Christian Beliefs
God
The Christian God is a personal God. This does not mean that God is a human being, but that God has "personality" and the capability of both relationships with other personal beings. This is seen clearly in both the Old and New Testaments, in which God is described in strongly personal terms (father, shepherd, etc.) and establishes relationships with human beings.
In this belief, Christianity is like Judaism and Islam but very different from deism or the theism of Greek philosophy. In the latter systems, God is an impersonal force that causes the world to exist but does not interact with it.
Throughout the Christian Bible, masculine language is used to refer to God. The Greek word for God (theos), the pronouns used to refer to God, and most of the analogies used to describe God are masculine. But it has never been a part of Christian doctrine that God is male, or that God has gender at all.
In Christian thought, a distinction between male and female exists in the created order, but not in God. In Genesis 1:27, God creates both male and female in his image. God thus incorporates the fullness of both masculinity and femininity within himself. In fact, the notion of God having gender is a pagan one, associated especially with the fertility cults that were explicitly rejected by the authors of the Old Testament.
The Christian God is a personal God. This does not mean that God is a human being, but that God has "personality" and the capability of both relationships with other personal beings. This is seen clearly in both the Old and New Testaments, in which God is described in strongly personal terms (father, shepherd, etc.) and establishes relationships with human beings.
In this belief, Christianity is like Judaism and Islam but very different from deism or the theism of Greek philosophy. In the latter systems, God is an impersonal force that causes the world to exist but does not interact with it.
Throughout the Christian Bible, masculine language is used to refer to God. The Greek word for God (theos), the pronouns used to refer to God, and most of the analogies used to describe God are masculine. But it has never been a part of Christian doctrine that God is male, or that God has gender at all.
In Christian thought, a distinction between male and female exists in the created order, but not in God. In Genesis 1:27, God creates both male and female in his image. God thus incorporates the fullness of both masculinity and femininity within himself. In fact, the notion of God having gender is a pagan one, associated especially with the fertility cults that were explicitly rejected by the authors of the Old Testament.
Jesus Christ
Jesus is the Messiah, the "anointed one" predicted in the Jewish Scriptures. The word "Christ" comes from the Greek for "Messiah," (it is actually a title, not a surname). According to the Hebrew prophets, the Messiah is a king-like figure from the line of David who would, among other things, rescue Israel from her oppressors, return Jerusalem to the Jewish people, and usher in an age of peace. {2} There is evidence that Jewish messianic expectation was high at the time of Jesus, associated with hope of liberation from Roman occupation.
Jews and Christians disagree, of course, as to whether Jesus was the Messiah. The arguments given for both sides and the history of this disagreement is worthy of fuller treatment, and will be the subject of a future feature article.
In the New Testament, affirmations of Jesus as the Messiah are found in abundance in the four Gospel narratives and the Acts of the Apostles. The Pauline and other epistles, many of which predate the Gospels, also attempt to show that Jesus is Messiah, yet they refer to him almost exclusively as "Christ." In the Gospels.
Jesus is the Messiah, the "anointed one" predicted in the Jewish Scriptures. The word "Christ" comes from the Greek for "Messiah," (it is actually a title, not a surname). According to the Hebrew prophets, the Messiah is a king-like figure from the line of David who would, among other things, rescue Israel from her oppressors, return Jerusalem to the Jewish people, and usher in an age of peace. {2} There is evidence that Jewish messianic expectation was high at the time of Jesus, associated with hope of liberation from Roman occupation.
Jews and Christians disagree, of course, as to whether Jesus was the Messiah. The arguments given for both sides and the history of this disagreement is worthy of fuller treatment, and will be the subject of a future feature article.
In the New Testament, affirmations of Jesus as the Messiah are found in abundance in the four Gospel narratives and the Acts of the Apostles. The Pauline and other epistles, many of which predate the Gospels, also attempt to show that Jesus is Messiah, yet they refer to him almost exclusively as "Christ." In the Gospels.
Afterlife
Christian beliefs about the afterlife vary between denominations and individual Christians, but the vast majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven, in which believers enjoy the presence of God and other believers and freedom from suffering and sin. Views differ as to whether those of other faiths or none at all will be in heaven, and conceptions of what heaven will be like differ as well.
A slightly lesser majority of Christians believe in the existence of hell, where unbelievers or sinners are punished. Views differ as to whether hell is eternal and whether its punishment is spiritual or physical. Some Christians reject the notion altogether. Catholic Christians also believe in purgatory, a temporary place of punishment for Christians who have died with unconfessed sins
Christian beliefs about the afterlife vary between denominations and individual Christians, but the vast majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven, in which believers enjoy the presence of God and other believers and freedom from suffering and sin. Views differ as to whether those of other faiths or none at all will be in heaven, and conceptions of what heaven will be like differ as well.
A slightly lesser majority of Christians believe in the existence of hell, where unbelievers or sinners are punished. Views differ as to whether hell is eternal and whether its punishment is spiritual or physical. Some Christians reject the notion altogether. Catholic Christians also believe in purgatory, a temporary place of punishment for Christians who have died with unconfessed sins
The Second Coming
All Christians believe that Jesus Christ will return one day. Known as The Second Coming, the Bible teaches that Christ will come back to the earth at an unknown time to destroy the enemies of God, rid the world of sin, reward followers, and establish peace. However, because Christians interpret key passages differently, there is not uniform agreement as to what events, if any, lead to Christ's second advent.
(For those Christians who don't know where in the Bible it mentions the the Secong Coming of Christ, LOOK IN REVELATION)
All Christians believe that Jesus Christ will return one day. Known as The Second Coming, the Bible teaches that Christ will come back to the earth at an unknown time to destroy the enemies of God, rid the world of sin, reward followers, and establish peace. However, because Christians interpret key passages differently, there is not uniform agreement as to what events, if any, lead to Christ's second advent.
(For those Christians who don't know where in the Bible it mentions the the Secong Coming of Christ, LOOK IN REVELATION)
The Holy Spirit
In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son as a part of the Godhead. Being personal like the other members of the Trinity, the Spirit is referred to as a "he," not an "it."
Christians believe that it was the Holy Spirit whom Jesus mentioned as the promised "comforter" in John 14:26, and that it is the Holy Spirit who leads people to faith in Jesus and the one who gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Spirit dwells inside every true Christian. He is depicted as a 'counsellor' or 'helper' (paraclete in Greek), guiding them in the way of the truth. The 'Fruit of the Spirit' (i.e. the results of his work) should be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).
In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son as a part of the Godhead. Being personal like the other members of the Trinity, the Spirit is referred to as a "he," not an "it."
Christians believe that it was the Holy Spirit whom Jesus mentioned as the promised "comforter" in John 14:26, and that it is the Holy Spirit who leads people to faith in Jesus and the one who gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Spirit dwells inside every true Christian. He is depicted as a 'counsellor' or 'helper' (paraclete in Greek), guiding them in the way of the truth. The 'Fruit of the Spirit' (i.e. the results of his work) should be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).