Christianity

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Some Facts

• Largest religion in the world today

• About 2 Billion adherents

• In just about all the countries of the world

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Major Denominations

• Catholic • Eastern Orthodox

• Protestant

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Branch Adherents

• Catholic 968,000,000

• Protestant 395,867,000

• Other Christians 275,583,000

• Orthodox 217,948,000

Anglicans 70,530,000

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Introduction

• It has dominated western culture for centuries and remains the majority religion

of Europe and the Americas.

• Christian belief centers on the life of Jesus of Nazareth,

• a Jewish teacher and healer of first-century Palestine.

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• The primary source of information about the life of Jesus is the set of "Gospels,"

• Gospels = “Good News”

• which were written between 20 and 60 years

after Jesus' death

• and later became the first four books of the New Testament.

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• The Gospels describe

• the 3 year teaching and healing ministry of Jesus

• 12 disciples and other followers who believed

him to be the Messiah.

• "Christ," = “Anointed” • Greek word for "Messiah."

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• Jesus' teachings focused on the themes of:

• The Kingdom of God • The love of God

• The love of Neighbors.

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History of Christianity

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• Christian history begins with Jesus of Nazareth,

• a Jew who was born in a small corner of the Roman Empire.

• Bethlehem

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• Little is known of his early life, but around the age of 30,

• Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist

• According to the New Testament

• God blessed Jesus

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• After this event,

• he began a 3-year ministry of

• teaching, • healing,

• miracle-working.

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Jesus as Messiah

• Many thought Jesus was the • Long awaited Messiah

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• After 3 years political and religious opposition mounted against Jesus,

• and he was ultimately executed by crucifixion by the Romans.

• Most of Jesus' followers scattered • dismayed at such an unexpected outcome.

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• But 3 days later,

• women who went to anoint his body reported that the tomb was empty

• and an angel told them Jesus had risen from the dead.

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• The disciples were initially skeptical,

• but later came to believe in his resurrection.

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Resurrection Appearances

• His followers reported that Jesus appeared to them on several occasions

• Once before +500

• and then ascended into heaven before their

eyes.

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• The remainder of the first century AD the number of Jesus' followers grew rapidly

• Called "Christians”

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• Instrumental in the spread of Christianity was a man named Paul,

• a zealous Jew who had persecuted Christians,

• then converted to the faith after experiencing a vision of the risen Jesus.

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• Taking advantage of the extensive system of Roman roads and the time of peace,

• Paul went on numerous missionary journeys

throughout the Roman Empire.

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• He started churches, then wrote letters back to them to offer further counsel and

encouragement.

• Many of these letters would become part of the Christian scriptures,

• the “New Testament."

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• In the second and third centuries AD,

• Christians struggled with persecutions from outside the church

• And doctrinal debates from within the

church.

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• Christian leaders, who are now called the "church fathers,"

• wrote defenses of the false claims made against Christians (apologetics)

• as well as arguments against false teachings spreading within the church (polemics).

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• Doctrines were explored, developed, and solidified, the canon of the New Testament

was formed,

• and the notion of "apostolic succession" established a system of authority to guard against wrong interpretations of Christian

teachings.

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• A major turning point in Christian history came in 312 AD,

• when the Roman Emperor Constantine

converted to Christianity

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• The Christian religion became legal,

• persecution ceased,

• and thousands of pagans now found it convenient to convert to the emperor's faith.

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• Allied with the Roman Empire,

• Christianity gradually rose in power and hierarchy until it became the "Christendom"

• that would encompass the entire western

world in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

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• Emperor Constantine hoped Christianity would be the uniting force of his empire,

• so he was distressed to hear of a dispute over

Arianism,

• which held that Christ was more than a man but less than God himself.

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The Council of Nicaea

• In 325 AD, Constantine called the Council of Nicaea so that the bishops could work out

their differences.

• They condemned Arius and Arianism and declared the Son (Christ) to be of "one

substance" with the Father.

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Council of Chalcedon

• 451 AD

• Christ was fully human and fully divine

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• In the meantime,

• the considerable religious, cultural, and political differences between

• the Eastern and Western churches

were becoming increasingly apparent.

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• Religiously,

• the two parts of Christendom had different views on topics such as

• the use of icons,

• the nature of the Holy Spirit,

• and the date on which Easter should be celebrated.

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• Culturally,

• the Greek East has always tended to be more philosophical and abstract in its thinking,

• while the Latin West tended toward a more pragmatic and legal-minded approach.

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• The political aspects of the split began with the Emperor Constantine,

• who moved the capital of the Roman Empire

from Rome to Constantinople

• (in modern Turkey).

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• Upon his death, the empire was divided between his two sons,

• one of whom ruled the western half of the empire from Rome

• while the other ruled the eastern region from Constantinople.

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• These various factors finally came to a head in 1054 AD,

• when Pope Leo IX excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople,

• the leader of the Eastern church.

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• The Patriarch condemned the Pope in return,

• and the Christian church has been officially divided into

• West (“Roman Catholic")

• and East (“Greek / Eastern Orthodox")

• ever since.

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• In the 1400s,

• some western Christians began to publicly challenge aspects of the church.

• They spoke against the abuse of authority

and corruption in Christian leadership.

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• They began to translate the Bible

then available only in Latin

• into the common languages of the people.

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• However,

• these early reformers did not have widespread success,

• and most were executed for their teachings.

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• In 1517,

• a German monk named Martin Luther

• posted 97 complaints against the practice of selling indulgences on a church door.

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• He had experienced a personal conversion to the doctrine of justification by faith alone,

• and also shared many of the ideas of those

early reformers.

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• Growing German nationalism and the invention of the printing press ensured that

• Luther would have greater protection than

his predecessors

• and his teachings would be spread quickly.

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• He was excommunicated and barely escaped with his life on more than one occasion,

• but Luther lived out his life spreading the

Reformation,

• and died a natural death.

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• His ideas had already spread throughout Germany,

• and similar reforming movements sprung up

in England and Switzerland.

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• Soon much of Europe was embroiled in a civil war,

• with Protestant nationalists fighting Catholic

imperialists for religious and political freedom.

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• In the 17th century,

• Christians of many ideologies embarked on the hazardous journey across the Atlantic,

• to the promise of religious freedom and

economic prosperity in the New World.

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• Quakers came to Pennsylvania,

• Catholics to Maryland,

• and Dutch Reformed to New York.

• Later came Swedish Lutherans and French Huguenots, English Baptists and Scottish

Presbyterians.

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• With the exception of some Puritan communities,

• there was no attempt to impose religious

uniformity in America.

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• The period from about 1648 to 1800 was an age in which reason

• (as opposed to revelation and dogma)

• became increasingly important,

• but so did religious revival.

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• At the same time that religious skepticism and toleration were growing in the west,

• so too were revival movements that sought

to return to masses to genuine faith in Christ and the gospel of salvation.

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• George Whitefield arrived in the colonies from England in 1739,

• and experienced wide success with his revival

sermons.

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• Jonathan Edwards was famous for his fiery sermons in which he described in detail

• the torments of those who do not have

personal faith in Jesus Christ.

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• John Wesley was revivalist preacher and a personal friend of Whitefield,

• but he differed strongly from his Presbyterian

friend on the doctrine of predestination.

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• Wesley founded a small group of preachers and bible students,

• who focused on holy living and came to be

called the "Methodists."

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• Today, Christianity is the largest world religion, with about 2 billion adherents.

• It is the majority religion of Europe and the

Americas,

• and there are churches in almost every nation in the world.

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• There are perhaps thousands of Christian denominations,

• all of whom believe in the basic doctrines

established at the Council of Nicaea

• but differ in other matters of doctrine and practice.

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• In recent years,

• there has been a growing movement among these denominations to work together in

unity for the good of the world.

• In 1948, the World Council of Churches was founded to that end.

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Christian beliefs

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The Nature of God

• The Trinity

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• Christian monotheism is a unique kind of monotheism.

• It holds that God is One, but that three distinct "persons" constitute the one God:

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• This unique threefold God of Christian belief is referred to as the Trinity

• (from Latin trinitas, "three").

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The 1st Council of Nicaea

• The First Council of Nicaea is commonly regarded to have been the first Ecumenical

Council of the Christian Church.

• Most significantly, it resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine,

• called the Nicaea Creed.

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The Nicene Creed

• 325 A.D.

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• We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

• And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

• And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the son who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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The Nature of Christ

• Christians believe that Jesus Christ was

• Fully Divine (God)

• And

• Fully Human

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• The Council of Chalcedon is considered the Fourth Council.

• It was held from 8 October to 1 November 451 at Chalcedon

• Today the city is a part of the city of Istanbul.

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• The Confession of Chalcedon provides a clear statement on the human and divine nature of

Christ:

• “to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division,

without separation;

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The Holy Spirit

• Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is also God

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• In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity,

• co-equal with the Father and the Son as a part of the Godhead.

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• Being personal like the other members of the Trinity,

• the Spirit is referred to as a "he,"

• not an "it."

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The Council of Constantinople

• 381 A.D.

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• The council affirmed the original Nicene Creed of faith as true and an accurate

explanation of Scripture

• but expanded the discussion on the Holy Spirit

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• About the Holy Spirit the article of faith said he is "the Lord, the Giver of Life,

• Who proceeds from the Father,

• With the Father and the Son he is

worshipped and glorified".

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• The statement of proceeding from the Father is seen as significant because

• it established that the Holy Spirit must be of

the same being as God the Father. 78

• This Council's decision regarding the Holy Spirit

• also gave official endorsement to the concept

of the Trinity.

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Afterlife

• Believers enjoy the presence of God for eternity

• They are also with other believers

• No more suffering, sin, or death

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Hell

• According to a recent Gallup Pool, • 70% of Americans believe in hell.

• Belief in hell is highest among regular churchgoers:

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• In Christian theology,

• hell is the place or state into which unrepentant sinners go after this life.

• Hell is generally thought to be eternal,

• and to include both punishment and separation from God.

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Salvation

• How does one get to Heaven?

• How does one receive Eternal Life?

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Romans 6:23

• 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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What is Sin?

• Any violation or breaking of the laws of God

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Original Sin

• Adam was the Federal Head of Humanity

• Because he sinned, all of his progeny are born into this world with a sin nature and therefore spiritually separated from God

• That’s why we must be “born again” (from above)

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What is Death ?

• Death means separation

• When we die we our spirits are separated from our bodies

• When we sin

• We are separated from God

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3 Kinds of Death

• Physical Death • Spiritual Death • Eternal Death

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• So it is our sins that separate us from God

• If we are to have a relationship with God then our sins must be

• Removed • Paid for

• Atoned for

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Ephesians 2:8-9

• 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that

no one can boast.

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Grace

• Unmerited favor

• We receive something we do not deserve

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• Because we are all sinful

• Either because of original sin

• Or our own sinfulness

• We cannot save ourselves

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• God must intervene

• God must help us

• God must save us

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• But if God is just and righteous

• He cannot just forget about our sins

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Jesus Christ’s Sacrificial Death

• So God sent his one and only Son to live a perfect life

• Jesus never sinned

• And so when he went to the cross

• God was punishing him for our sins

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The Gift of God

• When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior

• We are allowing Jesus to take the

punishment for our sins

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Ephesians 1:13-14

• Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who

is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's

possession-- to the praise of his glory.

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• When we believe in Christ

• God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us to help us live a life pleasing to God

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Adopted Children of God

• Ephesians 1:4-6 • 4 For he chose us in him before the creation

of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be

adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to

the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

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• When accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become the adopted children of

God

• Members of God’s family

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Sacred Texts

• The primary sacred text of Christianity is the Bible.

• Its name is derived from the Latin word

biblia, which simply means "books."

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• The Christian Bible is made of two parts:

• The Old Testament • The New Testament

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Date of Bible as Canon

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Old Testament

• The Old Testament was fixed by the about 400 B.C.

• Largely as a result of the work of Ezra and

Nehemiah • and a council of Jews known as the Great Synagogue, which met after the return from

the Babylonian captivity.

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New Testament

• In the case of the New Testament the fixing of the Canon was done mainly at the council

at Carthage in 387 A.D.,

• although the evidence points to the selection of the books as early as about the year 100

A.D.

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Apocrypha

• Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include the Apocrypha, while most Protestant Bibles do

not.

• The Apocrypha ("hidden books") is a group of 13 Jewish books written between the Old

Testament and the New Testament.

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How were the Books Selected

• 1. Apostolic Authorship

• 2. Authoritative in Church

• 3. Inspired by God

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Books of the New Testament

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Gospels

Matthew Mark Luke John

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• The Gospels are accounts of Jesus' life that were written with a devotional and

evangelical purpose.

• Matthew, Mark and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels) share much of the same material,

and a variety of theories have been suggested to account for this.

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• John is markedly different from the other three gospels, and was probably written the

latest of the three.

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Acts

• The Acts of the Apostles is an invaluable record of the growth and development of the

Christian church after the life of Christ.

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• Written by Luke as a companion volume to his gospel, Acts begins with:

• Jesus' ascension into heaven,

• then recounts such events as the coming of

the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,

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• Paul's persecution of Christians and his subsequent conversion,

• the death of the first Christian martyr,

• Paul's many missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire,

• the preaching of Peter, the resolution of conflicts,

• and much more. 114

The Pauline Epistles

• The Apostle Paul authored a majority of the books of the New Testament.

• The Pauline Epistles were written to churches

that he had visited or was planning to visit, encouraging them in their struggles and instructing them in doctrinal and moral

matters.

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Pauline Epistles

Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews

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The General Epistles

• The General Epistles are so-called because they are directed to general audiences and

not to a particular person or church.

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The General Epistles

James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude

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Revelation

• The Book of Revelation is an apocalyptic work in the tradition of the Old Testament

book of Daniel.

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Revelation

• Addressed to seven specific churches and filled with rich symbolism,

• Revelation's prophecies have been variously

interepreted as referring to events that had already occured or to events that have yet to occur and will usher in the end of the world.

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Christian Ethics

• The 10 Commandments

• Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

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The Ten Commandments

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1st Commandment

• No other Gods

• Exodus 20:3

• "You shall have no other gods before me.”

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“Before me”

• Means no other gods “in my presence”

How far does God’s presence extend?

The entire universe

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• Prohibition against worshipping other gods

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Why can’t we worship other gods?

• Because God is jealous

• Exclusivity

• We owe God our complete love and devotion

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2nd Commandment

No Idols

Exodus 20:4

• "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the

earth beneath or in the waters below.

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What is an idol?

• Technical sense:

Any image of God

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God is Spirit

• God is Spiritual

• God cannot be visualized

• Anything made that is said to represent God is an idol

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3rd Commandment

• Do not take the Lord’s name in vain

• Exodus 20:7

• "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone

guiltless who misuses his name.

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The Lord’s Name

• Represents the person of God

• To take that in vain is to disrespect God Himself

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4th Commandment

• No work on Sabbath Day

• Exodus 20:8-10

• Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your

work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.

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Sabbath Day Rest

• To Rest

• To become revitalized

• To worship God

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5th Commandment

• Honor your Mother and Father

• Exodus 20:12

• "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your

God is giving you.

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Respect

• We must respect God

• We must respect our mother and father

• We must respect our elders

• Respect those who are older and wiser than we are

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6th Commandment

• No Murder

• Exodus 20:13

• You shall not murder.

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Murder v. Killing

• There are times when killing is acceptable

• Self-Defense • War

• Protection of the innocent

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Murder is never Allowed

• Premeditated killing for revenge

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7th Commandment

• No Adultery

• Exodus 20:14

• You shall not commit adultery.

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Family Basis for Society

• The husband-wife relationship is sacred before God

• Nothing is to come between them

• The destruction of the family is the

destruction of society

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Marriage is Gift from God

• Marriage was God’s gift for experiencing the deepest relationship of humanity

• Any sexual activity outside of marriage is an

attempt to enjoy the pleasure of sexual activity without the responsibility of

marriage

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8th Commandment

• Don’t Steal

• Exodus 20:15

• You shall not steal.

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Protection of Private Property

• We are not allowed to take what we do not own

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Why Steal?

• We do not trust in God to provide for our needs

• We develop illegitimate desires

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9th Commandment

• Don’t bear false witness

• Exodus 20:16

• You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

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Old Testament Court

• Two witness were required to convict a person of a capital offense in the O.T.

• If you lied in court, someone could literally be

put to death because of it

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10th Commandment

• No Coveting

• Exodus 20:17

• You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or

his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your

neighbor.

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Coveting

• The intense desire to have that which someone else possess

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Basis for Command

• The value of contentment

• Trust in God

• If we desire that which we do not have, we do not trust God to fulfill our needs

Expanded the Law

• Jesus expanded the literal interpretation of the Law (Pharisees)

• To include the spiritual aspects of the Law

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Anger is Murder

• Matthew 5:21-22 • 21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with

his brother will be subject to judgment.

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Lust is Adultery

• Matthew 5:27-28 • 27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not

commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his

heart.

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Love Your Enemy

• Matthew 5:43-45 • 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I

tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be

sons of your Father in heaven.

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Forgive Others

• Colossians 3:13 • 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever

grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

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Golden Rule

• Matthew 7:12 • 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up

the Law and the Prophets.

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