What is Christianity?

Answer 1

Christian Perspective:

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament as the continuation of the Old Testament revelation to the Ancient Israelites. Most Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, the savior of humanity prophesied in the Old Testament, and and that He will again return as promised. Consequentially, Christians refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah and the term "Christianity" itself is a derivative of "Christ".

There are currently 2.2 billion Christians in the world and growing, making Christianity the largest religion in the world.

Islamic Perspective:

• Christianity is Islam (or submission to God) per the Bible God revelation to Jesus.
• Jesus is referred to as Christ or Messiah.
• Christianity is one of the Abrahamic religions; namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam per Qur'an God revelation to prophet Muhammad.

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion. It is also a monotheistic religion, although its Trinitarian doctrine is seen by Muslims as non-monotheistic. Adherents believe in the Bible, and that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that He will return as promised.

Different Christian Sects

There are five major sects in Christianity and some say even more, but the easiest way to break up Christianity is into these five categories: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern, and Mormon. Each of these groups believe the other groups are failing in their attempt to reach proper salvation through the Christ and as such have their own methods of attaining this goal.

Orthodox Christianity is the one of the oldest Christian Sects in the sense that it represents a fragment of the original Church and holds many doctrines in common with Catholicism as concerns the Sacraments. The disagreement between the Orthodox and Catholic is over leadership. The Orthodox maintain that the Church is a community of Patriarchs all with equal standing as opposed to a Pope with supreme power over all cardinals. Orthodox are most famous for praying with icons. There are several movements in Orthodox Christianity, the most famous being the Greek Orthodox and the Russian Orthodox, but there are also Georgian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, Slavic Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox.

Catholicism is also one of the oldest Christian Sects in the sense that it represents a fragment of the original Church. Catholics hold that all seven sacraments are necessary to be saved along with the proper Eucharist. Catholicism also has several co-equal rites such as the Roman Rite (the most popular), the Byzantine Rite, the Slavic Rite, and so on. All Catholics (and exclusively Catholics) recognize the infallibility of the Pope on certain matters and the Pope's rule over Christendom.

Protestantism incorporates a wide variety of different movements and in certain cases, different sects in its umbrella. As a result, it is hard to pin down Protestantism. It formed as a rejection of Catholic doctrine in some cases, especially as concerns Calvinists and Lutherans or Catholic power in some cases, especially as concerns Anglicanism/Episcopalianism and Presbyterianism. As Protestant doctrines most often derive from the idea that the Bible should be the only source of Christian belief, differing interpretations of the Bible have made Protestant movements most prone to splitting. New Protestant movements are being created all of the time, with the Evangelical Movement among the fastest growing forms of Christianity. Most African-Americans ascribe to Protestant movements such as the Baptist Church.

Mormonism is a uniquely American form of Christianity (that is to say it embodies many American cultural ideas and American locales not that exclusively Americans are Mormons). Mormonism holds the Divine Revelation extended beyond the Biblical Period, resulting in additional Testaments of His Will. The most famous of these new documents is the Book of Mormon. Additionally Mormons believe that Divine Revelation continues into the present day and the Elder Mormon Leadership has partial access to Divine Knowledge in order to arbitrate Questions of the Faith. Many Christians outside of Mormonism consider Mormonism to be a heresy as it does not hold to the Nicene Creed's understanding of the Trinity.

The Eastern Christian Churches are not a uniform group of churches, but this group represents all of the Churches of the Old World that do not fit neatly into the categories of Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant. These churches include the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Egyptian Coptic Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the early Christian Heretical Religions (such as the Nestorians and Justinians). What makes these Christian sects unique is different in every case. The Ethiopians have additional holy books and a unique liturgy, the Coptics hold to Monophysite Heresy, the Armenian Church did not join with the Early Patriarchs of the Church, and so forth.

Answer 2

Christianity isn't a religion. It is the relationship between yourself and the Living God. Believing in Jesus is the true way to live. Trust in him, and you will have eternal life! To start a personal relationship with Jesus, pray this prayer.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for all you have done for me. I believe that you have died for me so that I may be saved by my sins. I ask for forgiveness and that you come into my heart, my life and take over. I don't want to go back to the old way I was living but start a new life. Help me to lead others to you, God. I want to live for you alone. Help me to trust you in everything. Thank you Jesus.