Part D.) Answers

After the February mock exam we spent some time discussing the best way to write part d.) questions. In the lessons we talked about what makes a part d.) question good and what makes you lose marks. Here are some of the ideas we came up with.
Bad Irrelevant examples - it is important that examples are used to agree with your points. But they must actually fit the point you are trying to make. Don't just include Bill Gates because you know that we once used him in a lesson!
A non-sensical conclusion - your conclusion must actually work with the question and fit the argument you have given.
Points that don't make sense - sometimes I cannot follow your argument, and you needed to have read through your ideas more carefully.
Putting an example instead of a point - this is a common mistake. You put something like 'on the one hand, no I do not agree, because THIS HAPPENED AND THEN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE. But the point needs to come before an example, as the examples are meant to back up the points.


Good
Modern examples - we have spent so much time in lessons discussing who to use. I'd love you to start using them. But please, can we cull the obsession with Bill Gates.
Structure - putting both sides of the argument.
Biblical examples - it is important to bring in examples from the bible if you can.

The 10 Commandments

So, this is the last topic you need to know. :) From the Old Testament that is. We've been talking about the Israelites and the situation they were in when they had left Egypt.
Rules - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

It is important for you to remember that the Israelites had been travelling for a long time outside of Israel. They would have been tired, hungry and been struggling with the relationships. In all likelihood their relationships with each other would have been strained. After all, they had spent the last 40 years with the same people! And they might well have been struggling to believe that God was still caring for and looking out for them.

This is the context into which the Israelites were given the 10 Commandments. They would have been useful for them in helping them to redefine their relationship with God and helping them focus on how they should be behaving towards God. The commandments would also have been helpful showing them how to behave towards each other in order to establish.

The Fall

In this passage all the perfection of the world created by God is lost. A serpent, representing the devil comes to Eve and questions everything she has been told by God. He puts doubt in her mind over the goodness of good and she is led to question whether she will actually die if she eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil tells her that she will not die. Instead she will become like God, knowing good and evil. The desire for this much power is too much.

She takes the fruit, eats it and then shares it with Adam. After they realise they are naked and make clothes for themselves from fig leaves. They hide because they hear someone coming in the garden. That person is God. He searches for them and, realising what they have done asks them why they have eaten from the tree that they were forbidden to eat from. The man blames the woman and the woman blames the serpent.

God punishes them.

• For the woman

She would have pain in childbirth and her desire would be for her husband and he would rule over her.

• For the man

It would be difficult for him to get food.

• For the serpent

He would have to crawl on his belly, and he would bite the heel of man and they would crush him.

For all of them They would die and they were banished from the Garden of Eden.

However, God gave them clothes. He then sent them out of the garden and put a flashing sword and a cherubim to guard the tree.

In the lesson we discussed the character of God from the Fall. Here are the ideas we came up with. You could easily use some of these in a part c.) question.

The meaning of the Parables

We have been looking at three different parables:

 

 The Good Samaritan
Jesus tells the story because someone asks him what he can do to inherit eternal life. In the story a Jewish man is journeying when he is attacked by robbers. A Levite and a Priest go past but they ignore the body. We would expect them to help him. The man is helped by a Samaritan who tends his wounds and anoints him with oil, he puts him on his donkey and takes him to an inn. He pays the innkeeper money to look after him.

 

The main message: Everyone is your neighbour, and you must love them as much as you love yourself.

• I think the meaning of this parable is to look out and after your neighbours like you would yourself. If you hurt yourself you would look after yourself and clean your wounds so why not do it for your neighbour.
• I think that the message that Jesus was passing across is that to go to heaven you need to do what is right and look after your neighbour even if they are hated from your religion country etc, because the good Samaritan saved a Jew which is surprising because Jews hated Samaritans. So Jesus is saying to go to heaven you must look out for your neighbours no matter the situation or the type of person.
• I think that the meaning of the parable the Good Samaritan is that you must love everyone as your self and even if they are the complete opposite to you then you must still care and have love for them no matter what country they are from.

The Sower

In this story a farmer sows seed in different places; rocks, path, thorns and in good soil. Each seed grows differently. Those on the soil grow up and produce a crop 100x bigger. In every other place there is partial growth and then something happens which stops the growth. For example on the path the birds come and peck the seed, the seed in the thorns grows a little and then gets choked and the seeds in the rocks grow a little but there is no moisture to ensure continued growth.

Jesus does explain the meaning of this parable in v.11-15.

• I think that the parable of the sower means that each seed represents a different way of hearing about God and how you understand it and the people who don’t understand will have that taken away from them. In conclusion I think that each seed represents an understanding of God and I know this because in the parable Jesus explains the meaning of each seed landing where it did, and why this was significant.
  
• I think the message Jesus was trying to pass across was that people are going to hear about God but the way you chose to perceive it will depend because the people who understand will be fruitful in life but the people who don’t understand will not know how to worship God.

I hope this helps you to understand the passages.

 

 

 

 

Abraham and Isaac

Abraham was a the leader of the Jewish faith. God called him and told him to leave his country and family and go to the country that God would give him. He and his wife had been unable to have children.
God promised him three things:
He promised that he would be the father of a great nation.
He promised that God would be the God of him and all his descendents.
He and his descendents would take possesion of the land of Canaan.
In return Abraham promised that he and his descendents would be circumcised.


Later when Abraham's son Isaac had been born Abraham was told by God to go to the mountain of Moriah and sacrifice him there. Abraham was so obedient to God that he packed up, as instructed. He went with two servants and his son. He carried the fire and the knife and Isaac the wood. Abraham left his two servant. Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb was for the burnt offering. Abraham replied 'the Lord will provide.' When the arrived at the right placed on the mountain, Abraham built an altar and he bound his son to it. As he was holding the knife to kill Isaac an angel called from heaven and told him to stop. They told him that instead he should sacrifice the ram which was in the thicket. The angel told him that he had proved himself worthy of the promises God had given him. The ram was offered as a sacrifice instead.

Things to note from the sacrifice
Abraham could not be the father of a great nation if his only son was dead. God was testing his faith and asking him if despite finally recieving the son he had waited for, for many years, was he willing to put God before him?
Did Abraham still have great faith? Or had his son become an idol to him?
Isn't it incredible that he had the faith to trust that the Lord would provide?
We learn about Abraham that he

• Has a lot of faith

He has the courage to sacrifice his only son, who was going to be the beginning of his nation.

• He is very obedient

He is asked to do something by God, and he does it immediately. He really loved his son. But he loves God even more.

• He had proved that he loves God.

He loves God more than anything. He is not going to withold anything from God.

But why did God ask him to do this? 

Arguments for the existence of God

Welcome back to school. Hooray, it's JanuaRAY.

Just to emphasise the rhyme.

First topic for this term is arguments for the existence of God. There are three which this post will explore.

• Cosmological
• Teleological
• Ontological

I have researched some interesting videos which you might find helpful in understanding what these different arguments teach.This website is also very helpful.

Teleological argument:

Explanation of the argument can be found here.

Criticism of the argument is here:

Cosmological Argument: Explanation of the argument can be found here.

Here is a helpful video explaining it

You can find some criticism from different philosophers about the Cosmological argument, but it is a little confusing, so I do not want to blow your brains sky high!!

Finally the Ontological argument, which is explained here.

This one is a little out there. I would love to hear what you have to say about it!!