What is Christianity? Throughout the history of the world there has never been such as an epic movement than Christianity
What is Christianity?
Throughout the history of the world there has never been such as an epic movement than Christianity. In the course of the centuries this movement has influenced the cultural development of many nations with spiritual, social and moral values. However despite the great effect this movement has caused on the entire planet, the question remains, what is Christianity? People from the secular world answer that question by saying that Christianity is just another religion. Other religions answer by saying that Christianity is just a different faith. But Christians on the other hand, answer by stating that Christianity consists of a lifestyle that develops a personal relationship with God.
The Word Christianity derives from the word Christian, which means Christ-like, a follower or disciple of Christ. According to the Bible in the book of Acts in the chapter 11, verse 26, the term Christians was first referred to the disciples of Jesus Christ approximately around the years 60 and 63 in a city called Antioch in Asia Minor. The Bible, or the Holy Scriptures, is the text book Christians use for their daily devotion. These Scriptures play a very important role in the life of Christianity. The Bible is a collection of 66 books. These 66 books are divided into two parts. The first part is the Old Testament and the second part contains the New Testament. The Bible besides containing social, moral and spiritual values, it also contains vast information about world history as well.
According to the secular world, Christianity is defined just as another religion. When we see Christianity from a religious perspective, we find that it consist in a list of thousands of commandments that must be fulfilled by those belonging to the religion. All this is with the purpose to give the service and worship God deserves.
In religious practices the commandments perform several aspects in the life of those who practice them. For instance, one of these commandments, in the book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 3 reads, "You shall have no other gods before me." ...
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According to the secular world, Christianity is defined just as another religion. When we see Christianity from a religious perspective, we find that it consist in a list of thousands of commandments that must be fulfilled by those belonging to the religion. All this is with the purpose to give the service and worship God deserves.
In religious practices the commandments perform several aspects in the life of those who practice them. For instance, one of these commandments, in the book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 3 reads, "You shall have no other gods before me." This verse states a commandment or and order to the religious one to be faithful to his/ her God. Therefore such verse defines one aspect of religion as spiritual. Another example can be found in the same book, in chapter 20, verse 8, and it reads, "Remember the Sabbath day, (which represent the seventh day of the week, that is Saturday) to keep it." The characteristic of this verse differs from the previous commandment to a remembrance of keep it a specific day in the week to dedicate it in a way to set themselves apart from the worries that their daily activities caused them. Instead to dedicate that time to perform certain social activities with their families or neighbors in the service of their God.
In the service to God there are several ritual and ceremonies that take place in this religion. One of these ceremonies is the gathering of people or the church to worship God. This ceremony denotes a social aspect. Moreover we find in the book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 13 the statement, "Thou shall not commit murder." The attitude of this verse is not only defined as spiritual but also as a moral aspect. The reason for that is because we find the value life has before God and how He exhorts man to contribute to conserve it.
Furthermore, supernatural events, acts of compassion and symbolic meanings are the results of the prospects of Christianity when defined as a faith. First of all, a faith consists of belief, trust and loyalty to God at any cost. Now, when a person believes trusts and is loyal to his/her God, such a person has great expectations from Him. Moreover, we find that another condition of faith is that faith does not rely on materialistic or physical facts to prove or approve belief in such faith. For example, in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, it reads, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek him." The point marked in this verse declares the idea of believing in what they don't see and receiving what they expect.
Moreover, we find more specific events that took place in biblical times that reflect more aspects of this faith. For instance, in the gospel according to Saint John, in the second chapter, in the first eleven verses, there is a passage where miraculously water is turned into wine by Jesus. Such aspect can be defined as a supernatural event and at the same time soaked in symbolic meaning, since we find elements like water, wine and six water- pots of stone. Another example is also found in the same book of John, chapter 6, where Jesus fed a multitude of five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. Once again we find two aspects of faith in this passage, which are a supernatural event and an act of compassion towards the hungry people. Last of all when we define this faith as a lifestyle, we find that there are three main aspects that describe this lifestyle. For example, one aspect consists of an evangelical purpose to evangelize the world or reach out to those who don't know the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the book of Mathew, chapter 28, verse 19 it reads, "Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Such scripture states the duty, obligation and responsibility of a Christian to share the gospel as part in his/her life. Another aspect that defines Christianity as a lifestyle is worship. This act implies a personal devotion of worship towards God in a personal relationship with Him. In the gospel according to Saint John, in chapter 4, verse 23 it reads, "But the hour cometh, and now I, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him." In conclusion, Christianity is the term used to identify a religion whose faith is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ (founder of Christianity and Savior of the World) and whose purpose is to follow the life of Jesus as an example through His word (The Holy Scriptures) and develop a closer relationship with God.
