In terms of people, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It houses between 2 and 2 1/2 billion members (about 33% of the world's population). It is a monotheistic religion (believe in one god). Though there are many Christians, they are separated among 38,000 denominations, the largest being Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant. Most Christians live in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. Almost all the beliefs of Christians derive from Judaism. There is one main thing all Christians believe in: Jesus.
Life of Jesus
Jesus dying on the cross.
Probably the best example of Jesus's life is in the bible, since it was written in his day. His life is written in the new testament by four prophets called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus's birth was somewhere near the year 0, during the reign of the roman emperor Agustus. His birth is celebrated with Christmas Day, for the holiday was named after him. Joseph and the Virgin Mary, two descendants of King David, were planning to get married when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be the mother of the son of God. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because the emperor was calling for a census. Jesus was born there in a stable. The holiday Three Kings Day was made because of the three "Wise Men" who brought gifts to baby Jesus after following a star above the stable. It was a sign that the messiah, or King of the Jews was born. As written by the prophets, Jesus was called Emmanuel, which meant "God with us". Read about Three Kings Day.Read about Christmas. In his early life, Jesus lived with his parents in the poor town of Nazareth in Galilee. He learned many things about God and Judaism, the main religion in Israel. He gained lots of wisdom. Growing up, he learned to be a carpenter just like his father Joseph. One day Jesus, now about 30 years old, went to the Jordan river to meet his second cousin John the Baptist, who was preaching and baptizing people in the river. Once Jesus was baptised and rose from the river, the heavens parted and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. A voice came from the heavens and said: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." This recognizes Jesus as being "the lamb of God". This baptism marked the beggining of Jesus' ministry. After this Jesus went to the desert to fast for forty days and forty nights. During this time, the devil came to Jesus and tempted him to show his holy powers. Jesus refused all his offers.The devil gave up and angels came to help Jesus. In the next three years of his life, Jesus spent his time teaching the Jewish people about God. He did many miracles, which include healing, walking on water, turning water to wine, multipying food, and even lifting people from the dead. Some of John the Baptistist's followers decided to be with Jesus, and out of those people Jesus chose twelve people to be his disciples. Thier names were Andrew, Bartholomew, James the Elder, James the Lesser, John, Judas, Jude, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, and Thomas. John and Matthew were two of the four people who wrote about Jesus' life in the New Testament. Jesus did many important teachings such as the Sermon on the Mount. His teachings had to do with Jewish beliefs, but he introduced many new ideas. As Jesus grew more popular with the Jewish people, some Roman rulers were bothered by the idea that he was the King of the Jews and would liberate the Jews from Roman rule. Jesus knew that "the end was near", but the disciples did not understand. He had his last supper with them the night before his death, where he shared bread and wine saying they were his body and blood. He also said to them that he knows one of them will betray him. Jesus' prediction became true when Judas came with Roman soldiers to arrest him. Judas had been given 30 pieces of silver to give Jesus' location. Jesus was brought before the Jewish priests for interrogation, but said nothing other than confirm he was the Messiah. He was given under custody of Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate was forced to crucify him by a angry crowd. Jesus was beaten and forced carried the cross to the crucifixion site. On top of his cross were written the letters INRI, meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews". Befor dying, he called out the words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". Once he died, a Roman soldier stabbed a spear into Jesus' body. Both blood and water came out, showing he really was the Messiah. Joseph asked to have Jesus' body, and buried him in a stone tomb. Three days later, Mary and two other women were going to Jesus' tomb to annoint his body when they saw the tombstone open and the body gone. They told the disciples, but were not believed. Later, the risen Jesus came to them to show them he had ressurected from the dead but he was not a ghost. He ascended into heaven, and is said to be seated at the right hand of the Father (God) and will come again to earth to judge the living and the dead. Peter went on to be the first leader of the religion Jesus had started, Christianity.
Beliefs and Practices
Holy Bread eaten at Church represents Jesus' body.
Followers of Christiany all try to follow the Ten Cmmandments, established by Moses during the Egyptian empire, written in the Old Testament. They stated the laws that Jews had to follow, and later Christians. God gave them to Moses so he could give it to the people. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (You will not have any other Gods other than the Lord.) 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. (You will not make any idols of other gods.) 3. You shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain. (You will not use God's name badly.) 4. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day. (Rmember to go to Church on Sundays.) 5. Honor thy father and thy mother. (Obey and respect your mother and your father.) 6. Thou shalt not kill. (Do not kill anyone.) 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Do not leave your husband or wife to be with another person.) 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (You shall not lie to anyone.) 10. Thou shalt not covet your neighbour's possesions. (You shall not desire or be jealous of anyone's possetions.) If one of these commandments were broken, it would be called a sin. Sins are major and minor. A minor sin would be something similar to taking an extra cookie for desert when your parents told you not to, or making a lie that doesn't do much damage to the person you are lying to. A major sin would be killing another person, or committing adultery. If a person does not repent their sins, when they die they go to hell, where they suffer for eternity. People who do repent their sins and be good people go to heaven, the place where God, Jesus, Holy Mary, and the Holy Spirit live. You shall live forever in heaven. All Christians should go to Church on Sunday. Church is where Christians worship God. They read from the Bible, sing Psalms, and eat holy bread and wine. This represents Jesus' body and blood, just like in the Last Supper. A priest always directs the Mass (the Church service). In the Roman Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination, the Pope leads the whole Catholic Church all around the world. He lives in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, which is located inside Rome. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, was the first Pope. When Peter died, another Pope came after him, and that is how it has been for about 2,000 years. All Christians usually pray at both Church and outside of Church. They pray in the mornings, at meals, at night, and in Church. Most prayers are directed to God, but they can also be directed to Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit, or a saint. What people usually do in their prayers is ask for forgiveness, ask for help, say sorry for your sins, or thank for what they have done for you. In the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches, saints are humans who died and then became holy. A person can become a saint when they are very religious on earth, and then die. When they die, if they perform a miracle that happens on earth, they are beatified. Once they do another miracle, they are recognized as a saint on earth. If you have ever seen information about saints, it probably says "he/she is the saint of..". All saints represent something on earth such as children, family, marriage, the sick, or lost items. In different situations you pray to different saints.
The Bible and other Symbols
The Holy Bible, the sacred book of Christianity.
The bible is the holy book used by many Christian denominations, mostly Roman Catholic. It is divided in two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament shows everything that happened before Jesus' birth, beginning with the creation of the world. God took seven days to create the world and it's creatures, the last being a resting day (the Sabbath Day). God created Adam and Eve, the first humans, to rule over all the creatures of earth in the Garden of Eden. God strictly told them not to eat from the tree of good and evil, but Adam and Eve were curious. A snake (the devil) in the tree tempted them to eat an apple from it, and they did. All of a sudden, they noticed they were naked and tried to cover themselves. When God saw them, he was angry and banished them to the barren lands outside of Eden. They had committed the original sin, which according to Christianity all humans are born with. To get rid off original sin, you need to be baptized. Baptizing is when a person is anointed with holy oils and water to get rid of original sin. In Roman Catholic, Mary was the only person to be born without original sin. Adam and Eve had two sons called Cain and Abel, who went on to spread human life across the world. During the Egyptian Empire, there were many slaves. One slave family had a child, who they named Moses. The pharaoh had been warned by an elder that one day a slave child will release the slaves, so the pharaoh sent all his soldiers to kill all the newborn slaves. The parents of Moses did not want him to die, so they put him in a basket in the river. A few days later, the pharaoh's wife found him, and took him to be raised as a prince of Egypt. As he grew up, he started learning more about his true past, and left the pharaoh. He wanted to liberate the slaves, and that is what he did. He sent ten plagues to Egypt. The pharaoh finally let Moses go with the slaves, but he tricked him and followed Moses with his army. The sea was in the way of Moses' group, so God helped him part it so they could go through. The slave group escaped, and Moses started teaching them about the God who had helped him. God gave him the Ten Commandments to give to the people. With this, Moses established the religion of Judaism, though his story and commandments are known in Christianity. Read more about Moses' story. To read more from the Old Testament, click here. The new testament begins with the life of Jesus, which you can read about above. To read from the New Testament, click here. Of course, the most recognizable symbol in Christianity is the cross, which represents the religion itself, but there are other symbols too. One of the most important is the Holy Trinity, which is three beings put together into one person. These three beings are God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They are used in the sign of the cross, a sign that Christians make whenever they are praying, in church, or they see something holy. It goes like this: you touch your right hand to your forehead and say, "In the name of the Father," then touch your hand to your heart and say, "and the Son," then touch your hand from your left shoulder to your right shoulder while saying, "and the Holy Spirit/Ghost, Amen." That is one of the most important signs used in Christianity. The simple drawing of a fish that many Christians use is called the ixthus or icthus, which is Greek for fish. In the early days of Christianity, many people died because of practicing it. Some Christians put a drawing of a fish in front of their doors to show that their house was safe for other Christians to be in. Ixthus/Icthus is made of five Greek letters which represent an acrostic. 1st letter: Jesus. 2nd letter: Christ. 3rd: God. 4th: Son. 5th: Savior. Putting all of these together, it spells: Jesus Christ is God's son, the Savior. The wine and bread signifies Jesus' body and blood, which he gave to his disciples and is given to people all over the world at Church. In Greek, angel means "messenger" or "bringer of tidings". It is said by some Christian denominations that every person on earth has their own Guardian Angel, who protects them throughout their life. According to Dionysus the Areopagite, a philosopher, there are nine classes of angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Virtues, Dominions, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. To read about them, click here. The halo is a symbol used to represent holiness. It can be seen in many different ways, but nobody knows the exact origin. Many believe it was based on the sun, which is a symbol of great power. Ancient humans used "sun disks" above or surrounding their gods, and that is probably where the halo came from. Christianity uses many colors, each representing something different. 1. Black- grief, sorrow, sickness, and death; the liturgical color of Good Friday 2.Blue- Heaven, wisdom, charity; Virgin Mary; Cherubim angels; substitution for purple during Advent in some Churches. 3.Brown- symbolizes the rejection of this world 4.Gold- worth, wealth, kingliness, splendor; Jesus' kingly office 5.Green- growth, life, hope, fidelity, immortality; liturgical color for Sundays after Feast of the Holy Trinity; color used by priests when no other colors are called for. 6.Grey- repentance and humility 7.Pink (rose)- color of the third Advent candle, signifying joy 8.Red- love, fervor, holy zeal, youth; blood and martyrdom; Holy Spirit and the Church; Seraphim Angels; liturgical color used for Pentecost, Harvest Festival, Reformation Sunday, a Church anniversary or dedication, martyr's days, Thanksgiving, and All Saint's Day. 9.Violet or Purple- penitence, royalty, preparation, mourning, humiliation, and passion; a liturgical color for the Four Sundays of Advent, Lent, Holy Week, and Maundy Thursday. 10. White- light, purity, innocence, joy, virginity, purification; the color of Saints who did not suffer martyrdom; liturgical color used for Christmas, Epiphany (Three King's Day), the Transfiguration of the Lord, Easter, Ascension Day, and the Festival of the Holy Trinity. 11.Yellow (a non-liturgical color rarely used.)- cowardice, disloyalty, treachery, jealousy, treason; sometimes used for a substitute of Gold Easter is the most important holiday for Christians, since it is the day Jesus rose from the dead. Easter Sunday is the first day after holy week, which starts with Palm Sunday, then goes to Maundy (or holy) Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These are the days of Jesus' death and the ones leading up to it. Christmas is another important holiday, which is the day Jesus was born. Twelve days after Christmas comes Epiphany, or Three King's Day, when the three wise men came to baby Jesus to bring him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Church has a liturgical year with different seasons, each of which have different events and Masses in them. Here is the Catholic liturgical year. It begins with Advent, the preparation for Jesus' birth and coming. This season lasts until December 24th, Christmas Eve. After that comes Christmastide, beginning with Christmas and ending with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the first Sunday after January 6. The following day comes Ordinary Time, a normal time in Church with no very important events or celebrations. 46 days before Easter is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a time for purification and penance. Ash Wednesday depends on the date It ends on the date of Easter, so it can be between Feb. 4 and Mar. 10. It ends with Holy Thursday, one of the days of Holy Week. The Easter Triduum is made up of the days Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon.These are the last days of Jesus' life and his Resurrection. After the Triduum comes seven weeks of the Easter season, its climax point at Pentecost. The rest of the year is Ordinary Time.
Contemporary Issues
One issue with Christianity is their ability to make lawsuits against eachother. The reading of 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 says that two Christians should should settle disputes in Church and not in court, because it says that the Church and Saints are the ones who will judge the world. They believe it is shameful to bring disputes to people who have nothing to do with the Church. Of course, many Christians do not follow this.