A place of purification, where Catholics believe souls go after death to be purified.

b) Outline Catholic beliefs about life after death. (6 marks)

* Catholics believe in life after death (”the life everlasting”, according to the Creed)
* They believe that the soul is immortal and will live on after the death of the body.
* When people die they are judged by God.
* Those who are perfectly purified will go to heaven, those with unforgiven sins will go to purgatory, and those who have totally rejected God will go to hell.
* Christ will return at the end of the world, the dead will be raised (”the resurrection of the body”), and God will make a new heaven and a new earth where the resurrected souls from heaven and purgatory will live.

c) Explain why there are different attitudes towards life after death among Christians. (8 marks)

* Catholic beliefs about heaven, hell and purgatory are based on the Creed (”the life everlasting” and “the resurrection of the body”)
* and are taught in the Catechism, the official teaching of the Catholic Church.
* The Bible teaches that God is a God of love, who will surely give everyone a chance to go to heaven.
* Jesus told the crucified thief that he would go straight to Paradise.
* Evangelical Protestant Christians often believe that when they die, their souls remain in the grave until the end of time when God will judge the world. They believe this because:
* Jesus’s body physically rose from the dead;
* St Paul teaches that people will have a resurrection body, like Jesus;
* Jesus taught that he would come again at the end of the world to judge everyone.

d) “When you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s it.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion, showing that you have considered another point of view. (4 marks)

Agree:
* There is little or no tangible evidence
* Some people do not believe in God, so there would be no place for a soul to go

Disagree:
* All religions have a belief in some form of life after death
* Life after death gives purpose to life now
* The example of Jesus is evidence for Christians of life after death
* Paranormal evidence, such as ghosts or near death experiences, suggest that there might be life after death

(Remember: Write in paragraphs! These bullet points are to help you with revision.)

Numinous means the feeling of the presence of something greater than you.

b) Outline the main features of a Catholic upbringing. (6 marks)

The main features of a Catholic bringing include being introduced to the Sacraments from a young age, for example being baptised as a baby, then receiving the first Holy Communion, and being confirmed. Secondly, children are taught prayers, for example the Our Father, which they may say at home with their parents. Thirdly, children are often sent to Catholic schools, where they receive a good education and are also taught about Catholic beliefs. Finally, a young Catholic will be taken regularly to Mass, where they will learn more about the Church.

c) Explain how having a religious experience could lead to or support a belief in God. (8 marks)

If someone had a numinous experience, then they would have had a real experience that they have felt, which they would trust as being an experience of something greater than them and beyond their understanding. That person may then assume that there must be a God for them to have had that experience.
Having a conversion experience would convince someone that God exists, because they would feel as if they have been called by God in some way; again, they would trust their own experience.
If someone experienced a miracle, then first of all they would try to find a natural explanation, but if none could be found, then they would have to assume that the only explanation can be God, therefore God must exist. For example, if doctors told someone that they had a cancer that would kill them, and there was no medical cure, but then the next time they went for a check up the tumour had disappeared, the doctors might not be able to give an explanation, but a friend might tell them that they had been praying for that person.
Finally, having an experience of prayer might support belief in God, because you feel a need to talk with someone beyond your understanding, and that experience does not seem imaginary, but instead seems real. Therefore, that person would believe even more that God must exist and be listening to them.

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)

Some people might agree with this because they would think that a young child is going to believe and trust their parents, no matter what they say or believe, so therefore that child is going to accept a certain belief without challenging or questioning it. Furthermore, some people might believe that certain rituals might produce a certain effect that might support a numinous experience but instead might be similar to brainwashing techniques, for example the use of incense and repetitive prayers and litanies.
However, I disagree with the statement because any parent has a duty to bring up their child in what they believe is the correct and best way, and for Catholic parents that would include educating their child about God. Also, children will have the opportunity to question the religion as they grow older, but at least they would have a basis of knowledge on which to base their questions to begin with. Many children have been brought up in different religions and when they have grown older they have changed their minds, therefore I do not believe that an upbringing can be simply brainwashing.

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.

Although you have chosen two interesting reasons for answer two, remember that purgatory is a Catholic (ie religious) belief, and reincarnation is a Hindu and Buddhist belief, although the memory of past lives can sometimes persuade an otherwise non-religious person to believe in life after death, if they think the memories are convincing. Also, remember that “outline” means you need to do more than simply “state” – you should briefly describe each answer you give, perhaps giving an example. Can you think of any other reasons why non-religious people might believe in life after death? Think of those pictures we looked at last week!

Question 3 – the answer would have been a 4 out of 6 answer to the question “Outline Catholic beliefs about life after death”. This was a tricky question, because in class so far we’ve concentrated on what happens during a funeral, rather than what it teaches about Catholic beliefs, so you will need to think about what happens during a funeral and what that might teach about these beliefs. For example, prayers are said for the dead person – what does that teach us about Catholic beliefs?

As for question 4 – this would have been a good time to mention purgatory! And always remember to give the opposite point of view as well.

Thanks for being the first person brave enough to answer on the web! Perhaps in the light of my comments you would like to amend your answers, either here or in time for lesson on Monday.