Lesson 3.

4: Christianity

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

 While the main tenets of Christianity originated with Jesus Christ, it was His 12 disciples, and eventually apostles,
who institutionalized and established the bureaucratic structures of the religion. We see in the Book of Acts, the
book after the Gospels, the accounts of His disciples after His ascension to heaven. Fifty days after his resurrection,
the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of God, came down upon the followers of Jesus, in the form of fire and wind, to
inspire them to spread their leader’s teachings (Molloy 2005, 350-351). This is celebrated as the feast of the
Pentecost, and it is considered to be the birth of the Christian Church (Brown 1991, 34).
 The early Christian Church in Jerusalem was composed of many Jews. Both Judaism and Christianity were strong
religions for about 40 years after Jesus' death, but with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.,
they disappeared. The non-Jewish early Christians were spread through the Roman Empire through the missionary,
Paul (Molloy 2005, 352).
 For Paul, Jesus is a manifestation of the love of God. He saw Jesus as a great teacher, a prophet, the Savior, but most
of all, a divine being. He was sent to the world to free the world from sin, to reunite God and His creation after their
separation in the Fall of Man (Molloy 2005, 354).
 "paved the road to a universal Christianity, free from the burdens of the Mosaic Law" (Brown 1991, 33).

JESUS OF NAZARETH

 Much of what we know about Jesus Christ could be found in the Gospels. Even though he knew the Hebrew
Scripture well, he was not a scholar, nor a writer (Molloy 2005, 349),
 According to the accounts in the Gospels, he was born of a virgin named Mary who was supposed to wed Joseph of
Nazareth, a carpenter Joseph was a descendant of King David, and due to the Roman emperor’s decree of census, he
and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, David's homeland. In that land, Jesus was born in a manger, because there was no
lodging available to them. Jesus' birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as Christmas.
 We know little of His childhood, except perhaps when He Was found by His parents speaking with the teachers in the
Temple of Jerusalem. He was 12 years old then. The next account of Jesus in the Gospel was during His baptism and
His temptation in the desert for 40 days, which happened when he was “about 30.” From there, He began His public
ministry, teaching to the people of Israel.
 Since He was raised as a Jew, Jesus obeyed the Laws and learned the Hebrew Scriptures. Nonetheless, He still
thought independently, questioning the people on strict adherence to the teachings at the cost of injustice and lack
of love. Perhaps His greatest emphasis was on universal, unconditional love. He taught that we must forgive people
endlessly (Matthew 18:22). He even asked for forgiveness for those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34), He asks us to
love everyone, even our enemies (Luke 6:27) (Molloy 2005, 348).
 Jesus was condemned to death due to His unorthodox teachings, through the initiative of the chief priests and
Pharisees He was criticizing. His passion and death is commemorated during the Holy Week, which culminates at
Easter Sunday, where He supposedly rose from the dead.

TRADITIONS

 Liturgical Year
Throughout the year, Christians have several feasts. The biggest feasts are Christmas, to celebrate Jesus birth, and
Easter, to celebrate His Resurrection from the dead. Christmas was once celebrated on January 6, but later Rome
celebrated Christmas during the Roman midwinter solstice festival of Saturnalia, which is December 25. Traditionally,
Christmas is celebrated for 12 days, until the Epiphany, or the visitation of the wise men to Jesus (Molloy2005,
406407).
 Easter
as a Christian festival, developed earlier, influenced by the Jewish Passover. Christians have added another layer of
meaning by using the festival to recall Jesus' return to life which they believe to have occurred on the Sunday after
 the Jewish Passover." Unlike Christmas, the Easter Sunday does not have a permanent date, even though there had
been many attempts to do so (Molloy 2005, 406).
 In preparation for these festivals, there are also corresponding cycles that precede them. Advent is a four-week
preparation for Christmas, which symbolizes the 4000 years that was once thought to be the gap between Creation
and the coming of Jesus.
 Lent is a 40 day repentance to prepare for Easter, recalling the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. All pleasure and
luxurious are abstained or lessened during Lent.

Devotions and Venerations of Mary and the Saints

 Apart from centering their lives on Jesus, Christians, especially Catholics are also devoted to Mary, the Mother of
God. Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestants feel close to Mary, and consider her their mother. Mary has also
been viewed as the helper of those who suffer. Even Martin Luther retained veneration for Mary in the salvation
story of his reformed Protestantism (O' Collins and Farrugia 2003,370-371). Likewise also with saints, they venerate
saints but they do not worship them because that is idolatry.

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES

 HOLY TRINITY
The essential Christian beliefs are recorded in creeds, and there are different versions of such creeds. The common
element, however, is the acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. It was the Father who created the world, and Jesus often speaks about Him in the Gospels. Jesus is the
only Son of God, sent to save the world from sin. The Holy Spirit appeared in the Baptism of Jesus, and was also sent
down to the disciples to guide them in spreading Christianity. The Spirit is believed to guide all believers. While the
God of Christianity is agreed to as having one entity, there are a greater majority of Christians who believe that this
one God is a Trinitarian one: Father, Son, and Spirit (Molloy 2005, 361,363).
 CREED
The Nicene Creed (Traditional Wording)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God,
Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things
were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of
the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and seated on the right hand
of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have
no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son]; who with
the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets.
And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look
for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
AMEN.

SPIRITUALITY

GRACE

- It is necessary that every Christian must be, and always in the state of grace. Grace is define as primarily God’s loving
presence, the gift of the Spirit within us that justifies and sanctifies us (cf. CCC 203).

SACRAMENTS

- Although there have been different forms of Christianity. Much of their rituals are shared. The most important
among them are believed to be signs of God’s grace, called sacraments. People who will want to be converted to
 Christianity will have to undergo baptism. The person is cleansed with water, to signify repentance and cleansing.
Catholics and Orthodox baptize babies, while some Protestants baptize only those who are willing (Molloy 2005, 403-
4).
- During the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and shared the wine to represent His Body and Blood, and the
Apostles were sharing His suffering. This is commemorated through the sacrament of the Eucharist, where Christians
gather in the church, and share the Body and Blood of Christ. Some churches use literal bread and wine, while others
interpret it symbolically. (Molloy 2005, 404-405).
- These two are the most important sacraments in Christian practice. Others include confirmation, which is a blessing
of initiation after baptism; reconciliation, where someone confesses his /her sins and gets absolution; matrimony,
where two people commit themselves with each other for life with God as the center; ordination, where someone
commits himself to priesthood; and anointing of the sick, which is usually taken by a sick person (Molloy 2005, 405-
406).

Christian Discipleship

- The whole of Christian conviction could be summarized in Jesus' two great commandments: "Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as you love yourself"
(Matthew 22: 37-40). The life of the Christian is centered on these two things: praise and thanksgiving for God, and
acts of love to humankind (Brown 1991, 15).

Varieties/ New Movements/ Innovations

- In the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life, the total number of Christians worldwide is at 2.18 billion; this is more
than a third of the estimated global population of 6.9 billion. Apart from being number one in Asia, the Philippines is
fifth in the world, hosting 4% of those 2.18-billion Christians. The largest number resides in the United States with
246.8 million of the total Christian population of the world. It is followed by Brazil (175.8 million), Mexico (107.8
million) and Russia (105.2 million). Following the Philippines are Nigeria (80.5 million), China (67 million), Democratic
Republic of Congo (63.2 million), Germany (58.2 million) and Ethiopia (52.6million). In Asia, following the Philippines
are China (67.1 million), India (31.9 million), and Indonesia (21.2 million).
- In the 2010 survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are 57% Roman Catholics, 13.3% Iglesia Filipina
Independiente, 11.6% Aglipayan, 4.4% Iglesia ni Cristo, 1.1% Pentecostal, 0.9% United Church of Christ in the
Philippines, and the rest belongs to other Christian denominations (https:/h/nsoda/index.php/catalog/93/datafile/
F9/V137, Retrieved on June 10, 2015).
- For about 300 years since the death of Peter and Paul, the Romans persecuted Christians. “Christianity was declared
illegal, and many Christians died for their faith.” But when Constantine became the first Christian emperor of the
Empire (East and West), Christianity was more and more accepted, until it became the religion of the Roman Empire
at 3 CE (Brown 1991, 36). Constantine ruled as an emperor of both Western and Eastern until his death in 337 CE. He
transferred the capital from Rome to Byzantine, which he renamed Constantinople (Higgins 200776).

Eastern Orthodox Church

- With the Constantinople, the Eastern Roman Empire flourished, but at the cost of the political and military power of
the Western Empire (Higgins 2007, 76). When the Latin-speaking Western Roman empire fell in 5 th century BCE,
Western Christianity developed independently. The Greek-speaking Eastern empire developed its own form of
Christianity until 1453. This Eastern Church is called Orthodox Church because they settled on traditional beliefs
throughout its reign (Molloy 2005, 374).

Protestant Reformation

- With the successful spread and development of the Western Roman Church, they earned financial and political
support from the people. At one point, during the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the papacy was
asking for contributions, in return for “indulgence” which shortens the time that a soul would spend in purgatory.
Martin Luther, a German priest, “opposed the idea that anything spiritual can be sold” (Molloy 2005, 386-388). As
 such, he posted on the door of the Castle church of Wittenberg his proposed changed and reforms, in the form of
the 95 theses, Luther was asked to retract his statements, but he refused to do so. He “affirmed the supreme
authority of the scripture, and rejected both papal authority and the binding force of decisions rendered by
ecumenical councils” (Higgins 2007, 88).
- Luther pushed for “the right of every individual to radically question and reinterpret Christian belief and practice,”
which was called the Protestant Principle (Molloy 2005, 388). There are many different kinds of Protestants, and here
are some of them.
- Martin Luther translated the Christian Bible into German, to allow the liturgical practices to be more open to the
people who do not understand Latin.
- Over the years, Lutheranism has retained Luther’s original enthusiasm for the Bible, a trust in God, and excellent
church music” (Molloy 2009 37).
- French theologian John Calvin took the power of God as absolute; people are already judged whether they will be
saved or they will condemned, and their acts will not change this judgment. This doctrine, called predestination, is
the central belief of Calvinism. The Presbyterian Church is a descendant of Calvinism (Molloy 2005, 389-390).

The Anglican Church or Church of England

- started with a disagreement between the English monarch, King Henry VIII, and the pope regarding marriage and
divorce. Henry had to marry Catherine of Aragon of Spain to maintain the political ties between England and Spain.
But they had no son, no male heir. Henry later fell in love with Anne Boleyn, and wanted to marry her.
- He had to divorce Catherine, but the papacy refused. Out of dismay, Henry dismantled the monasteries in England,
and declared that the bishop of Rome, that is, the Pope, has no authority over the Church of England, which he
declared himself to be the Head. He had the Bible translated into English and made available in all Churches, which
later developed into the King James Bible in 1604 (Molloy 2005, 390-391; Higgins 2007, 90).
- Some smaller Protestant groups, collectively called Sectarianism, established by individuals inspired the Reform
going on in Europe. Examples include Anabaptists, Baptists, Quakers, Shakers, Pentecostal movement, and
Methodists (Molloy 2005, 391-392).
- The Protestants seek to find what is essential to the Christian experience. It places great emphasis on the individual's
own ability to establish a personal relationship with God summarized in terms of return to simple Christianity, the
centrality of Jesus, the guidance of the Bible, the importance of faith, direct relationship with God, and the value of
individual judgment.
- As a response to several Protestant reformations, the Roman Catholic Church started what we call the Catholic
Reformation or Counter Reformation, which began with the Council of Trent in 1545. They had to reform some of
their own rigid doctrines so as to respond to the reforms of the Protestants. They affirmed Luther’s conviction that
the scripture has binding authority, but the interpretation is entrusted to the Church officials, and not to individuals.
Salvation is decided to require, faith, hope, and love, as well as good deeds(Higgins 2007, 93). As a result of the
Protestant Reformation, Catholicism defends the following beliefs and practices: the importance of good works, the
value of tradition, a guided interpretation of the Bible, hierarchical authority, veneration of Mary and the saints, and
the seven Sacraments.