Part (c) [6 marks] requires you to think about and explain an aspect from the story, and almost always starts with the word "explain".  It may ask you to explain what a story teaches about someone's character. You will need to refer to the passage, and make four or five different points - you are NOT simply re-telling the story.  Re-read the question regularly, and make sure that you are always answering what it asks.  To get the best marks, your answer will need to give a coherent and comprehensive interpretation, showing excellent knowledge and a mature development of the main themes and ideas.  Writing in mini paragraphs can help here.

In general, try to make four/five points and explain each one, not one point in five different ways!


For example:
Explain what Jesus' death meant for the early Christians.

For the early Christians, Jesus' death meant the following:

Firstly, sin could be defeated.  Jesus took away original sin by acting as a pure sacrifice, purer than the sacrifices offered in the temple.

Also, it showed that Jesus was part human and part God. This meant that God was able to understand and experience human suffering, yet overcome it - demonstrated by the fact that Jesus came back to life.

In addition, it showed that the temple was not the only way to God - the curtain split and God was everywhere. The Roman Centurion's acknowledgement of Jesus' true identity shows that his message was truly open to all.

Finally, it proved that death was not the end.  Jesus came back to life; Christians believe that there is judgement after death.


Whichever question you pick, please copy and paste it into the top of the writing box before you start your answer.


Old Testament

The Creation Accounts
*  Explain what the first creation account teaches about God.
*  Explain what the second creation account teaches about God and humanity

 

The Garden of Eden and the Fall
*  Explain what the punishments teach about men's and women's relationships.
*  Explain what Genesis 2 teaches about the nature of humanity.

 

Cain and Abel
*  Explain what this story teaches about the character of God.
*  Explain what you think the author of this story was trying to show.

 

The Near Sacrifice of Isaac
*  Explain what this story teaches about the nature of God.
*  Explain what kind of faith Abraham had in God.

 

The Ten Commandments
*  Explain how the first four commandments are different from the remaining six.
*  Explain what a covenant is.  Why was this covenant so important for the Israelites?

 

David and Bathsheba
*  Explain what you can learn about the character of David from this story.
*  Explain the purpose of Nathan's parable.

 

Solomon's Wisdom
*  Explain what you can learn about the character of Solomon from this story.
*  Explain why Solomon's reply is a clever and wise response.

 

Elijah Stories
*  Explain what this story teaches about Elijah as a prophet.
*  Explain what this story teaches about God.

 

New Testament

The Temptations of Jesus
*  Explain the significance of Jesus going into the desert for 40 days.
*  Explain what you think this story teaches about the character of Jesus, and the way he understood his work.

 

Jesus and the Outcasts
*  Explain the meaning of Jesus' teaching to Simon the Pharisee.
*  Jesus stood in Zacchaeus' house and said "Salvation has come to this house today"?  Explain what he meant, and why he said this.

 

On Being a Follower of Jesus
*  Explain what Jesus meant when he told his disciples that if one of them wanted to be great, he must be the servant of the rest.
*  Explain why the rich young man reacted in the way he did, after having spoken to Jesus.

 

Miracles of Healing
*  When Jesus healed the paralysed man, he said that the Son of Man had authority to forgive sins.  Explain what he meant.

 

Who was Jesus?
*  After both Peter's declaration and the transfiguration, Jesus ordered his disciples to keep to themselves what they had learned.  Explain why.
*  Explain the purpose of the story of Jesus' transfiguration.

 

Parables
*  Explain why Jesus taught using parables.
*  Explain what the parable of the lost son teaches about forgiveness.

 

The Sentence,Crucifixion and Burial
*  Explain the significance of the centurion's comment, and the Temple curtain tearing in two.
*  Explain the significance of the events between noon and three in the afternoon, on the day Jesus died.

 

The Resurrection
*  Explain the significance of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene before he appeared to his disciples
*  Explain what this story teaches about the disciples.