Core Believes in Christianity and How They Have Been Traditionally Understood - Essay Example

CORE BELIEVES IN CHRISTIANITY AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY UNDERSTOOD AND OTHER POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE BELIEVES ABOUT THEMThe Believe that there is only one true God The Old Testament portrays faith as a belief in one true God. It is the way of believing in one invisible, almighty and powerful God who is also the creator of the universe and the giver of life. Such a monotheistic faith involved the rejection of many other gods and idols found in the other surrounding nations (Harris 40). All the Old Testament Prophets asserted that there is only one true God who demanded absolute loyalty from His people. For instance, in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 and 5, the Holy Bible states that there is only one true God who desires our true and total devotion and love for Him (Bible 340). The New Testament Christians also believe that they descended from the old Testament prophets and cannot deviate from such a believe in one true God since it worked well with their ancestors who were favored by God over other surrounding nations. There is also a belief that God will accept all who will come to believe in Him and renounce all other gods they have been worshiping (Grenz 75). The Believe and acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord Just like the Old Testament Christians, the modern Christians also believe that the Invisible God has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus is the messiah or the savior who is God’s own son and divine in nature (Harris 40). The bible in the gospel of John chapter 3 and verse 16 refers Jesus as God’s only begotten son who He gave to come and die for the forgiveness of sins of many. The New Testament Christians believe that Jesus died and resurrected to redeem us from our sins and this is for all who will believe in Him (Bible 823). Jesus is therefore the pillar of Modern Christians because their faith is totally based on Him. He is believed to be the Head of the church and the King of all creation hence Christians have to confess that Jesus is Lord to receive the salvation that comes from Him. Jesus is believed to have the divine nature in Him and He himself is God. In the gospel of John chapter 17 and verse 21, Jesus calls Himself the Son and God the Father to bring a distinction in His form. However, He declares that He the Son and God the Father are one (Bible 840). The believe and experience of the indwelling spirit The New Testament Christians also believe that there is the indwelling spirit who guides them in their daily walk with God. Before Jesus left this world to go and be with the father, He promised to leave His disciples a helper and that is the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John chapter 14 verses 16 and 26, Jesus declares the Holy Spirit coming from the Father and coming to represent Him in the world and to stay with the believers forever. However, the Holy Spirit will be invisible like God the Father. This is fulfilled as he promised and we see people receive the gift of the Holy Spirit during the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts chapter two. Later in the chapter we see Peter; being the spiritual leader among the disciples, explaining to people how they can receive the indwelling spirit by repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus (Bible 837). The above three therefore forms the basic believes in Christianity which is uncommon in other religions. The belief in God showing Himself in three forms is a core belief in Christianity. An alternative view in line with the same believes is to view God as the initiator or origin of everything, Jesus as the revealer of everything that comes from God, and the Holy Spirit as the completer of all. It is the same as the Father acts through the Son and the agency of the Holy Spirit (Grenz 70). ISSUES THAT ARE CURRENTLY OF IMPORTANCE FOR HUMANS AROUND THE GLOBE AND HOW CHRISTIANS CAN DEVELOP THEIR BELIEVES AROUND THESE ISSUES Environmental and biodiversity issues There are most serious and very challenging environmental issues facing the human race in this generation. These include sudden rise in the earth’s temperature commonly known as global warming, also the melting of icecaps as well as the glaciers, the rising of the sea levels and the shifting of ocean currents, change in weather patterns and the pronounced climate change. Likewise, biodiversity has been affected greatly by human activity leading to the challenges that are facing the world as a whole. Both the environmental and biodiversity issues are related in one way or the other. A negative impact on one will also affect the other. Biodiversity supports around 40% of the world’s economy and provides 80% of the needs of the poor (Steinfeld 17). Christians can develop believes in this issue to ensure a sustainable future. In the book of Genesis chapter 2 Verse 15, it is said that God created man and put him on earth to tend, guard and keep it. This means God put us here on earth with a purpose and thus to take care of His creation. Such a belief will encourage many to take care of our ecosystem which is truly the source of our livelihood (Bible, 2). Social and human rights issues Human rights declaration emerged just after World War II to express the wishes of the many who would never want to experience such a horror in their lives again. Human rights include values like upholding of democracy, anti racism, rights of women and those of children. The world is facing the challenge of being united across the divides of languages and colors. The statistics on human rights violation are also very alarming. According to Amnesty international report 2009, individuals are abused or tortured in over 81 nations, others have faced unfair trials in over 54 countries and others individuals and presses are denied their freedom of expression in about 77 nations. Many women and children are also discriminated and marginalized in most parts of the world (Donnelly 23). We need an intervention of the church in this matter to help preach justice in the pulpits. In the bible, the book of Acts chapter 17 and verse 26 states that God created all races and nations from only one human being. Christianity should proceed to preach such believes to all so that we can make our world a better place to live by improving our social and human right issues (Bible 860). Political, security and economic issues Many nations are experiencing post election violence. Many others are governed in dictatorship. Politics has become the centre of everything and every issue. Insecurity is every where with the issue of terrorism rising to a high level of bombings in every corner of the world. People are left to live in fear because of such issues. Economic crisis has become part of our lives as it has been with us day after day. There is unemployment, poverty, lack of income and increasing levels of indebtedness (Kiewiet 85). The Christians need to come together and develop a belief that God wants us all to live at peace with each other rather than being insecure with each other. That we are our brothers’ keepers; that we can do our best to ensure that the world is a safe place to be. That we work with our own hands to earn a living and bring down the statistics of unemployment. That we work with the government to eliminate poverty and reduce the levels of indebtedness and over dependence (Bible 5). Works Cited: Bible, Holy. "New International Version." International Bible Society 775 (1991): 42. Donnelly, Jack. Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press, 2003. Grenz, Stanley J. Created for community: Connecting Christian belief with Christian living. Baker Academic, 1998. Harris, Sam. Letter to a Christian nation. Vintage, 2008. Kiewiet, D. Roderick. "Macroeconomics and micropolitics: The electoral effects of economic issues." Business Horizons 27.5 (1984): 85-86. Steinfeld, Henning, et al. Livestocks long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food & Agriculture Org, 2006. Read More