Basic+Christianity

1. **God and Faith**  (Who is God and what are you supposed to believe?) The Trinity -the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. You are supposed to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that if you are a good person during your life, you will go to heaven. 
 * can be flesh
 * Jesus is the messiah
 * Jesus is the son of god
 * he's human and divine (divisible into divine and flesh)
 * monothesitic religion
 * god is both one and have three different forms; jesus (flesh), father (god), holy spirit (tbd)

2. **Authority and Leadership** (Who are the leaders of Christianity, and what authority do they have? Be careful; different denominations have different kinds of leadership) In Christianity, there are several claimed leaders. In Roman Catholicism, the Pope is the main leader. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople is the head of the church. In sects of Protestantism, worship is led by pastors and ministers. Under the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the leader. 
 * Authority comes from the Torah, prophetic books, and Christian scriptures
 * In Catholicism, the pope has absolute authority, hes chosen by Jesus
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">if you believe jesus is the messiah then you are christian
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protestantism is more like Judaism - it was established in opposition to Catholicism

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Revelation** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(How does God communicate with people?) A new covenant was created through Jesus that supersedes the covenant with Israel. The New Testament replaces the Jewish Bible.

4. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Celebration** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(What are the major holidays, and how are they celebrated?) <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[|__http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/seasonsoffaith.htm__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.Christmas (santa! presents!) 2. Epiphany/Three Kings Day (12 days after Christmas) 3. Lent (40 day period of giving stuff up to remember 40 days/40 nights stuff, aka when Jesus fasted for 40 days/nights in the desert.) 4. Ash Wednesday (beginning of Lent, 40 days before Easter) 5. Palm Sunday (Sunday before Easter, commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem) 6. Good Friday (Friday before Easter, commemorating the suffering and death of Jesus) 7. Easter Sunday (resurrection day! pagan fertility symbols! chocolate (that has nothing to do with Christianity!) 8. Advent (four week period leading up to the coming of Jesus, theoretically)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holidays are related to the story of Jesus and his life
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no christianity without easter
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">emphasizes faith (belief)

5. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Salvation** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (What is “saved,” and how do you get there?) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Christianity, a person is saved by accepting Jesus into their soul through Baptism!!!!
 * "original sin" requires being saved
 * exorcism
 * stopped believing in Torah after Romans destroyed the Temple

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**The Meaning of Life** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(What is the purpose of living?)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Core Values** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(What are this religion’s most important values?)

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">core values are based on god and the rightousness of Jesus Christ.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christianity teaches that God sent Jesus to save them from their sins.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It also teaches that Jesus and God are equal; that neither of them are a higher power then the other.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christian values are hope, righteousness, love
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hope is considered to be a core christian value. the followers of christianity base their hope on Jesus Christ’s promises