Christianity 101
What exactly do 2.1 billion people worldwide believe in?
According to Adherents.com, over 2 billion people worldwide identify themselves with Christianity, but what do these "Christians" believe?
The sheer number of people identifying themselves as Christians makes Christianity the world's most dominant religion.
That number, however, comprises a wide array of self-described "Christians" from Pope Benedict XVI to Billy Graham and from Jesse Jackson to Pat Robertson. In fact, a large number of faith groups and denominations dot the Christian landscape, making it difficult to ascertain any unifying or common theme within Christianity.
What is Christianity?
As the name itself indicates, Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on Christ. The word "Christ" literally means "Anointed One," and Christians universally believe that the A.D. 1st century Jewish rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth was (and, in fact, is) the "Anointed One." The central point of Christianity is that Jesus of Nazareth is "the Christ."
Very few people today question the existence of Jesus as a 1st century Jewish leader. Within the context of ancient history, the evidence for Jesus is staggering. One can essentially prove his existence without even resorting to the religious literature found in the Christian Bible.
Most of the debate concerning the claims of the Christian religion turns on the nature of Jesus rather than his existence. "It is significant that the vast majority of modern writers who are interested in disputing the truth of the Christian religion are content to argue for an unorthodox picture of Jesus rather than to argue that he never existed," writes I. Howard Marshall, a University of Aberdeen (Scotland) scholar, in I Believe in the Historical Jesus.
Origins of the Christian Church
According to the New Testament book of Acts, the followers of Jesus were first called "Christians" in Antioch, an ancient city located on the left bank of the Orontes River in what is now Antakya in southern Turkey.
Followers of Jesus Christ quickly spread throughout the Greco-Roman world and beyond, founding churches and changing social orders in their wake. Their doctrines were informed by the teachings and prolific writings of Jesus' apostles, a group of men personally chosen by Jesus to take his message into the world. Many of their writings became part of the New Testament Scriptures in our Bible today.
Even if one questions the divine inspiration of the Bible, it at least provides solid manuscript evidence that, from a very early date, Christians rallied around the creed that Jesus was the Son of God.
Christians Today
The New Testament writings explain that a profession of faith in Jesus must be deep and sincere. In fact, it must be life-changing. One must repent of their sins and fully entrust his or her soul to Jesus. In so doing, a person is "saved" (John 3:16, Romans 10:13) from eternal judgment and destined for eternity in Heaven.
Therefore, according to the Bible, how a person becomes a Christian is unchanged from the 1st century A.D. A Christian is one who has put his or her total faith and trust in as well as given his or her life over to Jesus Christ.
Self-described Christians today are divided on the ramifications and details of Jesus' divinity, the authority of the Scriptures (both Old and New Testaments), the authority and role of the church, and the nature of salvation. In the face of this diversity and debate, it is often easy to grow confused and disenchanted.
Nevertheless, if the Fourth Evangelist (the writer of the Gospel of John) recorded Jesus accurately, the Anointed One Himself summed up the essential point of Christianity best: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NKJV).
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