Christianity - Book Report/Review Example

?Religion Christianity Introduction With more than two billion adherents, Christianity is arguably the largest religion in the world. The religion draws its doctrines from the teachings of Jesus Christ who they believe is the son of God and was a real human. The name of the religion thus arises from the name of Jesus whose teachings and experiences on earth influenced the development and spread of the religion. The believers of the faith believe that Jesus Christ lived on earth and ministered to people performing miracles such as healing the sick and resurrecting the dead. The early Roman authorities captured tried and killed Jesus after which he resurrected after three days and ascended into heaven. Such adherents believe in the remission of sins through repentance. The monotheistic religion believes in the existence of one supreme God who controls the universe and everything in it. Christians have a holy book known as the bible. The holy bible has about sixty separate books each accounting different experiences with God, Jesus Christ, The Holy spirit and prophets among other features of the religion. The bible consists of two sections the old and the New Testament. The Old Testament carries accounts of various prophets who prepared the world for coming of Jesus. The testament provides a historical account of the creation of the earth and the subsequent religious development through various prophets who worked in various parts of the world preparing the way for the coming of Christ. The Old Testament therefore ends with various prophets prophesizing the coming of Jesus Christ, who the bible introduces in the New Testament (Guerra, 2010). With the coming of Jesus Christ, the structure of the religion forms shape as He widens the scope of the religion through the introduction of the concept of repentance and forgiveness. Christians have a holy place of worship known as the Church where they tatted the service once a week. The day of worship differs with some category of Christians worshiping on Saturdays while others on Sunday. The differences on the days of worship arise from the relative interpretation of the day of Sabbath as directed by God during the creation. The difference on the days of worship is one of the key indications that Christianity is one of the most diverse religions in the world (Hedstrom, 2013). The religion is liberal thereby permitting the rise if various denominations with each acquiring relative doctrines from the teachings of Jesus Christ. Among the major denominations in the faith, include Catholicism, Protestants and early orthodoxy among many others. Christianity is an interesting religion with various doctrines that provoked the investigation. With the billions of adherents, it was interesting to understand the nature of the religion and the doctrines of the church. Most non-adherents of the faith have previously criticized the religion owing to their lack of understanding. As the largest religion in the world, the faith confuses non-adherents especially on the concept of the holy trinity. This presents an argument that ridicules the faith’s monotheistic structure. The holy trinity is the centerpiece of the religion developing a relationship between God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Understanding the Holy trinity and the concept’s contribution to the oneness of the Christian God, this creates a confusion, as the believers believe in the three. However, with an effective investigation by visiting a New York based Church revealed a clear distinction on the three and their respective roles in fostering the oneness of God. Christianity is related to Islam, the two have similar structures including holy books, holy days of worship and belief in prophets. In fact the two have similar prophets all of who contribute to the spread of the respective faith. The holy Koran, which is the Muslim’s holly book, refers to Jesus. The only major difference among the religion is one the concept of the holy trinity in which Islam maintains that there is only one God and several other prophets who bridge the interaction between God and humans. Muslims fail to recognize the Holy Spirit and the position of Jesus Christ. To them Jesus Christ was just another important prophet who performed miracles and taught vital concepts about the faith. The closeness in the two religions thus contributes to the confusing nature of Christianity to an ardent Muslim. It is imperative to investigate the unknown in order to determine the differences and the fundamental nature of the unknown in order to reconcile the divide. Visiting a church on a Sunday morning would help understand the operations of the religion including the Christian manner of worship and the nature of their teachings. An interview with both the faithful and the leaders of the church would help understand the vital concepts of the religion that they could not capture during their normal Sunday service. However, the research requires an objective mind in order understand the different principles of the religion. Some respondents may take such an opportunity and try to convert the researcher. Additionally, others may digress into preaching both factors curtail and effective research since they permit the infiltration of personal thoughts and opinions (Davis, 2012). The church experience was odd, being an ardent Muslim used to the structure of a mosque the structure and the setting of a church appeared unique. The congregation walked freely to the pews places strategically on both sides of the alley overlooking the podium where a priest and his ley readers sit. With the church were various portraits consisting of crucifixes and rosaries. The high ceiling creates an aura of calm and quietness in the church but with the wide windows and the huge paintings of Jesus Christ creates a shrine like structure. The church portrayed a peculiar liberty as the adherents walked in dressed in various attires. Women adorned various attires including dresses and trousers. This was the unique part of the religion. In Islam, both women and men have particular attires which help distinct the roles and positions of either gender in the society. Besides the bible, the adherents had several other service books and hymnbooks. They used the three alternatively to obtain vital resources that aid the successful administration of the service. The service that followed a particular program consisted of biblical readings, an observation of the service guide, singing various songs from the hymnbooks and a teaching time. Also known as the sermon, the teaching consisted of a clergy reading and interpreting the biblical teachings. He strived to place the teachings into the contemporary society thereby drawing important lessons of how people should live in the modern society and relate with each other. The preacher drew examples from the life and sacrifices of Jesus Christ thereby ensuring that he passed his message to the faithful (James, 2009). In the course of the service, the preacher administered a sacrament. This refers to a rite initiated by Jesus Christ as a way of sharing. According to the teachings of the day, the sacrament represents the body of Christ from where all the Christians share. Before his crucifixion, Jesus Christ gathered his disciples and broke bread that he later passed to the rest of them telling them to share the bread and drink from his cup of wine. In this rite, Jesus reminded his believers to constantly share his teachings with others and spread the gospel. The practice is therefore important in the faith as the adherents pass the cup of wine and the pieces of bread among themselves in a show of humility and generosity. The preacher called to the alter all the qualified who assembled at the pulpit and shared the bread and a tumbler of wine. However, unlike in the message of Jesus Christ, the service leader discriminated against various members of the congregation. When he called the faithful to share the sacrament, only a section of the congregation walked to the pulpit leaving the rest to their seats. Apparently, the sacrament requires particular qualifications including baptism and confirmation both of which are vital for the development of a strong accomplished Christian. Additionally, before the end of the service the people gave out money in a form of offering. Offering is a way of sharing earthly wealth with Christ. According to the teaching of the day, offertory was fundamental in sustaining the spread of the gospel throughout the world. By contributing to the church, the adherents sustained the operations of the church. The management of the church used the money to maintain the structure. The church portrayed a liberal approach to the collection of offering. The patrons passed around a vase in which everyone dropped heir contributions. The preacher did not regulate the amount to contribute thus permitting the adherents of the faith to contribute an amount they felt appropriate. In addition to the offering, the service leaders talked about a tithe. This was an amount required by the church and talked about by both God and Jesus Christ. Just as the offering, the tithe was a generous and relative offer to the church in order to foster the spread of the gospel. Unlike the offering, the tithe required the ten percent of earnings. From the research on the religion, it became evident that religion was a fundamental aspect of humanity. People valued their religious beliefs and strived to live according to such teachings. The origin of religions remains unclear; however, they provide answers to important questions that humans ask on a daily basis. Some of such questions include the origin of life and the experiences after death. Religions such as Christianity provide realistic answers to some of such questions thereby imploring its adherents to particular behavior patterns. Christians just as many other people with diverse religious beliefs believe in the existence of a supernatural being who played an important in the creation of the world. The being requires an amount of both respect and adoration since he controls the society at any time. The Sunday service order presents specific features of the relationship between god, the supernatural being and humans. The events of the day of worship include a series of unique activities that the adherents believe are holy and in line with their communication process. Religion is a cultural concept that defines the behaviors and activities of people. It also influences their relations with one another thereby contributing to the development of particular social structures. Religion communicates to the inner souls thereby contributing to the development of personalities. This way, religion influences the beliefs and behaviors of people. Unlike many other social and cultural features, religion has a systematic way of ensuring adherence to the teachings and dictates of the faith. Religions categorize particular behaviors as sin. Such are deterrent to the peaceful coexistence in the society. Committing such result in conflict and portray the level of disunity in a personality. With a promise of eternal punishment of such behaviors, religions therefore achieve a particular compliance with the appropriate behaviors that contribute to the peaceful coexistence in the society. In retrospect, the research on Christianity was successful as it exposed various features important features of the religion. Through such, the research seeks to reconcile some of the misunderstandings and conflicts arising from religious differences. Religions are important features of humanity. They address particular important issues of personality. However, all religions ascribe to the creation of a peaceful and cordial relationship among people in the society. Religions regulate the structure of the contemporary society a feature that makes all the different features exhibited by different religions equally important. References Davis, J. (2012). Medieval Market Morality: Life, Law and Ethics in the English Marketplace, 1200-1500. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Guerra, M. D. (2010). Christians As Political Animals: Taking the Measure of Modernity and Modern Democracy. Wilmington, Del: ISI Books. Hedstrom, M. (2013). The Rise of Liberal Religion: Book Culture and American Spirituality in the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. James, W. (2009). The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Read More