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Overview
Get to know the beliefs and practices inspired by Jesus Christ
Discover what it means to be a Christian and follow the gospel
Curious about Christianity? This friendly guide helps you understand the basic teachings of the Christian faith, exploring the common ground that all Christians share, the differences among the major branches, the key events in Christian history, the key theological issues, and the many ways Christians live out their faith in today's world.
The Dummies Way
- Explanations in plain English
- "Get in, get out" information
- Icons and other navigational aids
- Tear-out cheat sheet
- Top ten lists
- A dash of humor and fun
Discover how to:
- Express the core essentials of Christianity
- Appreciate the life and teachings of Jesus
- Understand why the Bible is central to the faith
- Respect the unique roles of the Trinity
- Explore controversial issues among the branches
Understanding Christianity starts with looking at the basics that connect Christians. Then you can compare the beliefs across the Christian church, the keys to worship, and read the Nicean creed, which is commonly used in Christian liturgy.A brief look at ChristianityChristianity encompasses a great number of beliefs about a great number of different subjects and the ideas that spring from those beliefs, resulting in endless specific convictions.
About The Author
Richard Wagner is publisher of Digitalwalk.net, a Web-based Christian discipleship magazine. He has more than a decade’s broad experience in church leadership and teaching roles.
Articles From The Book
3 results
General Christianity
Articles
Christianity encompasses a great number of beliefs about a great number of different subjects and the ideas that spring from those beliefs, resulting in endless specific convictions. Basically, though, Christians agree on these ideas of salvation:
God loves and wants a relationship with each person.
Everyone is born with a tendency to sin.
General Christianity
Articles
Annual plants come in myriad sizes, shapes, and forms that enable you to experiment with new garden designs every year. Your garden annuals can be short, tall, spiky, mounding, full of flowers, beautifully leafy, and everything in between.
Fun and creative combinations, of form as well as color, are so easy with annuals!
General Christianity
Articles
Many in postmodern society downplay tradition. This change has rippled through some parts of the Church as well. However, tradition remains an important part of what the Christian faith is all about, because when the Church recognizes holy days, holidays, and seasons, it connects Christians of today with Christians throughout history.
General Christianity
Articles
Understanding Christianity starts with looking at the basics that connect Christians. Then you can compare the beliefs across the Christian church, the keys to worship, and read the Nicean creed, which is commonly used in Christian liturgy.A brief look at ChristianityChristianity encompasses a great number of beliefs about a great number of different subjects and the ideas that spring from those beliefs, resulting in endless specific convictions.
General Christianity
Articles
Different Christian denominations are organized and worship in different ways. This handy list will help you keep track of and compare some differences in worship, rituals, and beliefs of the largest groups of the Christian Church.
Anglican/ Episcopalian
Means of salvation: God's grace by faith alone
How they worship: Traditional style through liturgy; contemporary liturgy is possible
Sacraments and ordinances observed: Baptism, Lord's Supper (Regard the other five that Catholics observe as "minor sacraments")
Organization: Episcopal (Clergy in local churches presided over by bishop.
General Christianity
Articles
People often think of the President of the United States as one of the most powerful people in the world. Perhaps that idea's due to the fact that he's got so many names, roles, and titles associated with his office. Although President is the official job title, the person holding it also has several other titles: commander-in-chief as head of the U.
General Christianity
Articles
Sin is any deliberate action, attitude, or thought that goes against God. You may think of sin as an obvious act, such as murder, adultery, or theft. Although that's true, sin is also wrongdoing that's far subtler and even unnoticeable at times, such as pride, envy, or even worry. Sin includes both things you shouldn't have done, but did (sins of commission) and things you should've done, but didn't (sins of omission).
General Christianity
Articles
When Christians worship God (and God alone) they’re showing him devotion and admiration. Worship is done in a variety of ways, through singing, praying, preaching, and reading the Bible. Worship not only honors God, but it also empowers the worshiper. Keep in mind the following keys to worship:
Worship in reverence.
General Christianity
Articles
The Christian faith isn't an obscure belief system with Jesus as a mythological figure. Rather, Christianity is based entirely on real space-time history; in the words of Francis Schaeffer, its central figure is an actual man who "hung on a cross in the sense that, if you were there that day, you could have rubbed your finger on the cross and got a splinter on it" (The God Who Is There, InterVarsity Press, 1968).
General Christianity
Articles
Developed in the fourth century, the Nicean Creed (or the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, as Orthodox Christians call it) serves as the basic, non-negotiable statement on who exactly God is according to the Christian Church. This creed is a profession of faith among all parts of the Church and is often used in Christian liturgy.
General Christianity
Articles
The notion that salvation is totally of God and is the result of nothing that anyone does is hard to grasp. To many, this solution is too easy. Human nature almost demands us to tack something onto the end. And many through the ages have felt compelled to add onto the central message of Christianity. But the Bible makes it clear that salvation is sola gratia — by grace alone.
General Christianity
Articles
The Christian season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days. Catholics and members of some Protestant denominations are asked to do modest mortifications and acts of penance during Lent for the purification of the body and soul. Lent is a time of confession, fasting, abstinence, prayer, Bible and spiritual reading, and spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
General Christianity
Articles
You probably know that Christmas is celebrated on December 25. In the United States, families distribute gifts that Santa Claus left under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Many attend church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, and later gather for Christmas dinner with extended family.
Christmas is the observance of Jesus’ humble birth to a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem.
General Christianity
Articles
Good Friday — the Friday before Easter — marks the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for the sins of the world. The term Good Friday might be a bit confusing if you associate good with happy. Good Friday isn’t a happy day, but its name is a reminder that humans can only be considered good because of what happened on that day.
General Christianity
Articles
On the Christian calendar, Lent is the 40-day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter. When it was first observed in the fourth century, its focus was on self-examination and self-denial in preparation for Easter, and Christians used fasting (abstaining from eating food) in the early years as a visible demonstration of this process.
General Christianity
Articles
Within the midst of the Easter season, Maundy Thursday — the Thursday before Easter — is one Christian holy day that many Christians and even many churches often overlook, yet it symbolizes a critically important truth of the Christian faith: Jesus as a suffering servant and the call for his followers to do the same.
General Christianity
Articles
Christians observe Palm Sunday on the Sunday before Easter, celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The reason they call it Palm Sunday stems from the fact that when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, a large crowd of people in the city spread out palm branches on the ground before him as a sign of his kingship.
General Christianity
Articles
Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Easter. Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such.Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish holiday held 50 days after Passover. One of three major feasts during the Jewish year, it celebrated thanksgiving for harvested crops.
General Christianity
Articles
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What is Easter?
Easter is the single most important holy day of the Christian Church. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the central event in Christianity. To Christians, the resurrection backs up Jesus’ claim that he had the authority to die for the sins of the world and the power to come back to life again.