WAEC Christian Religious Studies (CRS) 2017 Theory Past Questions

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After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamt of seven sleek and fat cows coming out of the Nile. In his dream he also saw seven other slim and thin cows. Afterwards, the thin and slim cows swallowed the fat ones. Pharaoh dreamed the second time of seven ears of grain, plump and good, growing on one stalk. Another seven thin and blighted ears sprang up also. The seven thin and blighted ears of corn ate up the good and plump ones. When Pharaoh woke up, he was troubled and afraid and he summoned all the magicians and wise men in Egypt. Pharaoh's magicians could not interpret his dreams. The chief butler remembered Joseph who had once interpreted his dream in prison. The chief butler recommended Joseph for Pharaoh. When Joseph was brought, Pharaoh narrated his dream to Joseph. Joseph emphasized that only God gives favourable answer and interpretation to dreams. He interpreted Pharaoh's dreams accordingly.

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i. Pharaoh made Joseph the leader of his household and the people. ii. Joseph was appointed as governor next in rank to Pharaoh. iii. Joseph was honoured with royal marriage. iv. Joseph had a family in Egypt. v. Joseph reunited with his brothers. vi. He used his position to prepare for famine and to save his brothers and Egypt from famine.

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Despite the covenant by God with the Israelites in the time of Joshua that they would not worship any other god apart from Yahweh, they defected and started worshipping Baal and Ashtoreth, the gods of the Canaanites. The Israelites were delivered into the hands of their enemies for worshipping other gods. As punishment for their sin, their enemies oppressed them. Their enemies not only oppressed them but also plundered them. At wars, they were defeated by their enemies. For these sufferings, the Israelites called on God. God, Yahweh was moved by their groaning, raised up judges who would deliver them from their enemies. However, when the judges died, Israel went back to sin against God. They were punished again and were forgiven after their repentance. It was after the death of one of such judges (Ehud) that Israel sinned against God and He gave them up to the Canaanite king - Jabin to oppress them for twenty years. When Israel cried for mercy, God raised up Deborah, a prophetess and a judge, to come to their rescue. Acting on God's instructions, Deborah summoned Barak to gather 10,000 men at the mount Tabor against Jabin and his army commander, Sisera. Deborah also added that God had promised to give Barak victory. Rather than going to the battle, Barak demanded that Deborah should go with him. Deborah agreed but added that the victory would go to a woman. When Sisera heard that Israel had gone to mount Tabor, he called up his men to fight Barak and Deborah. However, the Israelites defeated the Canaanites. After losing his entire army, Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the Kenite to seek asylum. Sisera was given hospitality by Jael but when he was asleep, Jael drove a peg into his throat with a hammer and killed him. Jabin, the king of Canaan was also killed and the Israelites became free again and lived peacefully.

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i. By involving in social and religious activities. ii. By serving in government and politics. iii. By serving in several professions like medicine, banking, teaching, Law, etc. iv. By involving in rural and urban development.

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i. Saul was instructed to kill the Amalekites and spare no human or animal. ii. After Saul had defeated the Amalekites, he spared their king, Agag and the best of animals to sacrifice to the Lord. iii. Samuel told Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice and because he had rejected the word of God, God had also rejected him as king. iv. Afterwards, the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and he was tormented by an evil spirit from God. v. Saul's servants suggested that a man skillful in playing the lyre should be employed to help Saul out of his torment whenever he was tormented. vi. Saul agreed and this brought in the service of David as a skillful musician. vii. Saul sent messengers to Jesse, David's father who also gave David some wine and kid as gift for Saul. viii. Saul loved David and also made him his armour bearer. ix. Whenever Saul was tormented, David played his lyre and this made Saul to feel better and the evil spirit would depart from him for a while.

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i. Leaders must be obedient to God's instructions. ii. Disobedience can terminate God's plan for one's life. iii. Leaders should not be greedy. iv. Disobedience leads to suffering and condemnation. v. Obedience is better than sacrifice. It is better to prevent evil than to seek solution afterwards. vi. Saul was a hypocrite for saying that he kept the animals to sacrifice to God. Leaders should avoid hypocrisy.

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After the book of the law was discovered in the temple, King Josiah started some religious reforms. King Josiah ordered Hilkiah the priest to bring out vessels made for Baal and Asherah and other foreign gods. Josiah burnt the vessels outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and took the ashes to Bethel. He broke down the houses of male cult prostitutes which had replaced the house of the Lord. He defiled Topheth to prevent people from sacrificing their sons and daughters as burnt offering to Molech. Josiah destroyed all the altars put in place by Manasseh, Solomon, Jeroboam and other kings before him. He also carried out his reforms up to the Northern kingdom; he removed the shrines of the high places that were in the city of Samaria which the Israelites had made. Josiah killed and burned the bodies of all the priests of the high places. He restored the Passover feast and the Sabbath and commanded the people to keep it as it was written in the book of the covenant. He abolished idolatry, witchcraft, sorcery, soothsaying, divination from Judah and Jerusalem. He destroyed the altars at the high places and worship was centralized in Jerusalem.

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i. They should always have faith in God. ii. They should study God's word daily. iii. They should follow the moral teachings of the bible. iv. They should ask for forgiveness whenever they sin or transgress. v. They should avoid all forms of idolatry and occultism. vi. They should avoid sin and immorality.

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After Jesus had been baptized, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Having fasted for forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry. The devil came to tempt him saying, 'If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.' Jesus replied the devil that 'It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'. The devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, 'If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.' Jesus then replied the devil, 'Again it is written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' The devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said to him 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Jesus finally rebuked the devil to go away, saying that one must worship only God. The devil left Jesus and the angels of the Lord came and ministered to Him.

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i. Through the temptations, Jesus accepted suffering as a means of achieving God's purpose, with the redemption of mankind. ii. With his victory over Satan, Jesus assured his followers (Christians) that with the word of God, they too can overcome the devil. iii. The temptations signaled the preparation of Jesus for his ministry. It helped him to explore what his mission entailed. iv. The first temptation shows how Jesus was opposed to bribing people with material things or performing a miraculous feeding of the hungry and thereby gaining a large following. v. In the second temptation, Jesus rejected Satan's suggestion because it meant lack of faith in God. vi. The third temptation was to show Jesus as a political messiah. Jesus however rejected the common and corrupt messianic ideas and chose the path of a spiritual suffering to establish his heavenly kingdom.

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(i) The Activities of the Two Robbers (Matthew 27:38 & 44, Luke 23:39-43): Two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. Matthew records that they joined the Chief Priests and those who passed by to mock Jesus. Mark's account records that one of the robbers mocked Jesus asking, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and save us.' The other robber rebuked the other, pointing out that Jesus was innocent yet was being crucified. He said that unlike Jesus, they served the punishment they were going through. He pleaded with Jesus to remember him in His kingdom or paradise and Jesus assured him a place in paradise. (ii) The Activities of Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56): Joseph of Arimathea was rich and respected member of the Council of Sanhedrin. He was a good and righteous man and a secret disciple of Christ who was after the Kingdom of God. Joseph of Arimathea knew that it was against the Jewish custom to have a dead body on the cross overnight. He approached Pilate and requested for the body of Jesus Christ for burial. Pilate being assured of Jesus' death, released the body. Joseph took the body of Christ and wrapped it in a clean linen or cloth. He laid the body of Christ in his own new tomb, where nobody had ever been laid. He closed the entrance of the tomb with a great rock and departed.

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i. It shows the difference between being punished for a crime one has committed and being persecuted. ii. Regardless of our sins, Jesus Christ is ready to forgive us if we sincerely repent. iii. We should not judge others because we ourselves are sinners before God. iv. We should always stand up for the truth irrespective of the challenges we face. v. We should not mock the weaknesses of others. vi. Christians should avoid blasphemy.

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After the Holy Spirit had descended on the disciples at the Pentecost, Peter gave a powerful speech and about three thousand people were converted and became part of the church. The new converts were baptized and they began to live in fellowship and oneness. They were of one heart and one soul. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and they fellowshipped together. There were signs and wonders and the fear of God. Because of their togetherness and oneness, they shared things in common. They shared their possessions and proceeds among themselves according to individual needs and nobody was needy or poor among them. As the Lord added to their number, they devoted themselves to breaking of bread from house to house with gladness and sincerity of mind. They praised God and had favour with all the people; they prayed together. The apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and grace was upon them. Those who had houses sold their houses, they also sold their land and brought the money to the apostles to be shared. However, Ananias and Sapphira, husband and wife, were not sincere in giving out their possession and they were punished instantly. Another important event which nearly destroyed the unity of the church was the unfair distribution of provisions. However, this was resolved amicably by the appointment of the deacons.

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i. There were needs to evangelize or spread the word of God. ii. There were signs and wonders in the early church. iii. People shared what they had in common. iv. Fellowships were held in the people's homes. v. The Holy Communion was frequently taken. vi. There was oneness and unity. vii. The believers did not just preach love, they showed it.

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i. James advised or admonished the Christians to show no partiality to anyone but to accept others as equal before God. ii. Christians are ambassadors of Christ and hold the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. iii. If preferential treatment is given to the rich man over the poor man, then one is guilty of partiality. iv. No distinction should be made among Christians for God does not make distinctions. v. The rich who is honoured and favoured when shown partiality is one who oppresses the poor and drags him to court. vi. When one commits partiality, one commits sin and is convicted by the law. vii. To illustrate this, James said that God ordered Christians not to commit adultery and at the same time not to kill. viii. However, breaking one of the laws will make one guilty of violating aspects of the law. Both the adulterer and the murderer are transgressors. ix. Judgement is without mercy to one who shows no mercy. x. However, mercy triumphs over judgement.

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i. Discrimination leads to disunity in the church and among people. ii. Discrimination discourages sense of belonging. iii. Discrimination discourages progress and co-operation among people. iv. Discrimination encourages sycophancy, eye service and praise singing. v. Discrimination creates acrimony or conflict.

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i. Christians should be law abiding and have respect for constituted authority. ii. Christians should discharge their civic responsibilities or duties to all men. iii. A good Christian should submit to every human institution and respect such, including the authorities of the state. iv. It is God who appointed kings to punish wrong doers and to reward those who do good. v. Christians' good behaviour will put to shame the ignorance of foolish men. vi. Christians should live as obedient servants of God. vii. Christians should respect every man and love the brotherhood of believers. viii. Christians should fear God and honour the king and rulers.

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i. Submission to authority enhances peace and orderliness. ii. It ensures and encourages development in the country. iii. Obedience to authorities is obligatory or mandatory because authorities are ordained by God. iv. Submission to authority creates harmonious environment for the worship of God. v. It is God's own command that Christians should be submissive to authorities.