Christianity

Christianity originated as a sect from within Judaism nearly 2,000 years ago, following interpretations from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is believed by some that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of a virgin mother, Mary, generated by the Holy Spirit, as the promised Messiah of Jewish tradition. Jesus was condemned to death by the Roman authorities, by crucifixion, a commonplace capital punishment for a criminal in those days, but the blasphemous claim was vindicated by his resurrection from the dead three days after his execution.

The boyhood life and early history of Jesus remains a mystery. The Gospel of St Mark describes his baptism in the River Jordan, his journey to Jerusalem accompanied by twelve disciples, his entry into the holy city and his cleansing of the Temple, his arrest, appearance before the High Priest, trial before Pilate, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. It also catalogues instances of Jesus’s healing miracles. The belief in a Messiah dying and rising again was central to early Christian preaching.

St Paul, a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia and one time persecutor of Christians, became the most prominent apostle of Christ, and made an outstanding contribution to the growth of Christianity. He preached that redemption was open to any person who subscribed to Christ by faith and baptism, whether Jew or Gentile. Salvation could be attained through Christ alone, not by any moral or legal precepts.

Christians at first suffered harassment at the hands of fellow Jews. St. Stephen was the first martyr, and the Roman Emperor Nero from 64CE persecuted the Christians. Sporadic persecution continued until the fourth century when the last and most systematic took place under Diocletian, who abdicated in 395 CE. A policy of toleration was adopted by Constantine the Great (274 or 288-337CE), who became a convert, and during the reign of Emperor Theodosius I, Christianity was established as the imperial religion. Since then Christianity has attracted adherents in ever growing numbers.

Christianity is a monotheistic religion, believing in one and only one God who is the creator and sustainer of the world. It believes that God has created the world from nothing and may destroy it at any time, according to his will. He has many metaphysical and ethical attributes but essentially his nature is that of a loving father. God has created human beings in his own image, has given them free will. The first man, Adam, misused this freedom, committing sin (disobedience to God), and that is the cause of man’s suffering. Nevertheless, God who is kind and loving wished for humanity’s redemption. Hence he sent his son Jesus to earth to demonstrate people the right path. Christianity teaches that redemption or liberation can be obtained only by the grace of God. It believes in immortality of the soul, life everlasting, and heaven and hell. It also believes in heavenly angels both good and evil. Satan is a fallen angel, the devil, who disseminates evil by instigating people to sin. However, he is not beyond God’s control.

The Bible is the Christian scripture, which consists of ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Testaments. The Old Testament is similar to the Jewish Tanakh, though differing in its internal order after the first five books. The New Testament is a collection of texts dating from the first and second centuries of the Common Era (CE) which describe the impact of Jesus upon the Jewish community, beliefs about him, as well as the formation of the early Christian community outside Palestine, and the ethical implications of Christian belief.

The four Gospels, named of four disciples of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, recount the religious biography and describe the significance of Jesus. The Book of Acts describes the spread of early Christianity. The Epistles describe the problems and issues of the early Christian church. The Book of Revelations of St. John the Divine records a series of revelations, including the prediction of the end of the world and the Second Coming. The body of those who subscribe to the ideological beliefs of Jesus is known as the Church, and the summary of statements of orthodox beliefs is known as the Creed.

Genesis describes how God created man in his own image. Man is the final fruit of creation and God’s special preference giving humans insight, intelligence, sensitivity, and all the admirable and virtuous qualities, and chose them for a special relationship with him, to be a partner in fulfilling his ultimate grand design: the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Human beings have perishable bodies, and an immortal soul, thus death of the body is not the death of the soul. Humans are finite and unable to attain divine immortality. By following the teachings of Jesus, Christians can end their suffering. One should love God with both heart and mind and love one’s fellow beings. Love is the essence of Christian teachings, and it is by love and love alone that one can attain redemption.

As the soul is immortal, death is not the total and final end. There is an afterlife corresponding to one’s good or bad deeds on earth. On the day of the final judgement, there will be a resurrection and all the souls will be reunited with their respective bodies. Those whose deeds were in accordance with the teachings of Jesus will ascend to heaven and those who were unrighteous and sinful will descend to hell. Hell is a place or state of eternal punishment, damnation and separation from God, while heaven is the ‘Kingdom of God’, a realm above and beyond this world, a state of eternal happiness. The ultimate destiny of a human being is salvation and life eternal in communion with God in heaven.

It is a point of debate whether God’s love extends to all his creatures or just to humanity. If the principle of love and ‘Thou shall not kill’ applies to all his worldly creation, and as God granted humans stewardship of the earth, is it right to harm, exploit or kill animals and other beings of the natural world for human consumption?

The aim of Christian ethics is redemption from a life of suffering and cultivation of the virtues of Jesus, an exemplary life of love, humility and suffering. It is believed that Christ suffered for human sinners, hence love, humility and suffering of the self and others are basic Christian virtues. The suffering of Christ on the cross is the symbol of physical suffering and purgation of the spirit.

Christianity teaches love and humility. The two teachings of ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ and ‘Turn to him your right cheek who strikes your left one’, are the prime examples of these; even hatred is to be met not with hatred but with love and forgiveness.

Those who wish to share a more complete devotion to Jesus and follow the pattern of his life and work, take lifetime vows of poverty, chastity and obedience by joining an order of monks or nuns and undertaking ‘solemn vows’, unlike members of a congregation who take ‘simple vows’. Religious brothers are those who have chosen not to be ordained as priests, while yet making vows to live in a religious community.

Monks, nuns and the religious initiates can be found in the contemporary Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches. The religious way of life of such churches varies according to the interpretation and teachings of their founders: some are more concerned with prayer, meditation and retreat, while others are concerned with service and ‘good works’. Some monks and nuns live in monasteries with minimum contact with the outside world, others are very active in the world.

Religious buildings are called cathedrals, churches, chapels (churches of certain denomination, or those found in hospitals, prisons, etc., and large private houses). Christians use images extensively in worship, but they are careful to avoid ‘idolatry’, the mistake of confusing the image with God, who is pure spirit.

Christians observe rituals for discipline, spiritual training and bringing the community together to reaffirm its identity.

Baptism marks initiation into the Christian life and consists of ceremonial bathing or the sprinkling of clean water on the forehead or immersion of the whole body. It signifies purification from sin; it also represents death: the newly baptised emerges from the water as if rising to a new life in a second birth.

Most churches have Sunday worship, and may be entitled the Eucharist, Communion or Mass; there may be a reading from the Bible, a sermon, prayers and the singing of hymns, varying in style in differing Christian groups (described later in this section). Prayers may be individual or communal: Congregational prayers are usually observed at the Sunday service may be a petition, adoration, meditation, for acts of contrition and of surrender.
Roman Catholics hold Holy Communion patterned on the ‘Last Supper’ eaten by Jesus with his disciples on the night before his death. It is celebrated in different ways, in some churches with music, opulent vestments, incense, and elaborate ceremonies, in other churches, in others in an informal atmosphere. Protestant services are generally more austere, while the Catholic and Orthodox Mass can be very elaborate. For example, the Roman Catholic priest or the representative of Christ breaks bread and distributes bread and wine to the congregation to eat and drink. The bread represents Jesus’s body and the wine his blood. Christians believe that Jesus himself is present in the meal, as the spirit made flesh. Other rites mark the important stages of life: birth, marriage, death, or events in the life of the Christian community, the ordination of priests or deacons, the enthronement of bishops, the blessing of a church or pilgrimage to a holy site.

Christians observe many festivals; important amongst them are Good Friday (day of crucifixion of Jesus); Easter (day of resurrection) and Christmas (Jesus’s birthday). They observe Sunday: ‘the Lord’s Day’, a special day for prayers, fellowship and rest. Lent is a period of abstinence for 40 days before Easter. Christians are divided into three main groups: Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants.

The Roman Catholics, who are generally the most conservative and traditional, believe the Church is the representative of Christ and that he reveals himself through it; the sacraments exist for the redemption of humans, and the Pope (or his representative clergy) possesses divine infallible authority. Roman Catholics have created well-known orders such as the Jesuits, the Benedictines, the Dominicans and the Carmelites (nuns).

The Orthodox Church flourishes in eastern Europe and the Middle East, was historically based in Constantinople (Istanbul) and separated from the Catholic Church in the eleventh century CE. It has highly decorated churches filled with pictorial icons, representations of Christ, the apostles and the saints; and its worship is intricate and ornate. It does not accept the authority of the Pope and, instead, has its own patriarchs in Istanbul, Moscow, etc.

Some churches are known as ‘Non-Trinitarian’ and fall outside the mainstream tradition of Christianity: indeed, some dispute whether they are Christians at all. Among these are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and Mormons or the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints.

Many other community groups exist within and with the blessing of the Churches. They have developed as responses to particular needs or to strengthen or renew the Christian life, including some ecumenical communities such as those at Iona in Scotland and Lee Abbey in Devon, England. There may be thousands of Protestant sects and subsects, largely founded by charismatic evangelists, and many are based in the United States.

Christianity has strong organisation and infrastructure. Unordained members of the Church are generally known as the laity, who can conduct the ceremonies, rights and functions of the Church. The ordained leadership, the clergy usually carries out these functions and pastoral care. Christians have also developed regional, national and international leadership.

Both traditions have ascetics, but the life of Jain ascetics is more austere than that of Christian monks and nuns. They both follow the teachings of their respective faiths zealously in comparison with the laity. Jains believe that Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct are necessary for spiritual progress.

Mahavira and the other tirthankaras, whom Jains revere as exemplars, do not bestow any favours, but their teachings that ‘self-effort alone leads to liberation’ are central to Jain belief. Christians believe that God’s grace is necessary for human redemption.

When Christians speak of God as the father, they imply that they are his children along with the rest of his creation. God’s ‘selfless’ love extends not only to humanity but also to the whole of his creation. Jains believe in the fundamental unity of all life, and that all life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence. When Christians speak of ‘God the Son’ they believe that God revealed himself in Jesus his son, so, if we want to see the life of God lived in the world, we can look to Jesus of Nazareth and his life of 'selfless love’. The Jain principle of ‘non-violence’ (ahimsaa) tells the same story of ‘selfless love’ for all living beings. The understanding of God as pure spirit is difficult to grasp for non-Christians, even for many Christians. God as the Holy spirit cannot be seen, heard, touched or otherwise apprehended by the senses, yet it is believed that he dwells within the heart of the faithful, forgiving their sins, directing and guiding their actions and thoughts, allowing them freedom and wisdom. The spirit can be compared to the pristine soul, which has infinite perception, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss, and infinite energy. The freedom from the bondage of sin facilitated by the Holy Spirit may remind us of the liberation of the soul to attain moksa. Jesus’s claim that ‘the spirit will lead you into all truth’, can be compared to the Right Faith of Jainism; but in reaching this freedom and knowledge the soul has to overcome attachment to material things; and shed its karmic bondage by its own efforts. Both traditions extol a total asceticism and have fasting, prayers and daily practices for spiritual progress. On personal autonomy, there is a clear parallel between Christianity and Jainism in that the soul is transcendent and it carries immense responsibilities in attaining its full potential. Both traditions believe that the true self is only to be found through selfless behaviour and love of all.

However there are some major differences: Jains believe the world is eternal; the Christians believe God is eternal and he created the world of his free will. Jains believe in love and friendship to all living beings and would not harm any living creature whether human or not. Christians offer love to all of God’s worldly creations, but they are not clear about harm to animals and plants. In dietary habits Jains are strictly vegetarians, as they would not wish to harm other life forms for their own consumption. Christians in many countries have a tradition of charity towards animals but this is not seen as a religious duty. Christianity does not advocate vegetarianism, though abstention from meat (and sometimes fish) is practised as a penance. Of course, some Christians are vegetarians by choice.