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Christianity is the name given to that definite system of religious belief and practice which was taught by Jesus Christ in the country of Palestine, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, and was promulgated, after its Founder's death, for the acceptance of the whole world, by certain chosen men among His followers. According to the accepted chronology, these began their mission on the day of Pentecost, A.D. 29, which day is regarded, accordingly, as the birthday of the Christian Church. The Christian movement moved from Palestine to Greece and became a philosophy. It moved to Italy and became an institution. It moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise. Its early missionaries spread its teachings through Asia Minor to Alexandria and Greece and Rome Missions have remained a major part of Christianity to this present day. In the two millennia of its history Christianity has been plagued by schism, based on doctor and organizational differences. Today there are three broad divisions, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Eastern and Protestant, but within the category of Protestantism there is a particularly large number of divergent denominations.
of the "Kingdom of God", meaning not only the rule of righteousness in the individual heart, but also the Church (as is plain from many of the parables) which he was about to institute. Yet, though he often foreshadowed a time when the Law as such would cease to bind, and though he himself in proof of his Messiahship occasionally set aside its provisions, yet, as, in spite of Jesus miracles, He did not win recognition of that Messiahship, still less of His Divinity, from the Jews at large. He confined his explicit teaching about the Church to his immediate followers, and left it to them, when the time came, openly to pronounce the abrogation of the Law. It was not so much, then, by propounding the dogmas of Christianity as by informing the Old Law with the spirit of Christian ethics that Christ found himself able to prepare Jewish hearts for the religion to come. Again, the faith, which he failed to arouse by the numerous miracles he wrought, he sought to provide with a further and stronger incentive by dying under every circumstance of paint, disgrace, and defeat, and then raising himself from the dead in triumph and glory. It was to this fact rather than to the wonders he worked in his lifetime that his accredited witnesses always appealed in their teaching. On the marvel of the Resurrection is based in the counsels of God the faith of Christianity. By his death, and therefore, his return from the dead, Christ, as the event proved, furnished the strongest means for the effective preaching of the religion he came to found.
The Early Development of Christianity The Early Church as found in the New Testament
By the middle of the 2nd century the Christian Church was firmly established in Rome, and outposts had been planted still farther to the west in Gaul as well as across the Mediterranean in North Africa. c. 40 - 51 Paul travelled to Asia Minor and Cyprus, establishing churches and writing the earliest epistles that would became part of the New Testament canon 47 c. First recorded use of the term "Christian" occurred in Antioch, Syria, home of one of the earliest Christian churches. c. 100 Christian churches were established in Greece, North Africa, Italy, and Asia Minor.
The diversity and Change in the Historical Development of Christianity and the Development of Various Sub-Groups until the Present Division between East and West: Causes and Consequences
395 c. The Roman Empire was divided again between East and West, setting the stage for the eventual division of the Christian Church. Latin Christianity was based in Rome under the leadership of the popes, while Eastern Orthodoxy develops in the east in Constantinople under the leadership of patriarchs.
The Reformation and Counter/Catholic Reformation: Causes (key theological emphases) and Consequences
The Catholic Church was not caught unawares by the Reformation. It had been steadily battling opposition, resistance, and heresy for over four hundred years; much of the opposition against the church throughout the fifteenth century involved issues that closely paralleled those splitting the church in half during the early Reformation. In answer to the
growth of the Protestant movement, the Catholic Church instituted its own series of reforms that balanced real reform with a strident and conservative reaction to Protestantism. This movement was called the Counter-Reformation. The Protestant gains in Europe and the chaotic evolution of the Counter-Reformation finally forced Pope Paul III in 1545 to convene a council in Trent in order to define church doctrine once and for all. This council, called the Council of Trent, worked on this problem in three separate sessions from 1545 to 1563. This council eventually advised some farreaching reforms in the abuses practiced by the church, such as the selling of indulgences. The Council forced bishops to reside in the region they presided over and also forbad the selling of church offices. On the reactionary side, the Council advised that a seminary be built in every diocese so that church doctrine could be fully and accurately represented. The reforms were very bold in many respects, but they were too little and too late. The new Protestant churches were the wave of the future; and Catholicismalthough it would remain a major religionwould in a few centuries cease to be the majority religion in the Western world.
Roman Catholics
The Principal Beliefs about: The Nature of God and the trinity: creating, sanctifying and redeeming
God: The chief doctrines of the church held in common with most other Christian churches are: Gods objective existence his interest in individual men, who can enter with relation to him (prayer). Roman Catholics only believe in one God, he is the father almighty creator of heaven and earth for all that is seen and unseen. Trinity: The trinity, the divinity of Christ, the immortality of the soul of each human being each one being accountable at death for his actions in life with the award of heaven and hell.
The Nature of Humanity- Created, Fallen and Redeemed through Jesus Christ
That centrality is, in one way or another, a feature of all the historical varieties of Christian belief and practice. Christians have not agreed in their understanding and definition of what makes Christ distinctive or unique. Certainly they would all affirm that his life and
example should be followed and that his teachings about love and fellowship should be the basis of human relations. In Christian teaching, Jesus cannot be less than the supreme preacher and exemplar of the moral life, but for most Christians that, by it, does not do full justice to the significance of his life and work. Roman Catholics base their life on Jesus moral teachings such as love one another just as I have loved you with his teachings and the 10 commandments and the main motive for ethical behaviour is the love of God. Christians are able to build their base of humanity standards. The doctrine concerning persons not Catholic is that since God affords each human being light sufficient to his salvation, all will be saved who persevere in what they believe to be good, regardless of ignorance. Only those who will be damned who persist in what they know to be wrong; among these are persons who resist the church when they know it to be the one, true church.
The Devotional Practices of Christianity and Their Relation to Belief: Public Christian worship with reference to the place of corporate worship and celebrations; features of worship, features of a church, communion, liturgies, rituals such as those for birth, reconciliation, initiation, marriage, ordination, anointing or death AND Private Christian Worship With Reference to Meditation, Personal Bible Study, Devotions and Prayer, Retreats
The church has from God a system of conveying His Grace direct to man. The ordinary Catholic frequents the sacraments of Penance (required at least once a year) and the Eucharist (required once every Easter time). The Eucharist is the centre of public worship, often embellished with solemn ceremony (mass). Private prayer is essential; contemplation is ideal, and all believers are expected to devote some time to prayer that is more than begging favours. Different methods of prayer are recommended (rosary). Self-renunciation is a necessary part of prayer (fasting in lent). The sacraments of Catholicism involve particular spiritual activities partaken of by believers, such as baptism, confirmation, penance, and
participation in the Mass. They are presided over by a Catholic priest who acts as a mediator between God and man. These special activities are held to dispense God's "grace" (here, as a spiritual substance or power) and God's favour. For the Roman Catholic his whole life from the cradle to the grave, and indeed beyond the grave in purgatory, is conditioned by the sacramental approach. Baptism (which is not repeated) cleanses from original sin, removes other sin and its punishment, provides spiritual rebirth or regeneration , begins the process of justification, and is "necessary for salvation." Confirmation (not repeated) bestows the Holy Spirit in a special sense, leading to "an increasing of sanctifying grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit" as well as other spiritual power and a sealing to the Catholic Church. Confirmation is the rite of layering on the hands with prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit for the encouragement and strengthening in discipleship of a person who confesses faith in Jesus Christ. Penance removes the penalty of sins committed after baptism and confirmation. Thus, mortal or "deadly" sins are remitted and the "justification" lost by such sins is restored as a continuing process. Holy Eucharist is where Christ is resacrificed and the benefits of Calvary are continually applied anew to the believer. Marriage is where grace is given to remain in the bonds of matrimony in dictates with the requirements of the Catholic Church. Anointing the sick bestows grace on those who are sick, old, or near death and helps in forgiveness of sins and sometimes the physical healing of the body. Holy orders (not repeated) confers special grace and spiritual power upon bishops, priests, and deacons for leadership in the Church as representatives of Christ "for all eternity."
Background to and Celebrations of Feasts, Festivals, Seasons and Special Days in the Christian Liturgical Calender
Christmas; Feast of the nativity of Jesus Christ (Dec 25). In liturgical importance it probably ranks after Easter, Pentecost and Epiphany (Jan 6). The observance probably does not date earlier than A.D 200 and did not become widely spread until the C4th. Christmas as the great popular festival of Western Europe dates from the Middle Ages. Lent: Christian period of fasting and penitence preparatory to Easter. Observance of Lent is as old as the C4th. Easter: Chief Christian Feast. Commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. A feature of Roman Catholic life is the Easter duty, by which every member is required to receive communion sometime between Ash Wednesday (40 days before) and Trinity Sunday (Sunday after Pentecost).
The Ethical and Moral Teachings of Christianity and their Application to everyday Living: Fundamental Christian values
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that God created the world. God is One, but subsists in three distinct, co-equal, and co-eternal persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity. To belong to the church one must accept as factually true the gospel of Christ as handed down in tradition and as interpreted by the Bishops in union with the Pope.
Fundamental in this divine tradition is the Bible, its text determined and disseminated by the Church. Adherents must also accept the church as possessing the fullness of revelation, and the church, according to the Roman Church catechism, is the only Christian body that is one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic. The doctrine of Apostolic Succession is of the keystones of the Catholic faith; it holds that the Pope and the Bishops have varying degrees the spiritual authority Christ assigned t his apostles. In Roman Catholic theology, the Deposit of the Faith (all the dogmas and beliefs of the Church) is expressed in two ways: the Bible and Sacred Tradition. Roman Catholics believe that Jesus Christ transmitted the entire Catholic Faith to the apostles; a portion of this Faith was written down and is found in the Bible, and the other portion was orally handed down through the centuries. The Bible is the normal rule of faith (Norma scriptura) and no Catholic belief or practice can contradict it.
Sources of Ethical Authority for Christians eg. The Bible denominational authorities, eg Assemblies, Councils, synods and the lived tradition
Jesus chose twelve principal disciples, known as Apostles, to whom He entrusted His Church. Unlike many Protestants, Catholics see the visible Church as a divinely ordained body, protected by God. The Church is, as scripture states, "the body of Christ" and is one united body of believers both in heaven and on earth. There is therefore only one true Church, not several. On earth the leadership of the Church was entrusted to Saint Peter, and subsequently to his successor bishops, known as Popes. Catholics hold to Jesus promise that the Church on earth will always be guided and maintained in truth by the Holy Spirit. In other words the Church will always and infallibly teach true doctrine. This truth is contained both in the written scriptures and the oral traditions passed down through the Church. To enter the Church one must have faith in Jesus Christ, accept His teachings and be given the sacrament of Baptism.
Beliefs About Sources of Authority that have affected the development of Ethical Systems and the Making of Moral Choices
Those who will be damned are those who persist in what they know to be wrong; among these are persons who resist the church when they know it to be one, true church. The teaching authority or magisterial of the Church bases its teachings on both Scripture and apostolic tradition. As well as ordained secular clergy, the Church encourages monasticism, and has many orders of monks, friars and nuns who live in celibacy, and devote their lives entirely to God. Members of the Clergy do not marry. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85 states that authentic interpretation of the word of God is entrusted to the living Magisterial of the Church, namely the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter. Roman Catholic theology places the authoritative interpretation of scripture in the hands of the corporate judgment of the Church rather than the private judgment of the individual. In the tenth Commandment there are two authorities that are present that also effects Roman Catholics moral choices these are: You shall have no other gods before me. , You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. And Honour your father and your mother.