Christianity

Christians have a number of beliefs and teachings about what God is like. Christians would say that God has an all-powerful and unlimited nature. Christians believe that this almighty God created the universe out of nothing and made humans in his own image. Christians also believe that God sent Jesus to earth so that people could be saved which shows that he is all-loving and good. An essential belief for Christians is that God became human in the form of Jesus; this is what is celebrated at Christmas. In John’s Gospel, this is referred to as the ‘Word’ (Jesus) becoming flesh. Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, who was told that he would be the Son of God. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the Bible tells of God’s presence being with the disciples in the form of the Holy Spirit. This is another important belief for Christians who would say that there are three persons of God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians would argue that their most important belief is that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. This is so central because they believe that Jesus conquered death and, if they believe, they will enjoy an afterlife in heaven. This event is so important that Sunday has become the Christian day of worship. There are many different ways for Christians to worship. Some follow services that are structured and have a pattern. This is called liturgical worship. Others would have services that are varied with more instinctive elements. Within some forms of worship, Christians preach the gospel to others, with the intention of converting others to Christianity. For them, there are many important messages within Christianity that they want to share. A central belief is that Jesus’ death on the cross healed the split between humans and God. Christians have many rituals that they would say are the outward signs of God’s invisible and inward blessing: baptism marks the entry of a child into the church family, or the washing away of sin of an adult; receiving bread and wine at Eucharist represents Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that part of his mission was to heal the split between humans and God which occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. For them, this split was repaired when Jesus died on the cross. The crucifixion offers humans a deliverance from sin and punishment and means they have the chance to live on with God after this life. However, before they can spend eternity in heaven, Christians believe that God will decide whether they are worthy to enter the Kingdom at the end of time. In order to be worthy of heaven, some Christians believe that they need to follow Jesus’ teachings, such as “Love your neighbour”, and do what they can to help others. However, other Christians would argue that although doing good deeds is important, it is far more important to believe that Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.