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| St.Matthew's Gospel | St.Mark's Gospel |
| St. Luke’s Gospel | St.John's gospel |
| The Acts of the Apostles | Letter to the Romans |
| 1st letter to the Corinthians | 2nd letter to the Corinthians |
| Letter to the Galatians | Letter to the Ephesians |
| Letter to the Philippians | Letter to the Colossians |
| 1st letter to the Thessalonians | 2nd letter to the Thessalonians |
| 1st letter to Timothy | 2nd letter to Timothy |
| Letter to Titus |
Letter to Philemon |
| Letter to the Hebrews |
Letter to James |
| 1st letter to Peter | 2nd letter to Peter |
| 1st letter to John |
2nd letter to John |
| 3rd letter to John |
The letter of Jude |
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The Revelation to John |
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Other important texts are the creeds – the
Apostles' creed and the Nicene creed which are summaries of the beliefs
formulated in the early years of Christianity.
The teachings of the early Church Fathers are also
seen as an important source of authority.
Back to the
top.
WHAT DOES A CHRISTIAN BELIEVE ?The beliefs of Christians are summed up in the
Creeds – which comes from a Latin word meaning ‘belief’. The two
most important creeds are the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Christians believe that there is only one God, but
the nature of God is one of relationship and love. This is expressed in
the belief in the Trinity (for
most Christians) being three
persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the one being of God.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Incarnate), who came
to earth as a man to restore the relationship between mankind and God. He
was seen and known to be alive (the resurrection) after he had
died on the cross, executed as a criminal by the Romans.
Christians believe that God was constantly present
in the life of Jesus, without
destroying or overwhelming his human life; in other words, Jesus Christ was both wholly human and wholly God in one person.
Christians believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was an atonement - a
restoration of harmony between God and humankind.
The essential Christian duty is to live life
according to the example of Jesus Christ, to love God (through Jesus,
Christians see the nature of God as being characterised by ‘agape’ –
self-giving love), to love one’s fellow human beings as one does oneself
and to share the Christian message.
Responding in faith to the grace of God is seen as
the way of overcoming sin and achieving salvation through the Holy Spirit
which lives in all believers.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are:
| Love | Joy | Patience |
| Kindness | Faithfulness | Goodness |
| Humility | Self-control | Peace |
OTHER TRADITIONS OF CHRISTIANITY
The western system of dating years (BC/AD or BCE/CE)
takes the traditional birth year of Jesus as year zero.
GODChristians believe there is one God, who is seen in
three ways – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. They
believe that God the son was a man called Jesus who lived on earth
approximately 2,000 years ago. Jesus was crucified and Christians believe
that on the third day he rose from the dead. The idea of Jesus’
resurrection is very important to Christians as his death showed how much
God loves the world and his resurrection is proof that there is life after
death. Jesus’ death opened up a pathway to God, they believe that he
died for their sins and opened up this pathway which had previously been
cut off due to the sins which humans had committed.
God, as
Creator, is the unproduced Producer of all that is, who sustains all
things in being. God exists apart from this or any other universe.
God’s unchanging nature has been revealed as one
of care and love.
Humans are created at a sufficient distance from
God, to be responsible for their own lives: God is judge of all that they
do, but also seeks to rescue and help them when they go wrong. This rescue
was achieved once, and for all, in the life, death, resurrection and
ascension of Jesus: during his life he showed how people can be reconciled
to God and to each other; that same healing and reconciliation is now made
possible for all.
WORSHIPWorship is undertaken in buildings called churches,
but "The Church" refers to several things:
h
The total group of Christians
h
Individual religious denominations—"The
Anglican Church", or
"The Methodist Church"
h
The building in which a particular group
worships—"Holy
Trinity Church, Manchester"
In denominations where Baptism is the norm for
babies, Confirmation is undertaken where the person personally affirms the
vows undertaken for them when they were baptised as a baby.
Christians believe worshipping in a group is
important and this is usually called a service which takes place in a
church on a Sunday (Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead on a
Sunday).
Each denomination worships in a different way, some
may be only slight whilst others are more noticeable. The most important
differences are in the celebration of the Sacraments.
Roman Catholics celebrate 7 sacraments whilst
Protestants accept only two (Baptism and Holy Communion).
The Most important is the Eucharist
(Holy Communion, Mass or The Lord’s Supper). The name Eucharist
comes from the Greek word meaning ‘thanksgiving’. It is a service
during which Christians remember the last meal that Jesus ate with his
disciples the night before he was crucified. At the meal he gave the
disciples bread and wine which were symbols of his death. The bread his
body, the wine his blood. By partaking in the Eucharist Christians believe
they are following what Jesus told his followers to do.
Important events in the Christian year are (see Powerpoint
poster):
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h Advent – The church year begins in December with the season of ‘Advent’. It is four weeks before Christmas and it is a time when Christians look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth. They also think about the belief of Jesus coming again to form a new kingdom on earth. h Christmas – The word comes from ‘Christ’s mass’, the church service held on the 25th December to celebrate Jesus’ birth. h
Boxing
day – The day after Christmas day,
hundreds of years ago there were special boxes in Churches in which money
was collected throughout the year. On boxing day they were opened and the
money was given to the poor. h
Epiphany
– In the Western Church this is the 6th January and is the
end of the 12 days of Christmas. Epiphany means ‘showing’ and it
celebrates the story of St. Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus is shown to the
Wise men. h
Lent
– Takes place during the six weeks leading
up to Easter. It is the time when Christians remember the time Jesus spent
alone in the desert preparing himself for his ministry. Many Christians
give something up for Lent in order to remember, in the Orthodox Church
Lent is a time of strict fasting. h
Easter
– This is the most important of Christian
festivals where Christians remember Jesus’ death and celebrate his
resurrection: h
Ascension
Day – Is 40 days after Easter. It is the day that the
disciples last saw Jesus on the earth. h
Pentecost
– Jesus promised to send to the disciples the Holy spirit to guide them.
Pentecost is the time when the Holy spirit descended upon the disciples
and people believe that it is the time when Christianity began. It is also
sometimes known as Whit Sunday. h
Trinity
Sunday – Christians think about what God is like (God
the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) and about their own lives
as Christians. h Harvest Festival – Usually in late September. Harvest is a time of thanksgiving to God for providing food & necessary things in life. |
Christians
believe in life after death as Jesus was raised from the dead
(resurrected). They
believe that they have only one life and that they will be judged
according to that life - have they during their life accepted Jesus as the
son of God and followed his teachings?
As Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
John 14:6.
After life, the soul ascends to heaven for God’s judgement,
either then or at the Day of Judgement
Jesus
taught that there would be a separation, those who had behaved in a loving
way ('I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me...')and those who had not (Mat 25: 31-46). Those who had would go to
heaven and those who had not would go to hell. There is though always an
opportunity for those who have sinned to truly repent their sins
and be with God for always. Many Christians today do not see hell as a
place of torture and punishment but a place where the individual is
separated from God's love forever after rejecting the opportunity of
repenting their sins.
ORGANISATIONAs Christianity spread throughout the world
different groups began to disagree over different aspects and the Church
began to split up into different branches a formal division opened up in
1054 between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. In the middle ages
the Protestant Reformation further divided the groups within Western
Christianity, the main denominations (groups) today are:
hRoman Catholics
hOrthodox
hProtestant
hAnglican
hThe Free Churches
hPentecostal
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facility on our home page.
Central to Christian beliefs and practices is the
Bible which is made up of the New Testament which details the life of
Jesus and the early Church and the Old Testament which is more or less the
same as the Jewish Scriptures which Jesus would have referred to as a Jew.