Christianity: Difference between revisions

'''Christianity''' is a monotheistic religion that originated in what is now Israel in the 1st century A.D. as an offshoot of [[Judaism]]. It is based on the teachings of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], a Jewish rabbi whose followers identified Him as the ''Messiah'' promised in the Old Testament, and who was executed by Roman and Judean authorities for His heresy. Christianity teaches that a day will come when the world will end and all of mankind will be judged by God, and that only those who follow Jesus and accept His sacrifice on their behalf will be spared from eternal punishment. Christianity spread throughout the [[Roman Empire]], despite systematic persecution of Christians, and in the 4th century became the official religion of the Empire, and thereafter the dominant religion throughout Europe and the western world.

The world's biggest single religious group{{verify}} tends to be a bit misunderstood at times, even by its own adherents. Since only one-in-three people worldwide describe themselves as Christians, it follows that at least [[Two Out of Three Ain't Bad|two out of three people]] are a little vague on what it is all about.

We're going to define the Catholicism type as Churches in communion with the Roman Catholic Church as well as those churches that broke off recently, as in the last couple centuries.{{when}}

Another important Catholic tradition is the remembrance of Canonical Saints: people who have been found by the Church to have led holy lives, are considered examples for Catholics to follow, and are believed to have demonstrated they are in Heaven and have God's favor by granting what the church considers miracles (usually, healings without a certain medical explanation) to those who ask saints to "intercede" for them with God. There are at least 5,000 Canonical Saints (the most important being "The Virgin" Mary, who was Jesus' earthly mother), though some of them may be more legends than real people. Note that the word "saint" is often misinterpreted to mean an especially good person. In Catholic theology, anyone currently in heaven is a "saint" (hence the fact that the Church does not Canonize living people); thus, anyone who died in a state of grace is a saint, regardless of what sort life they led. When people talk about "saints", they usually mean ''Canonical Saints''. When the Catholic Church formally declares that someone is a saint, that person is said to be "canonized", and someone who has been canonized is a Canonical Saint. Whether someone has been canonized, however, is irrelevant to whether they are a saint. Despite common usage, the Pope does not "make" people saints; only God can do that. The Pope is merely reporting on current events. (Notably, most Roman Catholic churches are named after canonical saints, and Spanish, Portuguese, and French explorers and settlers often used their names as placenames.)

* [[Devil's Advocate]]: The Devil's Advocate (''advocatus diaboli'') is the popular name for the Promoter of the Faith (''promotor fidei''), a person appointed by the Catholic Church who argues against the formal recognition of someone as a Saint by, again, the Catholic Church. The job has been taken up on at least one occasion (Mother TheresaTeresa, now officially known as St. Teresa of Calcutta) by an outright atheist (Christopher Hitchens).

* [[Nuns-N-Rosaries]]: Specifically Catholic.

[[Category:Useful Notes/Religion{{PAGENAME}}]]