What is Christianity?

• Christianity

  An Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
• Christianity is the world's largest religion with roughly 2.3 billion followers representing one-third of the global population
• Christianity is separated into several different denominations, but is often divided into three main branches: Catholicism, Orthodox, and Protestantism
• The Bible

  A central source of authority for all Christians, made up of a collection of books including 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament
• The Christian doctrine of the Trinity

  One God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit
• In the first century C.E., Christianity started off as an offshoot religion of Judaism. Until the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 324 C.E., early Christian communities were often persecuted
• Abrahamic Religions

  The three sister religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which all believe that the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) was their common forefather
• The three Abrahamic religions

  • Judaism
  • Christianity
  • Islam
• The main religious denominations

  • Catholicism
  • Protestantism
  • Eastern Orthodoxy
• Similarities between Judaism and Christianity

  • Both believe in the same monotheistic God, engage in similar forms of worship and are praying to the same God, Yahweh
  • Both are Abrahamic religions, acknowledging Abraham as the forefather and patriarch of faith
  • Both accept the Old Testament, which in Judaism is also referred to as the Hebrew Bible and considered a key scripture
  • Both are bound by moral codes and laws, with the Ten Commandments as a key theological basis
• Covenant

  An agreement between two or more parties, a promise between Abraham and God
• Promised Land

  A homeland for the Jewish people, found in the modern-day country of Israel (formally known as Palestine)
• The Jewish people believe that Israel belongs to Jews in fulfilment of God's covenant with Abraham to give the Jewish people a Promised Land, which has often led to conflict both within and outside the religion
• Pax-Romana

  The method of keeping peace in countries the Roman Empire had invaded, allowing countries to keep their religions and general way of life as long as they paid taxes to Rome and did not revolt
• The Jewish people prayed for their Messiah to appear, hoping he would drive the Roman Army out of Palestine and establish the Kingdom of God
• Messiah

  A saviour and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people
• The books of the New Testament frequently cite Jewish scripture to support the claim of the Early Christians that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, but the Jewish people do not regard any of these prophecies as having been fulfilled by Jesus
• There were many self-proclaimed Messiahs around the time of Jesus, both before and after his incarnation, and Jesus was not the only person preaching a Messianic message at this time
• Son of God


  A Greek term used to describe an important person, usually a King, who had achieved great victories or was a popular or powerful leader. At the time of Jesus, the terms Messiah and Son of God had become connected
• The stories about Jesus are interpreted to show he was both human and divine, that he was both the Messiah and the Son of God
• It has been suggested that the work of Jesus Christ and the impact of his death and resurrection would not have made any lasting impact on the world were it not for the missionary work of St. Paul
• Saul's conversion


  Saul, a Pharisee who had been violently opposed to the Christian faith, experienced a dramatic conversion on the Damascus Road, where he found himself filled with the Holy Spirit and began preaching the Christian gospel
• Paul's teaching

  Centred on understanding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a central turning point in history, and that freedom from the Law set everyone free
• Roman persecution of Christians began in the reign of the emperor Nero in 64 AD and continued for about 250 years until the recognition of Christianity by Constantine in 313 AD
• Christians were persecuted by the Romans because they worshipped only their own God, refused to participate in social rituals or religious Pagan ceremonies, and refused to worship the emperor
• Persecution of Christians began in the reign of the emperor Nero


  64 AD
• Recognition of Christianity by Constantine

  313 AD
• In the early days of the Apostolic Age, Christians were persecuted by the Jews, who did not recognize Jesus as Christ
• Later, as Christianity spread to Asia and Rome, it was oppressed by the Roman Empire
• Christians worshiped only their own God and refused to participate in social rituals or religious Pagan ceremonies of the time
• This was regarded as a threat to the peace, but could also potentially upset the Roman Gods
• Christians refused to worship the emperor because they could not worship anyone other than God
• For Romans, emperor worship was the most powerful means to unify the empire and the standard of loyalty to the empire
• The Roman government regarded the attitude of Christians as disloyal and rebellious against the emperor and the empire, and so Christianity was persecuted as an illegal religion
• According to the Roman historian Tacitus, Nero had the Christians covered in wild beast skins and torn to death by dogs. They were nailed to crosses and thrown to hungry Lions. others Christians, were smeared over with combustible materials, were used as torches to illuminate the night
• Constantine called the First Council of Nicea which formulated and codified the Christian faith


  325 AD
• Constantine is the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity
• Constantine attributed his success in battle to the Christian God and immediately proclaimed his conversion to Christianity
• Constantine devoted himself completely to God, and would from then on immerse himself in the reading of inspired writings
• Constantine made the priests of God his close advisers, and believed that it was his duty to honor the God who had appeared to him in his original vision