Religion 23b Christianity

the four primary symbols of Christianity

1. Bread and Wine 2. The Lamb, Anchor, and Fish 3. The Cross 4. Saints

confirmation

A blessing that Christians receive after their baptism.

Easter

A celebration of Jesus' resurrection, which Christians believe occurred on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover.

sacrament

A ritual act that is intended to impart God's grace to humans.

Christian rituals and worship practices

A sacrament is a ritual act that is intended to impart God's grace to humans. Through baptism, or a ritual immersion in water, a person becomes a Christian. This act symbolizes Jesus' baptism and his death. The Eucharist is also called Communion or the Lord's Supper and is the only other sacrament that is observed by all three major branches of Christianity. Confirmation is a blessing that Christians receive after their baptism.

marriage

A sacrament, often containing the Eucharist, that is conducted by the church to join people in matrimony.

Christian rituals and worship practices

All three major branches of Christianity have developed teachings based on their interpretations of the Resurrection. Christian rituals and worship practices are all designed to bring people closer to God. They teach people about God's grace so that they will believe in the Resurrection.

liturgy

An established pattern that determines the order of prayers and hymns at a worship service.

Communion

Another name for the Eucharist.

Lord's Supper

Another name for the Eucharist.

Christian belief of the afterlife

The Resurrection is the basis for the Christian belief in an afterlife. The books of the New Testament teach that God will judge all people after death. Those who are righteous will be resurrected and live in heaven with God. They will have a spiritual body and live forever.

Christian holidays

Orthodox and some Protestant Churches (Anglicans and Lutherans) accept this calendar. Most Protestants reject parts of the traditional church calendar. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, and Easter commemorates the Resurrection. Protestant and Catholic Christians celebrate Easter and Christmas on the same dates. Orthodox Christians, however, celebrate Christmas and Easter on different dates because the Orthodox Church follows the old Julian calendar of the Roman Empire.

The Lamb, Anchor, and Fish symbol

Other important Christian symbols include the lamb, which represents Jesus as a good shepherd who watches over his flock of Christian believers. The anchor and fish are also important Christian symbols since they represent Jesus, who not only fished in the New Testament, but who also had many fishermen among his early followers. Because many stories in the New Testament deal with fishing, these symbols continue to remind Christians of events in Jesus' life. The fish is also an important early Christian symbol because in Greek, fish can be read as an acronym for the phrase "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior."

Christian rituals and worship practices

Penance is the confession of sin, which is especially important in Catholic Christianity. Extreme unction is the anointing of a Christian with oil by a priest as he or she lies near death. It also includes a final confession. This sacrament is also known as anointing of the sick and is only given to those who are seriously ill and dying. Marriage is considered a sacrament and is conducted by the church.

saints

People who, because of their pious lives, can intercede with God.

passion plays

Plays held in many Christian churches during Holy Week that reenact Jesus' last week in Jerusalem.

atonement

Reconciliation with God to avoid punishment for sin

Christian belief of the afterlife

Sinners will face eternal punishment in hell. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity later developed a belief in a temporary place of punishment and suffering called purgatory. It is where righteous people who are not totally free of sin face punishment before they go to heaven.

transubstantiation

The Catholic doctrine that teaches that the sacramental bread and wine literally become Jesus' body and blood, although their appearance does not change.

Christmas

The Christian holiday that celebrates Jesus' birth.

Saints symbol

Catholic and Orthodox Christians also use images of saints in their worship. Saints are people who, because of their pious lives, can intercede with God. Veneration of saints is very common in many forms of Christianity. Saints are not worshipped like God, but Christians believe that saints can bring their petitions directly to God. Statues placed in churches frequently depict saints, though Orthodox Christians do not use statues and instead have traditionally preferred two-dimensional icons. Most Protestants reject the veneration of saints and prefer few or no symbols in their churches.

belief in the Resurrection and its impact on Christianity

Christianity believes that the Resurrection is proof that Jesus is the savior of the world. Christianity also teaches that the Resurrection demonstrates that God has sent Jesus to redeem people from their sins. According to the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament, Jesus told his followers that he would be executed and return to life after three days.

belief of sin and salvation and its impact on Christianity

Christians believe that grace is God's assistance to help humans attain salvation. Traditional Christianity, through the doctrine of original sin, has taught that humans are born in a state of sin. Christians believe that Jesus' death is the fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant, and the Christian scriptures use the language of the Old Testament covenant promises and the sacrificial system to explain God's grace.

Christian rituals and worship practices

Christians have many rituals that symbolically act out events in Jesus' life and which demonstrate their commitment to the Christian faith. Christians meet each week on Sunday in the church to commemorate Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Worship services are usually conducted according to an established pattern called a liturgy. The liturgy in most forms of Christianity determines the order of prayers in the service. It also lists the scripture readings and hymns that are to be used in that worship service. The liturgy is intended to accompany the rituals of the Christian worship service.

grace

God's assistance to help humans attain salvation.

Christian holidays

In 1582, most of the Christian world switched from the ancient Roman calendar to the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox Church did not accept this change. Orthodox celebrations of Christmas and Easter can therefore occur weeks after Catholic and Protestant celebrations. Other Christian holidays include Advent, Lent, Holy Week, Ascension, and Pentecost.

purgatory

In Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, a temporary place of punishment and suffering where righteous people who are not totally free of sin face punishment before they go to heaven.

belief in the Resurrection and its impact on Christianity

The Resurrection is the central belief of Christianity. The word resurrection refers to Jesus' return to life after his death. Christians believe that the Resurrection occurred three days after Jesus' crucifixion. He appeared first to his followers and then on numerous occasions to many others. Christians believe that Jesus' resurrection was both physical and spiritual; Jesus actually returned in the flesh as a person, and because Jesus is the Son of God, he had a spiritual presence when he was resurrected that allowed him to return to God.

belief in the Resurrection and its impact on Christianity

The books of the Christian scriptures teach that Jesus' death and suffering had also been predicted by the Jewish prophets. The early Christians looked to the Old Testament writings to explain why Jesus had to die. According to the New Testament, the Resurrection is the central component of God's plan of salvation. The Resurrection was essential because humans could not save themselves without God's grace.

penance

The confession of sin.

The Cross symbol

The cross represents Jesus' death and resurrection. Crosses may or may not have a representation of Jesus upon them. Catholics generally prefer crosses with Jesus, while Orthodox and Protestant Christians usually depict crosses without Jesus. The cross, however, has the same meaning in all forms of Christianity.

Ascension

The day commemorating Jesus' ascension to heaven, occurring forty days after Easter.

Advent

The four-week period prior to Christmas in the Christian calendar.

Pentecost

The holiday occurring ten days after the Ascension, commemorating the establishment of the Christian church as recorded in the New Testament Book of Acts.

Lent

The period of forty days of repentance and preparation for Easter, which recalls the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and being tempted by Satan.

extreme unction

The priestly anointing of a Christian with oil as he or she lies near death.

belief of sin and salvation and its impact on Christianity

The purpose of the sacrificial system was to atone, or obtain forgiveness, for sin. Atonement is intended to reconcile people to God to avoid God's punishment for sin. Christians believe that Jesus' death was the final sacrifice necessary to redeem humanity. Because Jesus was pure and without sin, his sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all humanity. The Resurrection, however, was necessary in order to overcome sin. Christians believe that the Resurrection is proof that atonement of sin, through a belief in Jesus and the Resurrection, is possible.

holy orders

The sacrament in which Christians take on a religious vocation.

Bread and Wine symbol

The sacraments constitute the basis for Christian worship, but they also provide the basis for some of the symbols of Christianity. The bread and wine of the Eucharist, for example, is a common Christian symbol. Both ancient and modern Christian art depict the bread, wine, or Christians partaking of the Eucharist. These symbols remind Christians of Jesus' last meal with his followers. In early Christianity, such visual images were particularly important for instruction since many people during that time could not read. Visual symbols were things they could remember and take with them after worship.

Holy Week

The week before Easter, during which Christians remember and reenact events from Jesus' final week on earth.

Christian holidays

There are a number of holidays in Christianity. Christmas and Easter are the two most important. During the sixth century C.E., a church calendar was developed that structured the year around these two major holidays. Because Christians believed that these two holidays celebrated the two most important events in history, they divided the year into two halves that culminate with Christmas and Easter. The year progressively moves from one of these holidays to another in an endless succession.