Christianity

Beliefs, historical branches, and historical-critical scholarship

What is Christianity?

Christianity is a religion that developed from a movement of people who claimed to follow the life and teachings of Jesus, son of Mary, who lived in the region of Palestine during the early 1st century CE. These early communities developed beliefs, practices, and writings that became the foundation of the Christian tradition. The movement gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, becoming one of the world's major religions.

Core beliefs

Christians believe that Jesus, son of Mary, is the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God, and that his crucifixion and resurrection are central to salvation. Most Christian traditions believe in one God understood as the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons sharing one divine nature. Muslims also regard Jesus (ʿĪsā, son of Mary) as the Messiah and an important prophet of God, but they reject the Christian understanding of his divinity, the Trinity, and the crucifixion as understood in Christian belief.

Sources

Christianity's central text is the Bible, which consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament includes four Gospels that Christians believe present accounts of the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus, along with letters and other writings from early Christian communities. Christians regard the Bible as divinely inspired scripture and central to their beliefs and practices. Muslims recognize the original revelation given to Jesus (ʿĪsā), known as the Injil, but generally do not consider the existing Gospel texts to be a fully preserved record of that original revelation. In fact the origin of the new testament is in greek not Aramaic, not in the language of jesus.

Development

Over the course of history, Christianity developed into a wide range of traditions, interpretations, and communities. Today, it includes many denominations and forms of worship.