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Christianity

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Community entry: Christianity

From Wikipedia sources, the free encyclopedia in a attempt to keep it Quicksilver relevant.

Christianity is a group of religious traditions that trace their origins to Jesus Christ, a Jew of the first century C.E., and assert that he is God, the son of God and messiah -- the Lord and sole Saviour of all humanity

Christianity consists of many branches, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the various religious denominations of Protestantism. Other branches of Christianity have arisen which claim a separate historical lineage, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

According to a 1993 estimate, Christianity was the most populous religion, at 2.1 billion followers (1 billion Catholics, 500 million Protestants, 240 million Orthodox and 275 million others), before Islam at 1.1 billion and Hinduism at 1.05 billion.

Christianity emerged from Judaism in the first century of the Common Era (C.E.). Christians brought many ideas and practices from Judaism, including: monotheism; the belief in a messiah (or Christ, which means "anointed one" - who Christians believe to be Jesus); certain practices of worship, such as prayer, reading from religious texts, a priesthood, the idea that worship here on earth is patterned after worship in heaven. The book of Acts, in the Christian New Testament (NT), says that Christ's followers were first called Christians by non-believers in the city of Antioch, where they had fled and settled after early persecutions in Palestine, probably just a few years after Jesus' death, (and ascension).—Acts 11:19, 26.

Christianity holds one central idea, claiming that: By faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ individuals are saved from death both spiritual and physical by redeeming them from their sins (i.e. faults, misdeeds, disobedience, rebellion against God) through faith, repentance, and obedience; reconciling mankind to God through sanctification so that man can return to his place with God in paradise. Though, the full value of Jesus' sacrifice, and the extent and meaning of the words "death" and "paradise" is in dispute between the various Christian religions, along with the full merits of Jesus Christ's sacrifice.

Roots of Christianity

The Jewish background

Christianity emerged from Judaism in the first century of the common era. Christianity brought from Judaism its scriptures (the Old Testament) and fundamental doctrines such as monotheism, and the belief in a moshiach (Hebrew term for messiah); this term is more commonly known as Christ (Christos in Greek). The modern Jewish picture of the messiah is a national one - the deliverer of Israel, and has significant differences from how Christians understand the term. Christianity has a different form of the messiah, in which God himself came in the flesh as Jesus, and became the deliverer of both Israel and of all mankind. Christians and Jews have disagreed about which of them has the truer conception of messiah from the time Christianity was born until now, often relying on different interpretations of various passages from the Old Testament or Tanach.

Christianity also continued many of the patterns found in Judaism at that time, such as: adapting the form of synagogue worship to church parishes; use of incense in prayer; use of Psalms and other scriptures; a priesthood; a religious calendar in which certain events and/or beliefs are specifically commemorated on certain days each year; use of chant in hymns and prayer; ascetic disciplines such as fasting and almsgiving. Christians initially adopted the Jewish Septuagint as their scripture or Bible, and later also canonized the books of the New Testament. * Judaism * The Messiah prophesies * Essenes

Paul of Tarsus

While many doubt the historical “Jesus” as being real, it is clear Paul of Tarsus existed. Paul was called Saul originally. He came from Tarsus in Asia Minor. He was a Roman citizen but he was also a member of the Jewish group known as the Pharisees, which was most strict in its insistence on adherence to the Jewish law. He took a leading part in the persecution of the early Christians until his own conversion outside Damascus about 35 CE. It was then that he changed his name to Paul.

The great problem facing the early Christians was whether to preach this new religion to everyone or to preach only to the Jews. The original supporters of “Jesus” thought that the message of Jesus was only for the Jews. Paul wanted to preach the ‘good news’ to everyone and soon won many converts among the gentiles. Paul, therefore, deserves recognition as a crucial contributor to the success of Christianity. Cynical skeptics refer to the religion really being Paulism.

Paul believed it important that the followers of “Jesus” to spread the “good news” of God's gracious gift. He taught that “Jesus” would soon return for the Day of Judgment (which was coming real soon now, and it was important that all who would should believe in him and accept his way. Faith in “Jesus” as the Christ was necessary but not sufficient for salvation, nor could good deeds alone achieve it. That final blessing of salvation was a gift of God's grace that would be granted to some but not to all.

Paul and the other apostles did their work well. The new religion spread throughout the Roman Empire and even beyond its borders. It had its greatest success in the cities and for the most part among the poor and uneducated. The rites of the early communities appear to have been simple and few. Baptism by water removed original sin and permitted participation in the community and its activities. The central ritual was a common meal followed by the ceremony of the Eucharist ("thanksgiving"), a re-creation of the “Last Supper” in which unleavened bread was eaten and unfermented wine was drunk (taking its meaning and ceremony from the Jewish holiday Pesach celebrating the Hebrew's freedom from slavery in Egypt; However, the paschal lamb is replaced with the “lamb of God” saving Christians from sin. There were also prayers, hymns, and readings from the Gospels.

Not all the early Christians were poor, and it became customary for the rich to provide for the poor at the common meals. The sense of common love focused the community's attention on the needs of the weak, the sick, the unfortunate, and the unprotected. This concern gave the early Christian communities a warmth and a human appeal that contrasted with the coldness and impersonality of the pagan cults. No less attractive were the promise of salvation, the importance to God of each individual human soul, and the spiritual equality of everybody, in the eyes of God.

Complete in History of Christianity.

Apologists * Vatican - The Holy See - the web site of the Vatican

Critics * Anti-Christ.net - FFTAC - alliance of individuals and organizations that are attempting to expose the atrocities of the church, and the government. * Biblical America Resistance Front - resource for all who work to monitor and counter the social and political movement that aims to use its particular reading of the Bible as the basis of governance and American society.