What is Christianity

What is Christianity? This is a question I had never truly thought about before taking the class The Christian Religious Tradition. Being raised a Catholic I simply believed what I was told to believe, and went to mass and Sunday school every week. I have never in my life stopped to think about what it means to be an actual Christian. Most Christian denominations teach that man is sinful and can never inherit eternal life with God as a result of the sins of Adam and Eve, as well as our own personal sin. It thus became necessary for God to become man in the person of Jesus Christ who as the Son of God was sinless and unblemished. His purpose was to suffer and die in compensation for the sins of all who accept his sacrifice for sin. Individual salvation is dependent upon the acceptance of this atonement.

I know what I believe, but it is clear that Christianity must be defined in a broader sense. Upon asking my mother what she believed Christianity to be, she replied "Well Clare, Christianity is seeing the way Jesus Christ lived his life and trying to live our own lives following Christ's example as a manifestation of God on earth in human form." This is more or less what I have always believed Christianity t

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

There exist in Christianity many interpretations of the role of human effort in salvation. Paul taught that it was more important to follow the teachings of Jesus in your heart than to follow laws, therefore circumcise your heart. Paul says that the law in fact has restricted all of us, and Christ has set us free from this law. There are many interpretations of many aspects of Christianity, and this in itself is what constitutes Christianity as a religion.

When defining Christianity it is necessary to view it in terms of relations to Judaism. God graces you and gives you salvation, and it doesn't matter if you are not "good. " Her short definition is a perfect example of the beautiful simplicity that exists within the huge diversity that constitutes Christianity as a religion. Christianity embraces the idea of intertwined humanity and divinity of Christ. If Aquinas distinguished between truths known through reason and those known through revelation he did not think that reason and revelation could ever contradict each other because both come from God (153). Luther feels that there is no need to try and please God because God loves us no matter what. The diversity in the interpretations of the Eucharist is great, but all forms of Christianity hold some interpretation of the Eucharist, and they hold that fact in common. The mark of the covenant that God had made with Abraham was that all Jews were to be circumcised. Aquinas believed that some truths are available through reason and revelation. Luther also hated the notion of transubstantiation feeling that all we need to know is that Christ says, "This is my body", and there is no need for analysis. " The Catholic ideology on the role of human effort in salvation differs from that of Luther.

Approximate Word count = 1580
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.