History of Christianity - Report Example

Christianity Introduction Christianity refers to a monotheistic kind of a religion that is based on the life and Jesus Christs teachings as it is put in the new testament of the Bible. Christianity stands out as the worlds largest religion having more than 2.5 billion followers who are referred to as the Christians. All the Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is fully divine, Son of God and fully human. They also believe that he is the savior of humanity who fulfilled a prophesy in the old testament of the holy book known as the Bible. Jesus is also referred to as Messiah or Christ. History of Christianity Christian foundations are clearly expressed in the ecumenical creeds. The professions state that Jesus of Nazareth suffered on the cross, died, was buried and resurrected from the death on the after his burial on the third day (Bainton 30). The resurrection of Jesus happened in order to grant eternal life to those people who believe him and the teachings found in the Bible. After resurrection, most Christians believe that Jesus went to heaven to rule with God the father. They also maintain the teaching that Jesus will come on earth and bring judgment to all the people, both the living and the dead. After Judgment, the true followers of Jesus will be granted eternal life while those who failed to follow his teachings will be punished forever. Christianity began in the mid-first century as a second temple Judaic sect (Bainton 35). It originated in a place known as the Levant region of the Middle East and spread to Europe, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt and the Mesopotamia at very high speed. After some few centuries, it grew in size and gathered a lot of influence all over the world. 14th century marks Christianity as the official religion of the state in the Roman Empire replacing all the other types of religions that were practiced under the Roman rule (Aritonang and Steenbrink 50). At the middle ages, most parts of Europe became Christianized and followers increased in North Africa, Ethiopia, Middle East and other regions of India. During the age of discovery, Christianity spread to the Australasia, Americas, sub- Saharan Africa and the rest of the world through the hard work done by the Christian missionaries (Geddes, Griffiths and Cleave 25). Colonization helped in the spread of Christianity too. Christianity is said to have played a dominant role in the shaping of the Western civilization. In the world, there are three major Christianity groups namely, the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and some other various denominations of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox split from each other in the 11th century. During the 16th-century Reformation, the Protestants split from the Roman Catholic Church forming the Protestantism (Aritonang and Steenbrink 56). Christian Beliefs All the Christians share a set of common beliefs that they hold and count them paramount to their faith. The standard Christian beliefs are as follows, Belief in the Apostle Creed The Christian apostle creed is one of the most popular statements In the Christians faith. It is widely used for both liturgical and catechetical purposes by a large number of denominations based on Christianity. The Presbyterians, Congregationalists and the Methodists also use the apostle creed. Each doctrine found in the creed is traceable to the statements made during the apostolic period (Geddes, Griffiths and Cleave 89). The baptismal candidates in churches of Rome used it as a summary of Christian doctrine. The Ten Commandments belief The Ten Commandments refers to a set of biblical principles that relate to the ethics and worship that play a principle role in Christianity and Judaism. The commandments give Christians instructions on how to worship God only and keep the Sabbath holy by other rules (Gibson 50). As per the synoptic gospels, Jesus Christ generalized the old law into a set of principles, the first principle is " Hear, o Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord, is one, and one shall love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind and strength". The second principle states that, "love your neighbor as you love you love yourself." Belief in Jesus Christ The central element of Christianity is the belief that they have in Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ referred to as the Messiah (Kennedy 80). They have a believe that he had an anointment from God to save humanity and hold that he will come back to fulfill the Old Testament prophesies. According to the Gospel of Mathew and Luke, Christians believe that Jesus was conceived and born of Virgin Mary through the power of Holy Spirit. The life of Jesus is recorded in the Gospels of the Holy book (Gibson 55). The Bible accounts for and documents the baptism of Jesus, the miracles He performed, the preaching’s and the teachings plus all the deeds that he performed. Death, Resurrection and Salvation The death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are usually stated as the most important phenomenon in the teachings of Christianity. The events are important to Christians because they demonstrate that the Messiah has the power over life and death, and he has power and authority to offer eternal life to those who believe in Jesus. These events are mentioned severally in the New Testament and all the appearance that Jesus made after the resurrection before ascending to heaven. Christians commemorate the death and the resurrection of the Messiah during the Holy week, which includes Good Friday and the Easter Sunday. The Catholic and Protestants doctrine believes that salvation comes by accepting Jesus Christ as the personal Savior in ones life and dedicating their entire lives to serving the Church. The Catholic churches teach that salvation only occurs to those Christians who have faith in Christ. Those willing to covert are supposed to live in accordance to love principles and must be baptized by water (Kennedy 58). Belief in the Holy Trinity Christians tend to believe in the holy trinity. The Trinity refers to the teaching that three eternally existing Persons in one God. They are God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The three are one when put together, and it does not show that there are three Gods in existence. Though the three are distinct, they cannot be separated. The Trinity is an essential teaching in the mainstream of Christianity, God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit all represent both the transcendence and immanence of God. Scriptural belief Like any other religion, Christianity has adherents whose interpretations and beliefs in the Bible teachings vary. Christians refer to the teachings of the Bible both in the old and new testaments as being inspired by God Himself. The conventional view of inspiration is that, God used human authors to write the Bible and passed His message through them. Christian Worship Most Christians assemble for worship communally on Sunday the day that Jesus resurrected. During the worship, there is a variety of group prayers that include thanksgiving, intercession and confessions that occur throughout the service. These practices take different forms like reciting, singing or remaining silent (Gibson 45). During the services, all those who have attended the worship usually cite the Lord’s Prayer. The Seventh- day Adventists usually meet on Saturday while others find it enough to meet on a weekly basis. Worship varies on special events like baptism or during weddings other feast days. In some cases, adults and children are separated during their worship; children attend the Sunday schools in most instances (Wootten 40). Christian culture Christian culture is closely related to western culture, and many of the people who lived in the western hemisphere could be broadly described as cultural Christians. The dominance of the Roman Catholic in the western is the main reason the region is termed as being the origin of Christian culture. Before the age of enlightenment, the culture of Christians guided most the entire course of philosophy, art, music, literature and science. Christian culture has had a significant effect on science, education and medicine as the Christian church formed the basis of the western education systems (Kennedy 79). Christians have made countless contributions to a broad range in the fields of arts, science, politics, literature, business and sciences. Conclusion To conclude, Christianity has three major divisions and is the biggest religion in the world. The major Christian categories are the Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The religion. The religion is characterized by a diversity of doctrines and practices that has led to the creation of groups known as denominations. There is also a broader distinction of the religion that is drawn between the Eastern Christianity and the western Christianity. Despite these differences, all the Christians almost have same beliefs and are centered on the worship of God through Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The teachings of Christians are all similar, but some have different worship days like the Seventh-day Adventists who hold their prayers on Saturdays. Works Cited Aritonang, Jan S, and Karel A Steenbrink. A History Of Christianity In Indonesia. Leiden [etc.]: Brill, 2008. Print. Bainton, Roland Herbert. Christianity. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print. Geddes, Gordon, Jane Griffiths, and Joanne Cleave. Christianity. Oxford: Heinemann, 2004. Print. Gibson, Lynne. Christianity. Oxford: Heinemann Library, 2002. Print. Kennedy, Philip. Christianity. London: I.B. Tauris, 2011. Print. Wootten, Pat. Christianity. Oxford: Heinemann Library, 2002. Print. Read More