Christianity
2 With two billion adherents, Christianity is the most popular religion in the world when measured in number of those who identify themselves as Christians. 2lt's the prevailing belief system in Europe and the Americas, and many parts of Africa.
3lt should be noted that Christianity, lslam and Judaism are very closely related in many ways due to their shared holy books and overlapping histories. 4You'll find many things that are similar or even identical between these three religions.
General Beliefs
5Christianity is, by definition, a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, which should make it fairly simple to understand. 6However, many aspects of Christianity still maintain the importance of the Old Testament of the Bible to varying degrees, so overall beliefs can be hard to summarise simply because they are not constant across the religion.
7Some of the main tenets within Christianity:
i. Belief in God, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit;
ii. Acceptance that Jesus was physically raised to heaven after death;
iii. Acceptance that God is the all-powerful creator, and must be worshipped and obeyed;
iv. There is judgement by God after death, and possibly eternal punishment or eternal reward;
v. Jesus will return to Earth before the final judgement at the end of days;
vi. The Bible is the inspired word of God; and vii. Everyone has sinned.
8The biggest split in the Christian world is between Catholics and Protestants. 9Catholics believe that they are the one true church, as set out by Peter during the time of Jesus. 10The Church establishes the official beliefs and dogma that its followers must adhere to, and its rituals are believed to be vital for personal salvation. 11lts leader is known as the Pope.
12ln approximately 1500 CE, a large group broke away to create the Protestant version, with salvation believed to be gained through Jesus directly. 13As the years have passed, divisions within Protestantism have led to a vast number of sects, which are known as denominations. 14Whilst some may vary by only the slightest piece of dogma, others can be vastly different from more traditional forms of Christianity.
Holy Text
15The main religious scripture for Christians is the Bible, made up of two portions: the Old and New Testaments. 16The latter was written during and after the time of Jesus, which drastically sets it apart, in time as well as intent, when compared to the much older Old Testament. 17The Bible was written by a large number of different people who were writing at various times in history. 18The New Testament was written mainly in Greek, whereas the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. 19Between them, they have both been translated many times to bring the manuscripts into modern-day English and to offer further interpretations of the original meanings. 20Today, you can find dozens of different English versions of the Bible.
21Some claim that the Bible is literal, without error and should be taken as the word of God himself.
22Others feel that it was inspired by God, but since it was written (and frequently re-translated) by man, it should not be accepted as literal spiritual truth.
23One final distinction between Catholics and Protestants is the Bible: Some parts were taken out during the Protestant reformation (those parts are now known as the Apocrypha). 24That includes several Old Testament books such as the two books of Maccabees, Judith, and Tobit. 25There is some additional text added to the books of Esther and Daniel as well. 26The books of the New Testaments are the same between both Catholics and Protestants.
Proselytising
27Proselytising is a common practice with some Christian denominations, but certainly not all of them.
281t is seen in Christianity far more than in other religions and some denominations are highly focused on it. 29Jehovah s Witnesses are well known for their door-to-door campaigns, and the Seventh Day Adventists are also very involved with proselytising.
30Christianity is really the only one that practices proselytising on such a widespread basis. 31The reason is that it is stated in the Bible on more than one occasion that it is God s will.
The Concept of Sin
32While most religions have some sort of code that outlines which behaviours are permitted and which ones are not, Christianity has a very mixed approach on prohibited behaviours, usually referred to as sins. 33You can also expect a different range of sins between Protestant (and the varying sects) and Catholic teachings.
34One portion of the Bible that is considered by many to be the foundation of defining sin is the Ten Commandments, supposedly given to Moses directly by God. 35They are listed in the Old Testament, specifically in the books of Exodus and in Deuteronomy:
i. You shall have no other gods before me
ii. You shall not make a carved image of anything in heaven, on the earth or in the waters under the earth
iii. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain
iv. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, do no work on the seventh day
v. Honour your father and mother
vi. You shall not murder
vii. You shall not commit adultery
viii. You shall not steal
ix. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour
x. You shall not covet your neighbour s belongings
36There is also the concept of original sin, which is more of a Catholic doctrine. 37It goes back to the fall of Adam and Eve, when they ate from the tree of Knowledge against God s will. 38That innate sin is supposedly still within all mankind, creating a natural state of imperfection in all people.
39Unfortunately, there is no certain or clear-cut list of what counts as a sin in Christianity, and that is somewhat left up to the denomination to determine.
The Afterlife
40For Christians, the concept of an afterlife is an important one because it represents the reward for living a Godly life (or the punishment for failing to do so). 41As with everything already mentioned, there are some variations between Christian groups on the specifics.
42All of Christianity accepts that there is a final afterlife where our souls will reside after we die. 43If we are deemed worthy, then we spend eternity in Heaven. 44If not, our souls are directed to Hell.
45Heaven is considered a blissful paradise, and though the traditional view of Hell is a lake of burning fire, many modern denominations play down the punishment aspect of the potential afterlife. 46How to determine if you are going to be found worthy is, again, where the differences between denominations comes into play.