Year 10 Homework – Week 3
Answer the following questions:
a) What does incarnation mean? (2 marks)
b) Outline Catholic beliefs about the trinity. (6 marks)
c) Explain why Catholics believe in the unity of God. (8 marks)
d) “The belief in the trinity is the most important Christian belief.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion, showing that you have considered another point of view. (4 marks)
You will be given a worksheet on which to write your answers. However, you can also submit your answers via this blog, by clicking on “comments“. You will need to include your email address, but that will not be published. Include your first name only.
September 21st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I’m going to have a go …
a) What does incarnation mean? (2 marks)
Incarnation means that Jesus is fully divine and fully God. It refers to the belief that Jesus is God in human form.
b) Outline Catholic beliefs about the trinity. (6 marks)
Christians believe that God is three persons in one being, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians can experience God in three ways. They experience God as Father when they consider the creation of the universe, and when they pray to God. They experience God as Son when they look at the life and the example of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus brings them salvation. Finally, they experience God as the Holy Spirit when they consider the Bible writers being inspired, and when they feel the presence of God close to them. Catholics believe that God is a unity, one substance, but in three persons.
c) Explain why Catholics believe in the unity of God. (8 marks)
One of the reasons why Catholics believe in the unity of God is because when they look at the universe, the harmony and patterns found in the universe suggest that there was only one creator.
Secondly, Catholics believe in the unity of God because the Bible teaches that there is one God. For example, the first of the Ten Commandments teaches that there is only one God. Furthermore, when Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, he starts by reciting the Jewish Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is the one God.” If Jesus teaches that there is only one God, then Christians will believe that there is only one God.
Finally, Catholics believe in the unity of God because it is stated in both the Creeds and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catholics should believe what is written in the creeds and the Catechism.
d) “The belief in the trinity is the most important Christian belief.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion, showing that you have considered another point of view. (4 marks)
On the one hand, some people may agree that the trinity is one of the most important Christian beliefs because it is one of the key beliefs that makes Christianity distinctive from other monotheistic religions. For example, Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because they believed that he was committing the sin of blasphemy. It would still be blasphemy to state that a human being is God, therefore Christianity is very different from Judaism. One Muslim creed makes it clear that Muslims believe that God was not begotten, nor does he beget – ie, he had no Son. Therefore the belief in the trinity is not only distinctive but is also very challenging to other religions.
Furthermore, the Christian belief in the trinity teaches a lot about Christian belief. To study the trinity involves studying God the Father, creator, sustainer, protector; God the Son, saviour and fellow sufferer; and God the Holy Spirit, inspiration, guide, comforter. This must mean that the belief is very important.
However, I do not believe that the doctrine of the trinity is the most important Christian belief. Firstly, the word “trinity” is not used in the Bible, but was only decided upon later by the Church Fathers, so it must not have been one of the first beliefs. Secondly, I believe that the most important Christian belief is the belief in the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe is the evidence that Jesus was God the Son, and gives hope in the belief of eternal life. Without the belief in the resurrection there would be no belief in the trinity. Therefore I disagree with the statement.