Christianity Notes - HSC
Significant People and Ideas
● Explain the contribution to the development and expression of Christianity of ONE
significant person OR school of thought, other than Jesus, drawn from:
○ Pope John XXIII
● Analyse the impact of this person OR school of thought on Christianity
Ethics
● Describe and explain Christian ethical teachings on bioethics OR environmental ethics
OR sexual ethics
○ Bioethics
Significant Practices in the Life of Adherents
● Describe ONE significant practice within Christianity drawn from:
○ Baptism
○ Marriage Ceremony
○ Saturday/Sunday worship
● Demonstrate how this practice expresses the beliefs of Christianity
● Analyse the significance of this for both the individual and the Christian community
Significant People and Ideas
●
Explain the contribution to the development and expression of Christianity of ONE
significant person OR school of thought, other than Jesus, drawn from:
○ Pope John XXIII
Context:
● Came from a highly religious family, and was provided a religious education from
a young age
● The Church during Roncalli’s time was different
○ Priests faced the front (cross) instead of adherents
○ Mass was in latin
○ Catholics did not read the b=Bible since they were illiterate, compared to
protestants who were encouraged to read the Bible
His Contributions:
Contribution 1 - Second Vatican Council:
● Called by Pope John XXIII in 1959 and held between 1962 and 1965.
● Extremely important considering how much social change was occurring, factors
like feminism and scientific progress threatened to make the church outdated
Aim: The aim was ‘Aggiornamento’; updating the Church’s identity in the modern world.
● Achieved through promoting dialogue with the secular world and through
advocating for Christian Unity among other things
● He voiced concerns for:
○ The need for bishops to trust in Holy Spirit, be hopeful and not look for
the worst in modern society
○ Recognise God’s presence in ordinary life
○ Finding better ways to present Church doctrine to people of the 20th
century
● First time where denominations met together as well as other religions
● As a result, 16 encyclicals were published as a method of addressing
Aggiornamento.
Reforms to Liturgy:
● The council also brought about reforms to liturgy
○ A huge change was mass to be in vernacular (the spoken language) rather
than Latin, so adherents are able to participate in readings
● This contribution changed the expression of faith and aligned the church with
outlined in the Bible:
○ ‘For where two or three of them gathered in my name I am there in their
midst.’ (Matthew 18:20)
Ecumenism:
● Vatican 2 was also a huge contributor to ecumenism - bringing people together in
different denominations of Christianity
● The very first sentence on the council's decree was ‘the restoration of unity
among all Christians’
● This was important for Christians to work together for the common good and to
face challenges in the modern world
Contribution 2 - Encyclicals
Encyclicals: Official documents outlining the church’s stance on particular issues
Mater et Magistra = Mother and Teacher
Pacem in Terris = Peace on Earth
Mater et Magistra:
Focus: Social Issues and the Church’s role in modern society
● Context: Written post World War II, during the Cold War when there were huge
technological advancements which brought social and economic challenges
● How the church should be the ‘Mother and Teacher’ of the world and be a
positive role modelling society
● The church must look outwards focus on improving society through things like
charity
○ ‘[Christians must] lighten the pathways of all who would seek appropriate
solutions to the many social problems of our times.’ (Mater et Magistra)
● Aim: Aimed to address social progress and justice, emphasising the Church's role
in guiding individuals and nations towards spiritual salvation and social
well-being.
● John actively lived out these teachings through visiting sick children in the
hospital and prisoners in prison
○ Giving adherents a role model for the sort of change they should make in
the world
● Impacts:
○ Right to private property
○ Workers right to association
○ Economic policies for equal distribution of wealth
○ Moral obligations of workers and employers
Pacem in Terris:
Focus: Peace and Human Rights
● Context: Was created during the height of the Cold War and the development of
the united Nations
● Audience: Addressed to ‘to all people of good will’
○ ‘Throw open the windows of the church to (be living and dynamic) to let
in fresh air.’
● Whole world was stressing importance of human rights and peace especially
relevant in the time when it was written during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962
● This encyclical showed that religion has an important place in the issues faced by
society
○ i.e. John directly communicated with the United Nations to ensure mutual
cooperation and the preservation of world peace
● Emphasised the importance of peace as a fundamental right
● Impacts:
○ Influenced Catholic Social teachings
○ Expanded and deepen the catholic social teachings by emphasising the
dignity of the human beings
○ Helped modernise the church
● Quotes:
○ ‘Peace is not simply the absence of warfare.’
○ ‘Each human man is truly a person…with intelligence and free will.’
○ ‘The duty (of every human being) is to recognise that right.’
Contribution 3 - Interfaith Dialogue
● John strengthened the relationship between different religions
○ i.e. he released statements that Jews were not responsible for the death of
Jesus
● His second vatican council published the document Nostra Aetate, which is a
declaration of the church on non-christian religions
○ Recognised that Muslims ‘adore The one God living and subsisting in
Himself,’ and although they might not have the same exact beliefs they still
have the same goal in life to live according to their God’s will
○ Encouraging religious Unity was important in his context as lots of people
were turning away from religion seeing as a source of conflict
○ John made Christianity more relevant in the modern lives, bringing them
closer to their faith
● Contribution: John worked towards social cohesion through similarities between
religions rather than differences
● John wanted unite denominations since they have different beliefs
●
Analyse the impact of this person OR school of thought on Christianity
Modernisation of the Church
● Focused on bridging the gap between the Church and the modern world
○ i.e. emphasising the importance of social justice
● In 1958, before John XXIII Christianity began to move away from Jesus’ teachings
of love and compassion
● Due to John’s work, Christianity now has a significant focus on solving societal
issues and helping the disadvantaged
○ Caritas Australia & Vinnies are examples of Church’s role in charity
Impact on expression of worship
● United the religious community and established Christianity’s role in solving
secular issues
● Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue
○ United adherents to work towards a common good
● Ensured religion plays an active role in solving world problems (i.e. peace)
○ i.e. writing to the UN in the cold war
● Ecumenical movements today shows the long lasting impact of his contributions
such as NCCA, which carries out similar works to John
○ e.g. ‘Act for Peace’ (NCCA) involved those from different denominations
providing aid in war-torn countries
● Social Justice brought Christianity back to its core focus of helping others
● Unity: United adherents use their faith to have a positive influence on the lives of
adherents today, who are able to have an active role in living and expressing their
beliefs.
Transforming the image of the papacy
● John changed the image of the Pope to someone adherents can personally
connect with as a role model
● Before John the Pope would live in Vatican I and nobody saw him
● John was the first Pope in 400 years to leave the Vatican
● He said ‘A good pope should not be separated from the religion and must have a
real relationship with the people.’
● John lived out the teachings of social justice that he laid the foundation for
● He had a significant impact in re-establishing the role of the Pope
● He visited:
○ Bambino Gesù Hospital
○ Regina Coeli Prison
● Currently Pope Francis holds the image of Papacy by being involved with
contemporary issues
○ i.e. releasing statements on climate change (has a twitter account)
● John significantly impacted Christianity by setting an example for what the Pope
should look like, developing a blueprint for the relationship between Pope and
the people
Ethics
●
Describe and explain Christian ethical teachings on bioethics OR environmental ethics
OR sexual ethics
○ Bioethics
Sources of Ethical Teachings:
1. Scriptures
● Scriptures are used by all denominations since it focused on the words and
actions of Jesus
2. Church Authority
● Different denominations have different interpretations of teachings in scripture
Catholicism: The Catechism of the Catholic Church - John Paul II
● Catechism outlines the Catholic stance on the Bible
● Catechism affirms that life is sacred (Sanctity of Life)
● Catechism teaches everything that adherents do must be loving (Jesus
commandment of love)
● Catechism says that anything to do with life must be determined by God (Divine
Sovereignty)
Anglicanism: Synod Statements - various Church leaders
● Synod is a meeting of Church leaders who release a statement
● 2003 Canadian Council of Churches:
○ ‘We must not violate Christian liberty by doing anything that disrespects
the image of God and circumvents his will. Instead, we should prescribe
only what is right and good.’
3. Conscience
● People make decisions based off their own moral judgement based off the
general attitudes and teachings of other sources
● Sources cant address all issues hence why people need to use conscience
○ Adherents ask themselves what would Jesus do?
Ethical Teachings:
1. Sanctity of Life
● All human life is valuable and sacred as a divine gift from God; He made humanity
in his image
○ ‘His image and likeness’ (Genesis 1:27)
● Human life is worthy of protection and respect, sacred from conception until
natural death
Implications:
● Human life must be upheld by Christians when applying to bioethical issues
● The taking of life with intention (e.g. murder) is forbidden
○ ‘You shall not murder’ (Exodus 20:13)
● As human life starts from the image and likeness of God, to take life is to disrupt
and destroy God’s creation
● Adherents find meaning and purpose in upholding and protecting human life as
stewards of creation
2. Jesus commandment of Love
Agape: Unconditional, self sacrificial love; ‘are you willing to sacrifice yourself for me?’
● Everything Jesus did was loving, treated others as he would like to be treated
● Christians have a duty to follow in his footsteps → ask themselves what's the
most loving thing to do?
○ ‘Love the Lord thy God will all thy heart and all thy soul and thy mind.’
(Matthew 22:34)
○ ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 13:34)
○ ‘A time to be born and a time to die.’ (Ecclesiates 3:2)
Implications:
● Adherents are called to apply love in their decisions, to find a solution of least
negative impact
3. Divine Sovereignty
● Transcendent ‘Godly’ Authority
● God has authority over all creation - he is the only one to determine when life
should end
● If God created all these good things in life and doesn't want us to interfere with
these sacred creations, he has Divine Sovereignty (ultimate control) over human
life
○ i.e. Only God can make ethical decisions
● God as the creator of human life and the world inhabited by humanity, has
authority and control over life and death
○ ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ (Genesis 1:28)
Implications:
● Christians are called to respect and uphold the natural order of life and death,
even in difficult situations
● Adherents are called to avoid and prevent the ultimately loss/taking of life to
uphold God’s sovereignty.
Examples:
Abortion:
● Christians believe life begins the moment of conception
● Abortion threatens a potential life and thereby is not permitted in Christianity
● Any threat to a life or potential life regardless of its stage of development or age
violated the dignity of the human person as life is considered as a gift from God
and is sacred
● Christians have the responsibility to uphold life
○ ‘You shall not murder’
● Catholic View:
○ Abortion is always wrong
○ Goes against sanctity of life and divine sovereignty
● Uniting Church View:
○ The uniting church has no formal position, leaving worshippers to make
their own choice.
○ Abortion is okay under certain circumstances
○ When abortion is the most loving thing to do it is okay
○ i.e. if the mother’s life is at risk, it is loving to save her
IVF (In-vitro fertilization)
● IVF is the artificial creation of an embryo outside the human body that is
reimplanted in the hope of having a child
● IVF is used to overcome a range of fertility issues
● IVF violates the dignity of the human person, as humans have been created in
‘His image and likeness’ (Genesis 1:27)
● Catholic View:
○ Divine Sovereignty: Can accept any medical assistance that does not
contradict the dignity of the human person.
○ Human Dignity: Must stop when the intrusion of a third person or when
conception becomes technological outside of sexual union
● Lutheran View:
○ Allowed in certain circumstances
○ Only sperm and egg of married couple must be used
○ No donor cells, no surrogates
○ No experimentation on embryos
○ Infertile couples must be informed before IVF
Significant practices in the life of adherents
●
Describe ONE significant practice within Christianity drawn from:
○ Baptism
○ Marriage Ceremony
○ Saturday/Sunday worship
● Baptism is used in all Christian denominations as it is a sacrament of Christianity
● Baptism signifies the initiation into the beliefs and practices of the Christian
community
○ ‘Unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God.’ (John 3:1-6)
● For all denominations the ritual occurs in a Church, involving the immersion of
water
● Baptism is the ritual used in most Christian denominations to signify the person’s
initiation into the beliefs and practices of the Christian community
● For most Christian denominations it also has significance as a statement of a
person’s beliefs in the Christian tradition and as a necessary element of salvation
● Baptism also allows Christians to share in the death and resurrection of Christ
and cleanses people from their sins
● The Salvation Army are examples of Christian groups, which do not practice
baptism
Water as a key symbol:
● Water is a key symbol seen through the Bible as it represents the washing away
of sin
● Water is used throughout salvation history, marked when God flooded the sinful
Earth to wash away wickedness and make the world ‘new’
● Adherents live by the idea that ‘Unless [God] washes you, you will have no
inheritance with me.’
● White garments = purity and new life
● Candle = Symbol of the light of Christ, which shines in the adherents soul
○ ‘This is my beloved son in you I am well pleased.’
● When a soul is baptised the Holy Spirit descends upon the adherent and Father
calls you ‘beloved child’
○ Through Baptism, Christians are adopted into the blessed Holy Trinity
Anglicans and Catholics:
● Baptism is carried out as an infant
● Has parents and godparents making commitments on behalf of child to agree to
carry out a life of Christian faith
Baptists and Pentecostals:
● Active practice of adult baptism
○ Emphasise the need for adherents to be fully aware of their choice and
commitments to be reborn into Christian church
●
●
Demonstrate how this practice expresses the beliefs of Christianity
Analyse the significance of this for both the individual and the Christian community