What do Christians believe a human being is, and why is the human situation seen as a problem to be solved?
Christian beliefs about human nature, including being created in the image of God, the soul, free will, and sin and the Fall, and beliefs about the human condition, including the problem of suffering and separation from God.
An SQA National 5 RMPS answer on World Religion, using Christianity as the worked example. Covers Christian beliefs about human nature, including being created in the image of God, the soul, free will, and sin and the Fall, and the human condition, including suffering and separation from God.
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What this dot point is asking
In the World Religion component you study one religion in depth. The SQA lets a centre choose from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism or Sikhism, and you answer on the religion your school teaches. This page uses Christianity as the worked example because it is the most commonly taught option, but the same three questions apply to every religion: what is a human being (human nature), what is wrong with the human situation (the human condition), what is the point of human life (the goal), and how do you reach it (the means).
This dot point covers the first two: Christian beliefs about human nature and the human condition. You need to be able to describe and explain these beliefs accurately and respectfully.
Human nature: created in the image of God
Being made in God's image does not mean God looks like a person. It means humans reflect something of God's nature. Most Christians explain this as the human capacity to:
- reason and understand, unlike other animals,
- love and form relationships,
- be creative, and
- make moral choices between right and wrong.
Because every person carries this image, Christianity teaches that all human life has a special value and dignity that does not depend on age, ability, wealth or behaviour. This belief underpins much Christian thinking on moral issues.
Human nature: the soul and free will
Christians also teach that humans have free will. God could have made people who automatically obeyed, but instead gave the freedom to choose. Free will matters for two reasons:
- it makes genuine love and faith possible, because love forced is not really love, and
- it makes humans responsible for what they do.
Free will is important later in the course too: it is the heart of the free will defence to the problem of suffering and evil.
The human condition: sin and the Fall
After the Fall, Christianity teaches, human nature became flawed. Many Christians describe this using the idea of original sin: a tendency to do wrong that every person is born with, so that even when people want to do good they often fall short. The Apostle Paul captures the experience when he writes that he does not do the good he wants to do.
Christians do not agree on every detail. Some read Genesis literally as real historical events; others read it symbolically as a story that explains a deep truth about human selfishness and disobedience. Either way, the conclusion is the same: humans are not as God intended them to be.
The human condition: separation from God and suffering
The condition therefore includes suffering and death: physical pain, illness and natural disaster, as well as the moral evil people do to one another. Christianity links much of this to a creation damaged by human sin. Because the situation is seen as broken and beyond human self-repair, it is described as needing rescue or salvation, which is what the next two dot points (the goal and the means) are about.
Examples in context
Example 1. Human dignity in moral debates. Because Christians believe every person is made in the image of God, many argue that all human life should be protected and respected. This belief is used in discussions about poverty, disability and the value of life, linking the World Religion component to Morality and Belief.
Example 2. Free will and responsibility. A Christian explaining why people are blamed for wrongdoing will point to free will: God gave humans the freedom to choose, so they are responsible for their choices. The same idea reappears in responses to the problem of suffering and evil.
Try this
Q1. State what Christians mean by the phrase imago Dei. [1 mark]
- Cue. That humans are made in the image of God, reflecting God's qualities such as reason, love and moral choice.
Q2. Name the event Christians believe brought sin into the world. [1 mark]
- Cue. The Fall (Adam and Eve disobeying God in Genesis 3).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA N5 style4 marksDescribe two Christian beliefs about human nature.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark describe question needs two clear beliefs, each developed with a point and a piece of detail or an example, so aim for roughly two marks per belief.
First belief: Christians believe human beings are created in the image of God (the Latin phrase is imago Dei). This means people share something of God's nature, such as the ability to love, to reason and to make moral choices, which gives every human life a special value and dignity.
Second belief: Christians believe humans have free will. God gave people the freedom to choose between right and wrong rather than forcing them to obey, which is why humans are held responsible for their actions.
Markers reward accurate, developed Christian beliefs. Other valid beliefs include that humans have a soul, or that human nature is flawed by sin because of the Fall. The skill being tested is description, so do not evaluate.
SQA N5 style6 marksExplain Christian beliefs about the human condition.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark explain answer rewards developed reasons with linked detail, so make three points and explain the consequence of each rather than just listing.
Point one: Christians teach that the human condition is shaped by sin. Because of the Fall, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, humans are now born with a tendency to do wrong, sometimes called original sin. This means people fall short of how God intends them to live.
Point two: a key part of the condition is separation from God. Sin damages the relationship between people and God, so humans feel a gap or distance from their creator, which Christianity says is the deepest human problem.
Point three: the condition involves suffering. The world contains pain, death and moral evil, and Christians link much of this to a creation spoiled by human sin, so the human situation is one that needs rescuing.
Markers reward each explained point with its consequence. Strong answers link the ideas together: sin leads to separation from God, which is why the condition is seen as needing salvation.
Related dot points
- The goal of human existence in Christianity, including salvation, eternal life and heaven, restored relationship with God, and the Kingdom of God.
An SQA National 5 RMPS answer on World Religion, using Christianity. Covers the goal of human existence: salvation from sin, eternal life and heaven, a restored relationship with God, and the Kingdom of God, and how Christians describe these beliefs and disagree about them.
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