Post by KittyLane on Apr 18, 2006 10:18:14 GMT -5
Christianity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the New Testament accounts of the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ.
With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents[1], Christianity is the world's largest religion. Its origins are intertwined with Judaism, with which it shares much sacred text and early history; specifically, it shares the Hebrew Bible, known in the Christian context as the Old Testament (see Judeo-Christian).[2] Christianity is considered an Abrahamic religion, along with Judaism and Islam.
In the Christian scriptures, the name "Christian" (and so by implication "Christianity") is first attested in Acts 11:26: "For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch Jesus' disciples were first called Christians" (Gr. χριστιανους, from Christ Gr. Χριστός, which means "the anointed one").
Denominations
Within Christianity numerous distinct groups have developed with diverse beliefs that vary widely by culture and place. Since the Reformation, Christianity is usually represented as being divided into three main branches:
* Roman Catholicism: The Roman Catholic Church, the largest single body — which includes several Eastern Catholic communities — as well as certain smaller communities (e.g., the Old-Catholics), with more than 1 billion baptized members.
* Eastern Christianity: Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches (which include groups of Western Orthodox believers, who preserve the practices of the Latin tradition while accepting Orthodox theology), with a combined membership of more than 240 million baptized members.
* Protestantism: Numerous denominations and groups such as Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, Evangelical, Charismatic, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Anabaptists, and Pentecostals. The oldest of these groups separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. The later groups typically formed as separations from the older ones. Some Protestants identify themselves simply as Christian, or born-again Christian. Others, particularly among Anglicans and in Neo-Lutheranism, identify themselves as being "both Catholic and Protestant". Worldwide total is just under 500 million.
Other denominations and churches which self-identify as Christian but which distance themselves from the above classifications together claim around 275 million members. These include African indigenous churches with up to 110 million members (estimates vary widely), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called Mormons) with more than 12 million members[3], Jehovah's Witnesses with approximately 6.6 million members[4], and other groups[5]. The early leaders of most of these groups were originally Protestant adherents.
These broad divisions do not themselves encompass unanimity. On the contrary, some branches contain vast internal disagreements, while in other cases the divisions overlook strong sympathies between and among the groups. Nevertheless, this tends to be the standard overview of distinctions, especially as viewed in the Western world.
A chart showing the development of major church branches from their roots.
Enlarge
A chart showing the development of major church branches from their roots.
Beliefs
Jesus' crucifixion as portrayed by Diego Velázquez. Jesus' life, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the basis of Christianity.
Enlarge
Jesus' crucifixion as portrayed by Diego Velázquez. Jesus' life, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the basis of Christianity.
Enormous diversity of belief exists among Christians. Nevertheless, certain doctrines have come to characterize the mainstream of Christian theology.
Messiah
Most Christians identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah (in Greek Christos, hence Christ) who was promised in the Old Testament Bible prophecy.
Jesus Christ as God and Human
Most Christians believe that Jesus is fully God (divine) and became fully human, being born on earth as a baby. Jesus is believed to have become fully human in all respects, including mortality, to have suffered the pains and temptations of mortal man, yet without having sinned. As God, Jesus is believed to have the ability to save humanity and to conquer death. The Chalcedonian Creed (not accepted by the Oriental Orthodox Churches) defined this as Christ having "two natures in one person", a doctrine known to theologians as hypostatic union (see Christology).
Holy Trinity
Main article: Trinity
Most Christians believe that God is one single eternal being who exists as three distinct, eternal, and indivisible persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost).
Salvation through Jesus Christ
Christians believe that salvation from "sin and death" is available through the person and work of Jesus. Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians have arrived at several explanations as to exactly how this salvation occurs. (See soteriology.)
Most Christians interpret salvation to mean being able to enter heaven (and escape hell) after death, though some theologians have lamented this tendency. The question of "who is saved" has long been considered a dark mystery by many theologians, though most Protestants consider it a relatively simple issue of whether or not one has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Crucifixion and Resurrection
Most Christians believe that Jesus died on the Cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven after appearing to his disciples, most notably to the Apostles.
Second Coming
Main article: Second Coming
Most Christians believe in the "General Resurrection", in which all people who have ever lived will rise from the dead at the end of time, to be judged by Christ when He returns.
The Afterlife
Christian views of the afterlife generally involve heaven and (somewhat less frequently) hell, with Catholicism adding an intermediate realm of purgatory. Except for purgatory (whose denizens will ultimately enter heaven, after "purification"), these realms are usually assumed to be eternal. There is, however, some debate on this point, for example, among the Orthodox.
It is generally unclear how the afterlife fits together with the doctrine of the General Resurrection —whether eternal life begins immediately after death, or at the end of time; and whether this afterlife will involve the resurrection of one's physical body (perhaps in a glorified spiritual form). Most Christians hold that one's consciousness, the soul, survives the death of the physical body, although the Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, reject this, saying that those who practiced good things will be resurrected to life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the New Testament accounts of the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ.
With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents[1], Christianity is the world's largest religion. Its origins are intertwined with Judaism, with which it shares much sacred text and early history; specifically, it shares the Hebrew Bible, known in the Christian context as the Old Testament (see Judeo-Christian).[2] Christianity is considered an Abrahamic religion, along with Judaism and Islam.
In the Christian scriptures, the name "Christian" (and so by implication "Christianity") is first attested in Acts 11:26: "For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch Jesus' disciples were first called Christians" (Gr. χριστιανους, from Christ Gr. Χριστός, which means "the anointed one").
Denominations
Within Christianity numerous distinct groups have developed with diverse beliefs that vary widely by culture and place. Since the Reformation, Christianity is usually represented as being divided into three main branches:
* Roman Catholicism: The Roman Catholic Church, the largest single body — which includes several Eastern Catholic communities — as well as certain smaller communities (e.g., the Old-Catholics), with more than 1 billion baptized members.
* Eastern Christianity: Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches (which include groups of Western Orthodox believers, who preserve the practices of the Latin tradition while accepting Orthodox theology), with a combined membership of more than 240 million baptized members.
* Protestantism: Numerous denominations and groups such as Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, Evangelical, Charismatic, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Anabaptists, and Pentecostals. The oldest of these groups separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. The later groups typically formed as separations from the older ones. Some Protestants identify themselves simply as Christian, or born-again Christian. Others, particularly among Anglicans and in Neo-Lutheranism, identify themselves as being "both Catholic and Protestant". Worldwide total is just under 500 million.
Other denominations and churches which self-identify as Christian but which distance themselves from the above classifications together claim around 275 million members. These include African indigenous churches with up to 110 million members (estimates vary widely), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called Mormons) with more than 12 million members[3], Jehovah's Witnesses with approximately 6.6 million members[4], and other groups[5]. The early leaders of most of these groups were originally Protestant adherents.
These broad divisions do not themselves encompass unanimity. On the contrary, some branches contain vast internal disagreements, while in other cases the divisions overlook strong sympathies between and among the groups. Nevertheless, this tends to be the standard overview of distinctions, especially as viewed in the Western world.
A chart showing the development of major church branches from their roots.
Enlarge
A chart showing the development of major church branches from their roots.
Beliefs
Jesus' crucifixion as portrayed by Diego Velázquez. Jesus' life, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the basis of Christianity.
Enlarge
Jesus' crucifixion as portrayed by Diego Velázquez. Jesus' life, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the basis of Christianity.
Enormous diversity of belief exists among Christians. Nevertheless, certain doctrines have come to characterize the mainstream of Christian theology.
Messiah
Most Christians identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah (in Greek Christos, hence Christ) who was promised in the Old Testament Bible prophecy.
Jesus Christ as God and Human
Most Christians believe that Jesus is fully God (divine) and became fully human, being born on earth as a baby. Jesus is believed to have become fully human in all respects, including mortality, to have suffered the pains and temptations of mortal man, yet without having sinned. As God, Jesus is believed to have the ability to save humanity and to conquer death. The Chalcedonian Creed (not accepted by the Oriental Orthodox Churches) defined this as Christ having "two natures in one person", a doctrine known to theologians as hypostatic union (see Christology).
Holy Trinity
Main article: Trinity
Most Christians believe that God is one single eternal being who exists as three distinct, eternal, and indivisible persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost).
Salvation through Jesus Christ
Christians believe that salvation from "sin and death" is available through the person and work of Jesus. Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians have arrived at several explanations as to exactly how this salvation occurs. (See soteriology.)
Most Christians interpret salvation to mean being able to enter heaven (and escape hell) after death, though some theologians have lamented this tendency. The question of "who is saved" has long been considered a dark mystery by many theologians, though most Protestants consider it a relatively simple issue of whether or not one has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Crucifixion and Resurrection
Most Christians believe that Jesus died on the Cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven after appearing to his disciples, most notably to the Apostles.
Second Coming
Main article: Second Coming
Most Christians believe in the "General Resurrection", in which all people who have ever lived will rise from the dead at the end of time, to be judged by Christ when He returns.
The Afterlife
Christian views of the afterlife generally involve heaven and (somewhat less frequently) hell, with Catholicism adding an intermediate realm of purgatory. Except for purgatory (whose denizens will ultimately enter heaven, after "purification"), these realms are usually assumed to be eternal. There is, however, some debate on this point, for example, among the Orthodox.
It is generally unclear how the afterlife fits together with the doctrine of the General Resurrection —whether eternal life begins immediately after death, or at the end of time; and whether this afterlife will involve the resurrection of one's physical body (perhaps in a glorified spiritual form). Most Christians hold that one's consciousness, the soul, survives the death of the physical body, although the Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, reject this, saying that those who practiced good things will be resurrected to life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.
