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Thursday 5th Sept 2013

L.O: - To analyse why some Christians use the Bible and the Church to make moral decisions and contrast this with different Christian views

Christians and the authority of the Bible & Church

c/w

Task 1: Knowledge –What do you already know about the bible?Info splurge! Write down everything you know!

Bible - The holy book of Christians

Decalogue - The Ten Commandments

KEYWORDS

Church- The community of Christians

Authority -

Source of power/guide

church- Christian place of worship

RAG Cards!Hold up your RAG cards to show whether you agree with the statements

The Bible is the word of God, so every Christian

should follow it

Christians follow the Bible because it is what

Jesus taught

The Bible has been followed for hundreds of years, so it must be right.

The Bible answers everyone’s problems

If everyone followed the Bible, the world would be

a safer place

If you think about it, everything the Bible

teaches is right.

The Bible might be open to interpretation.

The Bible is not the word of God but written by

people who were inspired by God.

The Bible needs the church to help people

interpret it.

MORAL DECISIONS1)What would you do? Why?

2)What would an opposing argument be? Why?

3)What might a Christian do? What religious teaching could we use to demonstrate this?

Moral decisions are when you have to decide between what is the right and wrong thing to do.

Most people need some help to make these kind of decisions, Christians look to the Bible and the Church to help them

Examples of moral decisions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fPlhybGS5I

Comprehension – Watch the clip and note down:1) 4 reasons why Christians use the Bible as authority for making moral decisions2) 2 examples of religious teachings that could be used as authority for making a moral decision

e.g. Religious Teaching = Sanctity of life Moral decision = should not have an abortion

Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God, dictated by God to the writers of the Bible books.

This means that the Bible is God’s guidance to humans and so it has absolute authority for Christian decision-making

The Bible contains God’s teachings on behaviour, this can be seen in the Decalogue, which gives Christians very clear moral guidance:2 examples of this?

The Bible contains the teachings of Jesus on how to live. As Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, they should follow his teachings about moral decision making.e.g. sermon on the mount

The Bible records events in the life of Jesus. This means many Christians ask themselves how Jesus would behave in this situation and then follow his example. As Christians believe Jesus is God’s son, his example must be the best one to follow.

Not all Christians agree that the Bible should be used for moral

decisions…

Why do you think this is?

Some Christians would use the Church to tell them what the Bible means for today, so they would put the authority of the Church over the Bible.

Other Christians would use their own conscience or reason to decide whether to follow the Bible in making a moral decision in the twenty-first century.Some Christians believe that the Bible was written by people inspired by God. They believe that, although it has authority for moral decision-making, many of its attitudes reflect the social situation at the time of the writers and need to be revised in the light of modern knowledge.

• Bible• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fPlhybGS5I• Church• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT7lUR09zeM&feature=related• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RvRbfbKxQk

Comprehension – Watch the clips and note down:1) 2 ways that people use the church to guide their moral decisions2) 4 reasons why Christians may prefer to use the Church as authority for moral decisions rather than the Bible.

Christians believe the Church is the Body of Christ = how Jesus works in the world. Therefore, the Church should have the same authority as Jesus Christ

Most Christians believe that God did not stop speaking to people after the last book of the Bible was written. They believe that God speaks to the world today through the Church.

The Church is the community of Christian believers. Therefore it must be guided by God and so be able to make moral decisions on issues.

If individuals were to make their own decisions then there would be lots of different opinions about how to behave

• The Pope is believed to have been selected by God so has supreme authority. He and the Council of

Bishops, authorise teaching on moral and religious issues to Catholic Christians.

The Catholic Church

Making Moral Decisions – the Church

Explain how Christians make moral decisions (8 marks)

Exam Skills

1-2 marks

Little understanding of the issue shown, typically by: • giving a brief reason • not explaining but only describing the issue.

3-4 marks

Basic understanding of the issue is shown typically by: • using two brief reasons • or a developed reason.

5-6 marks

A more developed understanding of the issue is shown typically by:• using three brief reasons • Or fully developed reason• Or two reasons with one developed.

7-8 marks

A clear understanding of the issue is shown typically by:• using four brief reasons • or two developed reasons • or three reasons with one developed • or a comprehensive explanation using one reason only.

Peer Assess