This is not a rant, not preaching...this is inquiry--curiosity.
In my time on this site, I am regularly surprised at the number of people, particularly the anti-religious folks, who attack religions, but make a lot of assumptions about what we all really believe. I can respect someone who doesn't agree with me, but only really if they know what they're talking about.
So...keeping it relatively basic, I'd like to see what the Atheist end of the community will come up with in describing the basic tenets of Christianity. I know that some of you out there have quite a good grasp of it all and am hoping that you come through. Please be objective. Please, also, use your own words--no cut and paste or websites.
To the Christian community out there, please refrain from answering this. I intend to put it to a vote later. I'm also interested to see what YOU think Christianity is too, but only during the voting...
2006-08-25 06:45:50 · 19 answers · asked by SpisterMooner 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Apparently, the only way to get into heaven is to be baptized, confess your belief that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for your sins, and that he rose from the dead.
The basic assumption is that God sacrificed his only son (God in the flesh, himself in an alternate incarnation), so that we all would have the chance to have our "original sin" absolved.
Being baptized as a Christian will wash away this original sin, and is symbolic of new life and rebirth. That is why people say they are born again.
There are many conflicting viewpoints on the details from here. Some believe that all you need to do is repent and you are forgiven. Some believe that you still must do good works. Some believe that all you need is to be baptized and you are good to go. Others believe in the sacraments of communion, confirmation, and last rites.
This is what I have learned so far. I think that is what you were looking for. Feel free to let me know if I have missed something.
2006-08-25 06:57:11 · answer #1 · answered by jimvalentinojr 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I am an atheist, but a former Christian, so I have a pretty good idea about what Chritians believe:
Christians first believe in one god and that he created the “heaven and earth.” They believe that Jesus was conceived by this god, but born of a human woman. They believe that Jesus died so that their sins could be forgiven. That’s about as far as you can get without breaking up into more specific beliefs held by different denominations. There can really be a vast difference in beliefs between one Christian and another.
2006-08-25 07:00:36 · answer #2 · answered by Danaerys 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God created the world and all living things. Original sin occured in garden of eden and from that point we were outside God. God gives lots of random half-moral rules to follow in OT and kills many people who anger him. Jesus is the son of God born to a virgin. Actually Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Jesus is both God and his son so God is a split personality. Jesus is the fairly tolerant and compassionate personality whereas the OT God is the very wrathful and intolerant personality. The Holy Spirit is the least fleshed out third personality. Jesus is crucified for the sins of man (really God requires the murder of his son as a condition of toleration of his unworthy creations)and raises from the dead on the third day. Through belief in the sacrifice of Jesus people can now acheive the forgiveness of the Lord and eternal salvation.
Very roughly laid out as I have to get back to work. These are just core beliefs, many different sects of Christianity have developed their own dogma and interpretations. I was raised in a Christian household. I don't believe in much of it although I do find value in some of the Biblical teachings.
2006-08-25 07:03:04 · answer #3 · answered by Zen Pirate 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on which sect of christianity you are discussing.
The only commonality between most of the sects is:
Jesus was born as god incarnate to spread the word of god.
Jesus was killed to provide a way to absolve humans of sin.
Belief in Jesus as the saviour is the only way to reach god.
Jesus will return as described in revelations to sort out the faitful from the non-faithful into heaven and hell respectively.
Outside of that (and including within those few points) there is a great degree of variation over the thousands of christian sects.
I was a christian for most of my life. I lived the whole thing, and believed the whole thing. Then I grew up.
Most atheists used to be theist.
2006-08-25 07:00:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The concept of Christianity is that:
God created Man in his image. However, in order for Man to be a willing participant in creation, and not just a slave, God had to give Man free will. This was the weakness in the plan. Man, being imperfect, 'only' a creation (the greatest creation of God, but still only a creation), almost immediately wandered off the path, a sin which has been passed by human nature through the ages. Because God is Perfect, he cannot (will not? I hate to presume upon the power of a supposedly omnipotent being...) tolerate the presence of anything imperfect, and this sin man carried was an imperfection. Man was cut off from God, though God, the everloving parent, still loved his children and had things in the works to save them.
Fastforward a bit to Rome, circa 12BC - 4BC. An unwed woman named Mary, a virgin, as it happens, becomes the vessel of this Divine Plan. God sent down his Son, Jesus, to finally save all of mankind. Jesus's preachings amounted to the following ideas:
1. I am the Son of God.
2. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
3. Believe in me and you will be saved.
4. Love god with all you are and all you have
5. Love your neighbor as yourself.
In the end, because he was preaching that he was God, and the Pharisees considered this blasphemy, they put him to death. This death was the culmination of the human part of God's plan, for in God's (for Jesus is God) death, Death was defeated. On the third day, Christ ascended from hell/the underworld, and Sin was thus defeated. Christ stayed 40 days with his followers to assure them and prepare them for what was to come. After 40 days, he ascended to the heavens, promising his faithful that they would see him again in the glorious second coming.
That sum it up quaintly?
2006-08-25 06:58:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Christians believe an invisible man created the world and everything in it. He sent his Son, who was really just one of three parts of him, to the earth to be killed for the sins of the masses. After being crucified the Son rose from the dead and ascended to the heavens, with instructions to preach to the world and a promise to return some day.
Christians believe the path to salvation is acceptance of this story, which leads to being "saved" by having the Holy Spirit dwell within you.
I know the song and dance. Lived it for twenty years, then my brain started working.
2006-08-25 06:51:42 · answer #6 · answered by Zombie 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Some god created the universe, created men and stuff, then he got mad at them, flooded the whole thing, killed everyone. Just for fun, he saved a few people, animals etc., Then, they somehow multiplied. Chose one tribe over the others, told them to go and kill every other tribe he had also created. Then one day, he decided to kill that chosen tribe (jews) too, and he crated this guy Yoshua (Jesus) to preach hate over his formerly chosen tribe, the jews, and chose another tribe, the chiristians, and he instructed THAT tribe kill eveyone else too, but he found opposition to his plan from other tribes (jews, muslims, atheists, actually everyone else) which he had (obvioulsy) also created, and they're still fighting each other. End of story. If that ain't a serial killer god...
2006-08-25 06:59:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What difference does it make? I really don't need to know the christians "core beliefs" because I don't believe the one most basic belief- that there is a "god", beyond that everything else is a moot point.
Jabberwock- it was Eve who ate the apple.
2006-08-25 06:52:24 · answer #8 · answered by evillyn 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A fundamentalist Christian is one who believes that there exists an all powerful, all knowing, universe spanning entity that has a deep and personal interest in your sex life, that is so vain and vindictive that if you do not stroke it's ego by worshiping it in a highly proscribed manner, tortures you for eternity in everlasting fire. Now that sounds like a highly disturbed creature that is hardly worthy of worship or respect.
2006-08-25 06:57:24 · answer #9 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Christians believe there exists a benevolent god that loves us. We fell from favor because Adam ate the apple. Somehow we all have to suffer because of that mistake. JC was sent to serve as a human sacrifice.
When you spell it out it seems like a fairytale doesn't it?
Evillyn-I think it was Eve who tempted Adam to eat the apple.
2006-08-25 06:55:56 · answer #10 · answered by Jabberwock 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋