Who and when
CCEA A-Level Religious Studies 4610
An Introduction to the Gospel of LukeAS unit
Topic overviewPalestine at the time of JesusThe Pharisees and the SadduceesThe authorship, date and characteristics of Luke's GospelThe purposes of the Gospel and Luke-Acts as a Christian apologyThe historical accuracy and reliability of Luke's GospelThe annunciations and the births of John and JesusThe shepherds, the Presentation and the boy Jesus in the TempleThe baptism and temptation of JesusThe rejection at Nazareth and controversy with the religious authoritiesThe meaning, purpose and interpretation of parablesThe parables of mercyThe parables of the KingdomThe meaning, purpose and credibility of miraclesHealing, raising and nature miracles in LukeThe call to discipleship, mission and its demandsTeaching to the disciples and the role of PeterSalvation History and the relevance of the Gospel today
An Introduction to the Acts of the ApostlesAS unit
Topic overviewThe authorship of Acts and the 'we' passagesThe date of Acts and challenges to its authorship and accuracyThe purpose, characteristics and context of ActsThe Ascension and the Day of PentecostPeter's speech at Pentecost and the reaction to itThe early church as a fellowship of believersDiscipline in the church and the role of miracles in the spread of the GospelPeter and John: teaching, miracles and oppositionThe seven helpers, Stephen's speech and martyrdomPhilip the evangelist and the mission to SamariaPeter, Cornelius and the mission to the GentilesPeter's escape from prison and the Jerusalem church under HerodPaul's conversion and the three missionary journeysPaul's speeches at Pisidian Antioch and at AthensMission, witness and religious experience in any age
An Introduction to Themes in the Old TestamentAS unit
Topic overviewCovenant: the concept, the Noahic and Abrahamic covenantsThe Mosaic covenant and the DecalogueCovenant failure and the call of IsaiahThe rib: the covenant lawsuit as a literary devicePost-exilic exclusion: Ezra and NehemiahElection, inclusion and the reign of GodThe rise and reign of DavidThe Davidic covenant and Deuteronomistic kingshipThe purpose of the Davidic narrativesThe monarchy, the role of the king and royal propagandaElijah, Elisha and the challenge to royal powerTrue and false prophecyAmos: call, visions and the nature of GodAmos, social justice and the Day of the LordHuman experience: exclusivity, leadership and the prophetic voice
The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325AS unit
Topic overviewThe growth of the early church: religious and political factorsMartyrdom and the martyr accounts: Polycarp, Justin and BlandinaThe causes and effects of persecutionPersecution under Nero and DomitianTrajan, Pliny's letter and Marcus AureliusThe later persecutions: Decius and DiocletianThe origins of baptism in the New TestamentThe development of baptism from the Didache to CyprianThe origins of the Eucharist in the New TestamentThe development of the Eucharist from the Didache to CyprianThe Apostolic Fathers and the life of IgnatiusThe letters of Ignatius and their key themesThe apologists and Justin MartyrConstantine's rise to power and his conversionConstantine's religious policy and the duality of his motives
The Celtic Church in Ireland in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh CenturiesAS unit
Topic overviewIreland before Christianity: politics, society and religionChristianity before Patrick, and the mission of PalladiusPatrick's ConfessioPatrick's Letter to CoroticusPatrick's mission and the portrait his writings giveThe origins of monasticism in IrelandThe monastic foundersThe nature, appeal and distinctive features of Celtic monasticismMonasticism in church and society, and the shift from bishops to abbotsThe development of Celtic penitential practiceThe penitentials of Finnian, Columbanus and CummeanThe impact and value of the penitentialsCeltic hagiography: Muirchú's Patrick and Cogitosus' BrigitThe purpose, reliability and devotional value of hagiographyHuman experience: faith, asceticism, sin and the example of the saints
An Introduction to IslamAS unit
Topic overviewArabia before Islam and the early life of MuhammadThe call to prophethood and the Night of PowerPreaching and persecution in MeccaThe Hijra and the community at MedinaConflict with Mecca and the return to the cityThe death of Muhammad and his continuing significanceThe revelation, collection and compilation of the Qur'anThe structure, language and devotional use of the Qur'anSunnah, hadith and the sources of Islamic authoritySharia, the law schools and systems of governmentShahada, Zakat and the meaning of the pillarsSawm, Ramadan and Eid-ul-FitrHajj and Eid-ul-AdhaSalat, Friday prayer and worship as ibadahThe mosque and its place in Muslim life
Foundations of Ethics with Special Reference to Issues in Medical EthicsAS unit
Topic overviewThe Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount and the role of moral commandsNarrative ethics, moral absolutes and faith in the public squareNatural moral law: origins and historical developmentNatural moral law: the precepts, key features and proportionalismBentham, Mill and classical utilitarianismSinger, preference utilitarianism and Christian utilitarianismSituation ethics: origins and the moral teaching of Jesus and PaulFletcher's principles, agape and the link with utilitarianismAbortion: circumstances, the moral status of the unborn and personhoodAbortion: the rights of the woman, and religious, secular and feminist viewsTherapeutic abortion, double effect and the slippery slopeEuthanasia: types, autonomy and the acts and omissions doctrineEuthanasia: sanctity of life, quality of life, assisted dying and trustInfertility, IVF, surrogacy and the status of the embryoPGD, embryo research, mitochondrial donation and the HFEA
An Introduction to the Philosophy of ReligionAS unit
Topic overviewReason and faith in the philosophy of religionThe ontological argument: Anselm and DescartesCritiques of the ontological argumentThe cosmological argument: Aquinas's three waysCritiques of the cosmological argumentMoral and natural evil and the problem of sufferingThe Augustinian theodicyThe Irenaean theodicy and Hick's modificationProcess theodicy, Swinburne and the free will defenceDefining miracle: Aquinas, Hume and the BibleMiracle as coincidence and interpretationThe variety of religious experienceReligious experience as proof for God's existenceReason, faith and secularisation in the modern worldEvil, conversion and moral behaviour in the life of the believer
Themes in the Synoptic GospelsA2 unit
Topic overviewThe Synoptic Problem and the relationship between the first three gospelsSource criticism and the sources of the synoptic traditionBiblical criticism, narrative criticism and the contribution of scholarshipChristological titles: Son of Man and Son of GodThe ethics of Jesus: compassion towards enemies and sinnersThe command to love and the treatment of the poorWealth and poverty in the teaching of JesusThe Passion Narratives: theology and critical comparisonThe empty tomb and the post-resurrection appearancesResuscitation or resurrection: contemporary theological critiqueThe interpretation of religious texts and the problem of sufferingLeadership in society and faith communities
Themes in Selected Letters of St PaulA2 unit
Topic overviewGalatians: context, audience and the crisis in GalatiaJustification by faith and the purpose of the Law (Galatians 3:1–5:6)Life in the Spirit, Christian freedom and codes for living (Galatians 5:7–6:10)Corinth: the city, the church and the problems Paul facedUnity and the wisdom of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:1–4:21)Church discipline and sexual ethics (1 Corinthians 5:1–13, 6:12–20)Marriage, celibacy and food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 7:1–8:13, 10:14–11:1)Church life, worship and spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 11:2–14:40, 16:1–4)Ephesians: background, authorship and Paul as pastor and theologianGod's plan of salvation in Christ (Ephesians 1:1–3:21)Living the Christian life and the armour of God (Ephesians 4:1–6:18)Controversy, division and reconciliation
Themes in the Old TestamentA2 unit
Topic overviewThe compassionate God: creedal statements and self-revelationThe compassionate God traced through the Old TestamentThe widow, the orphan and the foreignerGod as warrior: the exodus and the wars of conquestHerem, the conquest narrative and the AmalekitesThe divine warrior in the prophets and the problem of divine violenceJeremiah's call and public proclamationThe Temple sermon, the broken covenant and the new covenantJeremiah's confessions and the form of the lamentEzekiel before the fall of JerusalemEzekiel after the fall: individual responsibility and future hopeLeadership, religious texts and the theme of sin
Themes in the Early Church and the Church TodayA2 unit
Topic overviewChurch government in the New TestamentFrom charism to office: church government in the Apostolic Fathers, Irenaeus, Tertullian and CyprianThe Bishop of Rome and the threefold ministryGnosticism and the Gnostic challengeMarcionism and MontanismThe church's threefold defence: rule of faith, canon and successionIrenaeus and his polemic against heresyTertullian: life, writings and MontanismCyprian: unity, the lapsed and baptismReligious leadership, organisational models and secularisation todayC S Lewis, Alister McGrath and Karl RahnerReligion, the state and the resolution of conflict
Themes in the Celtic Church, Reformation and Post-Reformation ChurchA2 unit
Topic overviewThe Paschal Controversy and the road to WhitbyThe Synod of Whitby and the Roman-Celtic disputePatrick and the authority of ArmaghThe Peregrini and the ideal of exile for ChristIrish missionaries in Northern Britain and EuropeColumbanus: his Rule, controversies and writingsThe Reformation and Counter Reformation: authority and church orderVatican II: aggiornamento, collegiality and authorityMissionary outreach in the nineteenth and twentieth centuriesMission, secularisation and modern atheismReligion and the stateReligion, moral witness and the resolving of conflict
Islam in a Contemporary ContextA2 unit
Topic overviewTawhid, the attributes of God and the sin of shirkGod as creator and sustainer, and the angelsProphets and messengers: Ibrahim, Isa and MuhammadThe holy books before the Qur'anAkhirah: the Day of Judgement, heaven and hellAl-Qadr: predestination and the will of GodSuccession and the Caliphate: the roots of the Sunni-Shi'a divisionShi'a Islam: the Imams, the Mahdi and MuharramMarriage, family and the status of womenRespect for life: abortion, euthanasia, suicide and assisted conceptionJustice, law and punishmentOrthodoxy, freedom of belief and religion in resolving conflict
Global EthicsA2 unit
Topic overviewAristotle and the origins of virtue ethicsModern virtue ethics and the challenge of ethical relativismFree will, compatibilism and incompatibilismDeterminism, causation and moral responsibilityThe evolution of human rights: Hobbes, Locke, Paine and BenthamThe UDHR, cultural and religious critiques, and animal rightsSexual identity, same sex relationships, marriage and parenthoodThe rights of women, contraception and feminist viewsJust War: jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus post bellumNon-combatant immunity, weapons of mass destruction and pacifismThe purpose of punishment and religious perspectivesCapital punishment, diminished responsibility, compassion and mercyConscience, moral duty and the prisoner of conscienceThe role of the state, the common good and religious tolerance
Themes in the Philosophy of ReligionA2 unit
Topic overviewEquivocal, univocal and analogical languageLogical Positivism and the Verification PrincipleFalsification, language games and religious meaningReligious truth and the challenge of scienceEvolution, creationism and intelligent designDualism, Plato and the soulMaterialism and theories of mindPersonal identity and life after deathReligion and morality: the Euthyphro dilemmaMoral arguments for God's existence and their criticsFaith, freedom and atheismReligion as alienation, and humanism
The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325
Constantine's rise to power and his conversion
- 3 things to know
- AS
Overview
The struggle for the empire, the Milvian Bridge and the vision, and the debate over how far the conversion was genuine.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Key term
What happened at the abdication of AD 305, and why did it matter for Constantine?
Key term
What happened at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What was the Tetrarchy?
Model answer
The Tetrarchy was the system established by Diocletian in AD 293 by which the empire was ruled by four men: two senior emperors called Augusti and two juniors called Caesars, each responsible for a region. The arrangement was intended to provide for orderly succession and for defence on several frontiers at once.
- 2
Who were Constantine's parents?
Model answer
Constantine was the son of Constantius, later known as Constantius Chlorus, who became Caesar in the West in AD 293, and of Helena, a woman of humble origins. Whether Helena was his wife or his concubine is uncertain, and Constantius set her aside to marry Theodora when he was raised to the Caesarship.
- 3
Describe Constantine's early career.
Model answer
Constantine spent his youth at the court of Diocletian in the East, where his presence also served as a guarantee of his father's loyalty. Constantine served on campaign in Persia and on the Danube and gained a military reputation before the crisis of the succession.
- 4
What happened at the abdication of AD 305, and why did it matter for Constantine?
Model answer
Diocletian and Maximian abdicated on 1 May AD 305, and Constantius and Galerius became the new Augusti. Severus and Maximinus Daia were appointed Caesars, passing over both Constantine and Maxentius, the son of Maximian, which left two ambitious men outside the system.
- 5
How did Constantine become emperor in AD 306?
Model answer
Constantine left the eastern court, joined his father in Gaul and crossed with him to Britain. When Constantius died at York on 25 July AD 306, the army proclaimed Constantine emperor, and Galerius eventually recognised him with the lesser title of Caesar.
- 6
What was Maxentius' part in the struggle for the West?
Model answer
Maxentius seized power at Rome in October AD 306 with the support of the praetorian guard and the city populace. Severus was defeated and killed when sent against him, and Maxentius held Italy and Africa until AD 312.
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