Faith in Christianity

Faith in Christianity is a central notion taught by Jesus himself in reference to the Good News. In the understanding of Jesus it was an act of trust and self-abandonment in which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe. Since the Protestant Reformation the meaning of this term has been an object of major theological disagreement in Western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999).

Some of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed the biblical formulation in Hebrews 11:1: "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". As in other Abrahamic religions, it includes a belief in the existence of God, in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as his kingdom and in the benevolence of the will of God or God's plan for humankind.

Christianity differs from other Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the teachings of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead by God the Father through The Holy Spirit.