Religious StudiesQ&A by dot point

Paper 3 Ways of interpreting scripture and scientific and historical-critical challenges: source, form and redaction criticism, the Synoptic Problem, questions of authorship and purpose, and the impact of critical and scientific challenges on the authority of the text.

Paper 3 The social, historical and religious context of the New Testament and the person of Jesus: first-century Palestine, the titles and claims of Jesus, and the debate between Jesus as teacher, prophet and Son of God.

Paper 3 Texts and interpretation of the Kingdom of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus: the parables and ethics of the Kingdom, its present and future dimensions, and interpretations of the crucifixion and resurrection.

Paper 1 Philosophical issues and questions: the inductive design and cosmological arguments and the deductive ontological argument for the existence of God, with the responses of Hume, Kant, Russell and Dawkins.

Paper 1 Influences of developments in religious belief: the rise of atheism and the New Atheism, secularism and secularisation, the challenges from science (evolution and cosmology) and the psychology of religion (Freud and Jung), and religious responses to them.

Paper 1 Philosophical language and the work of scholars: the verification and falsification debates over religious language, the via negativa, analogy and symbol, and the definition and credibility of miracles with Hume and Wiles.

Paper 1 Problems of evil and suffering and the nature and influence of religious experience: the logical and evidential problems of evil, the Augustinian and Irenaean theodicies, and the argument from religious experience with its challenges.

Paper 2 The application of ethical theories and ethical language: applied ethics in war, sexual ethics and medical ethics, and meta-ethics including naturalism, intuitionism and emotivism.

Paper 2 Medical ethics: beginning and end of life issues: the sanctity and quality of life, personhood, abortion and embryo research, fertility treatment, euthanasia and assisted dying, analysed through natural moral law, situation ethics and utilitarianism.

Paper 2 Significant concepts in issues or debates in religion and ethics: the relationship between religion and morality, divine command theory and the Euthyphro dilemma, the autonomy of ethics, and concepts such as duty, virtue, conscience and the good.

Paper 2 A study of three ethical theories: natural moral law (Aquinas), situation ethics (Fletcher) and Aristotelian virtue ethics (Aristotle, Foot, MacIntyre), their key features, applications and criticisms.

Paper 2 Utilitarianism and deontology: Bentham's act and Mill's rule utilitarianism with later developments, and Kant's deontological ethics (the categorical imperative, duty and the good will), with applications and criticisms.

Paper 4B Religious beliefs, values and teachings: Christian beliefs about the nature of God (Trinity, omnipotence, goodness), the human person (the soul, sin and the Fall, free will and grace) and life after death.

Paper 4B Significant social and historical developments and religion and society: secularisation, gender and feminist theology, science, religious pluralism, liberation theology and new theological movements.

Paper 4B Sources of wisdom and authority and key practices: the Bible, tradition and the Church, the interpretation of scripture, and Christian practices of worship, the sacraments, prayer and festivals.