hUMGGcD gH3cSi4

Head to www.savemyexams.
com for more awesome resources
AQA GCSE Religious Studies Your notes
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 12
© 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 12
Your notes
Denominations of Christianity
Page 3 of 12
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)
In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus taught that God would judge all people according to
how they had cared for others.
Page 4 of 12
”
‘In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’. (Matthew 7:12)
Your notes
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
”
‘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)
Page 5 of 12
Why are these qualities important to believers?

Your notes
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
Page 6 of 12
The Problem of Evil & the Christian Response to this

The Problem of Evil Your notes
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
God is simply not powerful enough to stop evil
God does not know that it is happening
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
Page 7 of 12
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 Your notes
How Christians physically respond to evil and suffering

In responding to the problems of evil and suffering, Christians follow the teachings and actions of
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
Exam Tip
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 12
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
God can be three
Page 9 of 12
The Nicene Creed

Your notes
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
Page 10 of 12
The Influence of the Trinity on Christians

How the belief in the Trinity influences Christians today Your notes
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]
A. Atonement
B. Incarnation
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
Page 11 of 12
Exam Tip
Your notes
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 12 of 12

hUMGGcD gH3cSi4

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

hUMGGcD gH3cSi4

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Head to www.savemyexams.

com for more awesome resources

AQA GCSE Religious Studies Your notes

1.1 Christianity Key Beliefs: The Nature of God

1.1.1 Introduction to Christianity

1.1.2 The Nature of God

How are these qualities demonstrated by God?

Why are these qualities important to believers?

The Problem of Evil & the Christian Response to this

The Inconsistent Triad

How Christians physically respond to evil and suffering

1.1.3 The Trinity

The Nicene Creed

The Influence of the Trinity on Christians

You might also like