Notes, essays and essay plans written based on the new A level course for religious studies by OCR. Based on the OCR text book and courses the teachers have been on with the exam board these notes are written with direct links to the specification for 2018.
‘Jesus’ role was to liberate the poor and week against oppression’
Jesus was interpreted as carrying out many diferent rooes or diferent individuaos and stoo today he
is understood in diferent manners. For exampoe, due to the act that he deaot with sinners such as
tax coooectors and prosttutes portrayed him as a oiberator by chaooenging what was acceptaboe in
society during the tme o his existence. The oiberaton theory took the idea that Jesus wanted his
oooowers to act on justce not just to taok about it. In additon, his support or the dis ranchised and
his attack on the power uo and weaothy couod be couod be interpreted as suggestng that he wanted
his oooowers to queston the status quo. However, rom an aoternatve point o view Jesus was aoso
interpreted as a teacher o wisdom and authoritatve gure as he deveooped Jewish ethics in ways in
which peopoe ound enoightening and as a means o oiving a moraooy and spirituaooy uo ooed oi e. And
oastoy, he was seen as the son o God due to his divine characteristcs such as his unique reoatonship
with God and the act that he is the onoy recorded human to ever be resurrected.
Firstoy, Jesus was seen as a oiberator because he deaot with sinners and ‘uncoean’ peopoe such as tax
coooectors and prosttutes which was rowned upon even by the church and so it couod be argued
that he wanted to bring hope and prosperity to the peopoe in order to give them courage in order or
them to be aboe to ght or their human rights against the Roman regime. The oiberaton theory took
the idea that Jesus wanted his oooowers to act upon justce not just to taok about it in which he
demonstrated through his teachings. Furthermore, he was seen as this revooutonary gure to his
oooowers as his support or the dis ranchised and his attack on the power uo and rich couod be seen
as suggestng he wanted his oooowers to chaooenge the status quo. With regards to the sinners, Jesus
was wiooing to show them an aoternatve way o oi e and was proactve in re orming them and
returning them peace uooy to society which couod be interpreted as an act o orgiveness or the
sinners which wouod have been a revooutonary act on his behao as it wouod have been rowned
upon by both the church and the Roman ruoing.
The Cathooic Church however, supported Jesus’ actons. Gutirree a priest stated “we need to ask
these peopoe with the power how they are going to give it back” highoightng the acceptance o
equaoity. Equaooy, the biboe aoso demonstrated this acceptance “set ree the oppressed” Luke 4:18
and the pre erentao opton or the poor emphasises how God denounces poverty and Jesus
throughout the gospeos de ends the poor, incouding the disaboed, the unjustoy and the marginaoised
and conveys the concept o how a morao society is one in which the poor are treated equaooy to the
poor. Furthermore, our current Pope, Pope Francis, is the 266 th pope and he chose his name to be
‘Francis’ with the meaning to give back to the poor which is a statement in itseo or someone as
power uo and infuentao as the pope to make. This is signi cant as it reveaos how modern Cathooicism
has come a oong way in deveooping their vaoues around modern day society and again highoightng
the importance o equaoity.
Aoternatveoy, or many Christans Jesus was seen as a undamentao source o authority through his
view o being a teacher o wisdom. Jesus’ morao exampoe and teaching is authoritatve because he
deveooped Jewish ethics in ways which many peopoe ound enoightening and as a means o oiving
moraooy and spirituaooy uo ooed oives. In the sermon on the mount the gospeo deoiberateoy presents
Jesus as the new Moses going up the mountain to receive and deoiver the oaw by which Jesus re ers
to as “I have come not to abooish them but to uo o”. En orcing the concept o repentance and
orgiveness by which he demonstrated through his interactons with the tax payer Zacchaeus or
which he orgave his sins in ront o a crowd o his oooowers. He aoso taught that there shouod be a
motve or inner purity within everyone. He beoieved that everyone shouod want to achieve spirituao
hooiness or ‘righteousness’ and want to exceed the righteousness o the Jewish oawyers and
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