RE GCSE Paper One - Edexcel

Outline three persons of the Holy Trinity. (3)

• Father

• Son

• Holy Spirit

• Mary

'Statues and sculptures should not be used in prayer.' (12)

• Yes: It goes against the Ten Commandments that tell us not to worship idols.

• No: God told Moses to create statues of two angels after giving him the Ten Commandments.

• No: The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus gives us the message of His burning love for us.

• No: We do not worship statues, we use them to remind us of God's presence with us.

'Money should be spent on the poor rather than making churches beautiful.' (12)

• No: Churches hold the Body of Christ and so should be beautiful places.

• No: The poor need an uplifting place to lift them out of their poverty and direct their minds to heaven.

• Yes: The parable of The Sheep and Goats remind us that we should be looking after the poor.

• Yes: Jesus said love your neighbour: helping the poor is loving your neighbour.

Outline two ways in which religious paintings help Catholics in their faith. (4)

• They give Catholics an image to focus on when they are praying.

• They show some of God's qualities e.g. Michelangelo's Creation of Adam shows that God is higher than humans.

• They are just entertainment.

• They can help raise our minds to God in a way that words cannot.

Outline three Christian symbols. (3)

• Alpha and Omega

• Chi-Rho

• Ichthus - the fish

• The McDonald's logo.

'Mary is best understood as disciple for Catholics.'

• Yes: Mary was obedient to the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus.

• No: Mary would be better understood as Mother, because when Jesus was on the cross, He gave her to be mother to all of us through his disciple St John.

• No: Mary taught Jesus as He was growing up, and so how could she be the disciple of Jesus.

• Yes: Mary stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus, thereby demonstrating her faith in her Son. Any disciple needs faith in the one whom they are following.

Explain two reasons why the Second Vatican Council was important for Catholics. (4)

• It decided that the Mass should be in the local language of the country.

• It recognised that people of all faith could go to heaven, as long as they lived good lives.

• It accepted that people could read the Bible in their own language.

• It said that Christians should not just be spectators are Mass.

Explain two reasons why Mary is important for Catholics. (4)

• Mary showed complete devotion and obedience to God.

• Mary was chosen by God because she was seen as being worthy to be a mother to Jesus.

• The Church says that: she is a completely unique member of the Church.

• Mary is a woman, which is good for gender balance in Church.

It is best to baptise people as infants rather than as adults.' (12)

• Yes: It washes original sin away from an early age.

• Yes: It makes children feel part of the Christian community from a young age.

• No: The infant does not get a choice in the matter.

• No: It is better to follow the example of Jesus who got baptised as an adult.

'Liturgical worship is much better than spontaneous prayer.' (12)

• Yes: It follows the command of Jesus to: Do this in memory of Me.

• No: Spontaneous worship comes straight from the heart and so is genuine.

• Yes: It gives people a familiar structure so that they know how to pray properly.

• Yes: It allows people to pray as one community and builds up unity between Christians.

Answer explanation

Remember that Liturgical worship is set prayers and actions like Holy Mass.