12 HUMSS 2

“All About Christianity”

Christianity
- is a religion based upon the teachings and miracles of Jesus.
– a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old
Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament
and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Elements
Founder – Jesus.
Jesus as the Messiah was anointed by God as savior of humanity and hold
that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old
Testament.
Sacred Text – Bible.
The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians
consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship
between God and humans.
Doctrines – Trinity, 10 commandments.
Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the
Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one
being.
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 - the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern

Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism.

Church of the east - Eastern Christianity comprises church families that

developed outside the Occident, with major bodies including the Eastern
Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, the Eastern Catholic
churches (that are in communion with Rome but still maintain Eastern
liturgies), and the denominations descended from the Church of the East.
Oriental Orthodoxy - is the fourth largest communion of Christian churches,
with about 76 million members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious
institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history and
culture of Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and parts of the Middle
East and India.

Eastern Orthodoxy - official name Orthodox Catholic Church, one of the

three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity. It is
characterized by its continuity with the apostolic church, its liturgy, and its
territorial churches. Its adherents live mainly in the Balkans, the Middle
East, and former Soviet countries.
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.
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.

Christian Customs and Traditions

 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).