Introduction to Christianity: Key Concepts and Beliefs
Exam Study Notes
Period 1: Religion
Jesus Christ
Meaning: “Jesus” (God saves), “Christ” (Anointed One)
Prayer
What does prayer do?: Prayer helps us to better communicate with Jesus as we would a good friend. Our friends are there to share many emotions with us and watch us triumph over many challenges, just as Jesus is there for us for all these things.
Types of Prayer:
Petition (our needs)
Intention (the needs of others)
Thanksgiving (giving thanks for all we have)
Sorrow (expressing our sorrow or seeking forgiveness)
Praise (appreciating Jesus in our lives and everything he does)
The New Testament:
Has 27 books
Non-gospel writings deal with the history of Jesus
Also talk about the meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection
Gospels explain the message, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospels are recorded in chronological order, which suggests they are like historical recordings of Jesus’ life.
Hope:
“Hope” in the Holy Bible means “a strong and confident expectation” of future reward.
Example: If someone in your family is sick, you may have hope that they will feel better in the future.
Despair:
The sin by which a person gives up all hope of salvation or of the means necessary to reach heaven.
Example: A person may feel despair when going through heartbreak or a personal loss.
Unit 2: Called to Be Church
Sacramental Awareness:
The ability to see the sacred and God all around us.
Those who cannot perceive the sacred or the world suffer from sacramental dullness.
Reasons Why People Are Dulled:
Too busy (we become preoccupied with our daily routine and cannot see or hear God’s presence)
A great deal of pain and suffering exists in the world (when overwhelmed with problems, people cannot believe that God exists)
People don’t know what to look for (people are unable to recognize God in their midst)
Cure for Sacramental Dullness:
We must take a second, even closer look to see if we might have missed the sacred the first time around. In the process, we are able to shed whatever dulls us from the sacred.
Grace:
The creative, sustaining, and transforming self-gift of God that is always offered to us.
Body language informs us that a person reveals what is going on “inside” by the way they act on the “outside.” Consciously or unconsciously, our body communicates our feelings.
God’s Body Language
God chooses to speak to us using the human language of physical reality; thus, God employs a kind of body language.
Communicating Through Symbols
Distinction between a sign and a symbol:
Sign: An object that represents something else; has one meaning.
Symbol: A sign that has a deeper meaning.
Three Main Characteristics That Distinguish Symbols From Signs
Symbols have more than one meaning.
What symbols stand for is closely connected to what they are.
Symbols evoke more than one kind of response from us.
Different Kinds of Symbols
Not all symbols communicate meanings that are the same for everyone in all places or times.
Cultural Symbols: Symbols that are closely dependent on a specific situation, place, or group. Only a few know its meaning.
Universal Symbols: Symbols that are clearly recognized.
Literal Thinking vs. Symbolic Thinking
Literal thinking involves considering something only at face value or just being concerned with the facts. Although it limits our ability to find deeper meaning, it is often necessary.
Symbolic thinking sees things in relationship to all other things and as having meanings at many levels.
Common Christian Symbols
The Cross:
Most popular Christian symbol
In Roman times, it was seen as an instrument of torture and public humiliation.
For Christians, it became a symbol of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The crucifix is a cross with the figure of the body of Jesus Christ attached to it that is symbolic of sacrifice.
The Fish:
Was used by Christians to identify themselves in times of persecution.
Often found in the Roman catacombs, the secret meeting place of the Christians in the time of their persecution by the Romans because of their faith.
Is based off the acrostic of the initial letters of the Greek words for Jesus Christ.
Greek word for fish is Ichthus. This is an acronym for Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter. This translates as “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.”
The Lamb:
Represents the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins.
Also, is a symbol for Christians (Christ is our shepherd, and Peter was told to feed his sheep).
Whiteness of the lamb represents innocence and purity.
Sometimes the lamb is portrayed with a flag to represent Christ’s victory over death in his resurrection.
Borromean Rings:
Three interlocking circles that represent the Christian Trinity.
Trinity represents the belief that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal, co-eternal communion: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Sacred Heart:
Symbol of the love of Jesus for all humanity.
Is a symbol for love.
When depicted, it is shown as a pierced heart with a cross and thorns twisted around it.
The Dove:
Symbolizes the Holy Spirit (when Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, a dove ascended on him).
In the story of Noah’s Ark, the dove was sent in search of dry land, making it a symbol for hope.
When it came back with an olive branch, it became a symbol of God’s forgiveness and peace.
The Fleur-de-lis:
A symbol of Mary.
Whiteness and beauty of the lily is symbolic of the purity of Mary.
Rituals: Meanings in Symbolic Actions
Rituals are symbolic actions that help us concretely, or physically, express our beliefs, values, and deepest concerns.
Rituals, like symbols, have a deeper meaning than what immediately meets the eye. They help us realize our goals and celebrate milestones.
Origins of Rituals and Worship
Rituals served as a primary means of communicating with the spiritual world.
Through rituals, people thanked the spirits of nature and attempted to keep them friendly.
From the beginning, ritual sacrifices were linked with worship.
The word sacrifice comes from the Latin root word meaning “to make holy.”
Early Israelites sacrificed their best lamb to express their gratitude for God’s gifts.
Ritual Traits
Although ritual actions vary from culture to culture, there are four traits that are true of all rituals.
A Ritual Passes on a Tradition: A ritual helps to pass on the history of its celebration in the past.
A Ritual Needs Our Bodies: All rituals have a body component, such as washing, touching, anointing, or embracing. The memory carried in rituals is rooted in the body.
A Ritual Is Accomplished by Words: The words of a ritual help us to give meaning to the event. They express and make real and effective what the symbolic ritual intended. Symbols and rituals need our human ability to speak to complete the action.
A Ritual Forms a Community: Rituals are not intended for the individual, but for building the community.
The Sacraments: Bringing It All Together
Sacraments help us keep alive our history, our values, our ideals—in fact, our very identity. As rituals of worship, the sacraments play a vital role in the life of the church as a community of believers.
Sacramental Hierarchy
Pope: Wears white, can perform 7 sacraments.
Cardinals: Wear red, can perform 7 sacraments.
Bishops: Wear purple.
Priest: Can perform 6 out of 7 sacraments.
Deacons: Can baptize or serve in marriage.
Monks/Nuns: Religious figures.
The Sacraments Explained
Sacraments are deeply rooted in church tradition and are manifested in Jesus Christ.
Sacraments are special moments in the church where we encounter Christ.
By honouring the life of Jesus, the church acknowledges seven key ways in which Jesus Christ was a sacrament of God.
The Purpose of the Sacraments Is To:
Make us holy.
Build up the body of Christ.
Give praise and worship to God.
Why Seven?
Number seven is symbolic.
Symbolizes wholeness or completeness.
Having seven sacraments says that we encounter the love of God in all aspects of our lives.
Celebrating the seven sacraments proclaims that we’re celebrating God’s total and unfailing love.
Sacrament Categories
The sacraments are organized into three main categories:
Sacraments of Initiation:
Jesus brought people to new life (Baptism).
Jesus sacrificed himself out of love (Eucharist).
Jesus shared the power of his spirit with others (Confirmation).
Sacraments of Healing:
Jesus forgave people’s sins (Reconciliation).
Jesus healed people’s illnesses (Anointing of the Sick).
Sacraments of Vocation:
Jesus was faithful to the one he called Father (Matrimony).
Jesus ministered to people’s spiritual needs (Holy Orders).
A Look at Saints
What Is a Saint?
Name “saint” is given to a Christian person who has died and is worthy of great honour and respect.
Communion of saints is the spiritual union of all Christians, living and dead, those on earth, in heaven, or in purgatory.
The History of Saints:
Before the year 1234, there was no process to becoming a saint.
First saints were well-known people and became saints by word of mouth.
First people to be made saints were Christ’s family, his apostles, and early Christian martyrs.
Formal process to be made a saint was established by the church.
The process of making someone a saint is called “canonization.”
The Canonization Process:
Local bishop investigates the candidate’s life and writes for evidence of heroic virtues.
If the panel approves, the pope proclaims the candidate is venerable, which means that the person is a role model with virtues of the church.
Evidence must be shown that the candidate is responsible for a posthumous miracle.
There then must be proof of a second posthumous miracle, which would then make them a saint.
Categories of Saints
The Apostles: Who were the first ones to spread the message of God and salvation through Christ.
The Prophets: Because they predicted and prophesied the coming of the Messiah.
The Martyrs: For sacrificing their lives and fearlessly confessing Jesus Christ as their saviour.
The Hierarchs of the Church: Who excelled in explaining and in defending the Christian faith.
The Just: Those who live in the world, leading exemplary lives and becoming examples for imitation in society.
The Role of Saints in Our Lives
For many Christians, saints play an important role.
Some Roles of Saints in Our Lives:
They watch over us.
We ask them to pray for us in times of need.
They remind us that holiness is not a privilege of the few, but the vocation of the baptized.
Saints show us how the words of God, as seen in the Gospels, can be put into practice.
The Role of Mary in the Catholic Church
Viewed as the ultimate compassionate human being because of her willingness to consent to God’s wishes.
She is born without “original sin” and, therefore, Mary also ascended into heaven without dying.
Supports the woman’s role in the church.
Most Catholics feel a strong personal relationship with Mary because she is, in a sense, a mother to all.
The Catholic Church
Catholics profess that the church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
They are not tasks, but four essential traits of the church and its mission.
These four traits direct us towards Christ and remind us of him.
One:
The Holy Spirit works in us to make us more like Christ, to be one with him.
It joins all believers into a unified community with a variety of people and cultures.
Holy:
The church is holy because it embodies the love of God that Jesus revealed in his life, death, and resurrection.
Holiness arrives as a gift through the waters of baptism and is nourished through the Eucharist.
Catholic:
The church is catholic—”universal” and “in view of the whole.”
It is universal because the fullness of Christ’s body.
Unit 3: Called to Be and Relate
The Relationships and Intimacy Scale
Level 1:
These relationships deal with facts—safe, non-threatening, objective information that has little or nothing to do with the person behind the words. This is the least intimate form of relationship.
Example: A boss and co-worker relationship.
Level 2:
These relationships involve other people’s opinions—also pretty safe. Information shared won’t get you in trouble because you are not responsible for the content. At this level of conversation, it is difficult for people to really get to know each other.
Example: A chat with an acquaintance.
Level 3:
At this level, you feel comfortable offering subjective opinions about facts. The other person gets to know you from an intellectual perspective. These relationships require some risk-taking because you open yourself up to conflict or rejection.
Example: A friendship type of relationship, somewhat close with the person, you entrust them with your opinions.
Level 4:
Relationships venture into feelings. It is far more risky to share your heart than your head because you become quite vulnerable—you start to feel genuinely connected to the other person.
Example: The early stages of a relationship or a closer friendship.
Level 5:
The most intimate relationships expose the self. They involve the most disclosure, the greatest risk, and the deepest sharing, and require a high degree of confidence and trust in the other person. In this level, you are able to reveal your feelings about the person you’re with.
Example: A long-term relationship, your feelings are now fully exposed to that person. A very close friendship with someone or a close family relationship.
Peer Pressure
Peer pressure can happen when we are influenced to do something we usually would not do or stopped from doing something we would like to do.
Two Examples of the Types of Peer Pressure:
Spoken Pressure: When a person asks you directly to do something, or says things to you that push you toward a certain choice.
Unspoken Pressure: When nothing is actually said to you, but because you see others doing something, you feel pressure to do the same thing.
Five Types of Love
Companionship: This is the love that one has for an associate or a classmate. This is a relationship based on companionship and a sharing of common interests or goals, but it does not involve emotional closeness.
Sexual Love: Love in the sexual sense is a passionate love, pleasurable, spontaneous, and even instinctive. It is the love of mutual attraction between a man and a woman.
Family Love: This is the love children have for their parents and parents for their children. It is a love that sprouts naturally. It is not earned and is often quite emotional, with deep attachments.
Friendship: A love between friends is mutual and supportive.
Charity: Charity is a special kind of love. The Greeks called it agape. We wish others well even when they do not do anything in return. It is an unconditional love, a love that is willing to sacrifice. It does not matter what a person does; he or she may offend us or treat us badly. Agape-love reaches out to this person. Agape-love does not have to like this person, since it is not dependent on emotion. Agape-love does something—a favour, a gesture, an offer of help—for a person, whether deserving or not. This is the highest form of love. It can even be given to our enemies.
The Church’s Response to Sex
Favours chastity and abstinence—in other words, the purity of relationships and the ability to refrain from sexual activity.
The purpose of intercourse is both unitive and procreative. Only when these two factors are equally welcome in a relationship will the relationship be accepted by the church.
The church gives three reasons as to why you should not have premarital sex:
Mutual commitment to bear the consequence of intercourse.
A life-giving context for children (children deserve to be born into a family).
We are members of Christ’s body (premarital sex can tear apart a relationship or a community).
(STILL HAVE NOTES TO DO IN THIS UNIT)
Unit 4: Called to Be Holy
Morality
A set of values and principles that guides one’s choices about what kind of person he or she is becoming.
These values and principles point to the meaning that life has for that person.
Moralities differ between individuals, and each morality changes as he or she grows from one stage to another.
Christian Morality
A set of values and principles based on the teachings and example of Christ that guide one’s choices about what kind of person he or she is becoming.
Christian morality is best understood as an invitation to live as Jesus did.
What Guides Our Morality?
Natural law.
Integrity.
Compassion.
Conscience
The inner sense of right and wrong that allows individuals to evaluate and make choices.
Three Dimensions of Conscience
A capacity for knowing and doing what is good, and avoiding what is evil.
A process for discovering the good, discernment, correct seeing, the right thinking.
A judgement that moves me from correct seeing and thinking to action and commitment.
What are strategies we use to convince ourselves against what we know is morally right? (STILL HAVE TO DO)
What are values? Name and describe five categories of values.
Values
The stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important.
Five Categories of Values
Personal values.
Social values.
Political values.
Economic values.
Religious values.
S.T.O.P. Explained
What: Know what you are talking about: What do you propose to do? What is the moral object? What is it that you are deciding? What are the circumstances? This answer is the groundwork for determining right or wrong.
Why: What are my motives? Why am I doing this? Why do I propose to act this way?
Who: Who is involved? What is their situation or responsibility?
Where: The place can affect the morality of the action.
When: The timing of the action can affect the morality of it.
How: The means used to bring about the desired action: Remember that a good end does not justify an evil means to achieve it.