General Christianity Articles

Article / Updated 11-08-2022

Listen to the article:Download audio 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. It also gives hope to Christians that they too will experience a resurrected life in heaven. When is Easter? The exact day of the year that Easter falls on is very confusing, and the logic seems pretty old-fashioned in this digital age; it’s based on the lunar calendar and tied to the start of the solar spring. But the Western Church (Catholic and Protestant) continues to observe it based on the rules of long ago — that it falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21 (the vernal equinox). It can’t come before March 22 or after April 25. In contrast, Orthodox Churches wanted to tie Easter to Jewish Passover, given the relationship between Passover and the day of Christ’s resurrection. Because the Jewish calendar determines the date that Jews celebrate Passover, Easter for Orthodox Churches can vary by as much as five weeks from the Western Church. Where does the term Easter come from? No one knows for certain where the term Easter came from, but one theory is that it’s derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who was connected with fertility and spring. If so, Christians named their high holy day Easter aiming to replace the pagan celebration of spring with their own holiday — like they did with Christmas. Easter is also often known as Pasch, which comes from the Hebrew word Pesach, meaning “Passover.” Some Protestants prefer to call it simply Resurrection Day to remove the commercialized baggage that they see associated with Easter. Why is the Easter bunny associated with Easter? In addition, the Easter bunny has pagan origins and has no real connection with the Christian celebration, although some churches use eggs as a metaphor for the new life Christians receive because of the Resurrection.

Article / Updated 03-29-2022

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. It culminates at Easter when Christ rose triumphant from the dead. The tradition of Ash Wednesday in the Catholic Church is a poignant reminder that our bodies will die someday and turn to dust. A priest places ashes on parishioners' foreheads to remind them of their mortality and the need for repentance. The words spoken as the ashes are imposed on the forehead are from Genesis 3:19: "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." So ashes on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, are religious reminders, just like holy water and palms on Palm Sunday. Catholics are also expected to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday.

Article / Updated 03-29-2022

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. Throughout Jesus’ three-year ministry, he downplayed his role as Messiah and sometimes even told people whom he healed not to say anything about the miracle to others. Palm Sunday is the one exception in which his followers loudly proclaimed his glory to all. Today, Christians often celebrate Palm Sunday in a joyous, triumphant manner during worship services, emphasizing the glory of Jesus Christ. Some churches spread palm branches at the front of the sanctuary as a way to commemorate the event. Some even take the time (often during church school) to walk a real-live donkey around town while waving palm fronds as their own "announcement" to the community about the coming of Jesus Christ.

Article / Updated 03-29-2022

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. It also draws a connection between the Passover sacrifice, a Jewish tradition, and Jesus Christ’s sacrificial role on the cross. The night before Jesus was crucified, he had a Passover supper with his disciples. (Passover is a Jewish holy day that celebrates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt.) After supper, Jesus knew that this would be his final opportunity to instruct his disciples before the crucifixion, so he talked at length about his purposes, what his followers should do in response, and the promise of the Holy Spirit to come. He then washed his disciples’ feet in an incredible demonstration of humility and servanthood. Finally, he gave bread and wine to his disciples and asked them to partake of it in remembrance of him. The act of partaking bread and wine is called Communion (or the Last Supper) today. The word Maundy (pronounced MAWN-dee) comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means “command.” The command that this holy day refers to is the one that Jesus gave to his disciples during the Last Supper: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34–35 Along this line, many churches perform foot-washing services on Maundy Thursday as a way to remember Jesus’ command. During the Middle Ages, the holy day was sometimes called Shere Thursday; shere means “pure.” In England during this time, bearded men found another reason for that name when they sheared their beards on Maundy Thursday as a symbol of the cleansing of body and soul before Easter.

Article / Updated 03-29-2022

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. Jesus took the sins of humanity upon himself, taking the punishment for that sin as well. Thus, humans could be considered sinless or "good" in God's eyes. Some believe that its name was originally God’s Friday, which, over the years, became its present name. In Germany, Christians call it Quiet Friday (from noon on Friday until Easter morning, church bells remain silent). Christians in other parts of Europe call it Great Friday or Holy Friday. Good Friday is a day of mourning and sorrow over the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and a reminder that the sins of all people made it necessary for him to die in the first place. It’s also a day of gratitude for the supreme sacrifice that he made. Protestant churches sometimes hold services between noon and 3:00 p.m. to commemorate Jesus’ hours on the cross. Catholics often remove everything from the altar and kiss the crucifix as an expression of worship. Some churches even hold a Service of Darkness in which candles are extinguished until people are left sitting in total darkness, as a reminder of the darkness that covered the earth after Jesus died, as written in Luke 23:44–46: It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Article / Updated 03-29-2022

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. Over the centuries, Catholics have relaxed some of the strict fasting rules. Today, only Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays during Lent are considered fasting days. On these days, Catholics over the age of 14 are to refrain from eating meat. (Historically, this practice was meant to help unify people who could afford meat with poor people who couldn’t.) In addition, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, those between the ages of 18 and 59 are to eat only one full meal and two smaller meals and aren’t to eat between meals. Orthodox Christians are far more rigorous in their observance of fasting during Lent, believing that regular fasting is a crucially important discipline for one’s spiritual growth. Meat, dairy products, and eggs (which historically were considered more luxury foods than ordinary breads) aren’t allowed, with some additional restrictions on certain days. They can only eat fish (which was historically considered less of a luxury than red meat) on the feasts of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. In addition to refraining from eating, Lent is often a time when Christians give up something pleasurable (furthering the focus on self-denial), be it chocolate, meat or — perish the thought! — coffee. Some Protestant denominations (such as Anglican and Episcopalian) observe Lent, but many Protestant churches attach less significance to the Lenten season than to the individual holy days leading up to Easter.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-16-2022

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.

Article / Updated 09-15-2021

It doesn't take long to establish a habit of daily Christian prayer. Follow these steps and you'll be surprised by how much Christian prayer can become part of your life after just three weeks: Determine the optimal prayer time that you're going to set aside to pray. Choose a specific location where you know you can be quiet at that time. Go to that same place each day at the specific time you've set aside for prayer. Spend those minutes in prayer. For those 21 days, stick with it no matter what. If you happen to miss a day, don't get down on yourself. Just make sure that you get back into the routine again the following day. The ACTS method of Christian prayer Ensure that your Christian prayer is complete by remembering ACTS — not the book of the Bible, but the acronym. The ACTS method of Christian prayer goes like this: Adoration: Give God praise and honor for who he is as Lord over all. Confession: Honestly deal with the sin in your prayer life. Thanksgiving: Verbalize what you're grateful for in your life and in the world around you. Supplication: Pray for the needs of others and yourself. The Christian Trinity Prayer The Trinity Prayer is brief, easy, and something you can do in just a few moments at most anytime for a quick prayer break. It's also an easy Christian prayer for children to learn. Here it is: Love of Jesus, Fill us. Holy Spirit, Guide us. Will of the Father be done. Amen.

Article / Updated 09-09-2021

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. However, Pentecost for Christians means something far different. Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come after him: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16–18 And 50 days after Jesus was resurrected (10 days after he ascended into heaven), that promise was fulfilled when Peter and the early Church were in Jerusalem for Pentecost: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1–4 Although many North American Christians hardly notice Pentecost today, traditional European churches consider it a major feast day. Pentecost, also called Whitsuntide in parts of Europe, is just behind Easter in overall importance. For example, in Germany today, on only three occasions does the observance of a national holiday span two days: Christmas (December 25 and 26), Easter (Sunday and Monday), and Pentecost (Sunday and Monday).

Article / Updated 05-12-2016

Prayer is simply communicating with God. There's nothing magical at all about Christian prayer; it's matter of fact. However, Christian prayer is more than just telling God your list of requests and expecting him to answer your prayers like he's some kind of cosmic vending machine. Yes, prayer is a way to share with God what's on your mind. However, even more important, it's a way to get to know God and what he wants to do in your life and in the world. When you study the Bible, you find people praying left and right, but the subject of prayer itself is actually rarely addressed. A filled ball is essential to playing basketball, but it's also so obvious that nothing need be said about it. In the same way, prayer, or talking with God, is so natural that it's a given in the Bible. Although the Bible doesn't talk specifically about prayer methods, you do notice that the manner in which people prayed has changed through the ages. In the earliest of times, people like Adam, Noah, and Abraham prayed in a very familiar and direct manner to God and tended to focus on the practicalities of life. But from the time of Moses through the rest of the Old Testament period, prayers tended to be more formal and less focused on personal needs and more on national issues related to the Israelites. Christian prayer has its origins in the prayers of Jesus, particularly the Lord's Prayer. Christian prayer in the New Testament becomes more focused on the spiritual needs of individuals, such as the cleansing of sins, physical healing, and equipping of individuals with spiritual qualities to live like Christ. Prayer in the New Testament is also quite intimate and even goes so far as to tell you to call God your Daddy. Nowhere does the Bible list any specific rules on how to pray. Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians each have their own distinct traditions of prayer. The refreshing and liberating fact is that God is not much concerned with how you pray; he's more interested in what you pray about and what your attitude is while you pray. Surveys of U.S. adults and teenagers by Barna Research Ltd. from 1991–2001 revealed the following statistics about people's prayer habits: Who prays? 82 percent of adults and 89 percent of teenagers pray in a normal week. 88 percent of women and 75 percent of men pray in a typical week. People living in the South and Midwest pray more than those living in the West and Northeast (around 86 percent to 76 percent, respectively). 96 percent of born-again Christians pray weekly, while 72 percent of people not describing themselves as born again pray on a weekly basis. What do people pray about? 95 percent of adults thank God for what he has done in their lives. 76 percent ask for forgiveness for specific sins. 67 percent spend time in prayer worshiping God by praising his superior attributes. 61 percent ask for help for specific needs. 47 percent are silent during prayer to listen for God. What do people believe? 89 percent of adults believe "there is a god who watches over you and answers your prayers." 82 percent of people believe that prayer can change what happens in a person's life. When and how much do people pray? An average prayer lasts just under five minutes. 52 percent of people who pray do so several times a day. 37 percent of people say they pray once a day. 21 percent have extended prayer time with other family members (25 percent among Protestants and 13 percent among Catholics). 33 percent of adults regularly participate in a prayer group or other meeting that has a focus on prayer.