Fatalism, Determinism and predestination with examples: For this I am going to use the choice I made to do R.S A level to show the differences: 

A fatalistic approach to me 'choosing' to take R.S A level would be that I had no freedom in doing so, but that every single action I had made before taking it was out of my control. 

A deterministic approach to me taking this A level would be that I would eventually take the A level but that my path to doing so could take many different routes but I would always end up taking the A level, it is based around the idea of a casual nexus (a web of different actions leading to the ultimate action-taking R.S) 

A predestined approach would be that an ultimate being (God) has chosen for me to take R.S A level and therefore I am taking it. 

The good girls and the bad girls of the Bible.

Within the current topic of Religious Studies, we have been studying how women are portrayed within the Bible. It seems that many are either incredibly virtuous and virginal and therefore untouchable (e.g Mary) or are the personification of Evil. For this blog I am looking at some of these women and how they qualify as either 'good' or 'bad'.

The 'Good' Girls: Esther, Ruth and Mary. 

Esther- A Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahaseurus (traditionally known as Xerxes). Within Esther 8:5-6 Esther is shown to tell King Xerxes about Haman's plan to kill all the Jews in the Kings provinces and exclaim "how can I bear to see the destruction of my own family" Through doing this Esther is shown as compassionate as she wants save people from being killed, a hope that only good, moral and kind people would hold. There is also emphasis on the idea that she wants to protect the people who she views as her family linking with the idea of being her being maternal.
It could also be argued that Esther show her character to be loyal to the king. This is also effective in portraying her in a positive way as she is serving not only her own wishes but also assisting another.

Ruth- Ruth is also shown to be a 'good' women within the Bible and an example of this is the loyalty and selflessness she shows after her husbands death by staying with her mother-in-law (Naomi) rather than leaving to get re-married.  This is shown in Ruth 1:16 "...Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God...". This is shows that Ruth has a life beyond serving and loving her husband and that a relationship with another woman had formed which is also very important and lived beyond her husbands death. It could be argued that this shows women's independence within the Bible, a definite idea of what she wanted and unarguable loyalty to Naomi and her husband himself. However verse 16 could also be seen to show a women who is utterly reliant on another person and that because her husband had died she then transitioned this dependence onto her mother-in-law. 
It could also been seen that Ruth is 'good' because she eventually marries Boaz (a relative of her husbands) not only helping herself but also securing Naomi's future through reconnecting them with her dead husbands family. 

Mary- Within Luke 1:26 Mary states "I am the Lord's servant...may it be to me what you have said". This reflects Mary's humble nature, suggesting she is blessed to be noticed by God and is prepared and trusting of Gods plan for her. This idea links with 'The Magnificat' (Luke 1:46-55) which is a song Mary sings as thanks for God's grace. With this however it cannot be ignored that Mary does not even briefly doubt or ponder on the idea that she will be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and birth Jesus. With this comes the idea that a 'good' women is a female who is compliant with other peoples/God's plans. However being obedient to God is an important Jewish belief as a whole and not just specific to Mary and therefore the significance of this act of obedience to God is arguably varied. 

The Bad Girls: Eve and Potiphar's Wife 

Eve- Within the Book of Genesis Eve is seen to be sinful, superficial and weak as shown in Chapter 3:6-7 "...that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate" In this passage Eve is shown to desire things that are appealing in looks, showing her as superficial and also weak as despite being told not to eat the fruit she is incapable of resisting because of its appearance.
 Through eating the forbidden fruit Eve also brings Sin into Gods perfect world and corrupts Adam whilst doing so. Through this it seems that whilst its suggested women are put on earth as helpers to Men they rather hinder them instead and this explores the idea that a women with too much control or perhaps simply equality within their relationships are set to cause destruction and sin. This idea is reinforced in Chapter 3: 17 of Genesis in which God states "..Because you have heeded the voice of your wife..". 

Potiphar's Wife- Within Genesis 39 Potiphar's wife is shown to attempt to seduce her husbands Attendant Joseph and when unsuccessful accuses Joseph of trying to sleep with her, resulting in Josephs arrest. Essentially this lady is at the heart of massive injustice. One aspect of Potiphar's wife which is viewed as 'bad' or 'impure' is her desire for sex; showing signs of low self respect and self worth and this is shown in Genesis 39: 7 when she exclaims to Joseph " Come to bed with me". She is also portrayed to be alike to the serpent in Genesis 3 through her seductive and tempting nature. This is effective in outlining women's want to turn man from God and is once again reinforced by Josephs questioning in verse 9 "...How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

In conclusion, the Bible holds both positive and negative imagery of women. It seems the 'goodies' can hold both desirable and expected qualities of a 'good women' however for me they also seem uncomfortably  passive and compliant. In contrast the 'baddies' are functional in showing some obvious, fair and necessary depictions of what being 'bad' is, however these also seem  degrading, blaming and misleading. 

What does it mean to be Human?

Examine religious teachings about what it means to be human (30 marks)

For Christians an important and defining aspect of what it means to be human is the idea that humans are relational, between one and other and with God. This is shown within the Nicene Creed and the belief in the Holy Trinity, the interrelationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is then conferred onto humanity through the Christian teaching of Imago Dei, Genesis 1:26-27 “God created man in his own image”.  This is further reinforced by the Golden Rule which states “Love you neighbor as yourself”. Therefore a key Christian belief about what it means to be human is that we are able and naturally do create relationships with other beings, both supreme and human.

Another religious teaching about what it means to be human is that we are created by God. Within the book of Genesis 2:7 God creates man. He “forms man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”. This shows that as humans we exist entirely because of God’s grace and omnipotence and are perhaps dependent on God from birth to death and for eternity. Another key point is that God is shown to create Adam and Eve on the sixth day, the last and perhaps most important creation. However it could be interpreted that with this apparent high status comes ‘stewardship, the idea that humans are expected and entrusted to take care of the whole of God’s creation and that therefore the title of what it means to human comes with the ability to take care; feel love, passion and responsibility for something larger than oneself.

Psalm 139 is another Christian teaching which explores Gods creation of us, within this psalm it describes “For it was you who formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (139:13) This creates an image that humans are not only created by God but that also when creating us God paid attention to all aspects of mankind, not only the outside body and the character but also the insides of each of us. It also suggests that humans are created as complex and perhaps even fragile. This is apparent due to the use of the word ‘knit’ linking to both complexities in its patterns but also to being fragile as knitted materials are not massively strong. This links idea links with the Christian Theologian C.S Lewis’s poem “On being Human” which explores the idea that whilst angels understand the world on a purely intelligence-based level, humans grow and develop with experience and the feelings of both pleasure and pain. This idea that God created us with the ability to feel hurt or broken could also be linked to argument that suffering is character building (St. Iranaeus) and that a key part of being human is the ability to feel pain.