What religion did the Christians follow before Jesus Christ?

Question

This is not one of those anti Christianity questions- i am just curious because Christianily is 2000 years old whereas human beings existed much before that. There are many references about God in Hindu and other religions which are older than Christianity. Is it that they followed some other religions and took to Christianity after Jesus

I mean what rilgion did people follow before Christianity evolved? its not that religion is just 2000 yeas old.

Still most of the answers are explaining this with reference to Jesus. I am more curious baout life before Jesus.

Answer 1

Christianity didn't exist. Since Christianity is based off worshipping Jesus Christ as lord and savior, the existence of the religion couldn't have existed prior to the death of Jesus. Since not every in the world is a Christian (as a matter of fact it is the second largest religion after Islam), it is fair to say that people followed their own respective religions- Hindus were hindus, Muslims were Muslims. Christians were most likely predominately Jews, as Jesus was a Jew, and most people that converted to following him were also Jews from the area in which he preached. Many could have been pagan, or worshipping of idols and many gods- since the Bible does talk of such behaviors.

Answer 2

Christianity was the new covenant and thus it only started after the shedding of the blood of Jesus and His resurrection.

If you want to see the followers of Jesus as converts, then so be it because many did worship God prior to his death and resurrection but under the old covenant not the new.

In my opinion the word God used in many different languages and different religions can refer to any God for the word God is a general term. Its meaning must be defined by the user of the word. So the fact that God is mentioned does not in any way mean it is the same God as the God of the Christians.

Answer 3

There existed several types of religions, man's doctrine of which mainly they were grouped together as pagans. However, Judaism birthed the worship of Jesus Christ as the long sought after Messiah.

Paganism has perverted the pure religion of Christianity still today through denominationalism. The most perverted religion is Catholicism, although they have amended some of their ways but not completely.

There is a Catholic sect that worships Jesus only, speak in tongues, and glorifies God in this denomination.

There were a few people such as Abraham who came from a pagan background, [his father Tehan was a pagan] but worshipped the Living God. Along his many travels, Abraham met another man who also worshipped too named Melchizedek which honored the Living God. It is stated in the Word that Jesus is fashioned after the Melchizedek priesthood. So there were pockets of people before Judaism that worshipped the one true Living God.

Answer 4

Yes they followed other religions and some took to Christianity after Jesus died - years after. It took awhile for Christianity to be established. Oral teachings were varied throughout the land long before the bible was written. Some people say that Christian beliefs are a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Judaism, to name but a few.

Answer 5

There was no Christianity before Jesus,this was a name given by outsiders to the followers of Jesus.

The disciples of Jesus did not call themselves Christians.
the word christianity is from "Christ" or "Christos" in greek, "messiah" in hebrew.
The prophet Abraham was not jewish nor christian.

All prophets submits to the will of the one and only God,
that is their religion or way of life, from Adam to the last messenger of God.

Answer 6

Depends on the Christian. Read "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess" by Leonard Shlain - he gives a pretty good overview of pre-Christian and early Christian beliefs. The more you read about Christianity, the more you read about similar stories that pre-dated Christianity. Ancient Egypt had a Holy Family and a dying/rising God-man too...it's a faith with a very rich history.

Answer 7

"Christians" were a Jewish sect that practiced Judaism.

Some guy named Saul of Tarsus, who never met Jesus or became a Christian, took the Jesus myth, embellished it to fit pagan myths and sold it to the pagans as a new pagan religion. Rome adopted it eventually and consolidated thousands of pagan religions into one universal pagan religion.

Christians are more correctly called Paulists and are pagans. Their doctrine, rituals & practices aren't Jewish, they are pagan.

Additional comment:

There were thousands of pagan religions. Paganism was a local religion, there was no universal pagan religion until Constantine invented it in 325 CE (ad).

That's because you seem to think there was some universal religion when there was not. Judaism was a local reliigion until Constantine grafted it onto paganism and made it the official Roman religion. There was no Universal religion of any kind until Constantine invented it in 325 CE (ad).

Answer 8

There were all kinds of religions, just as there is today.
Jewish were deists, believe in one God, the same God as we believe in today.
Pagans had many gods, and each power had their own set of gods.
Far East religions date way back and still are rich in custom and beauty.
Many believed in no gods, as do today.
Many didn't know what to believe, as do today.
Christianity began popping up many years after Christ was dead.

Answer 9

the belief in one god and one evil guy came through zarathustra. he was the founder of the zoroastrian religion.
that religion was where the jews got the idea from.
christianity developed out of judaism.

zoroastrianism is the first known religion to have one god character and one supream evil character.

Answer 10

God is Jesus Christ, so it was still Christian.