Christianity

Christianity: Christians follow the teachings of and about Yeshua of Nazareth, commonly referred to as Jesus Christ. (Jesus is the Greek form of Yeshua; Christ is Greek for "the Messiah" or the "anointed one.") Yeshua was a Jewish preacher who was born between 4 to 7 BC. He was executed by the Roman occupying authorities in Palestine, perhaps on Friday, April 7, 30 AD (i.e. in the spring of the year 30). Christians regard him as the son of God. They further believe that he is God, the second person in the Trinity. (The Trinity consists of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; three separate persons, all eternal, all omnipresent, who form a single, unified deity.) Christians believe that Jesus co-existed with God before the creation of the world, was born of a virgin, was resurrected three days after his death, and later ascended to Heaven.

The followers of Yeshua formed the Jewish Christian movement, centered in Jerusalem, after his death. They regarded themselves as a reform movement within Judaism; they continued to sacrifice at the temple, circumcise their male children, follow Jewish kosher food laws, etc. Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, originally a persecutor of the Jewish Christians, reported a vision of the risen Christ. Adopting the new name of Paul, he became the greatest theologian of the early Christian movement. His writings, along with those of the author of the Gospel of John, provided much of the theological foundation for Christianity as we know it. Paul's ministry was directed to Gentiles -- non-Jews in the Mediterranean basin. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Army in 70 AD, the Jewish Christian movement was largely dissipated, leaving Pauline Christianity among the Gentiles as the dominant group.

The Roman Empire recognized Pauline Christianity as a valid religion in 313 AD. Later in that century, it became the official religion of the Empire. Church authority became concentrated among the five bishops or patriarchs located in Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Rome. With the expansion of Islam throughout the Middle East during the seventh century AD, power became concentrated in Constantinople and Rome. These two Christian centers gradually grew apart in belief, and practice. In 1054 AD, a split was formalized between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and it remains in effect today.

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century led to a split within the western church. The Protestant movement further fragmented into what is now thousands of individual man-made denominations and groups of denominations. Unfortunately, like other religions... when man starts to change the Word of God to his individual desires, the church as a whole suffers. There is a move among many churches to get back to the basics of Biblical teaching and disregard some of the repetitious, man-made rituals that are not based in God's word. Many believers are learning that tolerance and love of our fellow man can co-exist with an intolerance to sinful behavior. "Love the sinner, not the sin".

Like most of the other religions, there has been a lot of war and killing done in the name of Christianity. Once again, man manipulates the original word of God to enhance power and control of people.

Beliefs: Christians believe in the Old Testament, like the Jews. God designed a set of laws for us to live by. Not because He is such a stickler for rules, but because He loves us so much. These rules were set up to protect us. Originally the world, man and nature functioned in perfect harmony. After the fall of man, sin changed the world and required God to set up a system for atonement (forgiveness) for man's sinful nature. This included laws and regulations. Because of the sinful nature of man no one person could lead a perfect life. For this reason, he sent a son to come in the flesh to take on the sin of the world. Christ came to fulfill the Law of the Old Testament for all mankind. Because he took on the sin and guilt of all mankind, believers are given the free gift of eternal life. When Christians state they are 'Born Again' they simply mean they have made a decision to trust in Christ and recognize that we are not in charge. God came and fulfilled the 'Law' so believers are not condemmed by it.

An in-depth sudy of all the major religions show common points that were adopted from the "original" religion. Christianity (building on Jewish beliefs) shares historical references, thousands of eye witnesses, secular confirmation, archeological findings and a prophecy record with 100% accuracy. With over 10,300 verses in both old and new testaments devoted to prophetic signs and wonders, those to date have been fulfilled exactly as given thousands of years ago. There is a significant amount of prophecy yet to be fulfilled, and in a fairly short period of time. Most believers feel we are at the doorstep of this period of history.

We've basically covered the major world religions. In that discussion I believe it is fairly clear that there isn't a whole lot of reasonable debate to deny we have seen:

1- A faith Relating to "The Original Law" Provided to Man
2- A faith Relating to "The Fulfillment of the Law" by Christ
3- A faith Relating to "The Deception of the Law" by the Islamic faith

I realize this is controversial for some of you. I want to emphasize that these three faiths believed the same thing regarding the "law" (old testament) that was originally given. They all believe in Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael (go back to read my post on these family roots and conflict). All believe in a group representing "Men of Light" and "Men of Darkness". There would be "Keepers of the original word" and there would be "deception of the original word".

There is one faith that uses decapitation as a political and religious statement. I'd like to quote a verse right out of the bible given centuries ago that talks about the religious conflict that would arise centered in the middle east...

"I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony and their belief in the true word of God"

Hang with me... we're just getting started:)
Next: Middle East Conflict