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Slide 2 The Development and Early Significance Slide 3 * Jesus Christ of Nazareth founded Christianity, along with his twelve Apostles and eventually hundreds of disciples. Slide 4 * Christianity developed out of Judaism in the 1st century C.E. It is founded on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who follow him are called Christians. f. Slide 5 * Christianity quickly spread, Paul helping it move to the Roman Empire, where it was first persecuted and then accepted by Constantine. With the Edicts of Milan Constantine outlawed the prosecution of Christians and adopted it as the official religion near the end of the empire. Slide 6 Dove Cross Lamb Fish The Good Shepherd Palms e. Slide 7 * GOD the Almighty Father * Monotheistic But Consists of Three Parts: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. * Three beings make up one God. Slide 8 * Christianity originated in Israel, in particular the cities of Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem were of importance. These areas are considered Christianitys holy land. j. Slide 9 * Christianity has spread worldwide, but is more popular in some areas than other: * Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). A plurality more than a third now are in the Americas (37%). About one in every four Christians lives in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), and about one-in-eight is found in Asia and the Pacific (13%). g. Slide 10 Slide 11 * There are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. g. Slide 12 i. Slide 13 * Christianity spread because it is a missionary religion, and thus the participants in the religion had a duty to spread the religion. They believed that it was part of their mission as a Christian to spread Christianity and convert others. The first missionary was Paul, who spread Christianity from Israel all the way to Rome and beyond. Slide 14 * The Bible is the essence of Christianity, the key holy book. The Bible comes from two main sources - Old and New Testaments - written in different languages. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, with some books written in Aramaic. Slide 15 * Churches * Basilicas * Cathedral * Abbeys * Monasteries * Missions * Chapels San Pietro Basilica Whitby Abbey A Catholic Chapel k. Slide 16 * St Paul said: Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 * Many people think that the Christian Church is sexist. It does not treat men and women equally. * The teachings of St Paul are used in support of the gender inequality argument due to the potentially sexist statements he made much like the one motioned above. c. Slide 17 * One the other hand, Jesus always made it a point to show his respect toward women. He included them among his closest companions, and sometimes went against the conventions of his time which kept men and women apart. * Some branches of the Christian religion have decided to allow women to be priests or ministers such as the Church of England and the Methodist church. However, some still remain against this decision, such as the Roman Catholic Church. Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' closest companions and was treated just as his men followers. c. Slide 18 * There are many holy sites in the religion of Christianity. * Jerusalem is a major one because that is where Jesus lived and worked and performed his miracles. * A few more specific holy sites include: * Bethlehem which is where Jesus was born. * Calvary, where Jesus was crucified. * The River Jordan, where Jesus was baptized. * Mount Tabor, where the transfiguration of Jesus occurred. The River Jordan Calvary, which is also known as Golgotha or Place of the Skull. Slide 19 * There are many holy days of obligations that are recognized by the Christian faith, meaning they are days where an important event occurred and Christians are meant to spend the day reflecting and praying. Often, it is mandatory for Christians to attend mass on these days. * The two most important holidays of the Christian religion are based around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. * Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25 th, is the date Christians celebrate as the birth of Christ. It is preceded by four weeks of advent which is a time to prepare for Christs coming. Slide 20 * Easter, which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21 st, is the celebration of Christs resurrection. This is preceded by Holy Week which includes Christ's crucifixion. Slide 21 * The creation of the world is believed to have been done by God over a period of seven days. * He created something different each day such as the sky and the ocean, the land and all the plants, the animals, etc. * He created the first man, Adam, in his likeness. Out of one of Adams ribs, he made the first woman, Eve. * After God had created all of these things, it is said that he was happy with himself and he rested. Slide 22 * Many Christians believe that God has a miraculous plan of salvation for the end of time. * The majority of the theories and ideas of how the end of time will come about are based off of the final book in the Bible known as the book of Revelation. * However, much of this writing was apocalyptic and terrifying, and not meant to be taken literally. * There are several ideas as to what will happen when the world ends, such as Millennialism, Permillennialism, and Amillennialism. a. Slide 23 * Although there are slight variations in each of these ideas and theories, they are all based around similar concepts. * While few Christians actually believe that the world will end in a fiery Armageddon, it is a common belief that Christ will have a second coming. * He will come back to the earth as he did thousands of years ago but this time it will be to judge every should and determine whether they face the eternal fate of Heaven or Hell. a. Slide 24 * Millions of Christians also believe in The Great Tribulation. This is a period of time in which the antichrist will come and torture humanity before Jesus second coming. * It was written about in the Bible, but most mainstream Christians take it more poetically and metaphorically rather than literally. b. Slide 25 * The most important laws to all Christians are the Ten Commandments. * These are the ten basic ways in which Christians can act the way God wants and ultimately be able to achieve eternal grace in Heaven. * Going against these Commandants will leave humans to face Hell if they do not repent and do penance for their actions. Slide 26 * The story of how the Ten Commandments came to be can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. * Moses, one of Gods chosen people, rescued millions of Jewish slaves from Egypt. They had no where else to go, so they wound up travelling through the desert. * The people all became hungry and weary and so they began to worship false gods in hopes that they might receive any sort of help from them. * God became angry with his people and demanded Moses to go to the top of Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments to pass on to the people. Slide 27 * There is no defined purpose of life for Christians. * It is strongly believed, however, that they are meant to live out Gods will and live to please him. This means avoiding a life or sin and resisting temptations. * It is the ultimate goal of every Christian to live well and help others, basically just living the way Jesus did, which will lead them to everlasting grace in Heaven. Slide 28 * Many artists use their skills and techniques to depict biblical events, such as The Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. * Christianity also had a huge influence on architectural styles such as the Gothic style. * Many basilicas and cathedrals have gorgeous and intricate architecture made to show the devotion and honor that the Christians had for God. St. Pauls Cathedral, London. The Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican City, Rome. Slide 29 a. BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. b. BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. c. BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. d. "Christian Creation Story." Christian Creation Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. e. "Christian Symbols." Christian Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. f. "Christianity: Introduction." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. g. "Global Christianity - A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World' S Christian Population- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life." Global Christianity - A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World' S Christian Population- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. h. "Library." Christianity Origins, Christianity History, Christianity Beliefs. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. i. "Origins and Spread of Christianity." Princeton.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. j. "See The Holy Land." See The Holy Land. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. k. "Types Of Churches." Types Of Churches. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.. l. " Project by: Emma Glackin Fiona Furnari Madison Brown