Christian Faith and Its Modern Practices by the Christians around the World - Essay Example

Running Head: Christian Faith Christian Faith [Institute’s Christian Faith Introduction Faith is the pillar and fundamental of every religion. Every religion that exists in this world has some beliefs and values that are practiced by its followers according to the sacred scriptures revealed on the Prophets. In addition, faith plays a vital and significant role in almost every event of a religious person. At some circumstances, it is faith that results in the accomplishment of a mission or objective, and sometimes, it is faith that allows a person to survive during the worst moments of his/her life. In this regard, faith is one of the foremost perquisites of a religion. In this paper, we will try to discuss this pillar in terms of Christianity and its modern practices by the Christians around the world. In order to understand the faith of Christians, it is very important to identify and discuss some of the major components of Christianity that are followed and practiced by Christians around the globe. Nowadays, the world is suffering from tormented sufferings due to the different wars, poverty, unemployment, fraud, and a number of other factors that have anguished this globe at a very greater extent. Still, a huge number of inhabitants are strong in their faith on the Jesus Christ and other imperative components of the Christianity. Christianity Jesus of Nazareth has centered His teachings on life according to the New Testament, and a monotheistic religion was formed that is referred as Christianity. Old Testament has prophesied the Jesus as the Son of God, as well as, the Messiah for the world. According to the consensus of the year 2005, there were estimated 2.2 billion adherents, which made the Christianity as the largest religion with the highest number of followers around the world. (McGrath, 2006) Europe, America, Australia, and the Philippine Islands are some of the locations, where the religion is predominant as compared with the other locations. In addition, New Zealand, and Sub-Saharan Africa have also major number of the Christian believers in their region. Nowadays, Africa and Asia are also predominating in this religion rapidly. China and South Korea are the particular ones in this regard. Beliefs A significant diversity of belief has always been observed within the Christianity. Certain core doctrines have been considered as the essential one by mainstream of the Christianity. However, a number of people disagree with the some of them, who think that these are out of the religion, and consider them as heretical, and heterodox. One of the foremost beliefs of all the Christians either Catholic or Protestants is faith in the Jesus Christ, which has been discussed below: Jesus Christ The role of Jesus as the Messiah and the Christ is the focus of theology in Christianity, as the name ‘Christianity’ has indicated in it. The Hebrew language has been used for the term ‘Messiah’, which means the anointed one, and sometimes, it has also be meant as the king. However, the English word Christ has been taken from the Greek translation of the abovementioned Hebrew word, that is, Christos. (Harries, 2001) In general, humanity was saved by a ruler or savior who was anointed by the God in the form of Jesus on the earth. This is the reason that most of the Christians believe him to be the Messiah for the humankind. Still, in the present tormented days, most of the Christians have faith on the Jesus Christ, which has allowed them to survive in this miserable world. According to the core Christian faith, a promise of eternal life and salvation has been attained by the people who have trust in the Christ, and who believe that God will reconcile humankind, when the perfect Son of God will die and resurrect on the earth. In this regard, Adam’s original sin is considered as one of the causes that provides a need for the salvation. (Hastings, 2000) Jesus has been incarnated by the God is the belief of most of the Christians in the world. He has been considered the mixture of divinity and humanity on the earth. However, the nature of Jesus has been the reason of many theological disputes in the past, as well as, in the present, Christians believe that pains and temptations of a mortal man were suffered by the Jesus, yet no sin was done by him. In addition, the aspect of mortality is also considered during this painful hardship of the Jesus. In this regard, a majority of Christians tolerate the sufferings of present world, in order to punish themselves for the pains that were suffered by Jesus. Death and Resurrection It is very imperative to discuss another important belief of Christians, in order to understand the value of Christian faith in the present beleaguered world. The core of the faith of Christians is considered to have belief in the death of Jesus, as well as, his resurrection that would be followed after the death. These two beliefs are considered some of the most important events in the history of the religion of Christianity. On the third day of death of Jesus Christ, He was raised by God, as believed by most of the Christians. The apostles of the Jesus Christ and some other disciples witness the appearance of Jesus, when God raised him. After the arising from the God, the disciples were commissioned from the Jesus Christ, who gave them some guidelines before his ascending to the heaven. Jesus asked his followers to make more believers in different parts of the world. The name of the Father and of the Son, that is, Jesus was given for the process of baptizing during the commission. In addition, the name of the Holy Spirit was also given by the Jesus during his appearance in front of his followers. After this appearance, Christians believe that he was ascended to heaven, and will remain there until the day of resurrection, when he will appear again and will become Messiah for all the humankind. The Holy Spirit was also given to the disciples by the God, as believed by a majority of the Christians, who believe in the death and resurrection of the Jesus Christ. In this regard, resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the main beliefs of Christians that plays a vital and significant role in the strengthening the faith of millions of Christians on this planet. Salvation Another important belief of Christians is the Salvation. Unmerited grace of God has given the gift of Salvation, as believed by most of the Christians. These Christians believe that a savior was sent to the earth in the form of Jesus, which is the salvation from the God. Christians believe that sin and spiritual death can be avoided by having faith in the prophecy and other beliefs of the Christianity in the present times of fraud, corruption, illiteracy, war, etc. An atoning sacrifice is the term used to explain the Jesus’ crucifixion that was done by the Roman governor during the week of the Passover. The Gospel of John stated in his words that the sins of the world were taken away by this belief of Christianity. Justification has been related with the reception of salvation in different scriptures, and as believed by a number of Christians around the world. (McGrath, 2006) In this regard, different traditions and different locations have percept different understandings of the operations and effects of the grace of God, as mentioned earlier. The cooperation of free will with grace is the necessity, as taught by the Eastern Orthodoxy and the Catholicism. The total depravity of humankind has been taught by the Reformed theology, which has emphasized the disciples to depend fully on the grace and its irresistibility. Eschaton and Afterlife Particular judgment is experienced by an individual soul after the physical body dies and departs from the physical world, as believed by most of the Christians around the world. According to this belief, either heaven is rewarded or hell is condemned to the soul. In this regard, saints are the term given to the elects. However, sanctification is the term given to the process that is performed, in order to make someone holy. A process of purification in purgatory is performed in the Christianity, when a state of grace is found at the time of someone’s death, while he has some venial sins that are unforgiving or incomplete during his lifetime. (Jordan, 2000) This process of purification is commonly used in the religion of Christianity, and most of the Christians believe in this process that purifies the souls after the death. On this belief, most of the Christians avoid performing of sins, even when most parts of the world have been engulfed with wars, blood, crimes, etc. Conclusion Conclusively, the paper has tried to identify, discuss, and understand different aspects of the Christian faith that can still be observed in the present tormented world that is has been overwhelmed by wars, blood shedding, crimes, unemployment, etc. Still, it is the largest religion with having the highest number of followers in the world. It is hoped that this study will help students, teachers, and professionals in the better understanding of the concepts and faith of millions of Christians around the world. References Adrian Hastings. (2000). A World History of Christianity. WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Alister E. McGrath. (2006). Christianity: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. Anne Jordan. (2000). Christianity. Nelson Thornes Richard Harries. (2001). Christianity: Two Thousand Years. Oxford University Press. Word Count: 1521 (excluding title page and references) Plagiarism checked from copyscape.com and turitin.com Read More