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Unity In The Christian Faiths
By Richard Jones
Some have called him a great teacher, while others say He is a prophet, but those who know Him call him Savior. This man, assisted by twelve of his closest friends took a religion and spread it to the edges of the known world. Today they could boast in their role of starting the world’s largest religion, Christianity. One out of three people in the world identify in some way with Christianity, with two billion plus people, there are sure to be a variety of beliefs that they hold to. (Hopfe 293) Even with this diversity there are shared common beliefs within the religion. Believers of Christianity have four common threads among their variety of denominations. (Hopfe 293)The first is the belief that a redemptive work occurred in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Next, is the doctrine of baptism which is a ritual preformed for inclusion and initiation into the Christian religion. Many groups of Christians also take communion as a way to remember Christ’s painful death and its purpose to them. Lastly there is a belief that a person dies once and then enters into Heaven or Hell for eternity. Therefore a Christian is defined as, “a religious person who believes Jesus is the Christ and who is a member of a Christian denomination” or “following the teachings or manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus Christ” (Princeton WordNet). These four beliefs are enough to form a thread that is able to unite them, despite their other differences. With Christianities differentials we can still assert some common attributes of its followers. One of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definitions of attribute is, “an object closely associated with or belonging to a specific person, thing, or office.” (Merriam-Webster.com). The church and its believers are said to be “the body of Christ” (New International Version 1 Corinthians 12:27), therefore their attributes should mirror His. The best way to examine the attributes of Christianity is to look at the teachings of Christ himself. The foundation of Christianity can be summed up with one word, love. Christ taught his followers to treat others as they would want to be treated, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (New International Version Matthew 7:12) This is a profound statement, not in the description of how to treat others, but that is sums up the Law and the Prophets. This statement lends credence to love being the very foundation of the Christian faith. As He continues His earthly ministry he makes many more statements about love, such as, “love your enemies and pray for them” (New International Version Matthew 5:44), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (New International Version Mark 12:30-31). In order to prove that the single word “love” can sum up the whole law, let examine a portion of the Old Testament law, the Ten Commandments. All ten of the commandments have showing love for God or others as their central focal point. The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (New International Version Exodus 20:3) This commandment can help us define our love toward God. As Jesus said that we are to love the Lord with all of our heart. (New International Version Mark 12:30-31) We can also notice that the word “gods” is not capitalized. Some would think that this permits other gods, however it would be better translated, “have no other gods but me.” Having or making no idols is the second commandment. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (New International Version Exodus 20:4) This commandment shows that the Israelites were at times desperate to worship something that they could see and feel. “He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (New International Version Exodus 32:4) However in love, there is trust and faith, and that is what they would fail at if they made and worshiped idols. It once again returns to the notion that Christians are to love the Lord with all of their heart. The third commandment says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God…” (New International Version Exodus 20:7) God is communicating to his people that they should reverence His name, because if you love someone, why would you misuse their name? In the fourth commandment God commands his people to, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work…” (New International Version Exodus 20:8) Loves ties into this commandment because God does not want his people to over work ourselves. He wants his followers to take time to reflect upon what He has done for them. When His people remember these things they are spurred on toward loving him more. The fifth commandment says, “Honor your father and your mother…” (New International Version Exodus 20:12) What better way for a Christian to love and respect their parents, then by honoring them? Love is the foundation of this commandment, as with all of them, including the sixth. “You shall not murder.” (New International Version Exodus 20:13). This commandment can easily be summed up with the word love. If you love others you do not murder them. The seventh and eight commandments are, “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.” (New International Version Exodus 20:14-15) Committing adultery and steal doesn’t show love for other people, love would not do these things. Remember the golden rule quoted earlier, love treats others as we would want to be treated. The last two commandments are, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house…” (New International Version Exodus 20:16-17) False testimony against a person’s neighbor could sentence them for a crime they didn’t commit. Again, no one would want this done to them. To covet someone property is to intensely desire to have it. This desire can easily lead to the sin of stealing. The first five commandments focused on loving God, while the last five were about loving others. Even with love as the foundation of Christian belief, there is still a lot of diversity within Christianity. I find Christianity’s diversity, as it is today, the most interesting aspect of the religion. I’ve wondered if the disciples and apostles of the past would be shocked at the variety of teachings and denominations that have been setup around the world. No matter what their answer would be, diversity is an essential part of what Christians call the “body of Christ”. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” (New International Version 1 Corinthians 12:12) Each denomination of Christianity is part of the body, and there for has a role to play within the religion. Two main denominations are Protestants and Catholics. Protestants and Catholics have often battled over doctrines since the reformation started in 1517. With the reformation brought a lot of bitterness between the two camps, each thinking the other is right. In my experience this bitterness continues to some degree today. I myself was guilty of until recently. I began to see the great diversity within Christianity and how one denomination can reach people that another denomination cannot. I reviewed the core doctrines of both Protestants and Catholics and found that they share the same core beliefs. Christian diversity goes beyond Protestants and Catholics, and can be further broken down by the many sub-denominations of Protestants. The greatest amount of growth in Christianity within the United States has come from evangelical Protestants. (Hopfe 332) This sub group of Protestants has effectively used mass communication techniques to increase their numbers. Another part of their appeal is their desire to assist people with their wide range of social services. These mega-churches have grown by leaps and bounds, in part because they seem to be preaching a popular message of prosperity. Take for instance Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston Texas, with a membership of 30,000 people. (cristnotes.org) Many critics have leveled an argument that the church only tells people what they want to hear, “Reverend Horton believes that Osteen tells only half the story of the Bible, focusing on the good news without talking about sin, suffering and redemption.” (cbsnews.com). The differences in Protestant denominations seems just as conflicting as the Catholics and the Protestants. The variety of beliefs and denominations and how they interact is the most interesting aspect of Christianity to me. I can observe some of this interaction as a minister in the Open Bible denomination. I can relate to the elements of Christianity because of my personal belief in them. Christianity relates to me because of my personal experience in the religion. The core doctrines make sense to me the more that I study them. As I continue to study, I also try to apply Christ’s teaching to my life. I have some things that I do on a daily basis to grow my faith. I start most morning with prayer and Bible reading. I participate in a life journaling program with the leadership team at my church. Every day we write down what we learned in the bible and how we can apply it to our lives. We then meet together every couple of weeks with an accountability partner to share with each other how we’ve been doing. Every three months the whole leadership team meets and we discuss with our questions and lift each other up in prayer. Throughout a normal week I’m at church three times. I first go on Sunday mornings for our normal church service. On Mondays I’m there for a Bible study class, and on Wednesdays I minister to our youth group. My desires to learn more about God drives me to fill my life with His teachings as much as I can. Throughout my studies I’ve noticed some universal elements between Christianity and other religions. One universal concept is commonly known as the golden rule. As discussed earlier, our interaction with others should be based on how we would want them to treat us. The concept can be very beneficial to society. In a world that seems so consumed with themselves, we can all relate to how we would want to treated. This takes a certain level of self sacrifice that not everyone is willing to make. However, the principle of the rule is known throughout the world and in varies religions. It ties in very well to the universal concept of loving one another. Another universal concept is respect and remembrance of those that have died. Death itself is something that all of us will experience at some point in our lives. Many of us have suffered from the loss of a loved one and grieved over them. Each religion has their own way of handling the loss and executing the rituals associated with it. It affects society because they often turn to religion for answers to their loss. They question, wonder, and search for a reason. Religious rituals and beliefs often comfort them and give them a place to grieve. Some people are comforted with the belief that death is not the end , but the beginning. This hope is what helped spread the Christian message all around the world. The Christian message was unique when it was being preach 2,000 years ago, but the message found deep roots because of its impact in people’s lives. The message of love that was taught by Jesus defined the religions core belief and principals. Despite the great diversity in within the religion today, there remains a common set of core doctrines that cannot be compromised without taking away the very essence of what Christianity is. I personally have experienced the changing power of the God’s word, and believe that its common universal truths can benefit society. Bibliography Christ Notes. 01 Nov 2009 http://www.christnotes.org/_joel-osteen.asp
CBS News. 01 Nov 2009 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/11/60minutes/main3358652_page3.shtml?tag=content...
Hope, Lewis, and Woodward, Mark. Religions of the World. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc, 2009
Princeton WordNet. Version 3.0. 01 Nov 2009 http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=christian
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 01 Nov 2009 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attribute
Zondervan NIV Thinline Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005
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It is not often that a Christian acknowledges diversity within the larger faith, and further goes on to count it as a plus. Not everyone has that level of maturity, and tolerance. By the way, I'd like to congratulate you on the diversity of your recent intel - from pranks to a sweeping tour of Christianity, that's quite impressive. 
 | | nick Dec 20, 2009 07:51 | |
Amazing research and great presentation!
From farts to faith, plus you take photographs.
Great range of intel. Keep it up.
Frederick
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