Christianity Per. 2 -

A Glance at Christianity

With over two billion followers (one-third of the population), Christianity is the largest religion in the world, it is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived 2000 years ago. Several nations such as England and Denmark have established it as their official religion. Moreover, even predominantly Muslim countries such as Egypt are home to thousands of Christians. While Christianity is the main religion of only 15 nations, it is still practiced in nearly every country. The number of Christians however can greatly vary between a region and another.

Christianity is commonly practiced in most regions of the world except for North Africa, the Middle East, China, India and Southeast Asia. Islam dominates said areas and thus the number of Christians is low in them. . There is no single reason behind Christianity's success, but one contributing is factor is its appeal to the poor. This is was very crucial for Christianity because at the time in which Jesus was spreading his message, one can get imprisoned or killed for refusing to worship Roman gods. Therefore Jesus needed to gather as much people. He went on doing this by putting high emphasis on the relationship between a person and God, a thing that ancient polytheistic religions lacked. By doing this he attracted the poor and thus Christianity began to spread like fire.

Christian Holidays

Throughout the year, Christians celebrate several different holidays. The most significant of which are Christmas and Easter. First is Easter which takes place in April, 16. In it, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; they believe Jesus was brought back to life in that day. An important part of this holiday are Easter eggs, they are painted and then given out to celebrate the festival. Said eggs resemble the empty tomb in Christianity. 8 months after Easter comes Christmas which is believed to be the day in which Jesus was born by Mary. In Christmas, people erect Christmas trees, decorate their homes, visit family or friends and exchange gifts.

Important Historical Figures

Christianity became the world's largest religion through the work of many individuals who have helped spread its message. One of the most significant Christian figures is a fourth century philosopher named St. Augustine. He contributed many new ideas in regards to different aspects of Christianity such as baptism, free will and the original sin. These new ideas later formed a big part of today's Protestant and Catholic beliefs. In addition, another individual named St. Paul also had a tremendous effect on Christianity. He spent his life traveling between Jerusalem and Damascus to spread Jesus’s teachings.

Women in Christianity

In Christianity, the role of women can greatly vary; however, in most cases, only men are allowed to serve as priests. Now this does not mean that women can't participate in the church; in fact, at the beginning of Christianity, women were a very important in the movement. Today, women become abbesses which are the female leaders of a community of nuns. Moreover, Christians do recognize women as saints. An example of this is Mary, she is believed by all Christians to be the mother of god. There isn't one correct interpretation of the Bible and thus many different claims have formed, some argue that women should be discouraged from taking leadership roles in the church while others argue otherwise.

Religious Tolerance

Jesus promoted peace by encouraging his followers to do good deeds and to love others regardless of whether it’s their friend or enemy. As a result, Christians became very tolerant and respectful to other religions. We can see this today in the West which is mostly Christian, there you will find many other religions living in harmony compared to other parts of the world where people of other beliefs are met with violence. This does not mean all Christians are peaceful; there are some who interpreted the Bible in their own way to justify doing horrible actions. However, the majority of Christians still follow Jesus’s teachings that promote love and friendship.

Death in Christianity

Christians believe that after a person dies, while the body may be buried, the soul remains on living. Furthermore, they also believe in the concept of judgment after death, a person could either go to hell or heaven according to how they lived their life. There are several funral customs that are performed after one's death. Said customs include but are not limited to, an opening statement lead by the priest, the singing of hymns and a remembrance given by a close friend or family member to honor the dead.

A video About Christianity

Citations:

   G.W., Bowersock. “Who Was Saint Paul?” The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2015.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles (Accessed December 16, 2016).

Guisepi, Robert A. “Christianity, The Origins Of Christianity.” IWHP, 14 June 2014.
   http://history-world.org (Accessed December 16, 2016).

     Biography.com, Editors. “Jesus Christ.” Biography.com, 11 July 2016.
       http://www.biography.com (Accessed December 16, 2016).

ReligionFacts.com, Editors. “Christianity.” ReligionFacts.com, 28 Oct. 2016.
  http://www.religionfacts.com (Accessed December 16, 2016).

King, Karen L. “Women In Ancient Christianity.” PBS, 22 Apr. 1998.
   http://www.pbs.org (Accessed December 16, 2016).