Christian attitudes to life after death
•Two different attitudes:
•Resurrection
–Some Christians believe that when people die the soul remains in the grave until the end of the world. Jesus will return to declare the end of the world. The dead will be raised and given resurrection bodies.
- Why? – Jesus rose and his resurrection body was different; taught by St. Paul; Jesus taught that he would come again at the end of the world and God would judge all; the creeds say Christians should believe in the resurrection of the body.
•Immortality of the soul
•When the body dies the soul leaves the body to be with God
•How you live in the afterlife is determined by how you lived on earth
•Good will go to heaven
•Some believe non-Christians and the bad will go to hell
•Others believe all good to heaven and all bad to hell.
•Why: Jesus became a spirit after his ascension; Jesus told the thief crucified with him that he would do straight to paradise; evidence of the paranormal
Why are there different Christian attitudes to life after death
•Christians use the Bible as the basis for their beliefs, but the Bible is not clear. Different passages say different things.
•Christians now put more emphasis on the love of God which would lead them to believe a loving God would not punish the good.
•Living in multi-faith societies shows that there are good in all religions so it is hard to believe the good will go to hell.
•An increase in the paranormal has made immortality of the soul more believable.
Why Christians believe in life after death?
•All Christians believe in life after death because:
•1. Jesus rose from the dead. All four Gospels record the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.
•2. The major creeds of the Church teach that Jesus rose from the dead and there will be life after death.
•3. All Christians churches teach it
•4. It gives lives meaning and purpose
•5. Evidence of the paranormal
Sikhism and life after death
•Each person is a part of God
•Souls are reborn until they attain mukti, which is release from the cycle of life and death. They are then with God.
•The way to mukti is from being human-centred (manmukh) to God-centred (gurmukh).
•To be God-centred, is to live life like the Ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib.
Different Sikh interpretations
•Some do not believe in reincarnation – they think that all good Sikhs will go to heaven
•Some believe only Sikhs can be gurmukh (God-centred) so only Sikhs can go to heaven
•Some believe that good followers of any religion can go to heaven.
Why do Sikhs believe in life after death?
•It is taught in the Guru Granth Sahib – which is regarded as a living guru. It has the teachings of God and of the Ten Gurus
•The Ten Human Gurus all believes in life after death
•It gives meaning and purpose to life
•There are accounts of evidence of reincarnation
Non religious reasons for believing in life after death
•1. Near death experiences during heart attacks, operations, etc
•2. Evidence for a spirit world – ghosts, oujia boards, mediums
•3. Evidence of reincarnation such as people remembering previous lives.
Abortion
•1967 Law:
•Two doctors agree
•Mother’s life at risk
•Risk to physical or mental health of the mother
•Risk to mental or physical health of existing children
•Risk the baby might be born seriously handicapped
•Not after 24 weeks
Arguments about abortion
•Life begins at the moment of conception
•Unborn child has rights
•Doctors and nurses should not be forced to carry out abortions
•Baby is not a separate life while inside the mother
•Woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body
•Abortion is just a medical procedure
Christian attitudes to abortion
•Two different attitudes
•Evangelical Protestants
•Abortion is wrong
•Life is holy and belongs to God
•Life begins at conception
•Ten Commandments say it is wrong to take life
•Every person has a right to life
•Catholic Church teaches abortion is wrong no matter of the circumstances.
Church of England
•Abortion is wrong but it must be permitted in certain circumstance – rape, mother’s life at risk, handicapped so no quality of life, some would allow because of poverty
•Jesus taught to love and abortion might be the most loving thing to do
•Life does not begin at conception
•Sanctity of life – just war, just abortion
Sikhism and abortion
•Different attitudes in Sikhism
•Most believe it is wrong
•Human life is sacred and should not be taken
•Only God can take life
•Others believe it is ok if the health of the baby or mother is at risk
•Removing suffering
Euthanasia
•Easy and gentle death
•Non religious arguments about euthanasia:
•Some might try to euthanise rich relatives
•Cure might be found
•Doctors should save not end lives
•People are not in right mind
•Sciences keeps people alive too long
•Life support machines cost money and emotion
•Coma for years
•It is a basic human right
Key concepts
•Doctrine of double effect: intend to do one thing but it has a second effect
•Striving to keep alive: doctors should do everything to keep people alive
•Quality of life: Why live if they can only move eyes
•Human dignity: what if you can’t control functions of the body
•Right to die: Control your own life
Christian attitude
•All believe it is wrong
•But switching off life support ok for some
•Sanctity of life
•Form of murder
•Bible bans suicide
•Life belongs to God
Sikh attitude
•Most against
•Violence harms karma and prevents mukti
•Life is a gift from God
•Some accept:
•Turning off life support
•Keeping someone alive when God wants their life is wrong
•Aim of life is to release the soul
Friday, 25 April 2008
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Believing in God
Religious Upbringing
•Having a religious upbringing leads to belief in God because children are taught that God exists and they spend most of their time with people who believe that God exists.
•Bedtime prayers, go to church, Sunday school, Church school, baptism, confirmation.
•Naming ceremony, Gurdwara, 5Ks
Religious Experience
•1. Numinous: feeling the presence of God in a religious building, in nature, etc. Being aware that there is something greater than them. Ex: Looking at the stars and feeling the power and presence of God.
•2. Conversion: An experience of God that changes the life and so they commit themselves to God.
•3. Miracles: religious experience that shows God acting on earth – breaks laws of science. Only God could have done it. Ex: Jesus brought a young girl back to life
•4. Prayer: Make contact with God.
The search for meaning and purpose
•Answers the questions: Why are we here? Where are we going? What is the purpose of life on earth?
•See God as the reason for us being here
•There is life after death when we are judged
How religion leads to belief in God
•Seeing evidence in the world
•So many believe
•All religions have special buildings, prayers, rules, etc – how can they all be wrong?
•If religion is true then God must exist.
•Similarities of religions can’t be wrong
Type of people
•Believers/Theists – believe in God
•Atheists – non believers
•Agnostics – unsure if God exists
The Big Bang
•Science explains the world’s creation through the Big Bang – that the matter of the universe became compressed and caused a huge explosion and everything has evolved from this.
•This can lead to agnosticism and atheism because science can explain the cause of the earth without God.
Non religious explanations of miracles
•No eyewitnesses of God
•Why should evidence recounted in Holy Books be believed?
•There can be errors/misdiagnosis
•Evidence written by believers – biased
•Why choose to do miracles for some and leave others starving?
Evil and Suffering
•Moral evil – caused by humans misusing their free will. War, rape, murder, etc
•Abuse of land and environment by humans can cause floods, famine, etc
•Natural evil – Suffering not caused by humans – earthquakes, drought, tornadoes, cancers, etc
•Some believe a benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient God would not design a world with evil in it.
•Some say if God is not o,o,b then he does not exist.
Christian response to evil & suffering
•1-Fight against evil and suffering
•Follow Jesus’ example by helping those who suffer
•Pray - intercession – praying to end suffering
•Charities
•2- Evil and suffering caused by free will so fault of humans, not God
•3- Those who suffer rewarded by eternal paradise
•4- Humans cannot understand why God allows suffering and how the divine mind works
•Having a religious upbringing leads to belief in God because children are taught that God exists and they spend most of their time with people who believe that God exists.
•Bedtime prayers, go to church, Sunday school, Church school, baptism, confirmation.
•Naming ceremony, Gurdwara, 5Ks
Religious Experience
•1. Numinous: feeling the presence of God in a religious building, in nature, etc. Being aware that there is something greater than them. Ex: Looking at the stars and feeling the power and presence of God.
•2. Conversion: An experience of God that changes the life and so they commit themselves to God.
•3. Miracles: religious experience that shows God acting on earth – breaks laws of science. Only God could have done it. Ex: Jesus brought a young girl back to life
•4. Prayer: Make contact with God.
The search for meaning and purpose
•Answers the questions: Why are we here? Where are we going? What is the purpose of life on earth?
•See God as the reason for us being here
•There is life after death when we are judged
How religion leads to belief in God
•Seeing evidence in the world
•So many believe
•All religions have special buildings, prayers, rules, etc – how can they all be wrong?
•If religion is true then God must exist.
•Similarities of religions can’t be wrong
Type of people
•Believers/Theists – believe in God
•Atheists – non believers
•Agnostics – unsure if God exists
The Big Bang
•Science explains the world’s creation through the Big Bang – that the matter of the universe became compressed and caused a huge explosion and everything has evolved from this.
•This can lead to agnosticism and atheism because science can explain the cause of the earth without God.
Non religious explanations of miracles
•No eyewitnesses of God
•Why should evidence recounted in Holy Books be believed?
•There can be errors/misdiagnosis
•Evidence written by believers – biased
•Why choose to do miracles for some and leave others starving?
Evil and Suffering
•Moral evil – caused by humans misusing their free will. War, rape, murder, etc
•Abuse of land and environment by humans can cause floods, famine, etc
•Natural evil – Suffering not caused by humans – earthquakes, drought, tornadoes, cancers, etc
•Some believe a benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient God would not design a world with evil in it.
•Some say if God is not o,o,b then he does not exist.
Christian response to evil & suffering
•1-Fight against evil and suffering
•Follow Jesus’ example by helping those who suffer
•Pray - intercession – praying to end suffering
•Charities
•2- Evil and suffering caused by free will so fault of humans, not God
•3- Those who suffer rewarded by eternal paradise
•4- Humans cannot understand why God allows suffering and how the divine mind works
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Exam Date
The date of the exam is the afternoon of May 14.
Hints:
The exam is worth 80 marks; while the coursework is worth 23 marks.
During the exam, spend one minute per mark, giving yourself time to read over at the end.
Leave questions you don't know blank and ALWAYS go back and try to answer it at the end, you never know if you might earn yourself a mark here and there.
Revise by doing past questions, rereading and copying out your notes, playing memory games with the keywords, and be sure to take a break every ten minutes.
Miss Ritchie, Miss Gasson, and Miss Liddle are available every day after school to go over things you may not understand, to help you with last minute coursework and to go over questions you have been working on.
Hints:
The exam is worth 80 marks; while the coursework is worth 23 marks.
During the exam, spend one minute per mark, giving yourself time to read over at the end.
Leave questions you don't know blank and ALWAYS go back and try to answer it at the end, you never know if you might earn yourself a mark here and there.
Revise by doing past questions, rereading and copying out your notes, playing memory games with the keywords, and be sure to take a break every ten minutes.
Miss Ritchie, Miss Gasson, and Miss Liddle are available every day after school to go over things you may not understand, to help you with last minute coursework and to go over questions you have been working on.
Helpful Websites
Be sure to only focus on the Christianity - we do Sikhism and this school does Judaism
http://www.fitzwimarc.org.uk/GCSE/gjfiles/belief/godmenu.htm
Get tips on what last year's students did on the exam and access past papers on the edexcel wesbite:
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/50134/5561_GCSE_RS_rep_20070816_a.pdf
http://www.fitzwimarc.org.uk/GCSE/gjfiles/belief/godmenu.htm
Get tips on what last year's students did on the exam and access past papers on the edexcel wesbite:
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/50134/5561_GCSE_RS_rep_20070816_a.pdf
Key Terms
Believing in God
Numinous
the feeling of the presence of something greater than you; e.g. in a church, Or looking up at the stars
Miracle
something which seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done it
Conversion
when your life is changed by giving yourself to God
Prayer
an attempt to contact God, usually through words
Design
when things are connected and seem to have a purpose; e.g. the eye is designed for seeing
Causation
the idea that everything has been caused (started off) by something else
Agnosticism
not being sure whether God exists
Atheism
believing that God does not exist
Moral evil
actions done by humans which cause suffering
Natural evil
things which cause suffering but have nothing to
do with humans; e.g. earthquakes
Omnipotent
the belief that God is all-powerful
Omniscient
the belief that God knows everything
Benevolent
the belief that God is good/kind
The Amrit ceremony
the Sikh initiation ceremony
Haumai
egoism, the major spiritual defect
Manmukh
self-originated/ human centered
Matters of Life and Death
Reincarnation
the belief that a soul moves into a different body after death
Euthanasia
an easy and gentle death
Resurrection
the belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised
Assisted Suicide
providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide
Immortality of the soul
the idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
Paranormal
unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes; e.g. ghosts, mediums
Non- Voluntary Euthanasia
ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reason for thinking they would want you to do so; e.g. switching off a life- support machine
Voluntary Euthanasia
the situation where someone dying in pain asks a doctor to end his/her life painlessly
Abortion
the removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive
Sanctity of life
the belief that life is holy and belongs to God
Contraception
preventing conception from occurring
Khands
stages on the path to liberation/salvation
Mukti
the freeing of the soul from rebirth/salvation/liberation
Marriage and Family
Cohabitation
living together without being married
Marriage
the condition of a man and woman legally united for the purpose of living together and, usually, having children
Extended Family
children, parents and grandparents/aunts/uncles living as a unit or in close proximity
Anand Karaj
the Sikh wedding ceremony
Nuclear Family
mother, father and children living as a unit
Lavan
marriage hymn
Re- constituted Family
where two sets of children (step brothers and sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry each other
Circling
the essential feature of a Sikh wedding when the couple circle the Guru Granth
Sahib
Faithfulness
staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
Pre- Marital Sex
sex before marriage
Re- Marriage
marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
Promiscuity
having sex with a number of partners without commitment
Homosexuality
sexual attraction to the same sex
Adultery
An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner
Social Harmony
Equality
the state of everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/race/class
Racial Harmony
different races/colours living together happily
Sexism
discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or female)
Multi- faith society
many different religions living together in one society
Multi-ethnic society
many different races and cultures living together in one society
Religious Freedom
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist
Prejudice
believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them
Religious pluralism
The right to practice your religion and change your religion
Discrimination
putting prejudice into practice and treating people less favourably because of their race/gender/colour/ class
Multi- ethnic Society
many different races and cultures living together in one society
Racism
the belief that some races are superior to others
Khalsa
the community of the pure/the Sikh community
Mati Sahib Kaur
The woman who provided the ingredients for the first amrit ceremony
Numinous
the feeling of the presence of something greater than you; e.g. in a church, Or looking up at the stars
Miracle
something which seems to break a law of science and makes you think only God could have done it
Conversion
when your life is changed by giving yourself to God
Prayer
an attempt to contact God, usually through words
Design
when things are connected and seem to have a purpose; e.g. the eye is designed for seeing
Causation
the idea that everything has been caused (started off) by something else
Agnosticism
not being sure whether God exists
Atheism
believing that God does not exist
Moral evil
actions done by humans which cause suffering
Natural evil
things which cause suffering but have nothing to
do with humans; e.g. earthquakes
Omnipotent
the belief that God is all-powerful
Omniscient
the belief that God knows everything
Benevolent
the belief that God is good/kind
The Amrit ceremony
the Sikh initiation ceremony
Haumai
egoism, the major spiritual defect
Manmukh
self-originated/ human centered
Matters of Life and Death
Reincarnation
the belief that a soul moves into a different body after death
Euthanasia
an easy and gentle death
Resurrection
the belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised
Assisted Suicide
providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide
Immortality of the soul
the idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
Paranormal
unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes; e.g. ghosts, mediums
Non- Voluntary Euthanasia
ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reason for thinking they would want you to do so; e.g. switching off a life- support machine
Voluntary Euthanasia
the situation where someone dying in pain asks a doctor to end his/her life painlessly
Abortion
the removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive
Sanctity of life
the belief that life is holy and belongs to God
Contraception
preventing conception from occurring
Khands
stages on the path to liberation/salvation
Mukti
the freeing of the soul from rebirth/salvation/liberation
Marriage and Family
Cohabitation
living together without being married
Marriage
the condition of a man and woman legally united for the purpose of living together and, usually, having children
Extended Family
children, parents and grandparents/aunts/uncles living as a unit or in close proximity
Anand Karaj
the Sikh wedding ceremony
Nuclear Family
mother, father and children living as a unit
Lavan
marriage hymn
Re- constituted Family
where two sets of children (step brothers and sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry each other
Circling
the essential feature of a Sikh wedding when the couple circle the Guru Granth
Sahib
Faithfulness
staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
Pre- Marital Sex
sex before marriage
Re- Marriage
marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
Promiscuity
having sex with a number of partners without commitment
Homosexuality
sexual attraction to the same sex
Adultery
An act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner
Social Harmony
Equality
the state of everyone having equal rights regardless of gender/race/class
Racial Harmony
different races/colours living together happily
Sexism
discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or female)
Multi- faith society
many different religions living together in one society
Multi-ethnic society
many different races and cultures living together in one society
Religious Freedom
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist
Prejudice
believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them
Religious pluralism
The right to practice your religion and change your religion
Discrimination
putting prejudice into practice and treating people less favourably because of their race/gender/colour/ class
Multi- ethnic Society
many different races and cultures living together in one society
Racism
the belief that some races are superior to others
Khalsa
the community of the pure/the Sikh community
Mati Sahib Kaur
The woman who provided the ingredients for the first amrit ceremony
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