Blessed are the merciful, how can Christians show mercy today?Christians can show mercy today by forgiving people (neighbour – as Mark says) and by turning the other cheek in times of persecution and helplessness. Explain why some Christians think the Beatitudes are no long relevantSome Christians think that the beatitudes aren’t relevant because we live in a society where people aren’t really persecuted because of their religion, this makes some Christians say that the beatitude “Blessed are the persecuted” is irrelevant to us and was meant for people who were bin persecuted in the Roman era. Some Christians also believe that the beatitudes aren’t relevant because the Bible is outdated and we have developed.The Beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.When a widow put down 2 coins, Jesus said she had given more, explain what he means.The widow had put down all that she had and although other people gave more (amount wise), they still had some left. The widow sacrificed everything she had, that is a bigger offering than any amount of money. She is depending completely on God and she gave from the heartWhat can Christians learn about the Kingdom of God from the parable of the mustard seed?From the parable Christians can learn that deceitful things and wealth can lead them away from God (and his kingdom). They can also learn that to gain eternal life (KOG) they must try not to let Satan take them away from the right path. Christians can also learn that they will get more in the end by
keeping to the word in KOG.“There are no rewards for becoming Jesus’ Disciple”, do you agree? Show more than one sideDisciples become the “salt of the earth”, this means that they can give people a thirst for finding God, this is a huge reward: experiencing God through your work. However some others may say that disciples do not get rewarded because 11 of the disciples died in horrific ways, this is no reward. However the response to that would be that our reward is in the next life no this life. Being a disciple is very much linked to the ...
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keeping to the word in KOG.“There are no rewards for becoming Jesus’ Disciple”, do you agree? Show more than one sideDisciples become the “salt of the earth”, this means that they can give people a thirst for finding God, this is a huge reward: experiencing God through your work. However some others may say that disciples do not get rewarded because 11 of the disciples died in horrific ways, this is no reward. However the response to that would be that our reward is in the next life no this life. Being a disciple is very much linked to the beatitudes, and the rewards are seen clearly in them. To be a disciple you must be meek, a peacemaker, merciful and pure in heart and all of these (according to the beatitudes) have rewards. I believe that ‘If everyone kept the ten commandments the world would be a better place’ Explain two opinions of thisSome Christians may say that the world will be a better place because everyone is following what God them to follow however others may say that we all have free will and it is up to us what we do with it, even if that means that evil is committed; God will judge them. What does the parable of the sheep and goats teach Christians about their duty to those in need?The parable says that we must look after those, if they ask for food: we must give, if they are naked: we must cloth and if they are imprisoned: we must visit them. Christians must want to inherit eternal life, so it is their duty to help those in need. If you they do not help those in the need then they will not inherit eternal life but eternal punishment. This shows that God wants us to help those in need.CAFOD work descriptionThe Catholic Agency for Overseas Development help countries overseas that need aid. Their mission is to eradicate injustice and poverty from the world. In the Tsunami which hit the Indian peninsula, CAFOD sent aid in form of food and money for rebuilding. CAFOD also try to help long term, they give the people tools rather than just aid.A Christian Aid slogan says “we believe in life before death” explain and show how to put into use:a) The term is a reference to abortion, they believe that every child has the right to life. This means that aborting and killing their lives is wrong.b) Christians can campaign against Abortions and not get any to put this into use. They can also offer guidance for people who are considering having an abortion. “Worshipping God is more important than helping those in need” – Agree? Some Christians believe that it is more important to help those in need because of the teaching of Jesus. Jesus said in the parable of the goats and the sheep that those who do not help those in need will not inherit eternal life. However worship is also important, God said keep the Sabbath day holy, by this he means that we should rest and pray to him. I think that helping those in need is more important because we are all made in God’s image and if we help a fellow being, we are in a way worshipping and acknowledging his creation. Why do Christians help people in other countries?The following passages say that we should help people in need: The Good Samaritan, The parable of the goats and the Sheep. Christians are supposed to be followers of Christ, Christ helped people who needed help, we should follow his example. Jesus also taught us to love our neighbours, you can show love by helping them when they need it. Capital PunishmentSome Christians believe that capital punishment is okay because in the bible it says an “eye for an eye”, it also says that “the blood of man who sheds blood will have his blood shed”. Some Christians also believe in capital punishment because Jesus says “those who live by sword will die by the sword”. However other Christians say that capital punishment is wrong because one of the commandments is “thou shalt not kill”. Some Christians also believe that capital punishment is wrong because in Romans it says that revenge is for God. Christians against capital punishment also say that it is for God to judge, not us: we are unworthy. They also say that reform is more important than revenge. They also say that a mistake could be made and the wrong person could be killed. I believe that capital punishment is wrong because God gave us the Ten Commandments to follow and we should not be killing things that have been made in his own image. What can we learn about mercy from the parable of the unmerciful servant?We can learn that the way we judge others is the way that God will judge others. How you judge people, expect to be judged in that same wayReform most important aim of punishmentWhen someone is reformed it means they have changed and seen the good, this allows God to love them and allow them to enter in the Kingdom of Heaven. They have turned away from the dark side and realised the mistake, this is the most important thing.Christians should always forgive – Agree?Some Christians believe that because Jesus forgave the Romans and Jews while they were persecuting him and killing him, we should follow his example because if someone can forgive people who are killing him then we should be able to forgive anything. They also believe that we should forgive because we would expect to be forgiven. However other Christians say that although Jesus did forgive those who killed him, he was God: we are unable to have this level of forgiveness. They also believe that Christians should forgive but sometimes it’s hard to (affairs). I believe that Christians should try to forgive because they follow Christ and that is what Christ did (forgive) however it is okay if we find it hard to forgive or it takes time because we are human and some things aren’t that easy. Explain how prejudice leads to discriminationPrejudice is when you judge someone before you know the facts. If you think something about someone before you know it, it will lead you discriminate because your thoughts determine your actions. Not only that but it will make you talk/treat the person differently to how you would if you didn’t have that piece of pre-judged information in your head. Discrimination is when you act on prejudice, you can clearly see that by prejudging it can easily lead to discriminationWhy do some Christians believe prejudice is wrong?In James 1 it says that showing impartiality is a sin, it also says that we should love our neighbours (not some of our neighbours). Jesus loved everyone so we should aim (as Christians) to do so as well. In the story of the Syrophocean Woman you can see that Jesus disagrees with prejudice. Christians also believe prejudice is wrong because we are all made in God’s image and if we think badly of one person, we think badly of God’s image. Some Christians also say that it is not for us to judge but for God.‘Getting rid of prejudice will create peace’ – Agree?Some Christians believe that by getting rid of prejudice will create peace because people wouldn’t have any prejudgements instead they would give each other a fair chance and a point could be made clearly. If Hitler didn’t have any prejudice against Jewish people, there wouldn’t have been a war (thus peace). However others say that even if prejudice didn’t exists, evil still could, and evil could lead to war. Explain why some Christians believe that Jesus was a pacifist?Some Christians believe that Jesus was pacifist because he said that we should “turn the other cheek” instead of fighting, Jesus also rebuked Peter when he tried to start a violent revolt (Matt 5:38). Jesus also said that we should “love our neighbours”, this suggest that he is a peaceful man that would cause harm to nobody (seeing as he loved them). Jesus was peaceful even when the Jewish guards arrested him and when the Romans crucified him. Explain why some Christians believe it is right to fight in warSome may say it is right to fight in war because in the bible it says “an eye for an eye” and “the blood of a man who has shed blood will be shed”. Jesus also said “that those who live by the sword will die by the sword”. It also says in the bible that there is a “time to kill” and in Romans we are commanded to “hate what is evil”. It also says we must “stand against evil and pursue righteousness” in the bible. Just War ConditionsThere must be: Just cause, war must be for good and against evil, started by state/ruler, last resort, fought proportionally (minimal civilian casualties)
