Christianity

Motivational
Activity

Summarize two Bible stories that you love and

explain why you like those tales. Also, share
the lessons you have learned from the stories
that you selected. Be ready to share your
Bible tales and insights in class.
Was it difficult to find someone to interview
for the topic of Christianity?
Was the interviewee helpful in providing
answers to your questions?
How would you describe Christianity as a
religion based on the data you gathered?
Essential
Questions

What is the core teaching of

Christianity?
Why is Jesus called the Messiah?
How should Christians live their lives
according to Christian teaching?
MESSIAH NEW TESTAMENT

CROSS JESUS CHRIST

HOLY TRINITY MARY

Activity:
Formulate questions based on
the words written inside the box.
You may
start your questions
with what, where, when,
CONCEPT MAP

CHRISTIANIT
Y


WORSHIPS BELIEFS
SACRED AND AND SUBDIVISI
SCRIPTURE OBSERVA DOCTRI O NS
S N CES N ES
1.What Christian symbols
can you find in the
picture?
2.What do these symbols
mean?
3.what is the relevance
of going to church in
 Lesson
Proper

Christianity is considered the world’s largest religion,

a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who
is considered the Son of God and the Messiah or
Savior. Followers of Christianity are called Christians.
As of 2010, there are more than 2 billion Christians all
over the world, which make up more than 30% of the
worlds population of 6.9 billion.
10 countries with the largest number
of Christians (2011)
 The cross serves as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s victory
over sins when he died on the cross for humanity’s
redemption and salvation. In Roman Catholic Churches,
the crucifix is a regular feature with the image of Christ
nailed on the cross- emphasizing Christ’s sufferings for
humanity. Protestant churches often feature only the cross
without the image of the body of Christ to emphasize
Christ’s resurrection and not His suffering.
 Historical Background

Christianity, regarded as an offshoot of

Judaism, developed in Palestine around 100 C.E.
it was founded by Jesus considered to be the
Son of God and Messiah or Savior. Today
Christianity is thre
divided major sects- Roman
into e Orthodox Church,
Catholicism, Greek
Protestantism and
 Jesus as the Founder of
Christianity

Christianity started with a prophecy in the Old

Testament that God will send his only begotten
Son to save humanity from eternal damnation.
Jesus, through his preaching and healing, was
seen by his followers to be the Messiah they
were waiting for.
 Religious
Leaders
The Catholic Church follows a certain hierarchy
based on the Canon Law of the Catholic Church. At
the top of the hierarchy is the pope, considered as
Peter’s successors. The hierarchy also includes the
cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons.
Each member of the hierarchy has his own function
for the efficiency of the Church.
 Pop
e
The pope is the head of
the Catholic Church and
the Bishop of Rome. The
pope is also the head of
the sovereign city-state,
Vatican City. What this
means on a daily basis is
that the pope, in this case
Pope Francis I, has duties
both political and
 Cardinal
s Pope are the
Next to the
cardinals, who are also
appointed by the Pope. The
primary responsibility of a
cardinal is to elect a new
pope when a pope dies or
abdicates the papacy. Other
cardinals have different areas
of responsibility, called
congregations.
 Bishops
Bishops alone have the
right to confirm and
ordain members of the
clergy, and their main
duty is to supervise the
clergy within their
diocese.
 Archbisho
p
A bishop who moves to the
level of cardinal isn't
ordained, but handpicked
by the pope, who also
appoints bishops. A bishop
oversees a diocese, which
is a collection of local
parishes;
and
an archbishop
administers
 Pries
Inthe t
Catholic Church, a
parish priest(also known as
a pastor)
is a priest appointed by
the bishop to represent
him to the local parish,
which is a collection of
neighborhoods in one
small region of a county
within a given state.
 Deaco
n are ordained as a
Deacons
sacramental sign to the
Church and to the world of
Christ, who came "to serve
and not to be served.“ The
entire Church is called by
Christ to
serve, and the deacon, in
virtue of his sacramental
ordination and through his
various ministries, is to be a
 Deity/
God
Christians believe in one God, therefore Christianity is a
monotheistic religion. God is seen as the creator and
maintainer of the universe, and is believed to be
omnipotent(all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing),
omnipresent (all-present), and omnibenevolent (all-
good). God is also sacred, moral, unchangeable,
compassionate, graceful, and timeless.
 Holy
Trinity
Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, which means
God is composed of three persons: God the Father, the
Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. In Matthew
28:19, it is stated that: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In 2
Corinthians 13: 1: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
 Holy
Trinity
For Some Christians, the concept of the Holy
Trinity is not easy to understand. Thus, some
Christian Churches rejected it, such as The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists,
Unitarians, Iglesia
Ni Kristo, and Oneness Pentecostals, among
 Sacred
TheScriptures
Bible is considered the sacred
scripture of Christianity. It is a
collection of songs, stories, poetry,
letters, history, as well as literature.
It is composed of two books, the
Old Testament and the New
Testament. The Old Testament is
considered the original Hebrew
Bible, written between 1200 and
165 B.C.E. The New Testament was
written by Christians around 100
C.E.
 The Old Testament

The Old Testament is the first part of Christian

Bibles, based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, a
collection of ancient religious writings by the
Israelites believed by most Christians and
religious Jews to be the sacred Word of God.
The second part of the Christian Bible is the
New Testament.
 New
Testament
The New Testament is made up of twenty-seven different books
attributed to eight different authors, six of whom are numbered
among the Apostles (Matthew, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude) and
two among their immediate disciples (Mark, Luke).The New
Testament was not written all at once. The books that compose it
appeared one after another in the space of fifty years, i.e. in the
second half of the first century. Written in different and distant
countries and addressed to particular Churches, they took some
time to spread throughout the whole of Christendom. It discusses
the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century
Christianity.
 Beliefs and
Doctrines

Beliefs and doctrines serve as moral guidelines

for the Christians. They should follow these
teachings strictly if they want to redeem God’s
promise of eternal life. Not following them
would lessen their chances of being called true
Christians and reduces their chances of salvation
in the afterlife.
 Ten
Commandments

The Ten Commandments, also known as the

Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles
relating to ethics and worship, which play a
fundamental role in the Abrahamic religions.
The Ten Commandments appear twice in the
Hebrew Bible, in the books of Exodus and
Deuteronomy.
 Seven
Sacraments
There are seven sacraments of the Roman
Catholic Church, which according to Catholic
theology were instituted by Jesus and entrusted
to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen
as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of
God to all those who receive them with the
proper disposition.
 Baptis
Holy mBaptism is
the basis of thewhole
Christian
gateway to life,
life the th
in Spirit and the door
e
which
gives access to the other
sacraments. Through Baptism
we are freed from sin and
reborn as sons of God; we
become members of Christ,
are incorporated into the
Church and made sharers in
her mission.
 Confirmatio
n
Confirmation is meant to
complete Baptism and bring
the baptized the graces of
the Holy Spirit that were
given to the Apostles on
Pentecost Sunday. If baptism
is the sacrament of re-birth
to a new and supernatural
life, confirmation is the
sacrament of maturity and
coming of age.
 Eucharist

Holy Eucharist entails

the reception Christ’s
body and blood which
helps Christians grow in
the likeness of Jesus
Christ.
 Confessio
n

Confession is meant to
reconcile Christians with
God by confessing
their sins.
 Matrimon
y

This sacrament is
the union of man and
woman
for the purpose
procreatio ofand
n support. mutual
 Holy
Orders

Considered th
as continuationof e
priesthood Christ’s
which
He passed on to His
apostles.
 Anointing of the sick

Is administered to those
who are on the verge of
death or are seriously ill,
or about to undergo a
serious operation for
physical , and
strengt mora
h. l
 Eight Beatitudes
The Beatitudes comprise
what is known as the
“Sermon on the Mount”
recorded in Matthew 5-7.
The Beatitudes refer to the
eight sayings of Jesus at
the beginning of the
“Sermon on the Mount.”
 Apostles’
Creed
The Apostles' Creed is Trinitarian in structure
with sections affirming belief in God the Father,
Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Spirit. The
Apostles' Creed was based on Christian
theological understanding of the Canonical
gospels, the letters of the New Testament and to
a lesser extent the Old Testament.
CREATION STORY (GENESIS
1)
Day 1 - God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and
darkness
"night."
Day 2 - God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky."
Day 3 - God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land," and
the
gathered waters "seas." On day three, God also created vegetation (plants and trees).
Day 4 - God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and
separate the day and the night. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons, days,
and years.
Day 5 - God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing them
to multiply
and fill the waters and the sky with life.
Day 6 - God created the animals to fill the earth. On day six, God also created man and woman
(Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and gave them every
creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate.
 BIG BANG
THEORY

The big bang is how astronomers explain the

way the universe began. It is the idea that the
universe began as just a single point, then
expanded and stretched to grow as large as it
is right now (and it could still be stretching).
CREATION STORY AND BIG BANG
THEORY
CREATION BIG BANG
THEORY
WORSHIP AND
OBSERVANCES

Christians have certain religious observances

in which they commemorate particular events
in the history of Christianity. Some of the
most important Christian observances are
Advent, Lent, Easter and Pentecost.
 Adven
Advent tis a season observed
in many Christian churches as
a time of expectant waiting
and preparation for both the
celebration of the Nativity of
Jesus at Christmas and the
return of Jesus at the Second
Coming. The term is a version
of the
Latin word meaning
"coming".
 Len
t
Lent, in the Christian Church, a
period of penitential preparation
for Easter. In Western churches it
begins on Ash Wednesday, six
and a half weeks before Easter,
and provides for a 40-day fast
(Sundays are excluded), in
imitation of Jesus Christ’s fasting
in the wilderness before he
began his public ministry.
 Easte
r
Easter is one of the most
festive events among
Christians worldwide. It
commemorates Jesus Christ's
resurrection from death, as
written in the Christian bible.
Easter Sunday commemorates
Jesus' resurrection from
death.
 Pentecos
t
The day of Pentecost is
noted in the Christian Church
as the day on which the
Spirit descended upon the
apostles, and on which,
under Peter's preaching, so
many thousands were
converted in Jerusalem ( Acts
2 ).
 Subdivisions

Prior to the reign of Emperor Constantine who

declared himself a Christian in 312 A.D., Christians were
persecuted under Roman Emperors. Christianity was
only legalized in 313 A.D. upon Constantine’s
declaration of the Edict of Milan, which declared
equality among all religions. Later on, Emperor
Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the
Roman empire and sought to end all doctrinal
Emperor Constantine the
Great
 Subdivision
s

In 330 A.D., Constantine transferred the capital of the Roman

Empire from Rome to Byzantium (Instanbul) and renamed it
Constantinople. As time went by, conflicts arose between the
Roman Empire and the Byzantium Empire, resulting in the
inevitable split between the Roman Catholic Church and the
Greek Orthodox Church. The official split happened in 1054 A.D.
with the “Great Schism” which divided the Western Latin Roman
Christianity from the Eastern Greek Byzantine Christianity.
 Subdivision
s
Abuses and corruption in the church led another sect to be
formed around the 16th century. Martin Luther, a teacher and a
monk, posted his list of ninety-five propositions to the door of
the church at Wittenberg in Saxony in 1517, which signaled the
beginnings of another Christian sect called Protestantism. One
of the things he opposed was the selling of indulgences (the
pardon granted by the Pope to purgatorial punishment to
Christians who pay a certain amount for the forgiveness of their
sins) of the Catholic Church, which was meant to save the soul
in the afterlife.
 Ecumenism

Ecumenism refers to
the effort of the Catholic
Church to sponsor
activities and initiatives
to promote mutual
understanding and unity
among all Christians.
 Sexuality

Sexuality refers to sexual orientation, sexual activity,

and sexual feelings. Christianity advocates that the goal
of sexual union between men and women is
procreation, thus anything that might hinder this is
considered immoral (condoms, birth control, pills, and
IUD’s, among others). Christianity advocates natural
family planning methods such as the rhythm method.
Abortion is also immoral for life begins at fertilization.
 Homosexualit
y
Homosexuality refers to attraction to members of the same
sex. The Catholic Church states that when God created
humans He created male and female only, and that their union
is meant for procreation. The Church does not allow same-sex
marriage and is vocal in opposing homosexual relationships.
The Catholic Church says being homosexual, however, is not
wrong or sinful in itself, what is sinful is the homosexual acts
(sexual activity). Homosexual persons must be accepted with
respect, compassion, and sensitivity.
 Family and
Divorce
The Christian view on marriage is based on Matthew 19:16,
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So
they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God
has joined together, let man not separate.” Thus, divorce is
not allowed in the Catholic Church, since it believes in the
sanctity of marriage which is a lifetime bond between a man
and a woman.
 Annulmen
t

An annulment is a declaration by a Church

tribunal (a Catholic church court) that a marriage
thought to be valid according to Church law
actually fell short of at least one of the essential
elements required for a binding union.
 For a Catholic marriage to be valid, it is required
that:
(1) the spouses are free to marry; (2) they are capable
of giving their consent to marry; (3) they freely
exchange their consent; (4) in consenting to marry,
they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful
to one another and be open to children; (5) they
intend the good of each other; and (6) their consent is
given in the presence of two witnesses and before a
properly authorized Church minister. Exceptions to the
last requirement must be approved by Church
authority.
 Capital Punishment
Capital punishment
or
death penalty wherein a
person is punished by
death for his capital crime
goes against the Christian
belief that life is given by
God and should not be
 Euthanasia
Euthanasia or mercy
killing is also
considered immoral
since it entails taking
away what has been
given by God, and that
human beings should
not interfere with the
natural process of