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Home | Christian Martial Arts | What is Christianity? |
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What is Christianity? What is Christianity? | The Bible | Jehovah's Witnesses and the New World Translation Mormonism and the Book of Mormon | The Biblical Jesus and HIS Message | The Trinity Explained Just as there are questions about Christian martial arts, there are even more about Christianity itself, such as:
With so many cults, groups, sects, and individuals spreading differing messages about Christianity, it really is no wonder why confusion abounds. It is my hope that this examination of Christianity will help to answer the questions that many of you have. So what "is" Christianity? What is the actual message, and what is it really about? First, let's start with defining the term itself to see what it indicates. Merriam-Webster defines Christianity as:
From this, we see that the term Christianity is used to denote the teachings of Jesus as related in the Bible. Note that it does not include the teachings from "outside" the Bible, such as additional text or other materials. Instead, Christianity comes from the teachings directly from the Bible. It is important to start with this, especially since a variety of self-proclaimed Christian groups or organizations will proclaim to be Christian yet not use the Bible; instead, they use their own texts for relating their own brand of theology that is different from what the Bible relates. Because of that one fact, it immediately eliminates Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and other non-Christian teachings, since they do not follow the Bible exclusively; instead, they created their own theology and their own texts to reflect that theology. Therefore, it is obvious to see that no one can claim to be Christian if they do not use the Bible as their sole authority, regardless of how they try to explain it otherwise. Excerpts for teaching purposes can be used, of course, such as Bible study lessons, but the authority for Christian teaching is exclusively the Bible. The teachings and message of Jesus Christ were recorded by His apostles, or "disciples," from the time His ministry began until His death and resurrection. These recordings are known as Scripture, which is from Middle English and Latin meaning "the act or product of writing, from scriptus." The Bible contains 66 books (39 books in the Old Testament, written from approximately 1400 B.C. to 400 B.C., and 27 books in the New Testament, written from approximately 50 A.D. to 90 A.D.) Written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, it has been translated to more than 1,200 languages. Many will claim that the Bible, God's Holy Word, is wrought with holes or inconsistencies, as well as it being inaccurately translated (which is why you see a variety of religions that have sprung up based on their "fresh revelation"). These claims, however, are false, and are directly related to false converts, false teachings, false beliefs, and intentionally misleading you. Despite what some might tell you, simply look into the claims yourself and you will see a completely different story. Linguistic scholars from all over the world have re-translated ancient Scripture multiple times, and they always come to the same conclusion:
It really is that simple. Despite what a variety of non-Christian organizations will tell you, the Bible is 100% reliable. And now that we have a "foundation" to start with, let's look at the message itself. According to the Bible, Christianity is not a religion "about" Jesus; instead, it is a relationship with Him. And the Bible tells us very plainly who He is, what He said, and what His message is:
You will hear a variety of descriptions for what some believe Christianity to mean, but what these groups teach is not Biblical Christianity. They make it "sound" Christian by using the same terminology, and even making it sound like they "do" believe what the Bible teaches. Even a brief look at these teachings, however, will show a very different theology, which is the opposite to what the Bible actually teaches.
Three groups claiming to be Christian, yet neither teaching the message of Christ. Neither believe in God's Holy Word, the Bible - given to us by Jesus' disciples, the very people that were in His presence - yet they claim to be Christian. Can you see the intentional misleading that goes on here, and why there is still so much confusion for those seeking what it really means to follow Jesus? Why do they call themselves Christian, when they neither believe nor teach the message of Christ? That is a very good question, and one which none of them can answer with common sense. The Bible, however, does. The Bible names these groups' teachings and proclamations as being "false prophets," intentionally leading God's children away from Him. The sad part of this is that those who are unfamiliar with God's Word and the message of Jesus Christ will be easily duped by these cults (and yes, they "are" cults). Theological debates can get extremely intensive, and in the end, they rarely accomplish anything. Many take the message of "attack on their faith" and use that to intensify their beliefs. Jesus taught that when man is scoffed or mocked for His sake, we should rejoice. The problem, though, is that these cults are blinded to begin with, so they will use that to reinforce their own misguided beliefs. To them, it is you, not them, who is misguided. Therefore, rather than go point-by-point with each belief, a simpler way is to examine the texts themselves that each of these belief systems follow, as well as how they came to be. If something proves to be wrought with holes, then naturally it cannot be of God, can it? And if something proves to have merit, then it can be examined further. Make sense? So, let's start with the Bible and go from there. The term "Bible" is from the Latin word "biblia" and the Greek word "biblios," which means "book." So, basically any book can be a "bible," but generally, "The Bible" is usually associated with God's Word. The Bible contains 66 books (39 books in the Old Testament, written from approximately 1400 B.C. to 400 B.C., and 27 books in the New Testament, written from approximately 50 A.D. to 90 A.D.) Written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, it has been translated to more than 1,200 languages and has been examined repeatedly throughout the ages, being considered the most reliable document of any known to exist.
Because of the Bible's reliability, this is why it has always been the target of criticism, ridicule, and claims of error (even though the above shows this to be unfounded). In the end, we see that those who go against God's Word cannot remove His message; therefore, they changed it to fit their own brand of theology.
Without a doubt, the Bible is accurate and reliable, and those that claim otherwise are simply living on a false belief. No one in the history of God's Word has ever shown it not to be. Some might "say" that it is not accurate or reliable, but investigating for yourself vs. what someone says? You will find a completely different result. The New World Translation (NWT) is the religious text of the "Watchtower and Bible Tract Society" (Jehovah's Witnesses). According to them, the English language had undergone so many changes and the elimination of archaic wording that a new, "fresh" translation into present-day English was needed. A "committee of annointed witnesses of Jehovah" (The Religious Research Project, "A Critical Look at the Jehovah's Witness Bible: The New World Translation") was created, and six volumes of the New World Translation were released between 1950 and 1961. In 1961, all of the volumes were combined into one book. At first, the translator's identities were hidden because their view was that rather than reveal themselves and take the credit for this translation, they preferred to give the glory to God. An honorable choice, for certain; however, that also prevents anyone from examining the skills that the translators should possess for such a project. In time, their identities were made known (Frederick William Franz, George Gangas, Milton Henschel, Karl Klein, Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder), and a remarkable thing was discovered. Of these six "translators," only one (Frederick Franz) actually possessed any kind of linguistic skills. And the skills that Mr. Franz did possess? There were still insufficient for the task of translating the ancient Scriptures into English. To quote Raymond Franz (Frederick's uncle):
In a court of law in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1952, it was proven that the "translators" had no linguistic skills for translating the vast amount of Scripture that is available. Frederick Franz himself failed a simple test of translating a verse from Hebrew into English, which should surprise everyone. After all, he and his translation committee supposedly already did. We must now ask ourselves a simple question: how can someone translate something when they cannot read what is written? In short, they can't. There is clearly enough evidence here to demonstrate that the New World Translation is a biased publication that is not translated from Scripture; instead, it is nothing more than someone taking their own thoughts and ideas, and creating their own brand of theology to fit it. It is neither scholarly nor "modern" by any sense of the word. The theology of a Jehovah's Witness has been shown to be without merit because it comes from a book that is not of God, and contrary to their claims, it is proven to be inaccurate in its translation. Therefore, it is not necessary to delve into what this book is about, because it is has been proven to be a false and inaccurate translation.
The Book of Mormon is the religious text of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" (Mormon). Their history of how this book came into existence follows. According to Joseph Smith, one day he found "golden plates" said to be the Word of God, delivered by an angel named Moroni. Joseph Smith was to translate these plates using a seer stone and he would lead the new church. According to the three witnesses during the time of the writing of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith would place his face into a hat with a seer stone, and through "divine revelation," the Lord would reveal a series of words in the hat. As he saw the words, he would translate these words to a scribe; if the translation was correct, the words would disappear and be replaced by another word or set of words. If the translation was incorrect, though, the words would remain until the translation was correct. After the translation was completed, all were said to have heard God's own voice from heaven saying, "These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear." It is at this point that we can denounce the Book of Mormon. According to Joseph Smith and his witnesses, God's own voice proclaimed that the translation was correct. According to Joseph Smith, the entire process would completely remove all chance of an incorrect translation. However, if that is true, then why have there been 3,913 changes to the Book of Mormon, effecting some 10,000 words? The manner in which they were "translated" would preclude any changes taking place, because if they did, then they intentionally changed God's Word. But these changes are real, and they were made. It is also interesting to me that the Book of Mormon is approximately 1/8 that of the King James Bible, including the italics. Italicized wording naturally did not exist when Scripture was being written, and the King James translators readily admit that they italicized wording periodically in order to draw attention to it. So if Joseph Smith really did translate these "golden plates," how did this italicized wording - exactly as it is written in the King James Bible - get into the Book of Mormon? It does not take a great deal of analysis to quickly recognize that the Book of Mormon could in no way be an inspired work from God. Besides the book itself, the entire Mormon history is also wrought with holes (including stories of ancient Jewish settlers to North America, when DNA envidence clearly shows this to be an impossibility). Therefore, there is no reason to pursue the Mormon religion as being of God, for clearly it is not. To illustrate this in more detail, I recommend the websites of the Interactive Bible (click on "False Doctrines" at the upper left) and the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. You will find a variety of interesting and thought-provoking topics that point directly to various books and verses to prove that the Book of Mormon and the entire Mormon theology is clearly anti-Christian. Additionally, I recommend checking out CARM's LDS pages for learning what Mormonism actually teaches. I guarantee that if you are unfamiliar with Mormon teachings, you will be surprised. And as for both of the above cults, two more online books are that are extremely respectful and insightful into these belief systems are: The message of Jesus as we read in the Bible is a very different message than what Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons or Christian Science portray. The Bible tells us very simple what His message is: There is only one way to God, and HE is that way.
Jesus said this so that there would be no misunderstanding. There is only one way to the Father, and He is that one way. Not some organization, not aliens, not Buddha, not Muhammed, not a false god, and not an angel. Nothing except for Jesus Himself will allow one to find God. Many claim that they and only they know who Jesus is, but the book of John tells the world who Jesus is, not just a select few.
In John chapter 1, verses 1 - 4, the apostle John tells us that the Word (Jesus) is not only with God, but was God. This gives us an indication as to who God is and shows us the first two of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Verses 10 through 13 goes further and tells us that even though Jesus is the Creator, the world still rejected Him.
This is story of the New Testament, that God gave His only Son to redeem mankind, yet the world did not recognize Him. The Old Testament prophets predicted the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Messiah, and the New Testament records that all of these predictions have been fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth (with the exception of those yet to come as described in the Book of Revelations). And ever since that time, many in the world have tried to change His message to fit their own beliefs. They create a variety of stories about books being left out of the Bible because it conflicts with the "established organization," how Christianity is steeped in paganism, how it is corrupt and false, etc. Man is still man, so yes, there are individuals and even entire groups that are corrupt and false, misusing the name of Jesus for their own profit and influence. These groups and individuals will receive their punishment from a just and righteous God as the Bible proclaims... but they cannot remove God's message from the world. They attempt to change God's Word for their own gain, but they remove themselves from following the Truth. As sad as this is, they also intentionally lead others away from the real Jesus and His message, condemning them to eternal separation from Him. But this DOESN'T have to be! The Bible is right here and right now, and all you have to do is pick it up, ask God to open your heart to His Word, and just start reading. There's nothing "mystical" about it, nor do you have to have an organization's literature or guidance to understand it. It is God's message to YOU, and He WANTS you to hear it. The Bible is your "road map" to Jesus, and it is all you need for your salvation in accepting Him as your personal Saviour. Because of our busy and hectic lives, though, sometimes we find that we just do not have the time we wish we had to sit down in silence and read our God's message as we would like to. To that end, I have listed some of my favorite resources below to assist with that. They should never replace your Bible, of course, and most certainly, they are not needed in the slightest way. They can, however, help you learn more about a specific topic and help you find where things are at in your Bible. They are also excellent resources for those "unsure" about what it is they believe, and want to know the "why's" behind things.
The most important question in the Bible is this one:
The first step in finding Christ is to recognize that you need Him, that you are a sinner, that you have violated the principles of truth in the word of God. The Bible says in Romans 3:23:
I have sinned, and you have sinned. And because we have sinned, we must have the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin. Our morality cannot save us. Our goodness cannot save us. Our acts of kindness to the poor cannot save us. The Bible says that we must confess our sin, for if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to FORGIVE us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When you recognize that you need Jesus, satan will immediately come to you and say that you are not good enough. I want to say to you right here that God can save to the uttermost. It does not make any difference what you have done. He can save you. God loves you even though we are sinners. The Bible says in Romans 5 and 8:
And God has made it possible through the gift of His Son for you to be saved. That provision is God's gift. The Bible says:
It is through grace that you have been saved. It is not of yourself or the works you have done. Works come "after" being saved, not "in order to be" saved. Not by works, so that no one can boast. You cannot get to heaven by being good, or giving to the poor, or doing acts of kindness. You only get to heaven because you confess your sin. There must be a repentance of sin, which means to turn away from your sin. The Bible says "Repent, and believe the good news." Repent means to turn away. Walk and go another way. It is required action to believe and confess, that if you will confess with your mouth for the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified with your mouth that you confess your sins. And the result is salvation. The Bible says that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The Bible says salvation is found in no other name given unto men under heaven other than the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't let satan tell you that you are not worthy, or that you have sinned too deeply. If you WANT to find Christ, He is as close as a prayer. And if you pray this prayer right now, with true intent in your heart, then you will be saved. That is God's promise to you.
In that simple prayer, if you meant it with all of your heart and soul, you have stepped from darkness into life. You are now identified with the family of the Lord Jesus Christ, and your spiritual brothers and sisters are waiting to see you this Sunday morning. I encourage you to seek out a church in your area. Go to a church where the preacher gets up and preaches from the Word of God. And go to a church where the preacher makes an altar call, and gives the people the opportunity to be saved. That is where you are hearing the gospel. Earlier I mentioned the Trinity, so let's go a bit further with that. I know that sometimes it can be a confusing topic, so I want to point out some very interesting areas of the Bible that shows without a doubt that the Trinity most certainly is God. The Trinity is a "canon" (concept) that teaches us about God. We read about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but naturally this takes a person by surprise. After all, there is only one God, so how can we be reading about God the Son and God the Holy Spirit? This confusion is understandable if you only take bits and pieces of the Bible to create a message, but that is not what the Bible is about. Many groups will take one sentence or a few paragraphs and turn it into something completely different than what the real message says, and that is why there are so many cults out there misleading people (Jehovah's Witnesses practice this "out of context" witnessing quite regularly). Let me put it this way: you will not learn how to fix your car's engine by reading the chapter on flat tires, will you? Of course not. So how can you learn about God in just a few sentences or paragraphs? You cannot. It requires reading the complete "manual," and the Bible is life's instruction manual. Where the concept of the Trinity is concerned, let's look at a few verses and compare how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are referred to in the same way.
The above is only a fraction of verses where the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are spoken of with the same authority. For those that do not believe in this:
How are these things explained if the Trinity does not exist? It is not like these verses do not exist, because clearly they do (and the above are only a few examples, too). I have heard a variety of non-Christian explanations over the years trying to skirt around the above, with not a single one making even the slightest bit of sense. Why? Because they are trying to use their own biased translations vs. God's Word to make their point, and it is impossible. They take a variety of Scripture out of context and contort it to fit their own heretical theology vs. simply reading what God has told us. So again, how are these things explained if the Trinity does not exist? The most logical answer is simply accepting what God is telling us and to believe in His Word. And His message clearly teaches us that God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As you can now see, being Christian isn't just about "calling" yourself Christian, nor is it just about believing that Jesus existed. The Romans believed He existed, too, because they were looking right at Him. Did that make them Christian? Of course not. They still spat on Him, beat Him, mocked Him... and then executed Him. And "saying" that you are Christian does not make it so, either. A Jehovah's Witness and a Mormon will claim to be Christian, yet they are not. Why? Because they do not teach the message of Christ. They teach their own heretical message that is night-and-day to God's Word, and they cloud it with Christian terminology to make it "sound" Christian to those that do not know better. They refuse to accept God's Scripture, Scripture that has been proven to be as accurately translated as any known in existence. But that has always been the story, hasn't it? The world could not stifle His message, so they changed it. They changed it to fit their own way of thinking, and in doing so, have lead and will lead so many into an eternal separation from a God who desparately wants them to see His truth. There will come a time when all of these false beliefs will be judged, and God will remove evil permanently from His world. But the Bible is right here, right now, and you can learn so much about God right this minute if you only ask Him. There is no reason to be caught up in these false beliefs and extremist organizations that lead you away from Him. God loves you. YOU. And He wants you to come home to Him. If you want to know what the Bible really says so that you are armed against all of these false beliefs, then simply pick up your Bible, pray to God right now to understand what He is telling you, and then just start reading. Yes, it really is that simple. And if you do not have a Bible, then click here for a free and complete PC Bible, compliments of e-Sword. You can also access CARM's online Bible, AWCAOnline's Christian Links section for a variety of additional resources, and also the Christiananswers.net WebBible Online link below.
If you really want to know God's message and His love, then I urge you to pick up your Bible and ask God to help you read and understand it. Based on the Bible's claim that all who seek Him will find Him, you will understand God's message. That is His promise to you. |
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And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.
It agrees with the vast majority of the 86,000+ citations from Scripture by the early church fathers. 
The creation account in Genesis 
