November 25, 2018 Blog

What is the religious law of Christianity

BY : STARZSPEAK

By: Manmeet Kaur Tura

Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus and the stories of Hebrew scriptures, as said in the Bible. It is a monotheistic religion and is considered to be one of the great world religion. The Christians believe in one god but there are several eminent differences of the interpretation and opinion of the Bible. But the fundamentals remain the same.

  • Creeds

Creeds are the brief doctrinal statements of the religious beliefs. They started as baptismal formulae and later widened in scope during the 4th and the 5th centuries to evolve into becoming the statements of faith.

The Apostle’s Creed is the most accepted declaration of the articles of Christian faith. This creed was developed between 2nd and the 9th centuries. It seems that it was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in Rome.

Its major points include-

  • Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the son of God and the Holy Spirit.
  • The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ
  • The holiness of the Church and the Communion of saints
  • Christ’s second coming, the Day of Judgment and salvation of the faithful.

On the other hand, the Nicene Creed was formed n response to Arianism at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively. All the Christians accept the use of creeds and follow the principles mention therein.

  • Jesus- The main principle of Christianity is the belief in Jesus. Jesus is believed to be the Son of God and the Messiah who was sent on Earth as the savior of humanity. Jesus is believed to be “true God and true man” (fully divine and fully human). Jesus suffered the pains of a common man and went through the various temptations in his lifespan but did not sin and as God, he rose to life again.

According to the New Testament Jesus rose from the dead, made his journey to heaven, sat at the right hand of the Father and returned to fulfill the rest of the prophecy and to finally establish the Kingdom of God.

As per the canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was conceived by the divine spirit and was born from the Virgin Mary.

  • Death and resurrection- The resurrection of Jesus is considered as the foundation stone of faith in Christianity and the most important part of the Christian religion. According to the New Testament after being crucified, Jesus died a physical death and was buried in a tomb. Three days later he rose from the dead to establish true faith in God.

The resurrection is commemorated in all worship services by the Christians especially during the Holy week which includes important days like the Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The death and resurrection are the most important part of Christianity because they reveal that Jesus has power over life and death and has the immense power to give people an eternal life.

  • Salvation- According to both the Catholic and Protestant doctrine, salvation comes by Jesus' death and resurrection.  The Catholic Church preaches that salvation does not happen without faithfulness; converts must live in harmony with the principles of love and normally must be baptized.
  • Trinity-  Trinity is the Christian belief that God is one in three people: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It means that there is only one God which comprises of three different eternally coexisting beings and these three people are sometimes called the Godhead. The Trinity is an important doctrine of Christianity and the Christian community believes "that God must exist as both a unity and Trinity"