Christianity Brief History, Sacred Texts, and Core Teachings.pptx

This lesson is in line with the lesson in Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems in Senior High School
It focuses on the brief history, sacred texts, and core teachings of the religion Christianity.

1. Christianity

2. Jesus Christ Christ’s life, message, and ministry are chronicled in the New Testament, especially in the four Gospels. Jesus preached that He is the way to God. Man was separated from God through sins, but can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, turned over to the roman government, and crucified on the order of Pontius Pilate, the roman prefect. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, and the community they formed eventually became the early church.

3. Sacred texts: bible

4. Old testament Based principally upon the Hebrew Bible. Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections: The Pentateuch (Torah) The history books relating to the history of the Israelites, from their conquest of Canaan The poetic and ‘Wisdom’ books discussing, in different forms, the questions of good and evil in the world The books of the prophets, warning of the costs of turning away from God.

5. New testament Second major part of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in the first-century Church of Christ. The New Testament serves as a reference for Christian theology and morality. Readings from the New Testament are parts of various Christian church services. It consists of 27 books. It consists of the following: 4 narratives of the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, referred to as the Gospels An account of the apostle’s ministries in the early church, called the Acts of the Apostles 21 letters, often called ‘Epistles’ from Greek “ epistole ” consisting Christian doctrines, counsels, instructions, and even conflict resolutions. An Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation, which is a book of prophecy, involving some instructions to seven local congregations of Asia Minor.

6. Doctrines: trinity, virgin birth, deity of Christ, resurrection, last judgment

7. trinity The religious belief that God is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Refers to the teaching that “the one God comprises three distinct, eternally co-existing persons. Other Christian religions do not share those views on the Trinity.

8. Virgin Birth Designates the doctrine of traditional Christianity that Jesus Christ has no natural father, but was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit, and born while Mary was yet a virgin. The Catholic church holds it authoritative for faith and Protestants regard it as an explanation of the mixture of the human and divine natures of Jesus, but the scholarly consensus is that its historical foundations are very flimsy.

9. Resurrection Designates the concept of a living being coming back to life after death. The resurrection of the dead is a standard eschatological belief in the Abrahamic religions. The resurrection of Jesus is the chief focus of Christianity. The bodily resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ is the crowning proof of Christianity. Christian theologians argue that if the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. But if it did take place, then the Christian faith is absolute truth.

10. Last judgment (final judgment) A part of the eschatological belief of the Abrahamic religions In Christianity, it is the final and eternal judgment by God, through Jesus Christ, of the people in every nation resulting in the glorification or receiving of ultimate reward of some and the punishment of others. The "judgment" in the words previously spoken—judgment will begin at the house of God—refers to the judgment God passes today on those who come before His throne in the last days.

11. Christian Ethics Love is the core of Christ’s teachings- love of god, and love of neighbor. Love for god is shown by being compassionate. Being compassionate is not just confined to fellow human beings but also includes the entire creation of god. To love creation is an expression of one’s love for the creator.

12. The Summary of the law You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. A nd the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. O n these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-39)

13. Ten Commandments Also called the decalogue, the ten commandments are a set of laws given by god to the people of Israel at mt. Sinai through Moses. In exodus, god gave Moses the tablets containing the ten commandments, which Moses smashed into pieces because of extreme anger when he saw the golden calf idol created and worshipped by the Hebrews. God gave Moses another set to replace the broken one.

14. Sects: roman catholic, Greek/eastern orthodox, Protestantism, etc.

15. Academically, Christianity is traditionally divided into 3 major branches: Roman Catholicism Eastern orthodoxy Protestantism

16. Roman Catholicism A Christian-professing church that has been a key spiritual force that claims to trace its history to Jesus Christ and the apostles. Members of this church are called Roman Catholic. It is a term used to differentiate members of the Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope from other Christians who also use the term Catholic. T he term Catholic is one of the ‘four marks’ of the church (one, holy, catholic, and apostolic) set out in the Nicene Creed. N icene Creed- a confession of faith that expresses the divinity and unity of the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

17. Eastern orthodoxy Officially named the ‘Orthodox Catholic Church’ Declares that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It observes what it believes to be the original Christian faith and claims to keep the sacred tradition passed down from the apostles. They teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, and has no central governing structure analogous to the Papacy in the Roman Catholic Church.

18. Protestantism It is a religious movement that started in northern Europe as a reaction to medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. Shares with other Christians fundamental beliefs in the doctrines of the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the necessity of grace to save humans from the consequences of sin, and the centrality of Jesus’ death and resurrection for salvation. Led by Martin Luther, John Calvin and others, reformers broke from the Roman Catholic Church partly due to its abusive ecclesiological structures and supposed faulty doctrines. It rejects most Catholic rituals and sacraments. It advocates, instead, the doctrine of salvation through faith (alone) in Jesus Christ.

19. issues

20. ecumenism refers to the effort of the Catholic Church to sponsor activities and initiatives to promote mutual understanding and unity among all Christians. also be described as the promotion of worldwide Christian unity (Brodd 2003). It is based on Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism which states that: “The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ Himself were divided. Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the only cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature.”

21. Sexuality Due to its conservative view of human sexuality, it has often found itself in conflict with progressive and liberal ideas regarding certain issues connected to sexuality such as artificial contraception, abortion, and homosexuality. Christianity advocates that the goal of sexual union between men and women is procreation, thus anything that might hinder this is considered immoral. Having sexual pleasure from such union is not necessary, thus when people use artificial contraceptives, such as condoms, birth control pills, IUDs (intrauterine contraceptive devices), and the like, they are committing a sin because they are engaging in sexual acts without procreation in mind. Instead, Christianity advocates natural family planning methods such as the rhythm method, wherein couples will engage in sexual acts only during days when the woman is not fertile and cannot conceive a baby.

22. In this light, abortion is also considered as immoral by the catholic church since it entails the killing of life. For the Catholic Church, life begins at fertilization, when the sperm and ovum meet to form a single cell, hence abortion is already considered as taking away the life of a person. Another issue with regards to sexuality is that of homosexuality. It refers to attraction to members of the same sex. Males who are attracted to males are called gays, while females attracted to females are called lesbians. It also states that when God created humans, He created male and female only, and that their union is meant for procreation. Thus, in the Christian line of thinking, homosexuality should not be practiced since it is not in accordance with God’s plan. The Church does not allow same-sex marriage and is vocal in opposing homosexual relationships

23. The apostle’s creed, the lord’s prayer, and the beatutides

24. Summary Christianity is one of the first monotheistic religions in the world. It considers god as the creator and maintainer of the universe—omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent. The bible is considered the sacred scripture of Christianity and is the basis of the religion's teachings. • According to Christianity, since human beings are created in the likeness of god, they are intrinsically good; but they are also given free will, so they are considered prone to sin and in need of grace. • The goal of every individual is to have eternal life of the soul after death. • For those who have become good Christians, the reward is eternal life in heaven; for those who lived a life full of sins, the punishment is eternal damnation in hell.