Yusef Mohammed UMP

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision

Beliefs
Philosophy of religion
When answering on philosophy of religion, e.g. existence of God, consider the
following:
- Morality
- Faith and worship
- Relations (between religions)
- Violence and war
- Education

Ultimate sources of truth

- Empiricism five senses (scientific method)
- Reason (philosophy)
- Direct revelation from God, e.g. scriptures such as Bible and Quran
- Innate knowledge (inner knowledge intuition or conscience

Ultimate questions
An ultimate question is a question that does not have an answer or where people
cannot agree what the answer might be.
Some examples of ultimate questions are:
- Is there a purpose to human existence? If so, what is it?
To serve God
- Does God exist?
God is the creator of everything
- What happens to us after death?
Judgement Day for spirits to decide heaven or hell
- How did the universe begin?
God created the universe where everything fulfils a purpose
- How do I decide what is right and wrong?
Weigh up the consequences against the benefits and rules of Islam

Beliefs
A belief is a statement we understand to be true but which cant be proven right or
wrong. Everyone has beliefs, including atheists who believe that God does not exist.

Beliefs may range from insignificant ones, e.g. I believe it may rain today to those
that have a huge impact upon how we live our lives, e.g. I believe in an afterlife.

Some of the most important beliefs are those about ultimate questions.

- I have the right to believe anything I like

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision
Yusef Mohammed UMP

I agree with this statement, as the belief of anything does not involve the
verbal or physical expression, meaning it wont harm anyone or cause
offence. A belief cannot be seen or known by anyone as a belief because it is
what you think or what you believe in your head. The right to believe is a
different matter to expression of any kind. For example, the belief that I am
the greatest person is absolutely fine to be believed, but is a different matter
when expressed. This is because believing certainly doesnt include the
involvement of other people and so consequently no one can be harmed or
offended.
- I have the right to express my beliefs
I do not agree I have the right to express all my beliefs. The expression of
belief is a completely different matter than the belief alone. Expression
means other people know what you believe and this means it can affect
people and consequently harm some people. Therefore, the right of
expression is not always permitted if causes harm or offence to a number of
people and in some way invades their human rights. For example, if someone
believed that discrimination against a specific group of people was right,
expressing this belief out loud would surely offend many groups and this is
similar to advertising a belief. However, reading a holy book of what you
believe in is not aimed to involve anyone else and is perfectly acceptable as it
shouldnt harm or offend anyone.
- I have the right to act upon my beliefs
I do not agree I have the right to act upon all my beliefs. The acting upon
belief is again a completely different matter to just or belief or just an
expression of a belief. The verb acting means to actually carry out which
means it can affect other people. The right of acting of a belief is judged on
the act. If the act clearly involves other people and the cause other people to
be offended or harmed, then carrying out the belief is not acceptable. For
example, if someone is praying quietly in a room, there is no intent to harm
or offend anyone and it is purely to carry out their belief. This type of acting
upon a belief is absolutely reasonable, as it does not include the involvement
of others.
- Beliefs cant be proved, so all beliefs are equally right
I agree with this statement as if a belief cannot be proved, scientifically it is
100% false, but morally they are all correct for the individual that believes in
it. They are all valued highly for the person who believes in it, which means
they are all equally valuable. A belief is something that someone strongly
believes in and if someone elses belief is considered to be more correct, it is
deeply offensive. For example, if someone believes that God exists, but
another person believes oppositely that God doesnt exist, both beliefs are of
equal value to the believer and so they are both equally correct in their own
way. This applies to all beliefs and two beliefs; such as computers are good
against the saving poor people is good are equally right because both cannot
be proved in any way, although it may look rather silly to debate the fact, so
both are equally right.

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision
Yusef Mohammed UMP

Suffering
Types of suffering
Suffering falls into two main categories:
1) Naturel suffering caused by naturel events such as earthquakes, volcanoes,
floods, hurricanes or drought.
2) Man-made suffering caused as a result of people acting in ways that hurt
themselves or other people. This may be accidental, e.g. a road accident, or
deliberate, e.g. theft or murder.

Hindu response
Hindus believe that we have had many previous lives. They believe that all creatures
have a soul or life-force (atman) and this soul is reincarnated into a new body in the
next life. Reincarnation is based upon the law of karma. This means that all suffering
in this life is a consequence of our actions (both good and bad) in our previous lives.

Therefore, if a creature (human, animal, bird, etc.) experiences suffering in its

present life, it is because of bad karma in a previous life. Extremely bad behaviour
can have very serious consequence, e.g. a person could come back as an ant, rat, etc.
Similarly, a good life is brought about by good actions in previous lives.

Thus Hindus accept suffering because it is based upon a strong belief in justice
Justice is written into the fabric of the universe.

This means that each living being is responsible for its own suffering suffering
cannot be blamed upon God. The aim of life is for the atman to escape the endless
cycle of birth and rebirth and to be at one with God. This is called moksha.

Positive issues:
- Everyone has a chance to change and lead a better life in their next
reincarnation.
- There is a strong sense of justice even if it seems as if people who behave
badly in this life get away with things, e.g. drug dealers sometimes make
plenty of money, there will be consequences in a future life. Likewise,
someone who is good, kind, industrious, etc. will get their reward in another
life.
- It makes sense and is logical, i.e. good behaviour leads to positive outcomes,
bad behaviour has negative consequences.
- God is justified and not blamed suffering is not His fault

Negative issues:
- If people are suffering because they did something wrong in a previous life,
then God has decided that they must deserve to suffer. If this is the case,
then others may be less willing to help them.
- It could be seen as quite harsh we cant remember what we did wrong in
previous lives that have caused us to suffer in this life, so there is little
comfort for us.

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision
Yusef Mohammed UMP

- It could be seen as unrealistic how can anyone ever be perfect and achieve
moksha?
- It raises the question of why it is that animals have no sense of morality. How
can this be if they have a soul and will be reincarnated?

Christian response
Christians believe that
- God has given people free will the ability to choose between right and
wrong for themselves. God has shown people how they should live (e.g. the
Ten Commandments and Jesuss life and teaching), but it is up to them to
decide whether or not to follow Gods instructions. If they dont, this may
lead to suffering.
- Most suffering is caused by sin which results in selfishness and self-
centredness. Sin does not just mean doing something wrong; it is a whole
attitude that leads people away from God. The story of humanitys battle
with good and evil is told in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
- As well as a power for good there is also a power for evil. Traditionally this is
said to be Satan. He tempted Jesus to give up his ministry. Many Christians
no longer see evil as a person or being. St Augustine in the forth century
suggested that evil is an absence of good. Some people think of evil as a
psychological or emotional problem, that no one is inherently evil, but
circumstances can lead them to become so.
- Suffering is part of life. It is only through suffering that people learn to grow
as humans. In a world without suffering, there would be nothing to struggle
for or against.
- When Jesus came to earth (the Incarnation), human beings were given a
chance to escape everlasting punishment after death by following him and
asking Gods forgiveness for their sins. Christians believe that this is possible
because Jesus died on the cross (the Crucifixion), and in this way the broken
relationship between God and humanity caused by sin was restored. This is
called the Atonement.
- Jesus rose from the dead three days after he had been crucified. This is called
the Resurrection. This key point here is that following the torture and death
of Jesus, he rose from death. Out of suffering and death came new life and
hope.

Quotes
He who suffers much will know much (Greek proverb)
- The writer is trying to say that people that endured a lot of suffering will be
knowledgeable and gain a better understanding of everything than other
people.
- This statement is true as people who have suffered have endured a lot,
meaning they know more. The suffering teaches you how to progress
through a certain situation and you will be able to manage more in this
future.

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision
Yusef Mohammed UMP

- However, I dont agree with this quote because suffering can weaken a
character and create fear, reducing their understanding. They might have
endured a lot of suffering and not be able to cope anymore.

You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy
(John Calvin)
- The writer means that in order to experience joy to its peak, you most have
endured a lot of suffering.
- I agree with this statement because without suffering, joy will be taken for
granted as a normal feeling and not understand it properly. If you have
suffered, you understand that joy is something to be savoured. Also, it lets
you experience the difference between the two feelings and it will make you
appreciate joy more.
- However, this quote is false because supreme suffering can affect characters
and weaken them in areas, not letting them experience joy to its peak. Also,
suffering might seem normal to a person, not letting them understand joy.

Moral Language
Moral decision making
- A moral act
An act which is considered to be right or good
Example donating blood
- A non-moral act
An act which is not concerned as right or wrong
Examples walking, breathing
- An immoral act
An act which is considered as wrong
Examples stealing, murdering an innocent
- An amoral act
An act that is committed without reference to morality
Example by a young child

Religious Studies
End of Year Exam Revision