HUMSS 2

Christianity
- The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, or its beliefs and practices.
- Christianity is today the world's most widespread religion, with more than a billion members,
mainly divided between the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It
originated among the Jewish followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who believed that he was the
promised Messiah (or ‘Christ’), but the Christian Church soon became an independent
organization, largely through the missionary efforts of St Paul. In 313 Constantine ended official
persecution in the Roman Empire and in 380 Theodosius I recognized it as the state religion.
Most Christians believe in one God in three Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit)
and that Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead after being crucified; a Christian hopes
to attain eternal life after death through faith in Jesus Christ and tries to live by his teachings as
recorded in the New Testament
Elements
Founder - Jesus and Paul
- The story of Jesus and early Christianity continues to be a subject of public interest and who
founded Christianity continues to be debated. When we look at the beginning of Christianity, two
figures come into play: Jesus and Paul. While Jesus is viewed by many Christians as the founder
of the religion whose life events laid the groundwork of Christianity, Paul is viewed as the great
interpreter of Jesus’ mission, arguably one of the most important and influential figures in our
history, delivering that mission in a way no one had before.
Sacred Text - Bible
- Christianity combines the Jewish Old Testament with the New Testament to form the Christian
Bible, which followers refer to as the Holy Scriptures. The New Testaments for Protestants,
Catholics and Orthodox are the same. However, the Old Testaments differ: Catholics and
Orthodox use more books from the Old Testament than the Protestants do; the Catholic and
Orthodox Bibles, unlike Protestant Bibles, are based on the “Septuagint”.

Doctrines - The Bible and 10 Commandments

THE BIBLE - The Holy Spirit Guided human authors so that what they wrote in Scripture is
accurate and without error…Ultimately, the real value of the Bible is realized in our life as we
apply the Scriptures to Life.
10 Commandments
1. “You shall have no other gods before me."
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You
shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God and only worthy of
 worship, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth
generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who
love me and keep my commandments."
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. "
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord
your God is giving you."
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery."
8. “You shall not steal.”
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
10. “You shall not covet”
God-
Let it suffice to say that as Christians we believe in one God, but in three persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, which we refer to as the Trinity or the Godhead. The Three Persons of the
Trinity appear to work separately from each other, but when you realize that God is omnipresent,
everywhere at once, you can see how He can be with us now in the form of the Holy Spirit, and
as Jesus when He walked the earth, and still be in Heaven in the form of the Father.
Sects - Eastern Catholic Churches; all the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox,
Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
Oriental Orthodox - Oriental Orthodoxy comprises those Christians who did not accept the
Council of Chalcedon in 451. Other denominations often erroneously label these churches
"Monophysite"; however, as the Oriental Orthodox do not adhere to the teachings of Eutyches,
they themselves reject this label, preferring the term Miaphysite. Some of these churches,
especially the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria claim origination by Saint Mark and his
1st-century missionary journeys. Oriental Orthodoxy forms the fourth largest communion of
Christian churches, with approximately 76 million members.
Eastern Catholic Churches - All of the following are particular churches of the Catholic
Church. They are all in communion with the Pope as Bishop of Rome and acknowledge his
claim of universal jurisdiction and authority. They have some minor distinct theological
emphases and expressions (for instance, in the case of those that are of Greek/Byzantine
tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin view of Purgatory). The Eastern
Catholic Churches and the Latin Church (which together compose the worldwide Catholic
Church) share the same doctrine and sacraments, and thus the same faith. The total membership
of the churches accounts for approximately 18 million members.
Eastern Orthodox - The Eastern Orthodox Church consists of jurisdictions in communion with
each other. The church has over 250 million members, making it the second largest church. [25]
Some of them have a disputed administrative status (i.e. their autonomy or autocephaly is only
partially recognized), and are marked as such, but all remain in communion with each other as
one church. The Orthodox claim continuity (based upon apostolic succession) with the early
Church, and consider themselves pre-denominational, being the original Church of Christ before
1054.
Protestantism - is the second largest form of Christianity with collectively more than 900
million adherents worldwide or nearly 40% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century
Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman
Catholic Church.
Roman Catholicism - The branch of Christianity headed by the pope. The Roman Catholic
Church is governed by a hierarchy with the pope at the top and, at the lower levels, bishops and
priests.
Customs and Tradition -
Preparing the Holiday Feast - When you stuff the holiday bird, glaze that ham or put together
any of the hundreds of dishes associated with the traditional holiday celebrations of Christmas
and Easter, you're reinforcing Christian values and traditions in your home.
other customs and tradition:

● Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

● The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

● The holiness of the Church and the communion of saints.

● Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgement and salvation of the faithful.

● Sunday worship service.

● Private and corporate prayer.

● Study and reading of the Scriptures.

● Participation in rites such as baptism and communion (known as sacraments).