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This episode is going to cover Angels, their nature and role, including Jibril and Mika’il. The holy books: Qur’an: revelation and authority, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, the Scrolls of Abraham and their authority. 

4-markers

Explain two ways in which belief in angels influences Muslims today

One influence is to understand Allah's imminence as Angels show that Allah is still involved in the universe.
For example, they perform different duties for him.
Another influence is to read the Quran because Angel Gibrel revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad
This happened on the Night of Power

Explain two ways in which the belief in Mikhail influences the Muslims today.

One influence is to thank Allah because Mikhail provides rain and food.
This allows humans to be nourished.
Another influence is to have hope because Mikhail sends rewards on behalf of Allah.
A Muslim would receive these rewards in this life or the next.

Explain two ways in which belief in holy books influences Muslims.
One influence is to follow the teachings of the Quran because the Quran teaches about Tawhid.
This is the final book of Allah
Another influence is to learn about previous prophets because books before the Quran may have lessons from other prophets Muslims can learn from.
For example the gospels of Jesus

Explain two ways in which the belief in the gospel influences a Muslim today.
The first one I could say is that it helps a Muslim learn from the life of Jesus which is in the gospel.
This is because the gospel may have lessons from prophet which we can learn from.
Another influence you should believe in Tawheed, that's my third mark.
This is because many Muslims would believe that believe about the Trinity was added to the gospel so they would reject this.

6-markers

Explain two Muslim teachings about the nature of angels. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One belief is that angels do not sin because they're no free will. Therefore cannot disobey Allah.
The Qur'an says,  They do not disobey the commands they receive from Allah.
This shows that angels always obey whatever orders them, so they cannot sin.
Another belief is that the angels are special beings.
Muslims believe there are spiritual beings made from light who can come in different forms.

Explain two Muslim teachings about the role of angels. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One role is to reveal messages to prophets.
Angel Gibril is the Angel of revelation whose role is to communicate Allah's words to the prophets.
For example, the Prophet Muhammad.
The Quran says Gibril brings down the revelation.
This shows that Gibril revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad.
Another role is that angels distribute Allah's rewards to people.
Angel Mikhail is the Angel of mercy, and his role is reward humans in this life or the next.

Explain two Muslim teachings about Gibril. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer
One belief was that Gibral appeared to Mary as a human.
He revealed to her that she was pregnant and will give birth to Isa Jesus.
Another belief is that Gibril is the Angel of revelation.
He communicates the words of Allah to the

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On 5th November 2025, a landmark recommendation was revealed for RE as a result of the Curriculum and Assessment Review.  They proposed that RE become part of the National Curriculum for the first time in it's history.  Then one day later, the DfE announced it's plans to bring RE into the humanities alongside History and Geography in the newly named 'breadth' bucket. But what will this mean for the subject?  What question do we need to consider. To help us navigate this, I have invited Deborah Weston from NATRE, RECouncil and the RE Policy Unit. Katie Freeman - Chair of NATRE, and Sarah Lane Cawte from the RECouncil on to the podcast to answer some key questions.

• What is the CAR? Its purpose and what has the process been?
• What is the current status of RE?
• What are the current issues with RE?
• What were the findings in the interim report?
• What are the recommendations for RE in the final report?
• What is it NOT saying?
• How will this benefit RE?
• Why is high quality RE so important for young people in modern Britain?
• What happens next? Staged approach - Stage 1&2. Draft curriculum based on NCS. Consensus required.
• Recommendation for EBacc to be scrapped. How will this impact RE?
• Who will write it?
• What happens to SACRES?
• What about voluntary aided school’s with religious character? 
• What will happen to the Right to withdraw?
• Should we change the name?
• What about Non statutory RE?
• What are the changes to GCSE? 
• What about staffing, bursary, SKEs?

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This episode is sponsored by Reimagining Education https://reimaginingeducation.uk/

Hope you all had a lovely half term!

This episode is going to cover Prophethood, focussing on Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham) and Muhammad, plus the Imamate - an often weak area in the exam.

4 markers

Explain two ways in which belief in holy books influences Muslims.

One influence is to follow the teachings of the Quran because the Quran teaches about tawhid.

This is the final book of Allah 

Another influence is to learn about previous prophets because books before the Quran may have lessons from other prophets Muslims can learn from.

For example the gospels of Jesus, called Injil

Explain two ways in which the belief in the gospel influences a Muslim today.

The first one I could say is that it helps a Muslim learn from the life of Jesus which is in the gospel.

This is because the gospel may have lessons from prophet which we can learn from.

Another influence you should believe in Tawheed, that's my third mark.

This is because many Muslims would believe that believe about the Trinity was added to the gospel so they would reject this.

6 markers

Explain two Muslim teachings about holy books. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One belief is that it is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam.

It is the belief that Allah revealed books to different prophets before the Quran.

Another believe that the Quran is the most important source of authority for Muslims.

It is seen as the final book that Allah revealed which has never been changed.

The Quran says ‘this is THE book of which there is no doubt’

This quote shows the Qur’an as THE most important reveletaion because there are no mistakes in it

Explain two Muslim teachings about the Torah. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One belief is that the Torah was revealed to Prophet Musa.

It contained the messages that Allah wanted to give to the Jewish people.

The Quran says we sent down the Torah in which was guidance and light.

This shows the Torah was used at the time to receive guidance by Prophet Musa's followers 

Another belief is that the Torah is no longer the words of Allah.

Muslims believe that some of the words and teachings were changed by humans

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This episode is sponsored by Reimagining Education https://reimaginingeducation.uk/

Hope you all had a lovely half term!

Over the summer, I recorded a series of episodes to support GCSE RE - specifically AQA Islam and Christianity.  Suppose you are a student of GCSE RE, or a teacher of GCSE RE who is new to teaching GCSE, or new to AQA, or you are a teacher from another subject teaching GCSE for the first time. In that case, I hope these episodes are beneficial to you in consolidating your learning, preparing for exams if you are a student, or helping you feel more confident if you are a teacher.

The first episode provided an overview of Paper 1 - Religious Beliefs and Practices, covering the exam structure, how to approach the various question types, and offering some top tips for the exam. Each subsequent episode has gone through the whole of Christian beliefs and Christian practices

This is the FIRST episode in our series on Islam beliefs and will cover the Six Articles of Faith in Sunni Islam and the Five Roots of Usul Ad Din in Shia Islam.

4-markers

Explain two ways in which the belief in the Six Articles of Faith influences Muslims today.

So you could say Muslims could be influenced to worship Allah because one of the articles is to believe in Allah.

They would pray to him five times a day.

Muslims could also follow the example of Prophet Muhammad because one of the articles is to believe in the prophets

For example they would believe in Tawhid as Muhammad did

Explain two ways in which the belief in the Five Roots of Usul Ad Din influences Muslims today.

Muslims could be influenced to follow the example of the Imams because one of the roots is to believe in Imamate

Their teachings are followed by Shia Muslims after Prophet Muhammad.

Second, Muslims could also be influenced to work for a fairer world, because one of the roots is adalat

And adalat is a belief in justice

Explain two ways in which the belief in tawhid influences Muslims today.

Muslims could be influenced to worship Allah alone. 

This is because they believe Allah is the only being worthy of worship, so they pray to him. 

Muslim would also not associate any partners with Allah. 

This is seen as the biggest sin in Islam to Muslim. 

Explain two ways in which the belief of God's beneficence influenced Muslim today.

Muslims could be influenced to be kind to others. M

This is because Allah is generous and loving to them, they should do the same to others. 

Muslim would show appreciation. 

When they receive any blessing, they would thank Allah for showing them His beneficence.

Explain two ways in which the belief of God's transcendence influenced the Muslim today.

Muslims could be influenced to not compare a lot to other things

This is because Allah's transcendence shows he's above the laws of the universe. It cannot convey anything

Muslim would also appreciate Allah's greatness.

This is because Allah's transcendence shows he can never be fully understood by humans. 

6-markers

Explain two Muslim teachings about the nature of God. Refer to sacred writing or another source of belief

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 Explain two different ways Christians go on mission.

One way is by going to other countries to spread the gospel.

This is in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission.

A different way is by going to other countries to provide aid.

For example, they might help build churches or schools or provide medical care.

Explain two reasons why church growth is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.

It is important because it puts into practise Jesus teaching in the Great Commission.

According to the Bible, before he ascended into heaven, Jesus said go and make disciples of all nations.

Making disciples means there will be more Christians, so the church will grow.

It is also important because it ensures the continuation of the church, which is dependent on it growing.

Without church growth, numbers will decline and churches will close.

12-marker: The only reason to believe in Jesus is to get to heaven

BUG the question

B stands for BOX which means BOX the command word.  For 12-markers the command word is EVALUATE.  U stands for underline.  This means underline the IMPORTANT words.  I think the most important word is ONLY. This is because you have got to JUDGE is getting to heaven is the ONLY reason to believe in Jesus or are there OTHER reasons to believe in Jesus. The G stands for GO BACK and this means that once you have written your answer, you need to go back to the question and check you have answered it!

SALE technique.  Each letter stands for a criteria for judging whether an argument is strong or weak

S stands for supported by most.  So, for example, if most Christians think that all events in Jesus life are equally as important and there is no ONE important one, then this is a strong argument because it is the one held by most Christians

A stands for authority.  Is this argument supported by a source of authority.  This could be a holy book, religious leader or founder, or an the Church.  So for example, if we are considering whether Jesus is the son of God, the official teaching of the established Church is that Jesus is the son of God, plus God said; this is my son; when Jesus was baptised so it comes from authority.  To argue that he was JUST a human goes against this authority so it is a weak argument

L stands for logical.  Does the argument make sense?  For example, if the 12-marker was asking about which is the most important event in Jesus life, it makes no logical sense that one is more important than another because they are interdependent.  If Jesus was not born, then none of the other events could take place, if he wasn’t crucified, there would be little point him being born as that is the reason he came to earth.  And if he wasn’t crucified he wouldn’t have been able to resurrect, and without the resurrection, Christianity would not exist. So, logically one can’t be more important.

E can either stand for ethical or evidence.  This is much more appropriate for paper 2 but can be used in paper 1 sometimes. For example, Salvation by grace is the ONLY way to get to heaven.  You might say that this is a weak argument ethically because Christians will just do bad things knowing God will forgive them. E also stands for evidence.  This again is much more useful in Paper 2 for example if making a judgement about Capital punishment – there is eviden

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For the role of the Church in the local community you need to know about street pastors and food banks and  the role of the worldwide Church you need to know about working for reconciliation, how Christian churches respond to persecution or the work of an international charity like Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD), Christian Aid, Tearfund.

4-markers

Explain two different ways Christians help in the local community.

One role is through street pastors, which is a Christian charity that helps vulnerable people on nights out in city centres.

For example, they would give out flip flops to people who are struggling to walk in their shoes.

A different role is through food banks, which are volunteer run charities that collect food for those who are not able to buy food for themselves.

They do this to put into practice Jesus’ teachings in the parable of the sheep and the goats to feed the hungry

Explain two similar ways street pastors help in the local community.

One role is by giving out flip flops to people who have had to remove their shoes on a night out.

This is to put into practice Jesus’ teaching about loving your neighbour as it’s a loving action to protect people from harm.

A similar role is by locating emergency services to support people on a night out who may need medical help or the police.

This is also a loving action because it’s offering someone the help they need

6-marker

Explain two reasons why the role of food banks in the local community is important to Christians in Great Britain today. Refer to sacred writings or another source of  belief and teaching in your answer.

They are important because they put into practice the teachings of Jesus, which is to help vulnerable people.

This is shown in the quote from the parable of the sheep and the goats IN the Bible. I was hungry and you have GAVE me something to eat.

There are hungry people in Great Britain today and this quote clearly shows Jesus’ instruction to Christians to feed them

It is also important because it is putting God's love into practise because God's love is agape love, which is selfless love,

Volunteering at a food bank to help vulnerable people is a selfless action.

4-markers

Explain two similar ways Christians work for reconciliation 

One way is through evangelism, which is telling others about the good news of Jesus.

This is so humans have the opportunity to be reconciled with God.

A similar way is through a specific reconciliation organisation, for example the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This helped reconcile blacks and whites in South Africa after the end of apartheid.

Explain two different ways Christians respond to persecution.

One way is through short term responses, for example prayer.

This might give people strength to endure their persecution.

A different way is through a long term response, for example campaigning and raising awareness of the persecution.

For example, charities like Open Doors runs campaigns to challenge governments to stop persecution in their countries.

6-marker

Explain two reasons why the work of either Cafod or Christian Aid or tearfund is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching

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4 markers

Explain two different ways Christians practice pilgrimage. 

One way is by going to Iona an Island off the coast of Scotland.

this is known as a thin place as the veil between heaven and earth is at its thinnest.

a different way is by going to Lourdes, which is a place in France.

This place is believed to have healing water since the Virgin Mary appeared there.

Explain two similar ways Christians practice pilgrimage to Lourdes.

One way is by going to Lourdes to receive healing because they believe it has healing water.

This is since the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette in a vision.

A similar way is by taking someone else to Lourdes to get healed because some people are too sick to travel by themselves.

This puts into practice Jesus’ teaching to help the sick.

YOUR TURN

Explain two similar ways Christians practice pilgrimage (or Pilgrimage to Iona). 

Explain two different ways Christians practice pilgrimage to Iona /Lourdes.

6 markers

Explain two reasons why pilgrimage to Iona is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of authority in your answer.

It is important because it's a thin place, which means that the veil between heaven and earth is at its thinnest.

This means Christians are able to experience what the Bible says is the still small voice of God.

A Christian can better hear this voice if they are in places like Iona.

It's also important because it is where Christianity first came to the British Isles around 1500 years ago with St Columba.

This means Christians can connect to their history.

YOUR TURN

Explain two reasons why pilgrimage to Lourdes is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of authority in your answer.

Explain two reasons why Christians go on pilgrimage. Refer to sacred writing or another source of authority in your answer.

4 markers

Explain two different ways that Christians celebrate Christmas.

One way is by re enacting the nativity, which is the story of when Jesus was born.

For example, they will show the angels appearing to Mary to inform her she will give birth to Jesus.

So a different way is by giving presents to represent the belief that God became human as a gift to the world.

This also represents the gifts the wise men bought when they visited Jesus.

Explain two similar ways that a Christian might celebrate Easter.

One way is going to a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.

This is because this is when the women found Jesus’ tomb empty because he had resurrected.

A similar way is that they will go to a special Easter service on Easter Sunday.

At this service, they will hear a sermon about the resurrection story.

YOUR TURN

Explain two different ways that Christians celebrate festivals / Easter.

Explain two similar ways that a Christian might celebrate festivals / Christmas.

6 markers

Explain two reasons why Christmas is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of authority in your answer.

It is important because it reminds Christians of the incarnation, whic

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This episode is sponsored by Reimagining Education https://reimaginingeducation.uk/

Over the summer, I recorded a series of episodes to support GCSE RE - specifically AQA Islam and Christianity.  Suppose you are a student of GCSE RE, or a teacher of GCSE RE who is new to teaching GCSE, or new to AQA, or you are a teacher from another subject teaching GCSE for the first time. In that case, I hope these episodes are beneficial to you in consolidating your learning, preparing for exams if you are a student, or helping you feel more confident if you are a teacher.

The first episode provided an overview of Paper 1 - Religious Beliefs and Practices, covering the exam structure, how to approach the various question types, and offering some top tips for the exam. Each subsequent episode has provided an overview of the main content and apply it to key exam questions. Over the last few weeks I released episodes on The Nature of God, the oneness of God and the Trinity, different Christian beliefs about creation including the role of Word and Spirit (John 1:1-3 and Genesis 1:1-3), Jesus' incarnation crucifixion resurrection ascension, then last weeks episode focussed on Beliefs and teachings about sin, including original sin, the means of salvation, including law, grace and Spirit, and the role of Christ in salvation including the idea of atonement, the problem of evil and suffering and different Christian beliefs about the afterlife and their importance, including: resurrection and life after death; judgement, heaven and hell.

This is the FIRST episode in our series on Christian Practices.  

• Different forms of worship and their significance:
• liturgical, non-liturgical and informal, including the use of the Bible
• private worship.
• Prayer and its significance, including the Lord’s Prayer, set prayers and informal prayer.
• The role and meaning of the sacraments:
• the meaning of sacrament
• the sacrament of baptism and its significance for Christians; infant and believers' baptism; different beliefs about infant baptism
• the sacrament of Holy Communion/Eucharist and its significance for Christians, including different ways in which it is celebrated and different interpretations of its meaning.

4-markers

Explain two similar or different ways Christian worship, practice liturgical worship, practise private worship, or practice set prayer

Explain two different ways in which Christians pray.

One way Christians pray is through set prayers, which means formal prayers that are written down and recited.
The Lord’s prayer is an example of a set prayer
A different way that Christians pray is through informal prayer which is spontaneous, personal prayers that are spoken in one's own words.
These are often used in liturgical worship publicly or privately.

Explain two similar ways in which Christians worship.
One way Christians worship is through liturgical worship, which follows a set pattern.
An example of this might be singing hymns from a hymn book.
A similar way Christians worship is through non liturgical worship, which is spontaneous and informal.
This is similar in that it's still worshipping God and involves singing, but the words will be made-up rather than read from a book.

6-markers

Explain two reasons why the Lord's Prayer is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of Christian belief in teaching in

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To celebrate 5 years of The RE Podcast, I have collected some of your funny stories from the RE classroom!

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To count down to the 5 year anniversary of the RE Podcast, here is a celebration of Season 15.

We had episodes on;

• BBC pilgrimage 2025 LIVE 
• Diversity within Quakerism.  
• Metaphysic
• Criminology
• Oak national 
• The scopes trials 
• The importance of RE in the 21st Century
• Barriers to research 
• Pilgrimage to Karbala 
• Areiac and Aulre 
• A tribute to our dear friend, colleague and RE legend Dawn Cox

My thanks to all my guests this season; 

• Jay Mcguiness
• Helen lederer
• Harry Clark
• Daliso Chaponda
• Stef Reid
• Nelufar Hedayat
• Dr Rhiannon Grant
• Dr Evelyn Svinger
• Adam Robertson
• Ruth Marx
• Alexandra Brown
• Zam Hussain
• Pat Hanan
• Katie Gooch
• Roy Watson Davis 
• Dawn Cox

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