Christianity
The World's Largest Religion
Historical Background
Christianity begins with the story of it's founder, Jesus. The traditional story of Jesus tells of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem in Israel. Jesus' story is told in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Torah, which claimed that a Messiah, or savior of the Jewish people, would save the Jews from captivity. Jesus stated publicly that he spoke with God. This claim angered many traditional Jews who saw this as an act of defiance according to the Ten Commandments. Christians believe that Jesus was killed by crucifixion. Crucifixion was a traditional, ancient way of sentencing criminals to death by staking the person to a cross. Christians believe that Jesus was brought back to life through resurrection, and is the son of God. Christianity was founded with the death of Jesus in 33 C.E.
Jesus
Jesus is the founder of Christianity. His teachings, as detailed in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, form the central beliefs of Christianity.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of Christianity. A cross was used in crucifixion by staking the accused criminal by their hands and feet to the wood of the cross.
Israel
Christianity was founded in modern day Israel. This is also the place where Judaism.
Central Beliefs
Christianity builds on the teachings of Judaism. Christianity is monotheistic, and worships the same God as Judaism. Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah as promised in the Torah. Christians also believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that Jesus' death was meant to save his followers from sin. Christians celebrate two major holidays, Christmas and Easter. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, and Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The Christian holy book is the Bible, which includes the teaching of Judaism in the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.
The Bible
The holy book of Christianity is the Bible. The Bible is broken into two parts. The Old Testament is made up of Jewish teachings, while the New Testament is made up of the teachings of Jesus.
Easter
Easter is a major holiday in Christianity. Christians believe that Jesus was brought back to life after his death. This proved he was the son of God, and died to wash away the sins of his followers.
Monotheisitc
Christianity is monotheistic. This means they believe in one God. Christians worship the same God as Jews.
The Spread of Christianity
Christianity is the world's largest religion with 2.1 billion followers across the world. It wasn't always the biggest though. Christianity spread to Europe when the Roman Empire adopted it as their official religion in 325 C.E. European countries took over a lot of the world to make money from these countries. During this period known as colonization, Christianity spread to all corners of the Earth.