2. Historical Background
Christianity, regarded as an offshoot of Judaism,
developed in Palestine around 100 C.E. It was
founded by Jesus considered to be the Son of God
and Messiah or Savior. Today Christianity is divided
into three major sects- Roman Catholicism, Greek
Orthodox Church, and Protestantism
3. CHRISTIANITY
■ Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus
Christ. In this context, faith refers both to the believers’ act of trust
and to the content of their faith. As a tradition, Christianity is more
than a system of religious belief.
■ Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life
and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world’s largest and most
widespread religion with roughly 2.4 billion followers representing
one-third of the global population.
4. Christianity is a religion
founded by Jesus Christ. It
has spread all over the
world.
Christianity originated with
the ministry of Jesus, a
Jewish teacher and healer
who proclaimed the
imminent Kingdom of God
and was crucified c. AD
30–33 in Jerusalem in the
Roman province of Judea.
5. Christianity Beliefs:
1. Christians are monotheistic. They believe there's only one God, and
he created the heavens and the earth. This divine Godhead consists of
three parts: the father (God himself), the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy
Spirit.
2. They believe Jesus was crucified on a cross to offer the forgiveness of
sins and was resurrected three days after his death before ascending to
heaven.
3. The cross is a symbol of Christianity.
4. The Holy Bible includes important scriptures that outline Jesus’s
teachings, the lives and teachings of major prophets and disciples, and
offer instructions for how Christians should live.
5. The most important Christian holidays are Christmas (which
celebrates the birth of Jesus) and Easter (which commemorates the
6. Ten Commandments
■ The Ten Commandments, also
known as the Decalogue, are a
set of biblical principles relating
to ethics and worship, which
play a fundamental role in the
Abrahamic religions. The Ten
Commandments appear twice
in the Hebrew Bible, in the
books of Exodus and
Deuteronomy.
7. God in Christianity
God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme
being who created and preserves all things. The Old
Testament reveals YHWH as the personal name of God, along
with certain titles including El Elyon and El Shaddai.
8. CHIRISTIANITY
Place and style of worship
While Christians spend time praying as
individuals they usually gather
together once a week on a Sunday in
churches. Worship at church on
Sunday is called Eucharist and involves
prayer, singing, and reading of the
Bible, along with an explanation of the
Bible passages, and the changing of
the bread and wine into the body and
blood of Christ. This is done by a priest
or an ordained minister. This Holy
Communion is than shared among
those gathered.
Sacred text
The primary source for Christian faith
and practice is the Bible. It contains
information and stories about the
Hebrew people, the coming of Christ
and the early church. The majority of
Christians recognise the Apostles’ and
Nicene Creeds as expressing their key
beliefs.
9. Sacred text of Christianity
■ The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian
religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth
from its earliest creation to the spread of
Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old
Testament and the New Testament have undergone
changes over the centuries, including the the
publication of the King James Bible in 1611 and the
addition of several books that were discovered
later.
10. The Bible is divided into two sections:
Old Testament
■ The Old Testament is the first
section of the Bible, covering the
creation of Earth through Noah and
the flood, Moses and more,
finishing with the Jews being
expelled to Babylon.
New Testament
■ The New Testament tells the story
of the life of Jesus and the early
days of Christianity, most notably
Paul’s efforts to spread Jesus’
teaching. It collects 27 books, all
originally written in Greek.
12. BAPTISM
Baptism is seen as the
sacrament of admission to
the faith, bringing
sanctifying grace to the
person being baptized. In
Catholicism the baptism of
infants is the most common
form, but unbaptized
children or adults who wish
to join the faith must also
receive the sacrament.
13. MARRIAGE
In Catholicism marriage is a
sacrament that a baptized
man and a baptized woman
administer to each other
through their marriage
vows and lifelong
partnership.
14. EUCHARIST
The Eucharist, or Holy
Communion, is another
sacrament of initiation and
can be received daily if
desired. It is the central rite
of Catholic worship.
15. RECONCILIATION
Also known as Confession
or Penance, the sacrament
of Reconciliation is seen as
an opportunity for renewal
and can be done as often
as needed.
16. ANOINTING
OF THE SICK
Anointing of the Sick,
formerly known as Extreme
Unction, is a sacrament that
is administered to give
strength and comfort to the
ill and to mystically unite
their suffering with that of
Christ during his Passion
and death.
18. Christianity Doctrines
Trinity – A Trinity doctrine is commonly expressed as the statement that the one
God exists as or in three equally divine “Persons”, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Every term in this statement (God, exists, as or in, equally divine, Person) has
been variously understood.
Calvinism – the theological system of Calvin and his followers marked
by strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of
humankind, and the doctrine of predestination.
Resurrection – After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared before his
disciples and then, he ascended to join God the Father in heaven.
Salvation – Salvation means being saved from sin, and Christians
believe that salvation is essential to have a relationship with God while
on earth, and to have eternal life with God in heaven after death. At the
time of Jesus, the Jewish people believed that salvation came from
obeying the 613 laws given to Moses in the Torah.
19. Ascension – The Ascension establishes that it was the crucified, Jesus
and Christ, the incarnate Son, who rose from the dead. Christ the
man, as none other than Christ the Son, is the living Christ we know;
and we in fact know no other. So, it was he who rose from the dead. In
the Ascension as it is in the Incarnation.
Methodism – Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a
group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity
whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and
teachings of John Wesley.
Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Lord and Giver of Life
in the Nicene creed. He is the Creator Spirit, present before the
creation of the universe and through his power everything was made
in Jesus Christ, by God the Father.
God The Father – God the Father is the Supreme Ruler of the
universe. He is the Father of our spirits (see Hebrews 12:9). He is
perfect, has all power, and knows all things.
21. Sectors of Christianity
■ Roman Catholic is pertaining to the body of Christians having levels of authority
under the pope, a liturgy centered in the Mass, and a body of beliefs laid down by
the church as the only interpreter of revealed truth.
■ Protestantism is a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, refer to the many
religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to
differences in doctrine.
■ Eastern Orthodoxy is the large body of Christians who follow the faith and practices
that were defined by the first seven ecumenical councils and do not recognize the
authority of the pope.
■ Anglicanism is a churches that grew out of the church of England, sharing a
theology, worship and structure.
■ Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keep
the faith of only the first three Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church.
■ Assyrians are an ethnic minority group whose origins lie in the Assyrian Empire, a
maior power in the ancient Middle East.
22. Major Issues of Christianity
The end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the
age, or the end of the world, broadly speaking, is Christian eschatology;
the study of the destiny of humans as it is revealed in the Bible. The
major issues in Christian eschatology are the Tribulation, death and the
afterlife, (mainly for Evangelical groups) the Millennium and the
following Rapture, the Second Coming of Jesus, Resurrection of the
Dead, Heaven, (for liturgical branches) Purgatory, and Hell, the Last
Judgment, the end of the world, and the New Heavens and New Earth.
Christians believe that the second coming of Christ will occur at the end
of time, after a period of severe persecution (the Great Tribulation). All
who have died will be resurrected bodily from the dead for the Last
Judgment. Jesus will fully establish the Kingdom of God in fulfillment of
scriptural prophecies.
