Basics

Christianity is the belief in Jesus of Nazareth and his teachings. Jesus’s followers and companions (known as disciples and apostles) wrote books and scriptures that are put together to form the Bible– the book that the teachings of Jesus Christ are shown in. Christians believe that if followed closely, the teachings of the Bible paired with a strong relationship with God, will get one into Heaven (The afterlife that Christians believe in).

Bible

The Bible is a compilation of many books throughout time and is separated into two sections– the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament dates back all the way to the beginnings of Earth and Mankind and ends at the birth of Jesus. The first book of the Bible is called Genesis. In Genesis, God makes the Earth, then he makes man. From the ribs of Man, he makes a woman. These two figures are named Adam and Eve. They are the first humans. After Genesis, the Bible tells an epic story of how mankind came from two people to millions of people. It introduces the Ten Commandments, which is the basic law code for Christians. It also uses parables (which some denominations of Christianity take literally) to illustrate the lessons and morals that God wants the people to know.

The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus Christ. An angel was sent to a virgin named Mary and asked her to carry the son of God– to this request, she said yes. During the life of Jesus, he goes through many hardships (mainly in trying to make people believe that he was the son of God). In the end, after making many people believe in Him and believe in God, he was crucified by the Romans. One of the main Christian beliefs is that when Jesus died hanging from the cross, all sin was forgiven and forgivable. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, further proving that he was the son of God. Before ascending into Heaven, he guided his apostles (future Church leaders) in the right direction. After this, the Bible then goes to tell about the early Church, and the struggles it endured. The New Testament (And the Bible) end with a book called Revelation. In this book, some fairly radical predictions are made about the future of mankind. God is promised to come again to Earth at some point to judge the living and the dead.

Heaven

Heaven is the afterlife that Christians believe in. While there are some references to it in the Bible, it is a fairly subjective idea. Many individuals and denominations have many different versions of Heaven. Some believe that Heaven has pearly gates and extravagant decor and is perfect in every way. Some believe that each person has their own version of Heaven, and everyone’s is different. Some believe that you will be reunited with loved ones and get to speak face to face with everyone that is in Heaven. Any way it is believed, Heaven is a good thing. Getting to Heaven is the ultimate goal of Christianity.

Denominations of Christianity

Christianity started out as one church– It grew to be called the Catholic Church. However, as people started to think for themselves in religion, and the Catholic Church grew corrupt, many Christians broke off of the Catholic Church to form their own churches. This process continued, and today there are over 30,000 denominations of Christianity. Here are some of the more popular ones:

• Catholic
• Baptist
• Non-practicing (Believe in Christianity but do not align or practice with a specific Denomination)
• Methodist
• Lutheran
• Presbyterian
• Pentecostal
• Mormon
• Church of Christ
• Evangelical
• Jehovah’s Witness
• Church of God
• Seventh-Day Adventist
• Anglican
• Quaker

   Jesus Christ hanging on the cross.

  The virgin mary, mother of jesus.