Christians believe that the planet on which we live is not here by accident. The progress of the universe from a particle of matter to a human being living in the vast expanses of space was brought about by the plan of God.
It is central to Christian belief that when anyone in the world, no matter what their circumstances or religion, cries out to God, he hears and responds.
Throughout history people have tried to find a way of being sure that God exists. The ideas have not changed for a thousand years. However, they get expressed in new ways each century.
The Christian faith teaches that God hates suffering. It was not part of his intention for humankind. However, he has created a world that has two features.
Christians remember these events with great celebration at Christmas. Many fables and traditions have accumulated around the bare facts known about Jesus’ birth.
Jesus had a remarkable and traumatic ministry. Crowds massed around him. His controversial teaching criticised hard-hearted religious leaders as well as repressive political leaders.
There was controversy over the source of Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. There were accusations that he had done a deal with the devil in order to give him magical powers.
Jesus told his followers several times that he expected to be killed. But he insisted that this was not just the tragic outcome of a revolutionary life; it was God’s plan.
The final days of Jesus’ life were spent in and around the temple, where he was repeatedly critical of the religious leaders and predicted a crisis in which the temple would be destroyed.
Forty hours after they had witnessed Jesus being crucified, his remaining disciples were gathered, frightened and grief-stricken. A group of agitated women burst in on them with a message that they greeted with incredulity.
For about six weeks after Jesus’ resurrection he appeared to a large number of his followers. At their final meeting, on a hill outside Jerusalem, he instructed them to spread his message worldwide. They were told that although appearances of Jesus on earth had come to an end, he would return.
Jesus had announced a new Kingdom in which God would be the loving and just king. This demanded a response, and Jesus was uncompromising. ‘Change and believe,’ was repeatedly his challenge.
For his followers, the challenge that Jesus put before them was immense. It meant turning their backs on any people or possessions that were an obstacle to them progressing toward the Kingdom of God.
Jesus taught that money has its proper use, but that peoples’ attitudetoward it can be dangerous. You either believe that money rules or that God does.
Jesus talked about a unique relationship with God. On one occasion in Jerusalem he declared, ‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews were incensed by this apparent blasphemy, and would have killed him on the spot had he not been a quick thinker and a quick runner.
Christians have always believed that because Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead, the relationship between God and humans has changed for all time. God and human beings can be peacefully at one.
Jesus did not announce, ‘I am God.’ However, he did intrigue people by leading them to the point at which they had no alternative but to consider that he might be.
To follow Jesus requires faith. It is not possible to prove that God exists. But those who make a conscious decision to follow Jesus actively find that their lives are immeasurably improved by going through it in the company of the living God.
When Jesus said, ‘Repent and believe,’ it was an invitation to turn around and welcome the Kingdom of God. You will not be able to believe the truth about God and live the life of God if you keep going in a direction solely designed to suit yourself.
Millions of people have kind hearts and want to help those who are poor or in distress. But when men and women start to follow Jesus earnestly, they discover that deep within them their view of the world is changing.
Since the night before Jesus died, his followers have always sung. Christian worship around the world is extremely varied, but very often involves music.
Those who take prayer to heart do not see it simply as a series of requests that God will change the world in the way they personally want. Rather it is an active way of participating in the working out of God’s plan for the world.
Those who take prayer to heart do not see it simply as a series of requests that God will change the world in the way they personally want. Rather it is an active way of participating in the working out of God’s plan for the world.
In 1611 the Privy Council authorised the publication of a translation of the Bible into English that has had a profound influence on everyone who speaks the language.
2011 was the 400th birthday of the King James Version of the Bible. This was the first complete translation of the Bible into English that had widespread acclaim.
The first chapters of the Bible contain timeless stories that nomadic people would have told around their campfires for centuries before they were written down.
A great deal of the Old Testament is written in poetry. Like most of the Jewish Scriptures that Christians know as the Old Testament, it is written in Hebrew.
There are 21 letters in the New Testament of the Bible. About half of them are signed by Paul, who was one of the first leaders of the Christian church.
The Bible is a book in which violence is commonplace. It describes wars in which the Jewish people brutally conquered those who lived in the land which they believed God intended as their own.
Christians believe that there is something special about human beings. Being human is not the same as being anything else in the cosmos - different in nature from being a rock, a tree, a spider or a chimpanzee. Humans are 'in the image of God'.
All human life is utterly precious. It has sanctity. That is the setting in which Christians discuss the point at which the tiny group of cells from which life develops begins to be a human.
Christians answering honestly the question of why some babies are born disabled begin by making it clear that no one knows. Jesus firmly denied some of the unpalatable reasons that were suggested to him.
Christian belief is that the world does not belong to men and women. It belongs to God. And God will hold humans accountable for the way they treat it.
God calls Christians to oppose racism or prejudice of any kind. Over the centuries Christians have led campaigns to establish rights for minorities and groups who are oppressed because of their race or ethnicity.
Christians have a very positive view of sex. The Bible begins with the ancient story of Adam and Eve. In it a man and woman enjoy their naked bodies and God takes delight in them having sex.
When a man and a woman get married they commit themselves to spending their lives in a new relationship. It is a partnership of love, made richer and deeper through sex.
Different Christians believe different things about divorce. It is an issue on which those who sincerely seek to follow the way of Jesus have not yet come to one mind.
As years go by, more and more is understood about the scientific and social causes of homosexuality. Christians, however, are divided about what the implications of this are.
It is love that makes death so awful. It is the fact that you truly love someone that means you grieve when they have left life behind and left you behind.
Going into debt can be something that enriches a person’s life because it allows him or her to purchase somewhere to live. But going into debt can also be something that ruins a life, because if it is out of control it brings fear and despair.
When someone is made redundant, it is not only their job that they lose. They also lose the structure, the relationships and the purpose that shaped most of their days.
Dementia is caused by physical disease of the brain. It results in the brain progressively declining. Symptoms can include memory loss, delusions and distressing changes in behaviour.
Depression is an illness. It is not anybody’s fault. It is not a spiritual failure. It is not a sin. It is not a punishment. It is not a symptom of anything evil. It is not a sign that God has stopped loving someone. It is just an illness.
The Christian church is divided into many different groups, called denominations. Over the centuries different denominations have not had a good record of respecting each others’ differences.
During his final days on earth Jesus prayed that his disciples would be united. That unity has proved elusive, which means there are many different ways of living and worshipping as a Christian throughout the world.
There are about two billion Christians worldwide, and together they make up one church. However, they are gathered into groups which have slightly different practices and beliefs.
The word Hallowe’en does not come in the Bible (in fact, it wasn’t invented until the 18th century). It means ‘the holy evening’. It has long been celebrated as the first of three days on which to remember those who have died, especially Christians whom we have loved and admired, but who are now dead.
Can you be a follower of Jesus by yourself, and not go to church? Yes! However, if you choose to be a Christian without sharing that experience with others, you risk missing out on something important.
Jesus himself was persecuted cruelly, and warned his followers to expect the same. He was unjustly accused, and subjected to violence and degrading execution.
