Christianity (from the Ancient Greek word , Khristos, "Christ", literally "anointed one") is a monotheistic religion

Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept. The core Christian belief is that through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.

Modern Christian churches tend to be much more concerned with how humanity can be saved from a universal condition of sin and death than the question of how both Jews and Gentiles can be in God's family. According to both Catholic and Protestant doctrine, salvation comes by Jesus' substitutionary death and resurrection. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation does not occur without faithfulness on the part of Christians; converts must live in accordance with principles of love and ordinarily must be baptized. He advocated "one definite and simple understanding of Scripture." Taken together, these are the Seven Sacraments as recognised by churches in the High church tradition—notably Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic most Anglicans, and some Lutherans. Most other denominations and traditions typically affirm only Baptism and Eucharist as sacraments, while some Protestant groups, such as the Quakers, reject sacramental theology. Most Protestant Christian denominations who believe these rites do not communicate grace prefer to call them ordinances.

Liturgical calendar

Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Christians, and traditional Protestant communities frame worship around a liturgical calendar. This includes holy days, such as solemnities which commemorate an event in the life of Jesus or the saints, periods of fasting such as Lent, and other pious events such as memoria or lesser festivals commemorating saints. Christian groups that do not follow a liturgical tradition often retain certain celebrations, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. A few churches make no use of a liturgical calendar.

Christians from the very beginning adorned their tombs with paintings of Christ, of the saints, of scenes from the Bible and allegorical groups. The catacombs are the cradle of all Christian art. The first Christians had no prejudice against images, pictures, or statues. The idea that they must have feared the danger of idolatry among their new converts is disproved in the simplest way by the pictures, even statues, that remain from the 1st centuries.

Baptism

Baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which a person is admitted to membership of the Church.

The ancient church, in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity, developed a tradition of asking for the intercession of (deceased) saints, and this remains the practice of most Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and some Anglican churches. Churches of the Protestant Reformation however rejected prayer to the saints, largely on the basis of the sole mediatorship of Christ. Its earliest development took place under the leadership of the Twelve Apostles, particularly Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, followed by the early bishops, whom Christians considered the successors of the Apostles.

From the beginning, Christians were subject to persecution by some Jewish religious leaders, who disagreed with the apostles' teachings (See Split of early Christianity and Judaism). This involved punishments, including death, for Christians such as Stephen and James, son of Zebedee. Larger-scale persecutions followed at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Empire, first in the year 64, when Emperor Nero blamed them for the Great Fire of Rome. According to Church tradition, it was under Nero's persecution that early Church leaders Peter and Paul of Tarsus were each martyred in Rome. Further widespread persecutions of the Church occurred under nine subsequent Roman emperors, most intensely under Decius and Diocletian. From the year 150, Christian teachers began to produce theological and apologetic works aimed at defending the faith. These authors are known as the Church Fathers, and study of them is called Patristics. Notable early Fathers include Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen.

State persecution ceased in the 4th century, when Constantine I issued an edict of toleration in 313. On 27 February 380, Emperor Theodosius I enacted a law establishing Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Nicaea was the first of a series of Ecumenical (worldwide) Councils which formally defined critical elements of the theology of the Church, notably concerning Christology. The church also entered into a long period of missionary activity and expansion among the various tribes. Whilst arianists instituted the death penalty for practicing pagans (see Massacre of Verden as example), Catholicism also spread among the Germanic peoples, Monasticism became a powerful force throughout Europe, and gave rise to many early centers of learning, most famously in Ireland, Scotland and Gaul, contributing to the Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th century.

From the 7th century onwards, Islam conquered the Christian lands of the Middle East, North Africa and much of Spain, split into 3 main branches of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox, Christianity is the world's largest religion. India, Morocco, Russia, and Turkey. Iceland (Evangelical Lutheran), The Catholic faith is detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches (also called Old Oriental Churches) are those eastern churches that recognize the first three ecumenical councils—Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus—but reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon and instead espouse a Miaphysite christology. The Oriental Orthodox communion comprises six groups: Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (India) and Armenian Apostolic churches. For example, the Methodist Church grew out of Anglican minister John Wesley's evangelical and revival movement in the Anglican Church.

A special grouping are the Anglican churches descended from the Church of England and organised in the Anglican Communion. Some Anglican churches consider themselves both Protestant and Catholic.

The other way was institutional union with new United and uniting churches. Congregationalist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches united in 1925 to form the United Church of Canada, and in 1977 to form the Uniting Church in Australia. The Church of South India was formed in 1947 by the union of Anglican, Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches.

Steps towards reconciliation on a global level were taken in 1965 by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches mutually revoking the excommunications that marked their Great Schism in 1054; the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) working towards full communion between those churches since 1970; and the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches signing The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999 to address conflicts at the root of the Protestant Reformation. In 2006, the Methodist church adopted the declaration.

See also

Christian World

Christian Apologetics

Criticism of Christianity

Christian mythology

Freedom of religion

Good news (Christianity), concerning the gospel message

Christian art

Christian philosophy

Christian symbolism

Christian architecture

One true church

One true faith

Political Catholicism

Gospel

Bible

Evangelism

Evangelical environmentalism

Messianic Judaism

Not to be confused with

Messianism

Endnotes

References

;General references:

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Catechism of the Catholic Church. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Religion. New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

Barrett, David; Kurian, Tom et al. (ed.). World Christian Encyclopedia. Oxford University Press (2001).

;Monographies and articles: Ahlstrom, Sydney E. Albright, William F. From the Stone Age to Christianity. Alexander, T. Desmond. New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Anidjar, 2001.

Bahnsen, Greg. A Reformed Confession Regarding Hermeneutics (article 6).

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Ball, Bryan; Johnsson, William (ed.). The Essential Jesus. Pacific Press (2002). ISBN 0-8163-1929-4.

Barry, John F. One Faith, One Lord: A Study of Basic Catholic Belief. William H. Sadlier (2001). ISBN 0-8215-2207-8

Bettenson, Henry (ed.). Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press (1943).

Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church . Doubleday (2004). ISBN 0-385-50584-1

Bruce, F.F. The Canon of Scripture.

Chambers, Mortimer; Crew, Herlihy, Rabb, Woloch. The Western Experience. Volume II: The Early Modern Period. Alfred A. Knopf (1974). ISBN 0-394-31734-3.

Coffey, John. Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England 1558-1689. Pearson Education (2000).

Cross, F. L.; Livingstone, E. A. (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press (1997). ISBN 0-19-211655-X. Deppermann, Klaus. Melchior Hoffman: Social Unrest and Apocalyptic Vision in the Age of Reformation. ISBN 0-567-08654-2.

Dilasser, Maurice. The Symbols of the Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press (1999). ISBN 0-8146-2538-X

Duffy, Eamon. Saints and Sinners, a History of the Popes. Yale University Press (1997). ISBN 0-300-07332-1

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Esler, Phillip F. The Early Christian World. Routledge (2004).

Farrar, F.W. Mercy and Judgment. A Few Last Words On Christian Eschatology With Reference to Dr. Pusey's, "What Is Of Faith?". Macmillan, London/New York (1904).

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Fowler, Jeaneane D. World Religions: An Introduction for Students, Sussex Academic Press (1997). ISBN 1-898723-48-6.

Fuller, Reginald H. The Foundations of New Testament Christology Scribners (1965). ISBN 0-684-15532-X.

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Glenny, W. Edward. Typology: A Summary Of The Present Evangelical Discussion.

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MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History. Viking Adult (2004).

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Olson, Roger E., The Mosaic of Christian Belief. InterVarsity Press (2002). ISBN 978-0-8308-2695-7.

Orlandis, Jose, A Short History of the Catholic Church. Scepter Publishers (1993) ISBN 1-85182-125-2

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Pelikan, Jaroslav; Hotchkiss, Valerie (ed.) Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. Yale University Press (2003). ISBN 0-300-09389-6.

Putnam, Robert D. Democracies in Flux: The Evolution of Social Capital in Contemporary Society. Oxford University Press (2002).

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Oxford History of the Crusades. New York: Oxford University Press, (1999).

Robinson, George. Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals. New York: Pocket Books (2000).

Schama, Simon . A History of Britain. Hyperion (2000). ISBN 0-7868-6675-6.

Servetus, Michael. Restoration of Christianity. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press (2007).

Simon, Edith. Great Ages of Man: The Reformation. Time-Life Books (1966). ISBN 0-662-27820-8.

Smith, J.Z. (1998).

Spitz, Lewis. The Protestant Reformation. Concordia Publishing House (2003). ISBN 0-570-03320-9.

Sproul, R.C. Knowing Scripture. Spurgeon, Charles. A Defense of Calvinism.

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Talbott, Thomas. ''Three Pictures of God in Western Theology" (1995).

Ustorf, Werner. "A missiological postscript", in: McLeod, Hugh; Ustorf, Werner (ed.). The Decline of Christendom in Western Europe, 1750-2000. Cambridge University Press (2003).

White, Howard A. The History of the Church. Woodhead, Linda. An Introduction to Christianity.

Further reading

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (Viking; 2010) 1,161 pages; survey by leading historian

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

A number of introductory articles on Christianity. An overview of Christianity. The origin of Christianity

Adena, L. The 'Jesus Cult' and the Roman State in the Third Century, Clio History Journal, 2008.

Messianic Christianity´s official site

Category:Middle Eastern culture Category:Western culture

Name	Jesus of Nazareth
Alt	Half-length portrait of younger man with shoulder-length hair and beard, with right hand raised over what appears to be a red flame. The upper background is gold. Around his head is a golden halo containing an equal-armed cross with three arms visible; the arms are decorated with ovals and squares.
Caption	20th-century stained glass work of Jesus at St. John the Baptist's Church in Ashfield, Australia.
Language	Aramaic (perhaps some Hebrew, Koine Greek)
Birth date	c. 5 BC/BCE(Islamic view) virginal conception;

Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse. performed miracles, founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, Numerous scholars see the gospels as blending together to give a comprehensive picture of Jesus teaching and ministry.

Logos

The Gospel of John opens with a hymn identifying Jesus as the divine Logos, or Word, that formed the universe.

Genealogy and family

Of the four gospels, only Matthew and Luke give accounts of Jesus' genealogy. However, the Greek word used in the Gospels means "builder", which could refer to a stonemason or some other type of artisan. Matthew omits this reference, emphasizing Jesus' superiority to John.

Following his baptism, Jesus was led into the desert by God where he fasted for forty days and forty nights. During this time, the Devil appeared to him and tempted Jesus three times. Each time, Jesus refused temptation with a quotation of scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy. The Devil departed and angels came and brought nourishment to Jesus. In John, Jesus leads a program of baptism in Judea, and his disciples baptize more people than John.

Ministry

In the synoptics as well as in John, Jesus has a ministry of teaching and miracles, at least part of which is in Galilee.

Jesus' purpose

, in the Sea of Galilee, by Raphael]] Jesus said of his purpose, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Mark says that Jesus came to "give his life as a ransom for many"; Luke, that Jesus was sent to "preach the good news of the Kingdom of God"; and John, that Jesus came so that "those who believed in him would have eternal life".

Duration and location

John describes three different Passover feasts over the course of Jesus' ministry, implying that Jesus preached for at least "two years plus a month or two".

Disciples

In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus calls some Jewish men to be his Twelve Apostles. None of them seems to have been a peasant (an agricultural worker). At least four are described as fishermen and another as a tax collector. Three of them are presented as being chosen to accompany Jesus on certain special occasions, such as the transfiguration of Jesus, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and the Agony in the Garden. Jesus speaks of the demands of discipleship, telling a rich man to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. He states that his message divides family members against each other. In Matthew and Luke, he speaks further about morality and prayer. In John, he speaks at length about himself and his divine role.

At the height of his ministry, Jesus is said to have attracted huge crowds numbering in the thousands, primarily in the areas of Galilee and Perea (in modern-day Israel and Jordan respectively).

In the Synoptics, Jesus often employs parables, such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke) and the Parable of the Sower (all Synoptics).

His moral teachings in Matthew and Luke encourage unconditional self-sacrificing God-like love for God and for all people. Matthew describes false Messiahs, disasters, tribulations, and signs in the heavens that will portend Jesus' return, which is also described as unexpected.

Outreach to outsiders

Table fellowship is central to Jesus' ministry in the Gospels. He and his disciples eat with sinners (who neglect purity rules) and tax collectors (imperial publicani, despised as extortionists). The apostle Matthew is a tax collector. When the Pharisees object to Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus replies that it is the sick who need a physician, not the healthy. Jesus also defends his disciples against charges that they do not follow purity laws when eating. The Pharisees accused Jesus himself of being a drunk and a glutton. Jesus' miracles and teachings often involve food and feasting. He instructs his missionaries to eat with the people that they preach to and heal. In the Synoptics, Jesus institutes a new covenant with a ritual meal before he is crucified.

Jesus' outreach to outsiders includes the Samaritans, who followed a different form of the Israelite religion, as reflected in his preaching to the Samaritans of Sychar and in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

At various times, Jesus makes a point of welcoming sinners, children, women, the poor, Samaritans, and foreigners.

Transfiguration and Jesus' divine role

In the synoptic gospels, Jesus leads three select disciples: Peter, John, and James to the top of a mountain. While there, he is transfigured before them, his face shining like the sun and his clothes brilliant white; Elijah and Moses appear adjacent to him. A bright cloud overshadows them, and a voice from the sky says, "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased". Just before it and thereafter, Jesus warns that he is to suffer, die and rise again. Here he punctuates his ministry with several miraculous signs of his authority.

In John, Jesus declares that belief in the Son brings eternal life, that the Father has committed powers of judgment and forgiveness to the Son, and that he is the bread of life, the light of the world, the door of the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, and the real vine. In Luke, Jesus prays briefly at the Mount of Olives, and his disciples fall asleep out of grief. At the Last Supper, Jesus washes the disciples' feet and there is no new covenant of bread and wine. Jesus gives the farewell discourses, discussing the persecution of his followers, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and more. He says a long final prayer with his disciples before heading to a garden where he knows Judas will show up. In an attempt to spare Jesus' life, Pilate offers the mob a chance to free him, but they choose Barabbas instead, so that the responsibility for Jesus' execution falls on the mob of Jews that the Pharisees have incited, rather than on the Romans as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew by the Jewish crowd's proclamation, “[h]is blood be upon us and on our children.” Outside of the gospel, historical documentation does not corroborate this as a customary practice among the Romans or the Jewish people of Israel. Matthew adds the details that Pilate's wife, tormented by a dream, urges Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus, and Pilate washes his hands of responsibility. Luke adds the detail that Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who has authority over Galileans, but that Herod, like Pilate, finds him guilty of nothing treasonous. In John, Jesus makes no claim to be the Son of God or the Messiah to the Sanhedrin or to Pilate, even though this gospel proclaims Jesus' divinity from the beginning.

Death

, Jesus' mother Mary holds the body of her dead son, illustration by Michelangelo, 16th c.]] ,Jerusalam]] In Mark, Jesus is stripped, flogged, mocked, and crowned with thorns. He is crucified between two thieves, and his cross states that he is being executed for aspiring to be the king of the Jews. He begins to recite , "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." He utters a loud cry and dies. According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, which was also called Golgotha. In Luke, Jesus faces his crucifixion stolidly. One of the thieves states that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom, and Jesus replies that the thief will be with him in Paradise. The Synoptic Gospels tell of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake, "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split." Mathew also says many dead saints were resurrected and went into the city to appear before other people. John omits the phenomena accompanying Jesus' death. The tearing of the temple parokhet, upon the death of Jesus, is referenced by Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Matthew, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven on a mountain, at which point he commissions them to enlist followers, baptize, and teach what Jesus taught. Although his own mission and his disciples' missions had been to the Jews, here he sends the eleven to the whole world (see Great Commission). In Luke, he appears to two disciples in the country and to the eleven. He proves to them that he has a body, opens their minds to understand the scripture about the Messiah, and directs them to wait in Jerusalem until they are invested with power. In John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven. He demonstrates his physical reality to doubting Thomas. Later he appears to seven disciples who are fishing, and finally talks with Peter, foretelling Peter's death and assigning him the principal role as shepherd of the new community. In Mark, Jesus' Ascension to heaven, where he sits at God's right hand, is said to have taken place but not described as a visible event. John implies that Jesus will return to his Father but doesn't describe an Ascension.

Names and titles in the New Testament

Jesus lived in Galilee for most of his life and spoke Aramaic and possibly Hebrew and some Greek.

Many New Testament scholars state that Jesus claimed to be God through his frequent use of "I am" (e.g. Before Abraham was, I am), his act of forgiving sins which gave Jews an impression of blasphemy, and his statement that "I and the Father are one." "Son of God" was often used to designate a person as especially righteous.

"Emmanuel" or "Immanuel" derives from the Hebrew name Immanu-El, which translates as "God (is) with us" and is based on a Messianic interpretation of a verse in the Hebrew Bible, , "They shall call his name Immanuel."

Historical views

Biblical scholars have used the historical method to develop plausible reconstructions of Jesus' life. Contemporary efforts benefit from a better understanding of 1st-century Judaism, renewed Roman Catholic biblical scholarship, broad acceptance of critical historical methods, sociological insights, and literary analysis of Jesus' sayings.

Constructing a historical view

Historians of Christianity analyze the gospels to try to discern the historical man on whom these stories are based. They compare what the gospels say to historical events relevant to the times and places where the gospels were written. They try to answer historical questions about Jesus, such as why he was crucified.

Most Biblical scholars agree the Gospel of Mark was written about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans under Titus in the year 70 AD/CE, and that the other gospels were written between 70 and 100 AD/CE.

Teaching

Jewish focus – Jesus taught among fellow Jews. Geza Vermes concludes that Jesus' message was exclusively for the Jews, while Gerd Theissen asserts that Jesus' message included themes related to the Gentiles being welcomed into the coming Kingdom. He consistently presented himself as Messiah/Christ - i.e. God's anointed king.

Apocalyptic vision – Most scholars hold that the movement Jesus led was apocalyptic, expecting God to intervene imminently to restore Israel. John the Baptist's movement was apocalyptic, and Jesus began his public career as one of his students. Jesus likened the Kingdom of Heaven to small and lowly things, such as yeast or a mustard seed, He used his sayings to elicit responses from the audience, engaging them in discussion.

The family of God – Jesus repeatedly set himself at odds with traditional family duties in order to emphasize that the true family of a believer was God's family, forming a community of believers as children of God.

God as a loving father – Jesus placed a special emphasis on God as one's heavenly father. This teaching contrasts with the more common practice of depicting God as a king or lord.

Virtue of being childlike – Jesus was remarkable in stating that one must become like a child to enter the Kingdom of God.

Importance of faith and prayer – Jesus identified faith or trust in God as a primary spiritual virtue.

Healing and exorcism – Jesus taught that his healings and exorcisms indicated that a new eschatological age had arrived or was arriving.

Crucifixion

Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem were wary of Galilean patriots, many of whom advocated or launched violent resistance to Roman rule. The gospels demonstrate that Jesus, a charismatic leader regarded as a potential troublemaker, was executed on political charges. Jesus' criticism of the Temple, disturbance he caused there, and refusal to renounce claims of kingship convinced the Jewish high priest to allow Jesus to be transferred into Roman custody. Vermes doubts that Jesus foretold his own crucifixion., although other scholars, such as Craig Blomberg, F. F. Bruce and Gregory Boyd, disagree.

Sadducees were particularly powerful in Jerusalem. They accepted the written Law only, rejecting the traditional interpretations accepted by the Pharisees, such as belief in retribution in an afterlife, resurrection of the body, angels, and spirits. After Jesus caused a disturbance at the Temple, it was to have been the Sadducees who had him arrested and turned over to the Romans for execution. After the fall of Jerusalem, they disappeared from history. The notion that Jesus himself was a Zealot does not do justice to the earliest Synoptic material describing him.

Critical scholars consider scriptural accounts more likely when they are attested in multiple texts, plausible in Jesus' historical environment, and potentially embarrassing to the author's Christian community. The "criterion of embarrassment" holds that stories about events with aspects embarrassing to Christians (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter, or the fleeing of Jesus' followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if those accounts were fictional.

The earliest extant texts which refer to Jesus are Paul's letters (mid-1st century), which affirm Jesus' crucifixion. Keulman and Gregory hold that the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus, predates the four orthodox gospels, and believe it may have been composed around mid-1st century.

Textual criticism

Scholars use textual criticism to determine which variants among manuscripts is original and how much they may have changed.

Contemporary textual critic Bart D. Ehrman cites numerous places where he maintains that the gospels, and other New Testament books, were apparently altered by Christian scribes.

Craig Blomberg, F. F. Bruce and Gregory Boyd view the evidence as conclusive that very few alterations were made by Christian scribes, while none of them (three or four in total) were important (see Textual Criticism). According to Normal Geisler and William Nix, "The New Testament, then, has not only survived in more manuscripts than any other book from antiquity, but it has survived in a purer form than any other great book─a form that is 99.5% pure"

Mythical view

Although the historicity of Jesus is accepted by almost all Biblical scholars and classical historians, According to the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be God's final revelation, Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, and was given the ability to perform miracles. However, Islam rejects historians assertions that Jesus was crucified by the Romans, instead claiming that he had been raised alive up to heaven. Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to earth near the day of judgement to restore justice and defeat al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl (lit. "the false Messiah", also known as the Antichrist) and the enemies of Islam. As a just ruler, Jesus will then die.

Ahmadiyya views

The Ahmadiyya Movement considers Jesus a mortal man who died a natural death. According to the early 20th century writings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement) , Jesus survived his ordeal on the cross, and after his apparent death and resurrection, he fled Palestine and migrated eastwards to further teach the gospels. Jesus eventually died a natural death of old age in India – Kashmir - and is believed to be buried at Roza Bal.

Although the view of Jesus having migrated to India has also been researched in the publications of independent historians with no affiliation to the movement, the Ahmadiyya Movement are the only religious organization to adopt these views as a characteristic of their faith. The general notion of Jesus in India is older than the foundation of the movement, and is discussed at length by Grönbold and Klatt.

The movement also interprets the second coming of Christ prophesied in various religious texts would be that of a person "similar to Jesus" (mathīl-i ʿIsā). Thus, Ahmadi's consider that the founder of the movement and his prophetical character and teachings were representative of Jesus and subsequently a fulfillment of this prophecy.

Bahá'í views

The Bahá'í Faith, founded in 19th-century Persia, considers Jesus, along with Muhammad, the Buddha, Krishna, and Zoroaster, and other messengers of the great religions of the world to be Manifestations of God (or prophets), with both human and divine stations.

God is one and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic Messengers. Bahá'ís refer to this concept as Progressive Revelation, which means that God's will is revealed to mankind progressively as mankind matures and is better able to comprehend the purpose of God in creating humanity. In this view, God's word is revealed through a series of messengers: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the Bahá'í Faith) among them. In the Book of Certitude, Bahá'u'lláh claims that these messengers have a two natures: divine and human. Examining their divine nature, they are more or less the same being. However, when examining their human nature, they are individual, with distinct personality. For example, when Jesus says "I and my Father are one", Bahá'ís take this quite literally, but specifically with respect to his nature as a Manifestation. When Jesus conversely stated "...And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me", Bahá'ís see this as a simple reference to the individuality of Jesus. This divine nature, according to Bahá'u'lláh, means that any Manifestation of God can be said to be the return of a previous Manifestation, though Bahá'ís also believe that some Manifestations with specific missions return with a "new name". and a different, or expanded purpose. Bahá'ís believe that Bahá'u'lláh is, in both respects, the return of Jesus.

Buddhist views

Buddhists' views of Jesus differ. Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama regard Jesus as a bodhisattva who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. The 14th century Zen master Gasan Jōseki indicated that the sayings of Jesus in the Gospels were written by an enlightened man.

Other views

Mandaeanism, a very small Mideastern, Gnostic sect that reveres John the Baptist as God's greatest prophet, regards Jesus as a false prophet of the false Jewish god of the Old Testament, Adonai, and likewise rejects Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad.

Manichaeism accepted Jesus as a prophet, along with Gautama Buddha and Zoroaster.

The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus. The creators of A Course In Miracles claim to trance-channel his spirit. However, the New Age movement generally teaches that Christhood is something that all may attain. Theosophists, from whom many New Age teachings originated (a Theosophist named Alice A. Bailey invented the term New Age), refer to Jesus of Nazareth as the Master Jesus and believe he had previous incarnations.

Many writers emphasize Jesus' moral teachings. Garry Wills argues that Jesus' ethics are distinct from those usually taught by Christianity. The Jesus Seminar portrays Jesus as an itinerant preacher who taught peace and love, rights for women and respect for children, and who spoke out against the hypocrisy of religious leaders and the rich. Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a deist, created the Jefferson Bible entitled "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" that included only Jesus' ethical teachings because he did not believe in Jesus' divinity or any of the other supernatural aspects of the Bible.

See also

New Testament Jesus

* Biblical Jesus

* Christian views about women

* Christian views of Jesus

* Crucifixion of Jesus and Resurrection of Jesus

* Miracles of Jesus

* Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament

* King of kings

* Race of Jesus

* Sermon on the Mount

Jesus and history

* Apostolic Succession of Jesus

* Christian apologetics

* Genealogy of Jesus

* Gospel Harmony

* Historicity of Jesus

* Historicity of the Gospels

* Jesus and comparative mythology

* New Testament view on Jesus' life

General topics

* Christian mythology

* INRI (stands for "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews")

* Nazarene

Views on Jesus

* Apocrypha

* Christology

* Pauline Christianity

* Religious perspectives on Jesus

* Sexuality of Jesus

Related lists

* List of books about Jesus

* List of founders of major religions

* List of Messiah claimants

* List of people who have been considered deities

* List of people who have claimed to be Jesus

Notes

References

The Bible

Allison, Dale. Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999. ISBN 0-8006-3144-7

Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997. ISBN 0-385-24767-2

Cohen, Shaye J.D.. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0-664-21911-6

Cohen, Shaye J.D. The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. ISBN 0-520-22693-3

Crossan, John Dominic.

* The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. ISBN 0-06-061629-6

* Who Killed Jesus?: exposing the roots of anti-semitism in the Gospel story of the death of Jesus. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995. ISBN 978-0-06-061671-7

Davenport, Guy; and Urrutia, Benjamin (trans.) The Logia of Yeshua: The sayings of Jesus. Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 1996. ISBN 978-1-887178-70-9

De La Potterie, Ignace. The hour of Jesus: The passion and the resurrection of Jesus according to John. New York: Alba House, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8189-0575-9

Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944. ISBN 0-671-11500-6

Ehrman, Bart. The Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-514183-0

Ehrman, Bart. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515462-2

Fredriksen, Paula. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity. New York: Vintage, 2000. ISBN 0-679-76746-0

Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ: The origins of the New Testament images of Christ. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-300-08457-3

Finegan, Jack. Handbook of Biblical Chronology, revised ed. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998. ISBN 1-56563-143-9

Fuller, Reginald H., The Foundations of New Testament Christology. New York: Scribners, 1965. ISBN 0-227-17075-X

Meier, John P., , New York: Anchor Doubleday,

: V. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person, 1991. ISBN 0-385-26425-9 : V. 2, Mentor, Message, and Miracles, 1994. ISBN 0-385-46992-6 : V. 3, Companions and Competitors, 2001. ISBN 0-385-46993-4

O'Collins, Gerald. Interpreting Jesus. "Introducing Catholic theology". London: G. Chapman; Ramsey, NJ: Paulist Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0-8091-2572-2

Pelikan, Jaroslav. Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-300-07987-7

Robinson, John A. T. Redating the New Testament. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001 (original 1977). ISBN 1-57910-527-0.

Sanders, E.P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Allen Lane Penguin Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0-7139-9059-1

Sanders, E.P. Jesus and Judaism. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8006-2061-5

Vermes, Géza. Jesus in his Jewish Context. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003. ISBN 0-8006-3623-6

Vermes, Géza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1981. ISBN 0-8006-1443-7

Vermes, Géza. The Religion of Jesus the Jew. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1993. ISBN 0-8006-2797-0

Wilson, A.N. Jesus. London: Pimlico, 2003. ISBN 0-7126-0697-1

Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997. ISBN 0-8006-2682-6

Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003. ISBN 0-8006-2679-6

External links

Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ In Parallel Latin & English

"Jesus Christ." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 12 Nov. 2009

From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians — Frontline documentary about Jesus' life and the early Church.

The Jewish Roman World of Jesus

Category:0s BC births Category:1st-century deaths Category:1st-century executions Category:Apocalypticists Category:Carpenters Category:Christian mythology Category:Christian religious leaders Category:Creator gods Category:Deified people Category:Founders of religions Category:God in Christianity Category:Islamic mythology Category:Jewish Messiah claimants Category:Life-death-rebirth gods Category:Messianism Category:New Testament people Category:People executed by crucifixion Category:People executed by the Roman Empire Category:People from Bethlehem Category:People from Nazareth Category:Prophets in Christianity Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Rabbis of the Land of Israel Category:Roman era Jews Category:Savior gods Category:Self-declared messiahs

Name	Christopher Hitchens
Color	green
Caption	Hitchens in 2007
Birthname	Christopher Eric Hitchens
Birthdate	April 13, 1949
Birthplace	Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK
Occupation	Writer and pundit
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Nationality	American/British
Religion	None
Genre	Polemicism, journalism, essays, biography, literary criticism
Spouse	Carol Blue (1989–present)
Children	Alexander, Sophia, Antonia
Relatives	Peter Hitchens (brother)
Influences	George Orwell, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Joseph Heller, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Salman Rushdie, Vladimir Nabokov, Richard Llewellyn, Aldous Huxley, PG Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Paul Mark Scott, James Fenton, James Joyce, Albert Camus, Oscar Wilde, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Martin Amis, Kingsley Amis, Ian McEwan, Leon Trotsky, Colm Tóibín, Bertrand Russell, Wilfred Owen, Isaiah Berlin

Christopher Eric Hitchens (born 13 April 1949) is an English-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. His father's Naval career required the family to move and reside in bases throughout the United Kingdom and its dependencies, including in Malta, where his brother Peter was born in Sliema in 1951.

Because Yvonne argued that "if there is going to be an upper class in this country, then Christopher is going to be in it," In 1968 he took part in the TV quiz show University Challenge. Shortly thereafter, he joined "a small but growing post-Trotskyite Luxemburgist sect". Throughout his student days, he was on many occasions arrested and assaulted in the various political protests and activities in which he participated.

He then became a correspondent for the magazine International Socialism, in what was initially thought to be a murder scene, after overdosing on sleeping pills in adjoining hotel rooms with Bryan slashing his wrists in the bath to be sure. Hitchens flew alone to Athens to recover her remains. While there he reported on the Greek constitutional crisis of the military junta that was happening at the time. It became his first leading article for the New Statesman. Hitchens stated his belief that his mother was pressured into taking her own life under the fear of his father becoming aware of her infidelity, in an already strained and unhappy marriage, and with both her children now independent adults. but others — including Hitchens — believe it to be Spy Magazines "Ironman Nightlife Decathlete" Anthony Haden-Guest. In 2005, Hitchens praised Lenin's creation of "secular Russia" and his destruction of the Russian Orthodox Church, describing it as "an absolute warren of backwardness and evil and superstition". In an interview with Radar in 2007, Hitchens said that if the Christian right's agenda were implemented in the United States "It wouldn't last very long and would, I hope, lead to civil war, which they will lose, but for which it would be a great pleasure to take part."

Following the September 11 attacks, Hitchens and Noam Chomsky debated the nature of radical Islam and of the proper response to it. In October 2001, Hitchens wrote criticisms of Chomsky in The Nation. He has supported the legalization of cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes, citing it as a cure for glaucoma and as treatment for numerous side-effects induced by chemotherapy, including severe nausea, describing the prohibition of the drug as "sadistic".

Regarding his own religious background, Hitchens was raised nominally Christian, and went to Christian boarding schools but from an early age declined to participate in communal prayers. Later in life, Hitchens discovered that he was part Jewish. According to Hitchens, when his brother Peter Hitchens took his fiancée to meet their maternal grandmother, Dodo, who was then in her 90s, Dodo said, "She's Jewish, isn't she?" and then announced: "Well, I've got something to tell you. So are you." She said that her real surname was Levin, not Lynn, that her ancestors had the family name Blumenthal, and were from Poland.

Personal life

Marriage and children

Hitchens married Eleni Meleagrou, a Greek Cypriot, in 1981. They had two children, Alexander and Sophia. Hitchens left Meleagrou for Carol Blue, an American writer, in 1989. They have one daughter, Antonia.

Relationship with younger brother

Hitchens' younger brother by two-and-a-half years, Peter Hitchens, is a Christian and socially conservative journalist in London. The brothers had a protracted falling-out after Peter wrote that Christopher had once joked that he "didn't care if the Red Army watered its horses at Hendon" (a suburb of London). Christopher denied having said this and broke off contact with his brother. He then referred to his brother as "an idiot" in a letter to Commentary, and the dispute spilled into other publications as well. Christopher eventually expressed a willingness to reconcile and to meet his new nephew; shortly thereafter the brothers gave several interviews together in which they said their personal disagreements had been resolved. They appeared together on the 21 June 2007 edition of BBC current affairs discussion show Question Time. The pair engaged in a formal televised debate for the first time on 3 April 2008, at Grand Valley State University.

Health and lifestyle

Smoking and drinking

A June 2006 profile on Hitchens by NPR stated: "Hitchens is known for his love of cigarettes and alcohol — and his prodigious literary output." However in early 2008 he gave up smoking, undergoing an epiphany in Madison, Wisconsin. His brother Peter later wrote of his surprise at this decision. It was while writing his memoir Hitch-22 that he resumed smoking cigarettes and continued until his cancer diagnosis. Hitchens admits to drinking heavily; in 2003 he wrote that his daily intake of alcohol was enough "to kill or stun the average mule", noting that many great writers "did some of their finest work when blotto, smashed, polluted, shitfaced, squiffy, whiffled, and three sheets to the wind".

Anti-war British politician George Galloway, on his way to testify in front of a United States Senate sub-committee investigating the scandals in the U.N. Oil for Food program, called Hitchens a "drink-sodden ex-Trotskyist ", to which Hitchens quickly replied, "Only some of which is true". Later, in a column for Slate promoting his debate with Galloway which was to take place on 14 September 2005, he elaborated on his prior response: "He says that I am an ex-Trotskyist (true), a "popinjay" (true enough, since the word's original Webster's definition is a target for arrows and shots), and that I cannot hold a drink (here I must protest)."

Oliver Burkeman writes, "Since the parting of ways on Iraq [...] Hitchens claims to have detected a new, personalised nastiness in the attacks on him, especially over his fabled consumption of alcohol. He welcomes being attacked as a drinker 'because I always think it's a sign of victory when they move on to the ad hominem.' He drinks, he says, 'because it makes other people less boring. I have a great terror of being bored. But I can work with or without it. It takes quite a lot to get me to slur.'"

In the question and answer session following a speech Hitchens gave to the Commonwealth Club of California on 9 July 2009, one audience member asked what was Hitchen's favorite whiskey. Hitchens replied that "the best blended scotch in the history of the world" is Johnnie Walker Black Label. He also playfully indicated that it was the favorite whiskey of, among others, the Iraqi Baath Party, the Palestinian Authority, the Libyan dictatorship and "large branches of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family". He concluded his answer by calling it the "breakfast of champions" and exhorted the audience to "accept no substitute".

In his 2010 memoir Hitch-22, Hitchens wrote: "There was a time when I could reckon to outperform all but the most hardened imbibers, but I now drink relatively carefully." He described his current drinking routine on working-days as follows: "At about half past midday, a decent slug of Mr. Walker's amber restorative, cut with Perrier water (an ideal delivery system) and no ice. At luncheon, perhaps half a bottle of red wine: not always more but never less. Then back to the desk, and ready to repeat the treatment at the evening meal. No 'after dinner drinks' — ​most especially nothing sweet and never, ever any brandy. 'Nightcaps' depend on how well the day went, but always the mixture as before. No mixing: no messing around with a gin here and a vodka there."

Cancer

On 30 June 2010, Hitchens postponed his book tour for Hitch-22 to undergo treatment for metastatic esophageal cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes and lungs. He first made the announcement of his diagnosis in Vanity Fair magazine. In August, Hitchens discussed his diagnosis with Anderson Cooper on CNN. He told Cooper that the long-term prognosis is far from positive and that when one uses cigarettes and alcohol, which he has used heavily, there is a tendency to "make yourself a candidate" for the disease. He also says not to credit any reports that he has repented to God. Speaking with The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg, Hitchens stated that he would be a "very lucky person" to live another five years.

See also

List of atheists

*

List of English Americans

List of essayists

List of syndicated columnists

Peter Hitchens

Film and television appearances

As referenced from the Internet Movie Database, Hitchens Web or Charlie Rose. {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Film |- |1984 |align="left" | Opinions: "Greece to their Rome" |- |1988 |align="left" | Frontiers |- |1993 |align="left" | Everything You Need to Know |- |1994 |align="left" | Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher |- |1994 |align="left" | Hell's Angel |- |1996 |align="left" | Where's Elvis This Week? |- |1996–2010 |align="left" | Charlie Rose (13 episodes) |- |1998 |align="left" | Princess Diana: The Mourning After |- |1999–2002 |align="left" | Dennis Miller Live (4 episodes) |- |2002 |align="left" | The Trials of Henry Kissinger |- |2003 |align="left" | Hidden in Plain Sight |- |2003–2009 |align="left" | Real Time with Bill Maher (6 episodes) |- |2004 |align="left" | Mel Gibson: God's Lethal Weapon |- |2004–2006 |align="left" | Newsnight (3 episodes) |- |2004–2010 |align="left" | The Daily Show (4 episodes) |- |2005 |align="left" | (1 episode) |- |2005 |align="left" | The Al Franken Show (1 episode) |- |2005 |align="left" | Confronting Iraq: Conflict and Hope |- |2005 |align="left" | |- |2005–2008 |align="left" | Hardball with Chris Matthews (3 episodes) |- |2006 |align="left" | American Zeitgeist |- |2006 |align="left" | Blog Wars |- |2007 |align="left" | Manufacturing Dissent |- |2007 |align="left" | Question Time (1 episode) |- |2007 |align="left" | Your Mommy Kills Animals |- |2007 |align="left" | Personal Che |- |2007 |align="left" | Heckler |- |2007 |align="left" | In Pot We Trust |- |2008 |align="left" | Discussions with Richard Dawkins: Episode 1: "The Four Horsemen" |- |2009 |align="left" | Holy Hell |- |2009 |align="left" | Presidency |- |2009 |align="left" | Collision: "Is Christianity GOOD for the World?" |}

Bibliography

1987 Imperial Spoils: The Curious Case of the Elgin Marbles, Chatto and Windus (UK)/Hill and Wang (US, 1988) / 1997 UK Verso edition as The Elgin Marbles: Should They Be Returned to Greece? (with essays by Robert Browning and Graham Binns)

1988 Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question (contributor; co-editor with Edward Said) Verso, ISBN 0-86091-887-4 Reissued, 2001

1995 The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, Verso

2000 , Verso

2001 The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Verso.

2001 Letters to a Young Contrarian, Basic Books

2004 , Thunder's Mouth, Nation Books, ISBN 1-56025-580-3

2005 , Eminent Lives/Atlas Books/HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 0-06-059896-4

2007 , [Editor] Perseus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6

2007 God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Twelve/Hachette Book Group USA/Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-57980-7 / Published in the UK as God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion, Atlantic Books, ISBN 978-1-84354-586-6

2008 (with Simon Cottee and Thomas Cushman), New York University Press

2008 Is Christianity Good for the World? – A Debate (co-author, with Douglas Wilson), Canon Press, ISBN 1-59128-053-2

2010 , Hachette Book Group, ISBN 978-0-446-54033-9

References

External links

in 2007 in 2010 ;Profiles

"Christopher Hitchens" feature story in Prospect magazine, May 2008

"Incendiary Author Spares No Targets" feature story in The New Zealand Herald, May 2008

Such, Such are His Joys David Brooks assessment in The New York Times, 1 July 2010

Hitchens on Dying with Cancer - August 2010 video interview with The Atlantic

Christopher Hitchens: 'You have to choose your future regrets' in The Guardian, 14 November 2010

"Christopher Hitchens’s Jewish Problem" feature article on Jewish Ideas Daily, December 13, 2010

;Articles by Hitchens

Contributor page for Vanity Fair

Index at The Atlantic Monthly

Christopher Hitchens Blog The Mirror (British tabloid)

Hitchens Web

Build Up That Wall – Christopher Hitchens online directory

Hitchens articles at Slate

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Category:American atheists Category:American biographers Category:American essayists Category:American journalists Category:American Marxists Category:American media critics Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American humanists Category:Anti-Vietnam War activists Category:Atheism activists Category:British republicans Category:Cancer patients Category:English atheists Category:English biographers Category:English essayists Category:English humanists Category:English journalists Category:English immigrants to the United States Category:English Marxists Category:English people of Polish descent Category:English political writers Category:English socialists Category:Genital integrity activists Category:Marxist journalists Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Old Leysians Category:People from Portsmouth Category:Slate magazine people Category:Socialist Workers Party (Britain) members Category:The Nation (U.S. periodical) people Category:University Challenge contestants