Christianity

a completely sinless life.<br><br> At age thirty he began a public ministry whereby he selected a hand full of disciples and traveled around the country teaching about God, and performing miracles which affirmed his teaching. Because of his great popularity, and the fact that he publicly exposed the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious officials, those in high religious and political positions began to plot his death. Ultimately they accused him of blasphemy and convinced the Roman authorities that he should be executed.<br><br> Following the death of Christ, the Christian faith spread rapidly throughout the world until today it has twice as many adherents as the next most prominent world religion. Essential Beliefs God Christians believe that there is one living and true God. He is characterized with such attributes as spirit, knowledge, creativity, personality, free will, eternalness, dominion and self-consciousness.<br><br> He created material reality for his own purposes and is actively involved in keeping it going as long as it suits his purposes. God has revealed himself to be perfect in every way, and we owe him our highest love, gratitude and service. Though there is one and only one God, he has revealed himself to mankind in three parts 3 God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.<br><br> These three means of revelation reveal very distinct attributes of his person- hood, but do not indicate any division of his nature, his essence or his being. As Father, God has revealed himself through his creative power and in the way he maintains the order of the material universe. He also displays his fatherly qualities in his relationship to mankind.<br><br> This does not mean that all humans are related to him in a father-child relationship. It is possible for God to act with fatherly care, even toward those who do not establish a personal relationship with him. But it is possi- ble for individual human beings to enter into a personal relationship with him where that father-child relation- ship is a personal reality.<br><br> Individuals may choose to enter this relationship through faith in Jesus Christ. At that point the interaction with God becomes personal rather than impersonal. As Jesus Christ, God has revealed himself as a human being.<br><br> Though he is often referred to as the Son of God and the Son of Man, he is, in his essence, God. In order to reveal himself this way, it was necessary for him to put limits on himself. Material reality cannot hold the fullness of the personhood of God.<br><br> Since God, in his essence, is spirit, it is impossible for humans who are confined to the material world to understand many things about God. God 9s purpose in becoming a human was two fold. First, it was a way for him to reveal himself in a visible and tangible way to mankind.<br><br> Secondly, his death on the cross provided the means for mankind to overcome the bondage of sin and death. His conception and birth were supernatural. He was conceived as a work of God by means of the Holy Spirit and born of a woman named Mary, who was a virgin.<br><br> During his lifetime he perfectly lived out and revealed the will of God. His death was brought about by execution on a Roman cross as a common criminal. This execution, though, was the means by which God provided the way to heaven for mankind.<br><br> On the third day, after his death, he was bodily raised from the dead. Following his resurrection, he made appearances to his followers for a period of forty days. After that time, he rose to heaven and was elevated to the right hand of God where he serves as the intermediary between man and God.<br><br> One day he will return to the earth with all of his power and glory to judge the world. The third expression of God is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a separate entity from the Father and from Jesus Christ.<br><br> Rather, this expression of God is a form by which he is able to interact with every individual human being in a personal way 3 all at the same time. In the form of the Holy Spirit, God inspired men to write Scripture, and continues to inspire individuals as they read that scripture so that they can understand the truth contained within it. As Holy Spirit, he also works personally in the lives of individuals and causes them to recognize their need for a relationship with himself.<br><br> Man Mankind was created by a special act of God, and is different than all of the other living creatures. As a be- ing who was created cin the image of God, d humans possess the very characteristics that God himself possesses (things such as creativity, free will, self-consciousness, etc.). Not only is mankind different in character from other creatures, but different as it relates to God 9s purpose, as well.<br><br> Humanity was created for the purpose of personal fellowship with God. God initially created mankind innocent of sin and able to interact with himself without restriction. But man chose rebellion from God and fell from his original innocence.<br><br> As a result of this choice, human nature, and the world, became corrupted and inclined toward sin and evil. This also created a gulf of separation between man and God. Man does not have the power within himself to bridge this gulf and requires an action of God 9s grace to cor- rect the problem.<br><br> God provided the means for remedying the problem by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is up to each individual to freely choose to accept this remedy in order to restore the fellowship with God. Salvation Salvation is the process by which individuals are able to solve the problem of man 9s separation from God.<br><br> It is offered as a free gift to every person who willingly asks God for it based on the forgiveness provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While salvation is a single process, we can identify three stages of the process which result because of the fact that we currently operate within the confines of material reality. The first stage is often referred to as justification or the new birth.<br><br> This takes place at the point in time when an individual specifically acknowledges and turns away from personal sin, and asks God 9s forgiveness based on the death and resurrection of Christ. This is done by an act of faith whereby the individual acknowledges Christ as Savior and Lord. This represents the beginning point of a person 9s personal relationship with God.<br><br> The second stage is called sanctification and represents the period of time between the moment a person re- ceives Christ and physical death. During this stage a believer is charged by God to willingly work toward moral and spiritual perfection. This is possible because God himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit, attaches his life and power to the person who enters into relationship with him.<br><br> This is not to say that any individual ever actu- ally reaches perfection in this life, but the power to move in that direction is present. The third stage is called glorification and begins when an individual 9s spirit is freed from the confines of the material world at the point of physical death. At this moment an individual enters directly and eternally into the very presence of God.<br><br> Faith Foundation 1. What is the most fundamental reality? (Ultimate reality) Christianity acknowledges a personal, infinite, transcendent God who is both Creator and Sustainer of the universe.<br><br> 2. What is the nature of our material reality? (Material reality) Material reality is recognized to be a special creation that was intentionally designed by God to accomplish a specific purpose.<br><br> 3. What is a human being? (Humanity) Humans are beings who were especially created by God, in his own image, for the purpose of personally in- teracting with himself.<br><br> 4. What happens to a person at death? (Death) When a human being dies, the individual 9s essential life force is transferred from the temporal material world into that portion of reality which is eternal.<br><br> Depending on the decisions made during the time on earth, the person transfers either to heaven or hell. 5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?<br><br> (Knowledge) Humanity has the ability to have knowledge because God created him with that ability. This is one aspect of the cimage of God d which he put into mankind. Regarding the knowledge itself, there is such a thing as ctruth d and it is revealed in the Bible.<br><br> 6. How do we know what is right and wrong? (Morality) The nature of right and wrong has been revealed to mankind by God.<br><br> This revelation is partially known be- cause that knowledge was put, by God, directly into individual humans (conscience). The other parts of the moral revelation come from scripture, from the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 7.<br><br> What is the meaning of human history? (History) History is seen, by Christians, to be a linear succession of events which began with God 9s creation of mate- rial reality, and which is moving toward a final end which will fulfill the purposes for which it was made. Authority In Christianity, the Bible is considered to be the final authority for understanding the faith and for knowing how those principles should be lived out in life.<br><br> Even though it was written by men, it is considered to have been inspired by God himself. God wanted mankind to know who he is, what he is like, the nature of material and spiritual reality and how mankind can interact with him. To accomplish this, he has revealed himself in var- ious ways, and the core of that revelation has been written down and is the Bible.<br><br> While there are parts of scripture that have been interpreted in different ways by different groups of Chris- tians, the essential core beliefs relating to the issues of knowing who God is and to how he can be known in a personal relationship, are crystal clear and serve as the foundation of the faith. Since this is the very revelation of God himself, it is considered to be the absolute truth. Any teaching that deviates from the revelation is considered to be a false teaching.<br><br> Evidence for the Authority The evidence that the Christian faith represents the one true worldview rests completely on whether or not the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened. If it did, the Christian faith is the one and only expression of truth. There have been many people throughout history who have delved into the evidence for the truth of the resurrection.<br><br> One of the recent efforts at this has been by Lee Stroble in his book, The Case for Christ . Here is a summary of the way he has expressed this evidence. Under each category there are numerous specific pieces of evidence to bolster the claim.<br><br> 1. Eyewitness Evidence - People who knew Jesus and were present with him wrote the gospels and other New Testament writings. 2.<br><br> Documentary Evidence - The biographies of Jesus and other writings about the early church are accurately preserved. 3. Corroborating Evidence - There is strong evidence of the truth of the New Testament 9s information outside of the Biblical text.<br><br> 4. Scientific Evidence - The archeological evidence is strong. 5.<br><br> Rebuttal Evidence - Other approaches which try to discount the evidence for the accuracy of the accounts of Jesus do not stand up to scrutiny. 6. Identity Evidence - Jesus believed he was the Messiah.<br><br> (He was either crazy, lying or truthful). 7. Profile Evidence - The life of Christ stands the test of truth.<br><br> 8. The Fingerprint Evidence - Jesus matches up with the identity of Messiah from prophesy. 9.<br><br> Medical Evidence - Medical descriptions of the death and resurrection of Jesus are strong. 10. Evidence of the Missing Body - The body really was gone.<br><br> 11. The Evidence of Appearances - Jesus was seen after the resurrection by the apostles, close associates and over 500 more people. 12.<br><br> Circumstantial Evidence C The disciples were willing to die for their beliefs. C People who had previously been skeptics changed their minds because of the proof. C James, the brother of Jesus C Paul C There were significant changes to key social structures, and a completely new theology emerged among former Jews.<br><br> C You wouldn 9t expect the celebration of an execution, yet communion and baptism have become central elements of the faith. C In spite of the high unlikelihood that a new religion would emerge out of the circumstances surrounding the death of Christ, the Christian church rose and spread like wildfire. The cumulative nature of the evidence that Jesus Christ really was God in the flesh is extremely compelling.<br><br> It is powerful evidence that the authority upon which the Christian faith is built is the truth. Additional Explanations about Christianity As with every religion, there are various forms of the Christian faith. No attempt will be made to break down the other religions in the same way we are doing Christianity, but because it is being held up as truth, it is felt to be important to make a few more distinctions.<br><br> In doing this further evaluation, we will not attempt an exhaustive assessment of all of the possible distinc- tions. There are some very major groupings, however, that are significant enough to warrant this extra attention. These include Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity and Liberal Christianity.<br><br> Even with this extra evaluation, the analysis will be limited. This is because, in spite of some very large dif- ferences regarding certain doctrines and practices, the worldviews are quite similar (except for Liberal Christi- anity). © 2006 Freddy Davis<br><br>

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