Christianity

Origins of the Christian Faith

• Began sometime around 30 CE

• Abrahamic and monotheistic

• Just like Judaism and Islam, God is the creator and preserver of the natural world• Very interactive

• Bible: religious text

Basic Beliefs

•Main beliefs of Christianity:•Belief in the Holy Trinity•Death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus

Christ•Christ’s second coming

Holy Trinity

• Holy Trinity: God exists as three persons, but is one being

• God the Father

• God the Son

• God the Holy Spirit

• God the Father: Father in heaven; what most people think of when referring to “God”

• God the Son: Jesus on earth, and then at the Father’s right hand in heaven after death

• God the Holy Spirit: Spirit in heaven sent to earth as a comforter in place of Jesus

The SonThe Father

The Holy Spirit

- Dr. Harold Willmington

“A book has length, width, and thickness. The length is not the book’s width, the width is not the book’s thickness. These three dimensions can be described separately, yet they are connected together. If you remove one dimension, you are no longer describing a book. In the same way, God has three separate members that are connected together, and if you try to remove one you no longer have God.”

Jesus of Nazareth

• According to Christianity, Jesus was a Jewish preacher and prophet

• Jesus was proclaimed to be the Messiah and Son of God by his followers

• Jesus’s teachings focused entirely on serving the Father, love for others, and uplifting the poor and downtrodden• “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39• “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall

smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:39

• “And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24

Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

• Jesus’s growing influence was seen as a threat to Roman rule• Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate

• Jesus’s body was taken to a tomb sealed with a large stone• A follower visits Jesus’s tomb 3 days later and finds it open

and empty• Jesus appears to the follower and instructs his disciples to continue

his teachings

• Jesus then ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father

• Jesus’s death was a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind; allows man to enter heaven after death

The Second Coming of Christ

• Antichrist: Servant of Satan on earth to lead men astray from God

• The Great Tribulation begins, and Christians are persecuted and murdered• War, disease, famine, death will spread across the planet

• “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.” Revelation 6:12

• Devoted Christians will be ascended to heaven in the “rapture”

• The Antichrist will take full power and assault Jerusalem, killing any and all followers of God• 1/3 of all greenery, 1/3 of the sea, 1/3 of sea creatures, and 1/3 of all ships

will be destroyed; 1/3 of fresh water will become poisonous; 1/3 of the sun, stars, and moon will darken

• Locusts will torment mankind

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Revelation 6:1-8

The Second Coming Continued

• Mankind is given one last opportunity to repent and serve God• After this, all of God’s followers are ascended to heaven

• Only sinners are left on earth

• God unleashes his wrath on earth• Remaining humans are plagued with horrid sores

• Seas and all waters turn to blood

• The sun begins to scorch men

• The world becomes dark and filled with pain

• Jesus arrives and defeats the Antichrist and Satan for good• Any humans not yet dead can repent

• The dead are stacked 4 feet high and cover 200 miles; “All the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” Revelation 19:21

• The Millennium begins (1,000 years of peace)

Structure of Christianity

Christianity

Eastern OrthodoxRoman Catholic

Catholic

Protestant

Anglican Lutheran Anabaptist Reformed

Methodist Quaker

Baptist

Evangelical Menonite

Amish

Presbyterian

Practices

• Sacrament: Christian rite that serves as a physical symbol of God’s grace• Baptism is a symbol of adoption into the Christian faith• Eucharist (communion) is in remembrance of the Last Supper;

bread and wine• Confession is a way to absolve yourself of sin via a priest

• There are 7 total sacraments; not all Christians observe all 7