As a Christian, someone who has put faith in trust in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ through His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, our behavior mirrors, reflects and resembles Christ. … Being a follower and disciple of Jesus extends beyond our outward behavior. It includes the condition of our heart.
When we put our faith and trust in Christ, when we commit our lives to serving Him and serving others as He served us, our behavior and mindset reflects the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Christ is with us and in us. We are new creations!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians
Our old way of thinking is gone. Our motivation, desire, and purpose are replaced with delight in the things of God. The joys and pleasures of our lives are exponentially enhanced through our relationship with Christ. And our selfish and worldly pursuits are exchanged for desire to honor God.
With that said, let’s suppose you come from a different religious tradition and know a little about what Christianity is/might be. Fundamentally, this is everything you need to know about the Christian Faith.
To learn more, (avoiding for now, the last 150 years of controversies among Christians), try to remember these five basic doctrines.
Finally, you should understand “What Is The Gospel?” Why is it so important to Christians?
Now that we have discussed the basics, I would suggest three approaches in looking to better understand Christianity; try at least one, all three would be better.
1. Read the story. Christianity at its best is simply living out the story. The best source for this is the Bible, uninterpreted. Find out for yourself.
It’s a long, complex story and the Bible is a big book, so I would suggest reading these parts of the story first:
- Luke and Acts. The story here focuses on Jesus, and the beginnings of Christianity and the church. Notice how Luke presents this part of the story as a continuation of the story of Israel.
- Genesis and Exodus. The beginning of the story; Abraham and his family; the early formation of Israel.
- 1st & 2nd Chronicles. Another look at the story of Israel, including later events.
- Isaiah. The story seen through the activities and words of a prophet.
- Romans. A letter to an early Christian community. Again, read it as a narrative. How does the author tell the story?
2. Visit a church to experience their liturgy; probably the best examples would be Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or Episcopalian because they use liturgies that are recent editions of historic ways of remembering the Biblical story. Some contemporary worship is too market driven or “relevant” to give you a good idea of Christianity.
These liturgies retell the story each week by reading and reflecting on parts of it, singing parts of it, acting out parts of it in baptism and the meal. Over time/a few weeks, you’ll gather enough of the story to begin to know what Christianity is.
3. Explore the basic teachings. By tapping the links, read the Apostles Creed📝 and Nicene Creeds📝 for starters and keep them handy as you explore. Read them as summaries of the story more than as abstract dogma. Tap this link to compare BOTH CREEDS🗒 side by side.
Then, we suggest you read these books:
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis,
- Basic Christianity by John Stott.
Other suggested reading:
- The Small Catechism by Martin Luther;
- Truth for All Time: A Brief Outline of the Christian Faith by John Calvin;
- Simply Christian by N.T. Wright;
- Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Ratzinger;
- An Introduction to Christian Theology from the Boisi Center Papers on Religion in the United States
WHO IS GOD AND How do we believe in HIM?
Christians believe there’s only one God, and He created the heavens and the earth. This Divine Godhead consists of three parts: the father (God Himself), the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.
The Historical Jesus vs. The Jesus of Faith
I, Dr. C. Matthew Hudson Jr., present this posting in order to put into motion a true academic discussion and/or introspective contemplation regarding who (The Messiah) Jesus Christ (A.S.) truly was.
This short video allows for some individual reflection and understanding of Jesus, from the scriptural evidence and not from what our religious ideology might have unnecessarily put forth…(viz. as translated and interpreted by our theological institutions and leaders).
Here is a fundamental telling of the “Life of Jesus”. This depiction is generally academically accepted by most Christians.
The Man to The Christ
WHO WAS JESUS, THE SON OF MAN?
His story is perhaps the most famous on Earth. Yet, how much history is really known about the man (at the center of Christianity) is a subject of much debate, with scholars in agreement over some elements of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and hotly divided on others.
There are no “eyewitness” accounts written about Jesus during his lifetime, so historians have to rely on interpretations of the four main canonical gospel texts, mostly scrawled several decades after his death.
Untangling the man from the myth is a delicate undertaking, but should be of interest to those of all faiths. This is so because his existence was necessary for the fulfilment and completion of God’s Revelation to mankind.
I think it’s natural for humanity to ask questions ‘why’ something happened; and those are not exactly the questions dealt with in the Gospels. It could be of interest to both Believers & non-Believers (in Jesus) to know which aspects of Christianity are rooted in historical facts and which are derived from religious convictions and experiences that cannot really be evaluated from an historical point of view.
The “Jesus” of history isn’t a complete mystery to Biblical scholars, who often make a distinction between the man and the religious figure depicted in the scriptures.
The following “facts” about Jesus would be affirmed by most history scholars, in our opinion:
- Jesus was born sometime just before 4 B.C. He grew up in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee, as part of the peasant class. Jesus’ father was a carpenter and he became one, too, meaning that they had likely lost their agricultural land at some point.
- Jesus was raised Jewish and he remained deeply Jewish all of his life. His intention was not to create a new religion. Rather, he saw himself as doing something within Judaism.
- He left Nazareth as an adult, met the prophet John and was baptized by John. During his baptism, Jesus experienced a divine vision.
- Shortly afterwards, Jesus began his public preaching with the message that the world could be transformed into a “Kingdom of God.”
- He became a noted healer, teacher and some say prophet. More healing stories are told about Jesus than about any other figure in the Jewish tradition.
- He was executed by Roman imperial authority.
- His followers experienced him after his death. It is clear that they had visions of Jesus as they had known him during his historical life. Only after his death did they declare Jesus to be “the Son of God.”
A point of emphasis, for most Christians is that debates over the divinity of Christ, his resurrection and such are less important to lesser devotees. What is important is what the narrative means for devout Christian followers.
If we learn to understand these stories as parables about Jesus — as metaphorical narratives (in some cases) — then the debates about their actuality and/or factuality diminishes as being a point of refutation.
[With] this approach to spiritually embracing the scriptures, it does not matter whether Jesus was born of a virgin or changed water into wine or walked on water (which we accept as fact). But for those who insist on debating their actuality and/or factuality, I would say: Fine! Let’s not debate about what was textually written. Let’s talk about what the text mean.
Historically and scriptural, Jesus was executed by the authorities — Roman imperial authority in collaboration with high-ranking priestly authority. Scripturally, we accept that he ‘die for the sins of the world’.
His followers found meaning in his death. We find meaning in his death. As Messiah, Son of God, and Lord, he is our affirmations and example for how we live our lives. In living in accordance to God’s way, our actions become powerful testimonies illustrating how the spirit of Christ flows through us.
We here at Interfaith Library created this library to open dialogue, to be informative, educational and interactive; allowing for everyone to have an opportunity to grow within his/her belief/faith.
- [Dr. C. Matthew Hudson Jr: Christian Librarian]
- [Prof. Larry Sibley: Christian Librarian]