while the orthodox use icons such as pictures of jesus and mary christians believe that god will always answer prayer but he may not make his answer clear or in the way that you want to receive it the lord's prayer was jesus's response to the disciples when they asked him how do they pray it gives christians a pattern for how to pray and teaches forgiveness and humility now explain why two chris two reasons why christians pray so one it's for reconciliation of sin asking for god's mercy asking for forgiveness through confession now here's a 12 marker the best way for christians to reach an understanding of god is by practicing prayer so for some forms of prayer are in direct contact between a person and god for example private worship which is a personal connection and this gives a more personal understanding and it's the best way to reach god and against is you do not always have a prayer experience so you do not always feel god's presence is very subjective moving on to the next topic pilgrimage so pilgrimage is a journey made by a believer to a holy site for religious reasons pilgrimage itself is an act of worship and devotion pilgrimage means both a physical and spiritual journey towards god pilgrims may visit the holy land particularly in jerusalem now reasons why christians go on pilgrimage now make sure you take note of this because this is quite a common example is to grow closer to god express sorrow for sin be forgiven reflect on their lives especially a big decision to pray for something special or thank god to seek a cure or illness or to help other pilgrims who are disabled now pilgrimage is not compulsory in christianity however it can play an important role in their faith now there's two here that i want you to talk about so lords which is in south west france and it was dedicated to mary jesus's mother in 1858 a girl had 16 apparitions of mary in grotto or cave mary had told her to dig a spring for water which was discovered to have healing properties thousands of pilgrims visit here to bathe in the water and allegedly 67 miracles have taken place in lords iona is another place which is existing in the west coast of scotland it's a remote 6th century church dedicated to the virgin mary with a remote connection to nature now looking at the exam question explain two reasons why christians go on a pilgrimage one reason may be that they feel connected to the worldwide church and community of christians i've also told you many in the previous information moving on to the next topic baptism so sacraments are holy rituals that outwardly express an inner spiritual experience through these rituals the believer experiences the gift of grace catholics and orthodox christians believe that there are seven sacraments however protestant churches only view baptism and holy communion as the two sacraments some denominations such as the quakers use none of these sacraments baptism is the initiation right into christianity it's the entrance as you like people become members of the christian church in this sacrament the person is formally acknowledged as a child of god and receives grace their sins are forgiven and they enter a new life with jesus christ this occurs because of john the baptist's baptism of jesus in the river jordan in mark chapter 1 verse 9 to 11. it sets an example for jesus's followers now there's two types of baptism infant and believers infant baptism believes that babies need to be baptized because they enter the world with original sin the child is then forgiven and enters the church as soon as possible rites vary but the priest usually says i baptize you in the name of the father of the son and of the holy spirit whilst pouring holy water over the baby's head believer's baptism is for those denominations for example baptists who believe children are too young to understand and instead give adults the opportunity and the ceremony which is when you immerse in a full immersion pool with the minister now exam questions this is a 12 marker so christians should only have believers baptism as they are able to make their own decision so a point four is that infant baptism means you have no understanding of the commitment and it's enforced however point against is that infant baptism allows a person to be devoted to god their entire life whereas believers baptism does not allow that festivals so a festival is a day or period of celebration for religious reasons first of all help christians remember major events in their religion and plan their public worship there are two main seasons advent uh christmas and epiphany lent easter and pesticost pentecost sorry so christmas commemorates the incarnation of jesus on the 25th of december in the uk the celebration lasts 12 days ending with the feast of the epiphany homes are decorated with lights to represent jesus as the light of the world nativity scenes show the baby being born into poverty and carol services with readings showing god's promise of a savior and events in jesus's birth midnight mass also takes place on christmas eve cards and gifts are exchanged as a time of peace and good will with gifts also going to charity as jesus was a gift from god easter is taken by many as the most important christian festival it celebrates the resurrection of jesus from the dead the week leading up is called holy week and it remembers the events leading up to jesus's crucifixion he was crucified on good friday and laid in the tomb special services are held and processions take place with the person carrying the cross on easter sunday the churches are filled with flowers and hymns are sung some churches have special vigils which the lighting of the paschal candle so here we have another 12 marker saying christmas is more important than easter evaluate this statement so a reason for is that the birth of jesus and the savior and found of faith and also that the birth of jesus had to have happened before easter and before the resurrection against however is that easter focuses in jesus's resurrection which marks the fulfillment of a covenant that god had made so you could interpret that as being more important next topic the church in the community so the church has two definitions the holy people of god also called the body of christ among whom christ is present and active or a building in which christians worship the new testament explains that the church is followers of jesus in ephesians chapter 1 verse 22-23 and god placed all things under jesus's feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church which is his body now churches give christians the opportunity to meet worship pray obtain guidance and socialize some activities are specifically christian others fulfill needs in local communities the church has been source of schooling medical care and has campaigned for justice and championed the neglected it becomes involved in projects that help the community such as food banks the trussels trust provides emergency food to people in crisis in the uk it works towards ending poverty and hunger by receiving donations to food banks and issuing food to people in receipt of vouchers the oasis project is in a place called plymouth and they have a community internet cafe which provides job clubs and training opportunities for those in need of help street pastors is another organization that work on the streets in communities to help take care of vulnerable people with council and police this encourages this includes discouraging anti-social behavior now let's look at the exam question so explain two ways in which street pastors carry out their duties now if you want to do more practice you can just swap out streets pastors for trustworth or oasis project now one belief may be that some focus on young people who are in need street pastors on town at night carry out jesus jesus's command love your neighbor moving on to mission and evangelism submission is the vocation or calling of a religious organization or individual to go out into the world and spread their faith evangelism is spreading the christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness now matthew's gospel ends with the great commission which is therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything i have commanded you therefore christians must make jesus known to others the early disciples received the holy spirit which allowed them to speak in different languages in an event known as pentecost this gave them the gifts necessary to carry out the great commission now some people may be and feel compelled to go to other countries as missionaries which involves which involves both evangelism and mission missionaries and humanitarian aid among the poor and disadvantaged in order to persuade people to follow both god and jesus the alpha course which was started and established in 1977 is used as a way of opening jesus to others through talks and discussions these can take place in churches people's homes universities workplaces prisons and other venues other courses have started including relationship and marriage courses now let's look at the exam question so explain two reasons why evangelism is important to christians to christian church so one reason may be that the mission of the church is to evangelize which we were told in the great commission and jesus commanded his disciples to do so so that's why it's important jesus physically asked christians to do so moving on to church growth so there is an estimated 1.5 to 2.5 billion christians in the world with up to a third of the world's population claiming some degree of christian faith the church has grown rapidly in south america africa and asia but not so much in europe the usa and the middle east where christians have been persecuted in 1910 there were 291 million christians and in 2010 there were 1.1 billion catholics so in china it's estimated that there will be soon more christians than in any other country in the world the uido full gospel church in seoul south korea claims to have a million members worldwide something like 80 000 people become christians every day and over 500 new churches are being formed christ for all nations was established in 1974 and began under the leadership of evangelist reinhard bonke a german pentecostal minister he traveled to lithu sotho where pen where it was believed that god spoke to him in a dream and said africa should be saved he then set up and held rallies in tents drawing in up to a 34 000 people he had to move to open air meetings with one in nigeria attracting 55 million his books and booklets have been translated into over 123 languages and nearly 200 million of them have been printed it claims over 74 million people have filled in decision cards to follow christ at its meetings with over 55 million of them coming from africa now let's look at the exam question explain two ways in which christians support those countries where it's forbidden to follow jesus now one way is from the quote pray for those who persecute you it informs christians to help keep up other christians in unobtrusive ways and gives advice through the bible moving on to the next topic church worldwide so reconciliation is a sacrament in the catholic church also known as the restoring of harmony after relationships have been broken down persecution is hostility and ill-treatment especially because of race or political or religious beliefs the primary mission of the church is to proclaim that jesus came so that the relationship between god and the people could be restored now one of the seven sacraments in the catholic church is called the sacrament of penance and reconciliation in which christians should be reconciled to god and each other so the worldwide church have a role to restore people's relationships with god and one another there is a lot of disharmony and hatred within the world and even within the church itself for example in northern ireland the irish church's peace peace project was set up to bring christians in northern ireland together to develop peace and understanding the church teaches that forgiveness to those responsible for wrongdoing is paramount despite this the international society for human rights claims that 80 percent of religious discrimination is aimed at christians ranging from forcing christians to pay extra tax to attacks on homes let's look at the exam question explain two ways in which the worldwide church works for reconciliation one way is that the worldwide church aims to follow the examples of jesus in restoring the relationship between god and humanity persecution not all persecution has a totally negative effect it actually helps christians strengthen their faith in the face of persecution the second century church father tertullian wrote the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church pastor baby george from pakistan was imprisoned for being involved in a gang war and converted to christianity while still in prison he set up church organizations set up new churches and helped organize missions and conference in city stadiums along with social projects this upset some extreme radical muslims who attacked and demolished his home they issued a fatwa which is a death sentence on him and his wife and three children the police refused to intervene they fled to sri lanka before being given asylum in the u.s when faced with abuse christians are still encouraged to show love do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good romans chapter 12 verse 21 christians can support the persecuted by providing them with equipment or supplies or by providing safe spaces and sanctuary the barnabas fund sends financial support to christians who are suffering from persecution explain two ways in which a worldwide christian organization carries out its mission five marks so one way in which this happens is organizations may care for victims of natural disasters by helping them to rebuild their community and provide resources now on to the final topic of christianity responses to poverty so many christian charities follow the teachings of jesus in working to relieve poverty in the parable of the rich man and lazarus jesus told off a rich man who ended up in hell after having ignored the plight of a beggar the parable of the good samaritan teaches the importance of caring for other people the catholic agency for overseas development or cathode was established in 1960s and it's the official aid agency of the catholic church in england and wales it helps to increase access to clean water education and healthcare and lobbies employment and lobbies employment to adopt fair working practices and conditions in developing countries it encourages catholic schools and parishes to pray give and campaign during conflict and disasters they'll also provide food water and shelter tear fund which was established in 1968 stands for the evangelical alliance relief fund and it responds to disasters for example the famine in biafra nigerian in 1968 churches donate and hold fundraising fundraising events pray and raise awareness now in 2015 tearfund was working with a massive 90 522 churches worldwide and helped tens of millions people be freed from poverty and slavery christian aid which was established in 1945 to the oldest aims to encourage sustainable development stop poverty and provide emergency relief in developing countries their slogan is we believe in life before death it operates in 50 countries worldwide and the final exam question explain two ways in which christians respond to world poverty so one way is through cathode which increases access to vital resources helps improve conditions in low economic countries and encourage catholic schools to be made so thank you for watching if you found this long video very helpful please be sure to subscribe and for more advice subscribe to know waffle gcse and look up my instagram over there thank you for watching and see you soon [Music] you