Christianity

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important" (C.S. Lewis). Christianity is a religion based on the life and teaching, in the New Testament, of Jesus. It is a type of religion that only believes in one God. People who follow this religion are called Christians. Most Christians believe that God is one eternal being who exists as three distinct, eternal, and indivisible persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ the eternal Word), and the Holy Spirit. Most Christians says that the work of the "Spirit of God", the Holy Spirit, is truly important.

They believed that God loved the Earth, so God sent his son, Jesus, to lead them in the right direction. Jesus lived in a town called Nazareth in the 1st century. Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah of God, who can bring peace and harmony around the world. Christians also believe that as a Messiah, Jesus was chosen as a ruler and savior of both the Jewish people, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Old Testament and to be chosen to become one of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Most Christians believe that salvation from "sin and death" is available through faith in Jesus as a saviour from all this terror because of his atoning sacrifice on the cross which paid for these sins. The reception of salvation is related to adjusting the world and it is usually understood as the activity of unmerited divine grace. The operation and effects of grace are understood differently by these different traditions. Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teaches the necessity of the free will to cooperate among themselves with grace. These reformed theologies goes its furthest on dependence on grace by teaching the total existence

of mankind and the irresistibility of God's graces.

Christianity is based on the New Testament. In the New Testament, there are twenty-seven separate works: they consist of the four narratives of Jesus Christ's ministry, called "Gospels"; a narrative of the Apostles' ministries, which is also a sequel to the third Gospel; twenty-one early letters, commonly called "epistles" in Biblical context, which were written by various authors and consisted mostly of Christian counsel and instruction; and an Apocalyptic prophecy, which is technically the twenty-second epistle. The New Testament was probably completely written up in Koine Greek, the language of the earliest manuscripts. Some scholars believe that parts of the Greek New Testament are actually a translation of an Aramaic original. Of these separate works, a small number accept the Syriac Peshitta as representative of the original.

The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and sometimes also New Covenant which is the literary translation of the Greek language, is the name given to the final portion of the Christian Bible. It was written by various authors after 45 AD and before 140 AD. Its books were collected into one single volume over a long period of several centuries. The New Testament is more or less the root of the Christian religion, which has played a major role in shaping modern Western morality and culture.

According to tradition, the earliest of the books were the letters of Paul, and the last books to be written are those donated to John, who is traditionally said to have lived to a very old age, perhaps dying as late as 100 AD, although evidence for this tradition is generally not convincing enough. Irenaeus of Lyons, 185 AD, stated that the Gospels of Matthew and Mark were written while Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome, in which would be in the 60s, and Luke was written some time later in the 70s. Evangelical and Traditionalist scholars still continue to support this period of time.

Christianity began with the Jewish religion among the followers of Jesus. Under the leadership of the Apostles Peter and Paul, it welcomed Gentiles. It gradually separated from Pharisaic Judaism. Except, some Jewish Christians rejected this approach and developed into a religion of their own, while others were joined with the Gentile Christians during the development of the church; within both groups there existed a great separation of beliefs. A church seems to have evolved by the time of the Pastoral Epistles, indicating that it was in existence during the first generation of Christians and was certainly formed up by the 4th century.

Christianity spread across the Mediterranean Basin, experiencing some difficulties by the Roman Emperors of the time. As Christianity expanded beyond Israel, it also came into contact with some Hellenistic culture; Greek philosophy, especially Neoplatonism. It became a great influence on the Christian mind through theologians such as Origen. Scholars differ on the extent towards the development of the Christian faith, which was adopted identifiably by the pagan beliefs.

During the Migration Period, a few German people adopted Christianity. Eventhough Arianism was a widespread, but Roman Catholicism prevailed, beginning with the Franks. The Slavic people of Eastern Europe generally adopted the Orthodox Christianity, as in the Baptism of Kievan Rus' (Russia). Cultural differences and of many disputes, it resulted in the Great Schism, which formally divided Christianity into the Catholic west and the Orthodox east.

In the 4th century, after the disputes by Emperor Diocletian, Christianity had legal recognition. His successor Galerius, who had been the "judge" of the dispute, issued an edict of toleration on his death-bed in 311, that however had only a temporary effect on this religion. In 312, Emperor Constantine, newly converted to Christianity, approved the religion's legal status and went on to give the church a suitable place among his society, which it stayed apart from a brief pagan period of 361 - 363 under Julian the Apostate. In 391, Theodosius I established the Nicene Christianity as the official religon, and it is the only legal religion within the Roman Empire. From Constantine onwards, the history of Christianity becomes more difficult to untangle from European history. The Church took over many of the political and cultural roles of the pagan Roman societies. The Emperors are seeking unity through this new religion. They frequently took part in Church matters, sometimes in concord with the bishops but also against them. Imperial authorities