Christianity - The Big Picture

Chrisitianity is monotheistic, this means they believe in onegod.

They believe God is:

• omnipotent
• omnibenevolent
• omniscient
• omnipresent

God is made up of three persons called the Holy Trinity:

• The Father
• The Son
• The Holy Spirit

God is a creator.

God created the world.

God is a judge.

He forgives and he loves.

God sustains and rules everything.

God guides and inspires Christians everyday.

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary on Earth and he was God incarnate.

God incarnate = God in human form.

He was sent to Earth to teach humans about heaven and hell, and about sin.

Evidence:

• "And a voice from heaven said, 'this is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'."
• Jesus was born via a virgin - "she was found to be pregant through the 'holy spirit'"
• He performed miracles
• He admitted to the High Priest he was Christ and was executed for it.

God guides and inspires Christians every day: the holy spirit is the invisible power which breathes new life into people.

Christians believe they communicate with the holy spirit when they pray.

The Story:

• Jesus was arrested for blasphemy and questioned by the high priest - "Again the high priest asked him, 'are you Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?', 'I am', said Jesus."
• It was decided he was to be executed.
• Jesus was heavily mocked, and a crown of thorns was placed on his head.
• He was crucified with two other criminals in Golgotha.
• Jesus prayed on the cross, before dying.

The story shows Christians that:

• suffering is a normal part of life that God understands;
• if Christians accept Jesus' sacrifice, sin can no longer destroy their lives;
• and that God forgives those who faithfully ask for forgiveness.

The belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, conquering death.

Many Christians believe that the resurrection shows the divine nature of Jesus becuase it's the biggest miracle in the New Testament.

They also belive that by accepting Jesus, they will also be resurrected spiritually in heaven (or hell), so there is no need to fear death.

The event assures Chritians that God forgives sins if they follow Christian teachings.

40 days after the resurrection, Jesus returned to God in heaven. This is known as the ascension.

"While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven."

The ascension shows that Jesus is with God. It paves the way for the coming of the holy spirit to provide comfort and guidance (i.e. the ascension is symbolic of the soul).

Atonement

The belief that Jesus' death restored the relationship between God and humanity after the original sin.

Salvation

To be saved from sin and the consequences of it and be granted eternal life with God.  It was offered to everyone after Jesus' death.

Salvation comes through:

Proof he was God incarnate.

Death is not the end.

Everyone has a soul - "the breath of life" - which is what makes humans different to animals. God created humans in his "own image".

It is believed to be the soul that lives on in heaven, not the physical body.

God will decide whether we go to heaven or hell on Judgement Day...

"When the Son of Man comes as King... he will divide them into two groups, just as shepherd seperates the sheep from the goats. He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left." - Parable of the Sheep and Goats

Jesus taught that people's behaviour is judged not only for sinning, but also for failing to do good.