GCSE RS at STM

Homework is due in by Thursday 20 November.

Answer the following questions:

a) What is the paranormal? (2 marks)
b) Outline Catholic teaching on the Sanctity of Life. (6 marks)
c) Explain why some non-religious people believe in life after death. (8 marks)
d) “Ghosts and mediums prove that there is life after death.” 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 You will need to include your email address, but that will not be published.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.

During lessons last week, I did not hand out the exam questions, but instead set the homework as revision for this week’s end of unit assessment. The homework this week, therefore, will be to complete the set of exam questions as set for last week.

In the meantime, the key words that you need to know can be downloaded here, from the Edexcel website.

The words are:

agnosticism - not being sure whether God exists
atheism - believing that God does not exist
benevolent - the belief that God is good/kind
causation - the idea that everything has been caused (started off) by something else
conversion - when someone’s life is changed by giving themselves to God
design - when things are connected and seem to have a purpose (eg the eye is designed for seeing)
miracle - something which seems to break a law of science and for which God seems the only explanation
moral evil - actions done by humans which cause suffering
natural evil - things which cause suffering but which have nothing to do with humans eg earthquakes
numinous - the feeling of the presence of something greater than you eg in a church or looking up at the stars
omnipotent - the belief that God is all-powerful
omniscient - the belief that God knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen
prayer - an attempt to communicate with God, usually through prayer

This week you will have your first end of unit assessment. So your homework will be to revise what we have studied so far, in particular the key words. So, to help you, I will list the key words below! (These definitions are taken from the older version of our textbook. Other definitions will also be accepted! All key words can be downloaded here, from the Edexcel website.)

Christ - the Messiah / the Anointed One
Crucifixion - the Roman death penalty suffered by Jesus when he was nailed to the cross
Dove - when used of the Holy Spirit, it implies an overshadowing by God, and sometimes peace
Faith - our attitude in the presence of someone, or some event, whose goodness and greatness and wonder is greater than we can fully grasp, describe or explain
Fire - when used of the Holy Spirit, it implies purifying power
Forgiveness - the willingness in the face of even great wrong deliberately done to us to seek no revenge and to take the first step in healing the relationship
Incarnation - the conviction that Jesus is God and fully a member of the human race
Monotheism - belief in one God
Reconciliation - bringing together those who were bitterly divided
Repentance - a willingness to be changed profoundly in feelings, heart and mind
Resurrection - the body being brought back to life after death / Jesus being raised from the dead
Trinity - the belief that God is three in one
Unity - God’s way of being one
Virgin birth - belief that the virginal conception of Jesus is a divine work that surpasses human understanding
Wind - when used of the Holy Spirit, it implies power and unpredictability

Homework is due in by Thursday 2 October.

Answer the following questions:

a) What does repentance mean? (2 marks)
b) Outline Christian beliefs about the nature of God. (6 marks)
c) Explain what the symbols of wind, fire and dove show about the nature of the Holy Spirit. (8 marks)
d) “The theory of evolution proves that God did not create the universe.” 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.

Top Tips
a) Use a dictionary if you are not sure!
b) For 6 marks, you need to write about 6 sentences, and make about three good points. For a question about the nature of God, you can think of the trinity and write a sentence each about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
c) You will be given over a page on the exam paper for this - I recommend that you try and PEE (Point, Evidence, Explanation) at least three times. In order to do well in the exam, you will need to include Biblical references, and / or refer to Church teachings.
d) So many people lose marks because they only give their own opinion, without giving reasons why other people hold a different point of view. You could try these sentence starters to help you: Some people disagree because … However, I agree because …

Answer the following exam questions:

a) What is agnosticism? (2 marks)
b) Describe ONE religious experience. (6 marks)
c) Explain how a Catholic upbringing may lead to or support belief in God. (8 marks)
d) “All children need to be taught about Christianity.” 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 to complete. However, you can also submit your answers here, by clicking on the comments link.

Answer the following questions:

a) What does reconciliation mean? (2 marks)
b) Outline Catholic beliefs about Jesus. (6 marks)
c) Explain why Catholics believe that God is their Father. (8 marks)
d) “The crucifixion of Jesus was a waste of his life.” 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.

Answer the following exam questions:

a) What does numinous mean? (2 marks)
b) Outline the main features of a Catholic upbringing. (6 marks)
c) Explain how having a religious experience could lead to or support a belief in God. (8 marks)
d) “A Catholic upbringing is simply brainwashing.” 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 to complete. However, you can also submit your answers here, by clicking on the comments link.

Homework due on Monday 16 June.

a) Outline Catholic teaching on poverty. (4 marks)

b) Explain what the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats teaches Christians about wealth and poverty. (8 marks)

c) “If all Christians followed the teaching of the Church, there would be no poverty in the world.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion, showing that you have considered another point of view. Refer to Catholicism in your answer.

Complete the questions either on the homework sheet given in class, or leave your answers as a comment on this blog.

To download the homework sheet, click on the link to the right: Wealth and Poverty Exam Questions

Here is a very brief overview of the topics so you can revise over the weekend for this exam!

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Another reminder that the Unit C (Year 11) exam is on 14 May, and the Unit J (Year 10) exam is on 19 May.

Until then, every one of you should have the Year 10 and/or Year 11 revision guides, as well as the Revision Booklets which will help you go through the Revision Guides.

I am going to try and make some podcasts for you that can be downloaded onto mp3 players so that the audio learners amongst you can learn on the move by listening rather than just reading. Watch this space!

Click on the links below to listen to some revision notes. Drop me a comment to let me know if they are useful or not!

C1 Religious Upbringing

I have just started a new podbean account for podcasts. Click on the link to download GCSE revision podcasts. So far, these include:

C1.1 Believing in God: Catholic Upbringing
J1.1 Beliefs and Values: The Nature of God: Unity and Trinity
J1.2 Christian Beliefs about the Nature of God: the Father
J1.3 Christian Beliefs about the Nature of God: the Creator
J1.4 Christian beliefs about Jesus
J1.5 Christian beliefs about the Holy Spirit
J1.6 Symbols of the Holy Spirit
J1.7 Christian beliefs about Sin
J1.8 Christian beliefs about Salvation
J1.9 Christian values: Love of God
J1.10 Christian values: Love of Others
J1: Beliefs and Values - An Overview of the Key Facts