1. Christianity

2. Origins of the Christian Faith
Began sometime around 30 CE
Abrahamic and monotheistic
Just like Judaism and Islam, God is the creator and preserver of the natural world
Very interactive
Bible: religious text

3. Basic Beliefs Main beliefs of Christianity: Belief in the Holy Trinity
Death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ
Christ’s second coming

4. Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity: God exists as three persons, but is one being
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
God the Father: Father in heaven; what most people think of when referring to “God”
God the Son: Jesus on earth, and then at the Father’s right hand in heaven after death
God the Holy Spirit: Spirit in heaven sent to earth as a comforter in place of Jesus

5. The Father
The Son
The Holy Spirit

6. - Dr. Harold Willmington
“A book has length, width, and thickness. The length is not the book’s width, the width is not the book’s thickness. These three dimensions can be described separately, yet they are connected together. If you remove one dimension, you are no longer describing a book. In the same way, God has three separate members that are connected together, and if you try to remove one you no longer have God.”
- Dr. Harold Willmington

7. Jesus of Nazareth
According to Christianity, Jesus was a Jewish preacher and prophet
Jesus was proclaimed to be the Messiah and Son of God by his followers
Jesus’s teachings focused entirely on serving the Father, love for others, and uplifting the poor and downtrodden
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:39
“And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24
Prosperity Gospel is a relatively new concept; Jesus and his followers were destitute and faced discrimination and often torture/execution—a far cry from the modern American form of Christianity

8. European vision of Jesus

9. Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Ascension
Jesus’s growing influence was seen as a threat to Roman rule
Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate
Jesus’s body was taken to a tomb sealed with a large stone
A follower visits Jesus’s tomb 3 days later and finds it open and empty
Jesus appears to the follower and instructs his disciples to continue his teachings
Jesus then ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father
Jesus’s death was a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind; allows man to enter heaven after death

10. Pontius and Jesus—historical evidence that both existed, little to no evidence of anything beyond that

11. Crucifixion; arms would break and separate at the shoulder due to hyperextension; can see where the mallet struck the prisoner’s legs to Jesus’s left

12. Brazen bull

13. “Chew through the middle” rat or other rodent placed into a small cauldron and pressed against the victim’s stomach; a flame would be put against the back of the cauldron, causing the panicking rodent to chew through the only soft surface—the victim’s flesh

14. “Sew into an ass” victim would be sewn into a disemboweled donkey with only his head peeking out; left in the hot sun to rot and starve

15. The Second Coming of Christ
Antichrist: Servant of Satan on earth to lead men astray from God
The Great Tribulation begins, and Christians are persecuted and murdered
War, disease, famine, death will spread across the planet
“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.” Revelation 6:12
Devoted Christians will be ascended to heaven in the “rapture”
The Antichrist will take full power and assault Jerusalem, killing any and all followers of God
1/3 of all greenery, 1/3 of the sea, 1/3 of sea creatures, and 1/3 of all ships will be destroyed; 1/3 of fresh water will become poisonous; 1/3 of the sun, stars, and moon will darken
Locusts will torment mankind

16. The Second Coming Continued
Mankind is given one last opportunity to repent and serve God
After this, all of God’s followers are ascended to heaven
Only sinners are left on earth
God unleashes his wrath on earth
Remaining humans are plagued with horrid sores
Seas and all waters turn to blood
The sun begins to scorch men
The world becomes dark and filled with pain
Jesus arrives and defeats the Antichrist and Satan for good
Any humans not yet dead can repent
The dead are stacked 4 feet high and cover 200 miles; “All the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” Revelation 19:21
The Millennium begins (1,000 years of peace)

17. Structure of Christianity
Roman Catholic
Eastern Orthodox
Catholic
Christianity is a blanket term; many denominations within it—all considered Christianity as they follow the same core beliefs, but some practices differ, hence the categorization
Protestant
Anglican
Lutheran
Anabaptist
Reformed
Methodist
Quaker
Evangelical
Menonite
Presbyterian
Baptist
Amish

18. Practices
Sacrament: Christian rite that serves as a physical symbol of God’s grace
Baptism is a symbol of adoption into the Christian faith
Eucharist (communion) is in remembrance of the Last Supper; bread and wine
Confession is a way to absolve yourself of sin via a priest
There are 7 total sacraments; not all Christians observe all 7
Just 3 of the 7 sacraments; Most Christians, Protestant or Catholic, observe baptism; Catholics should observe all 7; most Protestants observe 0-3 of them, commonly baptism at the very least

19. Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist; John the Baptist later on insulted Herod for divorcing his wife and marrying his brother’s ex-wife, Herod’s wife asked for John’s execution; Herod refused as he feared John’s holiness; later, Herod promised his daughter anything she wished so his daughter asked her mother what she should request; Herod’s wife, her mother, told her to request John’s head; Herod reluctantly followed through and gifted John’s head to his daughter on a silver platter

20. Last Supper; Jesus shared with his disciples bread and wine signifying his flesh and blood; he told his disciples that one of them would betray him

21. Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci