Transcript Christianity - University of Mount Union

Christianity
By:
Shannon Ivancic
Jamie Clapsaddle
Becky Godec
Mark Prejsnar
Humans
 Humans were created “in the image of God”
 Because of this idea, we have a
responsibility to God
 We are accountable for how we live our
lives
Traditions
 There are two traditions that influence the
view of humans in the Christian Religion
Tradition #1
 The first tradition states that since the time
of Adam and Eve, sin has been a huge
influence on humans
 Only God can overcome sin
 Sin is present in every newborn, and
deliverence can only be achieved through
baptism
Tradition #2
 This tradition states that humans have a
capacity for good and evil
 However through family nurture, and
individual devotion to God, humans can live
with God’s approval
Problems for Humans
 Sin of Adam
 Mysteries of Doctrines of Trinity, the
Incarnation, Resurection of the Dead, and
the Atonement
 Human Suffering
 Evil
Solutions for Humans
 God’s effective action in human lives
 Understanding of mysteries through truth
and for the purpose of salvation
 Humans must do what they can to avoid
harm to others
 Respecting nature for it is a gift from God
People of Christianity
 Jesus of Nazareth
– New Testament of Bible based on his life and
teachings
– We know little of his youth other than his birth
stories
– Chose disciples who learned his teachings and
helped in his work
– He forgave sins, worked miracles, even raised
people from the dead
– Taught people to live according to the will of
God
– Emphasized the personal side of Religion
Jesus of Nazareth
 Accepted the outcasts (tax collectors,
prostitutes, children)
 Main rule: “Whatever you wish that men
would do to you, do so to them.”
 Taught by telling parables
 Debate over whether he was the Messiah or
not; Disciples, and future Christians, believe
he is.
St. Thomas Aquinas
 Brilliant, intelligent student and person
 Worked on Scholasticism
 Taught Scholasticism by combing religious
beliefs with Aristotle’s thinking
 Wrote Summa Theologica; God’s existence
could be proved by reason apart from
revelation
 Shifted Christianity theology from
Platonism to Aristotelianism
Martin Luther
 Posted Ninety-Five Theses for academic
debate
 Was against indulgences
 Ninety-Five Theses spread thanks to
printing press
 Was excommunicated by Pope for
challenging the authority of the Pope and
Church leaders
 Never punished by church, couldn’t be
caught thanks to German Princes
 Some changes made, others not recognized
by Church during Council of Trent
John Calvin
 Well trained in law
 Wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion
 Become leader of the French Protestants
 Cannot save themselves by good deals,
must rely on grace of God, whom he has
predetermined to be among the elect
 Based on letters of St. Paul to the Romans
Rituals and Symbols
 Baptism:
– Usually Baptized as a baby
– Signifies a person joining the church
– Washes away Original Sin
 Holy Communion or Holy Eucharist:
– Rememberance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is
recalled in the breaking of bread and drinking of wine.
– Participation in the last supper of Christ and his
Apostles
 Confirmation:
– Marks the time when a child becomes an adult
– The new adult freely chooses to become a member of
the church.
Sacraments
 Seven Holy Sacraments exist in the
Catholic Church.
 Some of these are shared with other
Christian churches.
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Baptism
Holy Eucharist
Confirmation
Penance: being forgiven for your sins
Extreme Unction: Last Rights before death
 Marriage
 Holy Orders: becoming a priest or a nun
Popular Symbols
Ankh
Dove
Fish
Candle
Flame
Cross
Star
Holidays
 Palm Sunday:
– Commemorates the occasion when Jesus
entered Jerusalem in triumph.
 Maundy Thursday:
– Jesus shared his last supper with his Apostles
 Good Friday:
– The day of Jesus’ crucifixion
Holidays (continued)
 Easter:
– The most important celebration in the Christian
year
– God raised Jesus from the dead
 Christmas:
– Birth of Jesus
 Pentecost:
– The Holy Spirit descended of the Apostles
The Absolute
 Christians believe in one God
 God has no partners or rivals
 The most complete revelation of God has
been through God the son
– Who was incarnate of Jesus of Nazarateth
– He is co-eternal with God the Father and was
born in human form through the Virgin Mary
The Absolute
 Jesus is both God and man
 God also reveals himself as the Holy Spirit
 Although God appears in three persons,
Christians insist that there is only one God
– Christians have an understanding of God that is
rejected by Jews and Muslims
The World
 Christians draw on the Genesis account and
the Psalms for their view of the world in its
original form
 Influences from Platonist and Manichaeon
(persian dualism) thought
– Reinforced Christian ideas that the human body
is not good and that the soul should deny the
desires of the body
The World
 Christians believe with its life in the human body,
is an environment of suffering to be escaped or
overcome with spiritual discipline
 Heaven is their home
 They are only pilgrims passing through the
desolation of earthly existence
 Majority believe that humans and nature have
become alienated form god and require assistance
in effecting reconciliation
The World
 Theologians emphasize truths learned
through revelation
 Philosophers emphasize truths learned
through reason
 Scientists emphasize truths through
observations of phenomena
The World
 Christians accepted insights of Copernicus who
wrote:
– “the earth travels around the sun”
 Of Galileo, who found contrary to Aristotle
- “the moon only reflects the light of the sun”
 Of Newton, who found,
“bodies are attracted to each other by universal
gravitational force”
 Many Christians are still divide over Darwin’s
theory of evolution
The World
 The reformations, counterreformation, and
conquest of north and south America,
launched Christianity on expeditions to
conquer the world, natural and human
 In the twenty-first century, more churches
may increase short resolutions on the
environment to formal theology
– Bringing together Christian insights and
scientific descriptions