CHRISTIANITY
• Most popular religion in the world with the most number of adherents among all
regions.
• One of the first monotheistic religions in the world.
• One of the world religions which traces its origins to the patriarch Abraham.
• It is considered the world’s largest religion, a religion based on the teachings of
Jesus Christ who is considered the Son of God and the Messiah or Savior.
• Followers of Christianity are called Christians.
• As of 2010, there are more than 2 billion Christians all over the world, which
make up more than 30% of the world’s population of 6.9 billion.
• Starting around the 1st century C.E., it developed out of Judaism
during the reign of the roman empire in West Asia.
• It centers on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ, who is the founder of Christianity and considered to be the
Son of God and the Messiah or Savior of humanity.
• Christianity is a religion that is very familiar to Filipinos because thee
Philippines has become predominantly Catholics since the Spaniards
occupied the country from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with the
spread of Catholicism as one of their enduring legacies to the Filipino
people.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• Judea , the mountainous southern part of Palestine, was the home of Christianity.
• During that time, Judaism was dominant religion in Palestine and it was considered
by the Jews as land promised to them by God.
• When Jesus was born, Palestine was still under Roman rule. Thus, Christianity was
born in an era when Palestine was ruled by a foreign power, the Romans.
• Christianity developed in Palestine around 100 B.C.
• Today Christianity is divided into 3 major sects- Roman Catholicism, Greek
Orthodox and Protestantism- that differ in certain beliefs and practices but are
united in worshipping Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
DEITY/GOD
• God is seen as the creator and maintainer of the universe and is
believed to be the :
OMNIPOTENT = all powerful
OMNISCIENT = all knowing
OMNIPRESENT = all present
OMNIBENEVOLENT = all good
• God is also sacred, moral, unchangeable, compassionate,
graceful and timeless.
HOLY TRINITY
• Christians believe in Holy Trinity – which means
that God is composed of three persons :
God the Father
Son ( Jesus Christ )
Holy Spirit
SYMBOLS
Most common symbols associated with Christians:
• Cross – Jesus Christ’s victory over sins when He died on the cross for
humanity’s redemption and salvation. It serves as a reminder of the
sacrifices made by God in order to humanity to live.
• Crucifix – regular feature, with the image of Christ nailed on the cross.
This aims to emphasize Christ’s sufferings for humanity.
• Fish – fish symbol is as old as Christianity itself, for it was used by
persecuted Christians as a secret sign when meeting the other Christians.
SACRED SCRIPTURES
BIBLE = a collection of songs, stories, poetry, letters, history,
as well as literature. It is composed of two books, the :
• OLD TESTAMENT - considered the original Hebrew Bible,
written between 1200 and 165 B.C.E
• NEW TESTAMENT - written by Christians around 100 C.E.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Also called the Hebrew Bible
Composed of 39 books which are arranged in three parts:
1. The Law or Torah - five books ( Genesis to Deuteronomy) which may refer to
guidance or instruction. Later these books were called Pentateauch.
2. The Prophets- divided in to two parts:
Earlier Prophets = considered historical
Latter Prophets = contain sayings and stories of the prophets
3. The Law- include Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and the five scrolls which were grouped
together for their associations with a particular religious festival.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Composed of 27 books written around 50 to 100 C.E.
Composed of two sections:
1. The Gospels - which tell the story of Jesus. ( Matthew, Mark, Luke and John )
2. The Letters ( or Epistles) - written by various Christian leaders to serve as
guide to the early Christian communities. They were written to tell the life and
teachings of Jesus.
BELIEF/DOCTRINES
Christianity has certain beliefs and doctrines that serve as moral guidelines for its
followers.
a. Ten Commandments (Decalogue) – are a set of laws given by God to the people
of Israel at Mt. Sinai through Moses.
In Exodus, God gave Moses the tablets containing the 10 Commandments, which
Moses smashed into pieces because of extreme anger when he saw the golden calf
idol created and worshipped by the Hebrews.
God gave Moses another set to replace the broken one.
This are said appear twice in the Bible, in Exodus 20:1-17, and at Deuteronomy
5:21. They are meant to guide Christians on how to behave within the family,
society, and most especially with respect to God.
b. Seven Sacraments – the Catholic Church has seven
sacraments which are considered signs of inner kindness
given by God for Christians to live a genuine human life.
1. Baptism
2. Confirmation
3. Holy Communion
4. Confession
5. Sacrament of Marriage
6. Holy Orders
7. Anointing of the Sick
[Link] Beatitudes – It refers to the eight
sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the
“Sermon on the Mount”. (Matthew 5:7)
d. Apostle’s Creed – believed to have
developed in the 100 or 200 C.E. It is not
written by the apostles themselves but it
serves as a summary of their basic teachings.
WORSHIP AND OBSERVANCES
Christians have certain religious observances in which they commemorate
particular events in the history of Christianity.
Advent (adventus) “coming”/ “visit” = refers to the season of waiting for the
birth of the Messiah, hence its celebration lasts for four weeks, beginning four
Sundays before Christmas and ending on Christmas eve.
Lent (lencten) “spring” = refers to the season observed by Christians in
preparation for Easter, a celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Pentecost (pentekostos) “fifty” = a holiday to commemorate the coming of the
Holy Spirit to the early Christians.
SELECTED ISSUES
• Ecumenism refers to the effort of the Catholic Church to sponsor activities and
initiatives to promote mutual understanding and unity among all Christians.
• Sexuality refers to sexual orientation, sexual activity and sexual feelings.
• Family & Divorce
• Capital Punishment or death penalty wherein a person is punished by death
for his or her capital crime goes against the Christian belief that life is given by
God and should not be taken away by any person.
• Euthanasia or mercy killing is also considered immoral since it entails taking
away what natural process of death.