“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message: that is love, compassion and
forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.” [Dalai Lama]
With reference to the quote above, explain the importance of Jewish principal beliefs in
influencing the “daily lives” of adherents.
[20 marks]
Structure:
Introduction
Body → 4 or 5 PEEL paragraphs
Conclusion with quote (S)
Jewish Principal Beliefs:
→ The nature of God, omnipotent
→ The covenant
→ Divinely inspired moral law
PEEEL Paragraph Example:
P → Christain principal beliefs such as Salvation are extremely important for adherents,
influencing their “daily lives' ' to live a life of “love, compassion and forgiveness”.
E → The Christian belief of salvation refers to the atonement of humanity’s sins, reminding
adherents of God’s everlasting love and grace, sacrificing His only Son for the good of humanity,
influencing adherents to live this “same message”. There is some slight variant difference in the
understanding of salvation, with some protestant adherents understanding we are saved
through “faith alone”, while Catholicism teaches salvation occurs through God’s grace and our
response to God’s grace “faith working through love” [Galatians 5:6].
E → The belief of Salvation is found throughout the New Testament, specifically “For God so
loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but
have eternal life” John 3:16.
E → The evangelist John implores adherents to ‘believe in Him’, reminding them of God’s gift of
‘eternal life’, calling adherents to live lives of “love, compassion and forgiveness”. The Christian
principal belief of Salvation is extremely important for adherents, influencing their “daily lives”
to express “love”.
L → As Christian adherents come to understand salvation, they are reminded of Christ’s
sacrifice on the cross, “they crucified Him” John 19:18, imploring adherents to live a similar
selfless, sacrificial “love” throughout their “daily lives”, expressed through involvement in social
justice initiatives such as the St Vincent de Paul ‘Vinnies Van’, feeding the homeless. Through
the belief of salvation, adherents are also reminded of God’s “compassion and forgiveness”,
recalling Christ’s teaching of The Our Father to His apostles, “forgive us our debts, as we have
also forgiven our debtors” Matthew 6:12, imploring adherents to extend God’s “forgiveness”
throughout their “daily lives”. It is evident that the principal belief of salvation is extremely
important throughout the daily lives of adherents, influencing them to live lives of “love,
compassion and forgiveness”
Paragraph 1:
Jewish principal beliefs such as the covenant are extremely important for adherents,
influencing their “daily lives” to live a life of “love, compassion and forgiveness.” The Jewish
principle belief of the covenant refers to the promise that God made to abraham. The belief of
the covenant reminds adherents that they must follow the path of God influencing adherents to
follow and live through this “daily message.” There is some slight variant difference in the
understanding of the covenant, with orthodox jews believing in that the Covenant is important
through the Torah, reform jews believe they have a special and exclusive relationship with God
in which that is how their understanding is expressed, and conservative jews believe that God
has a covenant with the people of Israel, which requires Jews to follow the Jewish law and use it
to “Tikkun Olam” (To repair the world) - Torah. The belief of the Covenant is found throughout
the Tanakh specifically in Genesis as “Abraham said, "O Lord God, what will You give me, since I
am going childless, and the steward of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?” Genesis 15.
Genesis influences adherents' belief of the Covenant as they must ‘follow the path of god’
calling adherents to live lives of “love, compassion and forgiveness”. The Jewish belief of the
covenant is quite significant for adherents, influencing their “daily lives,” to express
“compassion and love.” As Jewish adherents come to understand the Covenant, they are
reminded of what Abraham was promised and what Jews need to do in return, and to follow
the set law, as said by God; “I will set my law within them and write it on their hearts" Jerermy
31:33. This implores adherents to live a similar selfless, sacrificial “love” throughout their “daily
lives”, expressed through involvement in social justice initiatives such as the St Vincent de Paul
‘Vinnies Van’, feeding the homeless. Through the belief of the covenant, adherents are also
reminded of God’s “compassion and forgiveness”, recalling the teaching, as said by the Isrealites,
“Pardon our iniquity and our sin” Exodus 34:9, imploring adherents to extend God’s
“forgiveness” throughout their “daily lives”. It is evident that the principal belief of the covenant
is extremely important throughout the daily lives of adherents, influencing them to live lives of
“love, compassion and forgiveness.”
Paragraph 2:
Jewish Principle beliefs such as the Divinely inspired moral law is quite significant as it
inscribes “the same message” for adherents teaching them to live a life of “love, compassion and
forgiveness.” The jewish principle belief of the divinely inspired moral law refers to the
code/commandments that was given to by God to show and teach them how to make ethical
decisions. The belief of the Divinely inspired moral law prompts adherents to follow the path of
God and the law influences them to follow through and inscribe in their hearts “the same
message.” There are some slight variant differences in the understanding of this principle belief
to; with orthodox believing that the moral law is complete and non-evolving, conservative
believing that the written Torah is open to re-interpretation of changing circumstances, and
reform has belief that the law guides jews in ethics and beliefs. The belief of the Divinely moral
law is found throughout Genesis, Torah and an example is, “Honour your father and your
mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12.
This provides adherents with a “law” or set of rules and influences them to follow this
“message” as it can help them live lives of “love, compassion and forgiveness”. The jewish
belief of the Divinely inspired moral law is very important for adherents, engraving this “same
message” in their hearts to express “compassion and love. As jewish adherents discover the
depth of the covenant, they are reminded of Moses, the burning bush and the first sacrifice
Moses made was when God said, “Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt
offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my
name to be honoured, I will come to you and bless you.” This implores adherents to live a
similar, sacrificial life (with “compassion, love and forgiveness”) and to follow the law of God.
This can be expressed through the involvement of respecting and appreciating your mother,
father and the guardians who shelter you. Through the belief of the covenant, adherents are
also reminded of God’s compassion and forgiveness recalling the teaching, as said by the
Isrealites, “Pardon our iniquity and our sin” Exodus 34:9, imploring adherents to extend God’s
“forgiveness” and submit to this “same message.” It is evident that the principal belief of the
covenant is very significant throughout the lives of adherents, influencing them to follow this
“same message” and to live lives of “love, compassion and forgiveness.”